By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 CIF, the California Interscholastic Federation, which governs all high school sports in California, is often mystical, and its rules are completely confusing. When a student is denied the right to play sports for some reason, the immediate instinct is to file an appeal to CIF higher ups. But only limited CIF issues are appealable per CIF Bylaws. What IS Appealable to CIF? Here are the matters that may be appealable to CIF: Conflict with a coach Following a coach Pre-enrollment contact Club coach at new school Relocated c ..read more

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995   What does a parent do when their child, a stellar wonderful student, gets a suspension, which may tarnish their education records forever?  Attack it and try to get it overturned of course. A student suspension is a permanent black mark in a school record, which will lurk in the background waiting to communicate negative about the student.  It will come up on college applications, depending on the college, and can harm a student in their future prospects.  How much is unclear.  What is clear is ..read more

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 When a parent or student experiences discrimination in the school system, they have a choice of where they want to file for an administrative review (e.g. by a government body).  Should they pick the federal government to review the matter or should they file with their local school or college?   There are generally two choices for non-court∗∗ administrative discrimination complaints depending on the entity involved, one being the school or college itself, and the other being a government entity. For ..read more

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Many parents envision expulsion hearings are mini-trials where their child has full rights to object and exclude things, like in regular court.  However, public school expulsion hearings, as hearings governed by administrative law (the law relating to government agencies), have different rules from regular courts.  There are some parameters for the expulsion hearing process, but what is allowed can be quite confusing, especially to a parent on their own.  Here are some basics on the evidence at expulsion hea ..read more

 By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Sometimes students are just not at the right school, but their parents like the school district they live within and want to keep their kids in it.  There are processes in place to achieve this goal, but certain requirements must be met.   Some options available to parents include open enrollment or filing an application for intradistrict transfer per school district policies. Open Enrollment What is school district open enrollment?  This is a process where a student living within a district can ..read more

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Many times when a public school student faces expulsion, there is confusion about what this means and how long an expulsion may continue.  Some questions and answers relevant to the length of expulsions in the public school setting, (high school or below) may be helpful to parents. Is expulsion permanent?   No.  There is always a listed end date in the expulsion decision. When can a student return to school after they are expelled? That depends on the length and type of expulsion imposed, with the m ..read more

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Most parents see schools as places where their kids go daily, while they are at work or taking care of other household needs, and forget about them.  College students may view their universities as a large mass of buildings and detached college staff and instructors.  Students and parents may be shocked and confused when a problem arises at a school or college  and may not know what to do.  THE BASICS OF APPROACHING A SCHOOL OR COLLEGE PROBLEM There are some fundamental recommendations I have when it ..read more

 By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 If a student has faced discrimination in their school or college, they or their parent may want to file a complaint with the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to get their school investigated and corrected.  Simple. Not so fast.   Its simple to file, but not always simple to get a filing accepted by OCR, such that they actually investigate the school or college.  OCR does not take every complaint that floats their way.  Instead, initial submissions, to be ..read more

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Colleges can be tricky places to navigate.  They are especially tricky when a student encounters a professor who acts in inappropriate ways toward them.  Students often won't take action as they believe they may face retaliation or a failing grade if they complain, and unfortunately, they might.  But, if students don't do something, the college professor may continue with their harassing or wrongful conduct and even push the student out.  It is a tough spot. Some examples I have seen, many during col ..read more

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 School expulsion is traumatizing and awful.  Once the worst happens and an expulsion is imposed, do students just get automatic reentry into their local school when the time period is over?  How do they return?  Are there steps?  The terms of the expulsion determine what will happen and precisely what the student must do to reenter their local school campus. Students are expelled by their board of education after a hearing or after the student's parents sign an agreement, usually called a "stipu ..read more