Massachusetts — school discipline

Governing authority stated in the sources

Three statutes and one regulation, and which statute applies depends on what the student is accused of. M.G.L. c. 71, § 37H (student handbooks; weapons, controlled substances, and assault on staff), § 37H½ (felony complaint or conviction), and § 37H¾, which states its own scope: "This section shall govern the suspension and expulsion of students enrolled in a public school in the commonwealth who are not charged with a violation of subsections (a) or (b) of section 37H or with a felony under section 37H1/2." (§ 37H¾(a)) The procedure for that residual and largest category is in 603 CMR 53.00 (Student Discipline), which the Department publishes with its own currency line: "Most Recently Amended by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education: September 19, 2023".
The three statute pages carry no publication or amendment date of their own, so the statutory dates on this page are retrieval dates. — 603 CMR 53.00, retrieved Aug 29, 2026

The lines the state draws

At ten days, and by a duty that runs before any line is reached. On the duty: a decision-maker "shall consider ways to re-engage the student in the learning process; and shall not suspend or expel a student until alternative remedies have been employed and their use and results documented, following and in direct response to a specific incident or incidents, unless specific reasons are documented as to why such alternative remedies are unsuitable or counter-productive" — the strongest pre-exclusion requirement in this layer. (§ 37H¾(b)) At ten days two things attach. The right to appeal must be told to the parent: "If a student has been suspended or expelled for more than 10 school days for a single infraction or for more than 10 school days cumulatively for multiple infractions in any school year, the student and the parent or guardian of the student shall also receive, at the time of the suspension or expulsion decision, written notification of a right to appeal and the process for appeal". (§ 37H¾(d)) And services attach: "Any student who is expelled or suspended from school for more than ten consecutive days, whether in school or out of school, shall have an opportunity to receive education services and to make academic progress toward meeting state and local requirements, through the school-wide education service plan." (603 CMR 53.13(2)) For the youngest students the regulation adds a check rather than a cap: "If the student is in a preschool program or in grades K through 3, the principal shall send a copy of the written determination to the superintendent and explain the reasons for imposing an out-of-school suspension, before the short-term suspension takes effect." (603 CMR 53.08(2)(d))

Offices and appeal bodies in these sources

The principal decides; the superintendent hears the appeal; the district is the end of the road. "A student who is placed on long-term suspension following a hearing with the principal shall have the right to appeal the principal's decision to the superintendent." (603 CMR 53.09(1)) The clocks are stated on both sides: "The superintendent shall hold the hearing within three school days of the student's request, unless the student or parent requests an extension of up to seven additional calendar days, in which case the superintendent shall grant the extension", and "The superintendent shall issue a written decision within five calendar days of the hearing". (603 CMR 53.09(3), (7)) Two protections sit in that same subsection. The appeal cannot make things worse: if the superintendent finds the offence committed, the superintendent "may impose the same or a lesser consequence than the principal, but shall not impose a suspension greater than that imposed by the principal's decision." And the proceeding is recorded: "The superintendent shall arrange for an audio recording of the hearing, a copy of which shall be provided to the student or parent upon request." (603 CMR 53.09(7), (5)) Where it stops is stated too: "The decision of the superintendent shall be the final decision of the school district, charter school, or virtual school, with regard to the suspension." (603 CMR 53.09(8))
No state office, phone number, or email for parents appears in the sources reviewed. That absence is the finding.

Sources last checked

Aug 29, 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 Massachusetts 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. What a student is entitled to at the principal's hearing rises with what is at stake, and the regulation says so directly: "The principal shall determine the extent of the rights to be afforded the student at a disciplinary hearing based on the anticipated consequences for the disciplinary offense. If the consequence may be long-term suspension from school, the principal shall afford the student, at a minimum, all the rights set forth in 603 CMR 53.08(3) in addition to those rights afforded to students who may face a short-term suspension from school." (603 CMR 53.08(1)) Where a long-term suspension is possible, the added rights are listed: "In advance of the hearing, the opportunity to review the student's record and the documents upon which the principal may rely in making a determination to suspend the student or not;" "the right to be represented by counsel or a lay person of the student's choice, at the student's/parent's expense;" "the right to produce witnesses on his or her behalf and to present the student's explanation of the alleged incident, but the student may not be compelled to do so; and" "the right to cross-examine witnesses presented by the school district; and" "the right to request that the hearing be recorded by the principal, and to receive a copy of the audio recording provided to the student or parent upon request." (603 CMR 53.08(3)(b)) Even at the short-term hearing the regulation states what the parent may do: the principal "shall provide the parent, if present, an opportunity to discuss the student's conduct and offer information, including mitigating circumstances, that the principal should consider in determining consequences for the student." The determination must be written and must carry the make-up-work opportunity: the principal "shall notify the student and parent of the determination and the reasons for it, and, if the student is suspended, the type and duration of suspension and the opportunity to make up assignments and such other school work as needed to make academic progress during the period of removal". (603 CMR 53.08(2)(a), (c)) That opportunity is not limited to short suspensions: "Any student who is serving an in-school suspension, short-term suspension, long-term suspension, or expulsion shall have the opportunity to earn credits, as applicable, make up assignments, tests, papers, and other school work as needed to make academic progress during the period of his or her removal from the classroom or school. The principal shall inform the student and parent of this opportunity in writing when such suspension or expulsion is imposed." (603 CMR 53.13(1)) For a student with an IEP or Section 504 plan, the disability layer lives on this site's Massachusetts 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.