Missouri — school discipline
- The lines the state draws
- Missouri sets two lengths and attaches each to an officer. A school board "by general rule and for the causes provided in section 167.161, may authorize the summary suspension of pupils by principals of schools for a period not to exceed ten school days and by the superintendent of schools for a period not to exceed one hundred and eighty school days." (167.171(1)) The ten-day mark is also where the appeal opens: "In case of a suspension by the superintendent for more than ten school days, the pupil, the pupil's parents or others having such pupil's custodial care may appeal the decision of the superintendent to the board or to a committee of board members appointed by the president of the board which shall have full authority to act in lieu of the board." Expulsion is the board's own, "after notice to parents or others having custodial care and a hearing upon charges preferred", for conduct "which is prejudicial to good order and discipline in the schools or which tends to impair the morale or good conduct of the pupils." (167.161(1)) The statute also bars one shortcut: "Prior disciplinary actions shall not be used as the sole basis for removal, suspension or expulsion of a pupil."
- Offices and appeal bodies in these sources
- A principal suspends up to ten days and must report it upward — "Any suspension by a principal shall be immediately reported to the superintendent who may revoke the suspension at any time." The superintendent may suspend up to a hundred and eighty school days, subject to the board appeal above. On appeal, "the superintendent shall promptly transmit to it a full report in writing of the facts relating to the suspension, the action taken by the superintendent and the reasons therefor and the board, upon request, shall grant a hearing to the appealing party to be conducted as provided in section 167.161." (167.171(1)) Missouri states the character of that hearing directly, and names what lies beyond it: student discipline hearings "shall not be required to comply with the requirements applicable to contested case hearings as provided in chapter 536, provided that appropriate due process procedures shall be observed which shall include the right for a trial de novo by the circuit court." (167.161(3))
No state office, phone number, or email for parents appears in the sources; that absence is the finding. - Sources last checked
- Oct 24, 2026
Reproduced from the state's own statutes quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.
This page assembles what Missouri publishes in statute about K-12 school discipline: who may remove a student and how, the notice and hearing the statute requires, what continues during a removal, where the appeal route runs, and, because the statute leaves part of the procedure to each board's own general rule, a map of the questions answered only there. The fullest single statement is Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 167, and within it 167.161, 167.171, and 167.164; each section page on the Revisor's site carries its own session-law history rather than a single revision date, an absence recorded in the docket rather than filled. Missouri's own vocabulary appears throughout: summary suspension, custodial care, and the readmission conference required before certain suspended pupils return to a regular program of instruction. District general rules add procedural detail this page does not carry; the delegation map below points at exactly those questions. For a student with an IEP or Section 504 plan, the disability layer lives on this site's Missouri 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.
The framework, as the state writes it
Summary suspension (167.171(1)). The board-authorized route for a principal or superintendent to suspend a pupil directly is quoted in the docket: up to ten school days by a principal, up to a hundred and eighty by a superintendent, with a principal's suspension immediately reportable to the superintendent, who may revoke it at any time.
Expulsion and board-ordered removal (167.161(1)). The board's own power, "after notice to parents or others having custodial care and a hearing upon charges preferred", is quoted in the docket. The same subsection gives the board a second, narrower removal power: "a school board may authorize, by general rule, the immediate removal of a pupil upon a finding by the principal, superintendent, or school board that the pupil poses a threat of harm to such pupil or others, as evidenced by the prior conduct of such pupil."
Felony suspension (167.161(2)). A separate, lighter-weight route runs alongside expulsion: the board, "after notice to parents or others having custodial care and a hearing upon the matter, may suspend a pupil upon a finding that the pupil has been charged, convicted or pled guilty in a court of general jurisdiction for the commission of a felony criminal violation of state or federal law." The hearing this route requires is narrower than the one for expulsion: "At a hearing required by this subsection, the board shall consider statements that the parties present." The board "may provide for the procedure and conduct of such hearings." — a delegation distinct from the one for expulsion hearings, below.
