LCFF Priority 9 Statement of Model Practices

Desired Results: County offices of education (COEs) meet with local educational agencies (LEAs) and collaboratively create a triennial plan to identify:

1. Existing educational alternatives for expelled students;
2. Gaps in educational services to expelled students;
3. Strategies for filling those service gaps.

COEs work with LEAs to provide technical support and leadership that may be helpful for tracking the delivery of educational services to expelled youth and collecting data regarding the success of rehabilitation plans based on successful return placements to the student’s home district.

To ensure that the needs of all students are met, multiple educational placement options are developed and available, providing a range of alternative settings and support services appropriately matched to the student’s identified strengths and needs. This minimizes the exclusion of students from traditional opportunities and continued participation within the school district. Alternative educational placements may include other district programs (community day schools), charter schools, non-public educational settings, and county operated programs.

The identification of educational alternatives extends to those expelled students who have already been placed in an alternative educational setting. For example, some expelled students placed in a district community day school program may not meet the terms and conditions of their rehabilitation plan. Some of these students may also be determined by the governing board of the LEA to pose a danger to other students. For these students, it is vital that the COE in collaboration with school districts has already identified additional alternative placements.

COEs together with school districts update the expelled youth plan every three years. The update is based on a regular assessment of the effectiveness of the expelled youth plan and includes updated educational alternatives and strategies for filling any gaps in services.

There is ongoing collaboration between the COE and the school districts for a transparent referral process to the COE or other program options. Information about available services for expelled students is shared with all LEAs in the county.

Model Practices: Model practices for coordination of instruction of expelled students may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. The COE together with school districts consider evaluative questions when writing the Expelled Youth Plan and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan on an ongoing basis. Examples of such questions and practices may include:
   • Were the strategies in the previous plan successful or not? Why and how were they successful or not successful?
   • Were any additional strategies implemented? Why and how they were they successful or not successful?
   • For strategies that were not successful, what strategies or approaches might be taken instead?
   • Facilitate an ad hoc task force composed of COE and district personnel that meets on a regular basis to address the ongoing needs of expelled students.
2. COEs provide leadership and support to help LEAs write effective rehabilitation plans and track student progress upon return, which may include:
   • Developing rehabilitation plans for the student at the time the expulsion is ordered. Writing individualized plans tailored to the needs of the specific expelled student being served (e.g. drug rehabilitation, specific counseling, restorative practices, academic achievement, job training, or other rehabilitative programs.)
   • Monitoring rehabilitation plan completion rates.
   • Supporting restorative justice or positive behavior practices through professional development.
3. COEs provide preventative technical support to districts to address the needs of students prior to expulsion and keep students in regular attendance.
   • COEs can have a positive impact on the attendance of high-risk pupils in the county, especially expelled pupils in county programs.
   • Monitor on an ongoing basis the suspension, expulsion, and reentry data to discover and address systemic patterns within schools and districts.
   • Allow students to remain in a district program on a probationary status through suspended expulsion placements, if appropriate.
4. COEs support prevention and support strategies that may include, but are not limited to, the following:
   • Career counselling for students to help engage and motivate them for increased success and achievement and include direct discussions of behavioral challenges as a need for soft work skills;
   • Mentoring programs;
   • Mental health programs;
   • Professional development for educational staff to increase capacity for appropriately recognizing and responding to the student’s strengths and needs and to understand social/emotional issues, including cultural proficiency and respect;
   • Support educational programs for parents and other key adults in the lives of students.
5. COEs support districts in the creation of reentry plans and the provision of services to support successful reentry that are designed for the individual student. Such services may include, but are not limited to, the following:
   • Generate a list of the student’s assets, divided into academic, social and emotional categories, as well as remaining challenges;
   • Identify any extra academic or other supports the student may need when returning to school;
   • Help students develop short- and long-term goals for positive attitudes and behaviors;
   • Complete an Individualized Education Program, if applicable;
   • Give explicit attention to language development needs;
   • Designate a place for a student to regroup if feeling stressed, in contrast to being sent away from the campus;
   • Create a statement of positive expectations for the re-entering student;
   • Establish a strong link between students and outside adults responsible for the students, including community organizations;
   • Develop a memorandum of understanding regarding the coordination of partial credit policies between district of residence and the COE.
   • Celebrate successful completion of rehabilitation plans through positive communication with families and other efforts appropriate to the context.
   • Ensure all students have equal access to counseling services based on their individual needs, such as but not limited to, trauma-informed mental health counseling, anger management counseling, substance abuse counseling, etc.

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