Alabama — school discipline

Governing authority stated in the sources

Code of Alabama Sections 16-1-14 (the state's due process section, titled "Uniform System of Procedural Due Process Protections for Students Facing Long-Term Suspension or Expulsion for Violating Student Code of Conduct or State Law"), 16-1-24.1 (the safe-school and drug-free-school policy, which carries the code-of-student-conduct requirement), and 16-28-12 (the written behavior policy each local board adopts), together with the State Board of Education's Chapter 290-3-1 in the Alabama Administrative Code. Section 16-1-14 carries the session-law notation "(Acts 1963, No. 460, p. 995, §1; Acts 1994, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 94-793, p. 98, §1; Act 2024-262, §1.)"; Section 16-1-24.1 carries "(Acts 1991, No. 91-323, p. 602, §22; Acts 1994, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 94-784, p. 72, §1; Act 2026-367, §1.)" — §16-1-14, retrieved Aug 30, 2026

The lines the state draws

The statute defines the removals it covers. "LONG-TERM SUSPENSION. The exclusion of a student from his or her regular school environment for more than 10, and less than 90, school days, per incident, for disciplinary purposes." "EXPULSION. The exclusion of a student from his or her regular school environment for more than 90, and less than 180, school days, per incident, for disciplinary purposes." "LONG-TERM ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL PLACEMENT. The placement of a student in alternative school for more than 15 school days, per incident, for disciplinary purposes." (§16-1-14(a)) The section's procedures are triggered by "a recommendation for the long-term alternative school placement, long-term suspension, or expulsion of a student" (§16-1-14(e)); no procedure for a removal of 10 school days or fewer appears in the sources reviewed, and that absence is the finding. Where a criminal charge is involved the statute states its own removal: "the local school system shall immediately suspend that student from attending regular classes and schedule a hearing at the earliest possible date, which shall not be later than 30 calendar days, or pursuant to the due process procedures provided in Section 16-1-14, whichever is earliest." (§16-1-24.1(b)(3))

Offices and appeal bodies in these sources

The hearing is before the local board: the student "is afforded an opportunity for a disciplinary hearing before the local board of education, or a designee of the local board of education, to determine whether the alleged violation has occurred." (§16-1-14(e)(1)) The written decision must carry the appeal route: "A statement detailing the right of the student to appeal the decision pursuant to the code of student conduct of the local board of education and Section 12-15-115, and notice of the procedures necessary to file an appeal." (§16-1-14(e)(9)) The route beyond the local board is therefore assigned in part to district policy by the quoted provision, with Section 12-15-115 named but not captured in this review.
No state office, phone number, or email for parents appears in the sources; that absence is the finding.

Sources last checked

Aug 30, 2026

Reproduced from the state's own statutes and regulations quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.

This page assembles what Alabama publishes in statute and regulation about K-12 school discipline. This is a baseline docket page: the governing sections, the lines the state draws, and the decision-makers and appeal route, quoted with dates. The full sections (the framework route by route, the four hoisted process rows, every stated timeline, the district delegation map, and records access) follow as the discipline layer deepens behind its breadth sprint; the change log states exactly what is not yet captured. Before a long-term removal the statute states a notice and a hearing: the student and parent or guardian "receive reasonable written notice of the disciplinary hearing, delivered to them personally or by mail." That notice must include "A statement of the time, place, and nature of the hearing;" and "A short and plain statement detailing the alleged conduct, the provision of the code of student conduct or state law allegedly violated, and any recommended discipline;". (§16-1-14(e)(2)) The conduct rules themselves are the local board's to adopt: "The local board of education shall adopt and make available to all teachers, school personnel, students, and parents or guardians, at the beginning of each school year, a code of student conduct developed in consultation with teachers, school personnel, students, and parents or guardians." (§16-1-24.1(g)) A parallel delegation runs through the attendance chapter: "Each local public board of education shall adopt a written policy for its standards on school behavior." (§16-28-12(b)) Those delegations will anchor the full page's delegation map. For a student with an IEP or Section 504 plan, the disability layer lives on this site's Alabama special education page; the statute itself states that nothing in Section 16-1-14 "shall be construed to infringe on any right provided to a student pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990." (§16-1-14(f)) Confirm applicability with the district and the agencies. All dates on this page are quoted from the sources, not a deadline calculation performed for you.