Alternative schools for suspended or expelled students – Mandated attendance – Remote instruction

(a) Local boards of education may establish alternative schools for students in grades one through six (1-6) who have been suspended or expelled from the regular school program. At least one (1) alternative school or alternative program shall be established and available for students in grades seven through twelve (7-12) who have been suspended or expelled as provided in this part. In providing alternative schools, any two (2) or more boards may join together and establish a school attended by students of any such school system; furthermore, any board may, by mutually acceptable agreement with another board, send its suspended or expelled students to any alternative school already in operation. Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!(b) Alternative schools and alternative programs shall be operated pursuant to rules of the state board of education pertaining to them, and instruction shall proceed as nearly as practicable in accordance with the instructional programs at the student’s home school. All course work completed and credits earned in alternative schools or alternative programs shall be transferred to and recorded in the student’s home school, which shall grant credit earned and progress thereon as if earned in the home school. (c) (1) (A) Attendance in an alternative school or alternative program is mandatory for students in grades seven through twelve (7-12) who have been suspended for more than ten (10) days or expelled from the regular school program if there is space and staff available. (B) (i) Notwithstanding subdivision (c)(1)(A), attendance in an alternative school or alternative program is not mandatory for students in grades seven through twelve (7-12) who have been expelled from the regular school program for committing a zero tolerance offense. (ii) This subdivision (c)(1)(B) does not prohibit a director of schools, or a director’s designee, from assigning a student who has been expelled from the regular school program for committing a zero tolerance offense to an alternative school or alternative program. (iii) The director of schools, or the director’s designee, shall determine whether to assign a student who has been expelled from the regular school program for committing a zero tolerance offense to an alternative school or alternative program on a case-by-case basis. (C) (i) Notwithstanding subdivision (c)(1)(A), a director of schools, or a director’s designee, is not required to assign a student in grades seven through twelve (7-12) who has been suspended for more than ten (10) days or expelled from the regular school program for an offense of violence or threatened violence, or an offense that threatened the safety of persons attending or assigned to the student’s school, to an alternative school or alternative program if: (a) The alternative school or alternative program is located on the same grounds as the regular school program from which the student was suspended or expelled; or (b) The director of schools, or the director’s designee, determines that assigning the student to the alternative school or alternative program may endanger the safety of the students or staff of the alternative school or alternative program. (ii) This subdivision (c)(1)(C) does not prohibit a director of schools, or a director’s designee, from assigning a student who has been suspended for more than ten (10) days or expelled from the regular school program for an offense of violence or threatened violence, or an offense that threatened the safety of persons attending or assigned to the student’s school, to an alternative school or alternative program. The director of schools, or the director’s designee, shall determine whether to assign a student to an alternative school or alternative program under this subdivision (c)(1)(C) on a case-by-case basis. (D) Attendance in an alternative school or alternative program is voluntary for students in grades one through six (1-6) who have been suspended or expelled from the regular school program unless the local board of education adopts a policy mandating attendance in either instance. (2) (A) A student who is assigned to an alternative school or alternative program is subject to all rules pertaining to the alternative school or alternative program. (B) The director of schools, or the director’s designee, may remove a student from the alternative school or alternative program if the director, or the director’s designee, determines that: (i) The student has violated the rules of the alternative school or alternative program; or (ii) The student is not benefiting from the student’s assignment to the alternative school or alternative program, and all interventions available to help the student to succeed in the alternative school or alternative program have been exhausted unsuccessfully. (C) The director of schools, or the director’s designee, may remove a student from the alternative school or alternative program under subdivision (c)(2)(B) for the duration o