Idaho — school discipline

Governing authority stated in the sources

Idaho Code Section 33-205, "Denial of school attendance", which carries the expulsion power, the notice and hearing that must precede it, and the temporary suspension authority in a single section. The Legislature publishes the section with its session-law history and no separate revision date; that absence is recorded here rather than filled. — Idaho Code § 33-205, retrieved Aug 30, 2026

The lines the state draws

Idaho separates temporary suspension from expulsion and states a length for each step of the first. "A temporary suspension by the principal shall not exceed five (5) school days, and the school superintendent may extend the temporary suspension an additional ten (10) school days." A third extension is available only on a stated finding: "on a finding by the board of trustees, which finding shall be made in executive session, that immediate return to school attendance by the temporarily suspended student would be detrimental to other pupils' health, welfare, or safety, the board of trustees may extend the temporary suspension for an additional five (5) school days." (§ 33-205(6)) Expulsion is the board's, and the section states its grounds by list, including a pupil "Whose conduct, in the judgment of the board, is such as to be continuously disruptive of school discipline or of the instructional effectiveness of the school;". (§ 33-205(1)(b)) One expulsion is mandated with a stated minimum: "the board shall expel from school for a period of no less than one (1) year, twelve (12) calendar months, or may deny enrollment to a student who has been found to have possessed a firearm on school property in this state or any other state." That mandate is expressly modifiable: "The board may modify such expulsion or denial of enrollment requirement on a case-by-case basis when the board determines reasonable conditions apply and the student's presence is not detrimental to the health and safety of other students." (§ 33-205(4))

Offices and appeal bodies in these sources

The two decisions sit with different officers. A temporary suspension is the superintendent's or the principal's, and the statute states the process owed first: "Prior to suspending any student, the superintendent or principal shall grant an informal hearing on the reasons for the suspension and the opportunity to challenge those reasons." (§ 33-205(6)) Expulsion is the board of trustees', and the statute states the notice and the hearing rights together: "No pupil shall be expelled or denied enrollment without the board of trustees having first given written notice to the parent or legal guardian of the pupil, which notice shall state the grounds for the proposed expulsion or denial of enrollment and the time and place where such parent or legal guardian may appear to contest the action of the board to deny school attendance and which notice shall state the rights of the pupil to be represented by counsel, to produce witnesses and submit evidence on his own behalf, and to cross-examine any adult witnesses who may appear against him." (§ 33-205(5))
No further appeal forum beyond the board, and 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 statute quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.

This page assembles what Idaho publishes in statute about K-12 school discipline. This is a baseline docket page: the governing section, the lines the state draws, and the decision-makers and hearing rights, 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. Idaho states the expulsion hearing in a single sentence and then states the preparation time it requires: "Within a reasonable period of time following such notification, the board of trustees shall grant the pupil and his parents or legal guardian a full and fair hearing on the proposed expulsion or denial of enrollment. However, the board shall allow a reasonable period of time between such notification and the holding of such hearing to allow the pupil and his parents or legal guardian to prepare their response to the charge." The section also states where the decision may be made and how it is recorded: "Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 74-205 and 74-206, Idaho Code, a decision to expel or to deny enrollment of a student may be made in executive session, and the student shall not be named in the minutes of the meeting. A record of the decision shall be placed in the student's educational record and in the official records of the board." (§ 33-205(5)) One consequence of expulsion is stated that a family may not expect: "Any pupil within the age of compulsory attendance who is expelled or denied enrollment as herein provided shall come under the purview of the juvenile corrections act, and an authorized representative of the board shall, within five (5) days, give written notice of the pupil's expulsion to the prosecuting attorney of the county of the pupil's residence." Readmission is the board's or, after a suspension, the suspending officer's, on conditions each may set. (§ 33-205(3), (6)) For a student with an IEP or Section 504 plan, the disability layer lives on this site's Idaho special education page; the statute states directly that "Discipline of students with disabilities shall be in accordance with the requirements of federal law part B of the individuals with disabilities education act and section 504 of the rehabilitation act." (§ 33-205(2)) 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.