Delaware — school discipline

Governing authority stated in the sources

14 DE Admin. Code 616, "Uniform Due Process Procedures for Alternative Placement Meetings and Expulsion Hearings", which states its own reach: "Pursuant to 14 Del.C. §122(b)(26), this regulation, which applies to all public school districts and charter schools, provides uniform procedures for the following situations: referral of students who warrant consideration for placement outside the Regular School Program into an Alternative Program; placement of students into an Alternative Program; monitoring student progress while in Alternative Placement; return of students back into the Regular School Program from an Alternative Program; Suspensions; and Expulsion hearings." (Regulation 616, 1.0) The regulation carries the register citation "22 DE Reg. 583 (01/01/19)". The classroom-removal authority sits in statute, at 14 Del. C. Chapter 7. — 14 DE Admin. Code 616, retrieved Aug 30, 2026

The lines the state draws

Delaware's regulation names each removal and gives it a length. Short-term suspension is "Disciplinary Action approved by the Principal or School Discipline Committee resulting in the student being removed from his Regular School Program for at least one (1) school day and not more than ten (10) consecutive school days." Long-term suspension is "Disciplinary Action approved by the Superintendent upon recommendation of the Principal or District Alternative Placement Team resulting in the student being removed from the Regular School Program for eleven (11) consecutive school days or more and not to exceed the total number of school days in a school year." Expulsion is "Disciplinary Action approved by the Board of Education resulting in a student being removed from the Regular School Program for a duration not to exceed the total number of student days in a school year." (Regulation 616, 2.0) The regulation states the emergency case as a delay in the process rather than an exception to it: a student whose presence "poses a threat to the health, safety, or welfare to persons or property within the School Environment, as determined by the Principal, may be immediately removed from school provided that, as soon as practicable thereafter, the initial due process procedures outlined in subsection 4.1 of this regulation are followed." (Regulation 616, 4.2.1)

Offices and appeal bodies in these sources

Each level of removal has its own decider — principal or school discipline committee for a short-term suspension, superintendent for a long-term suspension, board of education for an expulsion. The expulsion hearing itself is "conducted by a district/charter Board of Education or Hearing Officer" (Regulation 616, 10.3.6), and the regulation separates the roles: the hearing officer "may be an employee of the district or charter school, but shall not have been involved in any review of the student incident at the building or district level"; the superintendent who notifies the family "shall not have been a participant in the disciplinary investigation or Building Level Conference resulting in the recommendation for Expulsion"; and "The Superintendent presenting the case on the part of the district/charter school shall not testify." (Regulation 616, 2.0, 10.3.1.1, 10.3.9) The regulation states the student's rights at that hearing: "To be represented by legal counsel at the student's expense;" "To cross-examine witnesses;" "To testify and produce witnesses on his/her behalf; and" "To obtain, at the student's expense, a copy of the transcript of the hearing." (Regulation 616, 10.3.11)
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 regulation and statutes quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.

This page assembles what Delaware publishes in regulation and statute about K-12 school discipline. This is a baseline docket page: the governing regulation, 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. Delaware writes the notice-and-hearing floor itself rather than leaving it to districts. Before any removal of a day or more, the administrator "shall inform, orally or in writing, the student of the allegation(s) against him/her, the conduct which forms the basis of the allegation(s), and the policy, rule, or regulation violated." and "The student shall be given an explanation of the evidence supporting the allegation(s) and an opportunity to present his/her side of the story including any evidence." (Regulation 616, 4.1.1.2, 4.1.1.3) On a recommendation for expulsion the clocks are stated one after another: "Student will be given written notice of charges and the Parent shall be notified verbally and in writing as soon as practicable thereafter."; documentation "shall be delivered to the Superintendent within two (2) business days of the Building Level Conference or seven (7) business days of the incident, whichever is sooner."; the superintendent "shall, within ten (10) business days of the date of the incident, notify the student and the Parent by letter that a district-level Expulsion hearing will be held to consider the recommendation."; and "The hearing shall be held not less than seven (7) business days or more than twenty (20) business days after receipt of written notice. The written notice shall be deemed to be received on the fourth business day following the day of mailing." (Regulation 616, 10.2.1, 10.2.4, 10.3.1, 10.3.3) Education during removal is addressed directly: a student whose short-term suspension is extended past ten days "shall receive Appropriate Educational Services beginning on the first day of the extension.", and those services "shall continue until the student's district/charter Alternative Placement Meeting decision has been rendered or the district/charter's Board of Education decision regarding the student's Expulsion hearing or other formalized Disciplinary Action hearing has concluded." (Regulation 616, 5.1.2.1) What the district writes is the conduct code the whole scheme runs on: the "Student Code of Conduct" is "the district/charter school approved document which specifies the rights and responsibilities of students, defines conduct that disrupts/threatens a positive/safe School Environment, standardizes procedures for consequences and Disciplinary Action, and defines due process and Grievance procedures." (Regulation 616, 2.0) That delegation will anchor the full page's delegation map. In statute, the classroom-removal power and its due process are stated together: teachers and administrators have authority that "includes removing a student from a classroom or school-sponsored activity", and "When a student is removed from a classroom or school-sponsored activity or is disciplined or punished pursuant to this section, the principal or the principal's designee shall afford the student appropriate due process as required by the federal and State constitutions." (14 Del. C. § 701(b), (d)) For a student with an IEP or Section 504 plan, the disability layer lives on this site's Delaware special education page. 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.