School suspension

[Anonymous]

My son, who is 14, got suspended from a Montgommery County Public school. The school recommended him for expulsion. We have an investigative conference in two days, where my son will have the chance to defend himself and say that he is sorry. We will also hear whether the school will take him back or send him to a specialized school. I would appreciate any feedback from parents who know the process or went through the same situation. Do parents need legal representation? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

What did he do?

[Anonymous]

he was carrying a knife in his back pack and used it to scare another kid. It is pretty serious.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry about what happened, OP. I hope someone here can advise.

[Anonymous]

What's a lawyer going to do for you? Your son should be expelled.

[Anonymous]

If I were you I would get a lawyer - seems like someone to help you navigate this and advocate for your family's best interest might not be a bad idea.

[Anonymous]

Can you offer to go to counseling or some kind of treatment, like an anger management class?

[Anonymous]

Has he been in trouble for violence before or is this his first offense?

[Anonymous]

Does he have an IEP? If so, a special meeting will need to be held to determine if his disability impacted his actions. This happens anytime a student with a disability is suspended more than ten days.

[Anonymous]

I would think if you are going to have any chance at keeping him in his school you will need a lawyer. It seems like you are on an uphill battle with pretty clear guidelines with respect to i fraction and consequence. I would be looking for extenuating circumstances if I were you - like, was he bullied? I'm sorry, OP. this must e terribly difficult.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your responses and feedback. I think some of you might have not understood my question. I was mostly seeking for parents who went through the process and how the conference/meeting went.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were you I would get a lawyer - seems like someone to help you navigate this and advocate for your family's best interest might not be a bad idea.

What's to navigate? Kid brought a knife and brandished it. He's done. Kick him the fuck out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does he have an IEP? If so, a special meeting will need to be held to determine if his disability impacted his actions. This happens anytime a student with a disability is suspended more than ten days.

Oh, don't use that as a crutch. How offensive.

[Anonymous]

OP, I don't think you can assume that in 48 hours you will get a response from someone on this forum who has a similar experience to what you are currently going through. They might be in a different district, or child committed a different offense, or it happened a few years ago, and school policy is ever evolving. Time is not on your side, and while I appreciate you would like some feedback from people who have BTDT, the folks that are responding are trying to give you the best advice they can, which is to make sure you have a lawyer present.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were you I would get a lawyer - seems like someone to help you navigate this and advocate for your family's best interest might not be a bad idea.

What's to navigate? Kid brought a knife and brandished it. He's done. Kick him the fuck out.

No, that's just guaranteeing he continues down a bad path. All stakeholders should be looking first at protecting public safety, but then also looking at remediation.

OP I have not been down the expulsion path but have dealt with juvenile justice issues in general. If he does have some underlying issue that contributed to the incident, like depression, substance use, etc., take proactive steps to address those.