Opinion ID: 472144
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The California Education Code Provisions on Expulsion of Regular Education Students

Text: 48 It follows that the district court was correct in holding that the California Education Code provisions relating to the expulsion of regular education students are invalid under the EAHCA as applied to handicapped pupils. The provisions enumerating the substantive grounds for expulsion, see Cal.Educ.Code Secs. 48900, 48915 (Deering Supp.1986), are defective because they fail to make exceptions for students whose misconduct is handicap-related. See discussion supra. 49 Moreover, the procedures for securing an expulsion are invalid. Expulsion constitutes a change in placement within the meaning of the EAHCA. See Kaelin, 682 F.2d at 598-602; S-1, 635 F.2d at 348. Consequently, school officials seeking to expel a handicapped student must follow the procedures prescribed in the Act and its accompanying regulations for changing a handicapped student's placement. These procedures include (1) notifying the parents in writing of the educational agency's intention to seek expulsion, see 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415(b)(1)(C)(i) (1982); (2) convening an IEP team meeting to assess the reason for the misconduct and the appropriateness of the child's current educational placement, see id. Sec. 1401(18); 34 C.F.R. Secs. 300.342-.343 (1985); (3) conducting an independent evaluation of the pupil's educational needs (because expulsion constitutes a significant change in placement), see 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415(b)(1)(A) (1982); 34 C.F.R. Sec. 104.35 (1985); (4) informing the parents of their right to demand both impartial administrative review of any IEP team decisions and judicial review of the state's final administrative determination, see 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415(b)(1)(D) (1982); and (5) allowing the child to remain in his then-current educational placement pending resolution of any previously mentioned review proceedings, unless the parents otherwise agree, see id. Sec. 1415(e)(3). Because the expulsion procedures for regular education students do not impose these special requirements, they are inapplicable to handicapped children. 50 Our analysis to this point assumes the ability to distinguish between handicap-related and handicap-unrelated behavior by means of the processes and safeguards applicable to handicapped students under the EAHCA. This is an assumption that Congress requires us to make. Although we have no doubt that the distinction exists, we recognize readily the difficulty in distinguishing between the two types of behavior in practice. Still, by receiving federal funds a state assumes that burden: those who accept the sovereign's pay cannot complain of his terms of acceptance.