Readmission conference after an act of school violence (167.171(3)). Missouri conditions a pupil's return, not just the removal itself: "No school board shall readmit or enroll a pupil properly suspended for more than ten consecutive school days for an act of school violence as defined in subsection 2 of section 160.261 regardless of whether or not such act was committed at a public school or at a private school in this state, provided that such act shall have resulted in the suspension or expulsion of such pupil in the case of a private school, or otherwise permit such pupil to attend school without first holding a conference to review the conduct that resulted in the expulsion or suspension and any remedial actions needed to prevent any future occurrences of such or related conduct." The statute also bars readmission outright for a defined set of adjudicated acts — the subsection lists eleven categories, from first degree murder to kidnapping in the first degree — unless the case was dismissed or the pupil was acquitted or adjudicated not to have committed the act. That bar carries its own exception for the layer this site's special education pages cover: "This subsection shall not apply to a student with a disability, as identified under state eligibility criteria, who is convicted or adjudicated guilty as a result of an action related to the student's disability." (167.171(3))
Enrolling during another district's suspension or expulsion (167.171(4)). "If a pupil is attempting to enroll in a school district during a suspension or expulsion from another in-state or out-of-state school district including a private, charter or parochial school or school district, a conference with the superintendent or the superintendent's designee may be held at the request of the parent, court-appointed legal guardian, someone acting as a parent as defined by rule in the case of a special education student, or the pupil to consider if the conduct of the pupil would have resulted in a suspension or expulsion in the district in which the pupil is enrolling." Whether the sending district's suspension or expulsion carries over turns on that determination, which the statute assigns to the receiving superintendent or designee.
Duty to educate (167.164). Neither suspension nor expulsion ends the state's or the parents' responsibility to educate the student; the statute is quoted in full under Services during exclusion, below.
Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 536, cited in 167.161(3) as the contested-case procedure student discipline hearings are excused from, and section 160.261, cited in 167.171(3) for the definition of an act of school violence, are named in the captured sections but not themselves captured in this review; see the source map.
The published process
- Notice and hearing before long-term exclusion
- Before any suspension, four conditions apply: "No pupil shall be suspended unless:" "The pupil shall be given oral or written notice of the charges against such pupil;" "If the pupil denies the charges, such pupil shall be given an oral or written explanation of the facts which form the basis of the proposed suspension;" "The pupil shall be given an opportunity to present such pupil's version of the incident; and" a fourth condition that suspends the penalty rather than the process where the suspension runs past ten days and is appealed: "In the event of a suspension for more than ten school days, where the pupil gives notice that such pupil wishes to appeal the suspension to the board, the suspension shall be stayed until the board renders its decision, unless in the judgment of the superintendent of schools, or of the district superintendent, the pupil's presence poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of disrupting the academic process, in which case the pupil may be immediately removed from school, and the notice and hearing shall follow as soon as practicable." (167.171(2)) Before an expulsion, the board's notice-and-hearing duty is quoted in the docket; at that hearing, "the board shall consider the evidence and statements that the parties present and may consider records of past disciplinary actions, criminal court records or juvenile court records consistent with other provisions of the law, or the actions of the pupil which would constitute a criminal offense." (167.161(1)) The hearing may also be given up: "After meeting with the superintendent or his designee to discuss the expulsion, the parent, custodian or the student, if at least eighteen years of age, may, in writing, waive any right to a hearing before the board of education." (167.161(1)) The district must try to get the family there: "The school board shall make a good-faith effort to have the parents or others having custodial care present at any such hearing." (167.161(3))
- Services during exclusion
- "Any suspension issued pursuant to section 167.161, or this section, or expulsion pursuant to section 167.161, shall not relieve the state or the suspended student's parents or guardians of their responsibilities to educate the student. School districts are encouraged to provide an in-school suspension system and to search for other acceptable discipline alternatives prior to using suspensions of more than ten days or expelling a student from the school." (167.164(1))
- The record made, and the appeal route, forum by forum
- A principal's suspension is reported to the superintendent, who "may revoke the suspension at any time." (167.171(1)) A suspension by the superintendent of more than ten school days may be appealed "to the board or to a committee of board members appointed by the president of the board which shall have full authority to act in lieu of the board", and on that appeal "the superintendent shall promptly transmit to it a full report in writing of the facts relating to the suspension, the action taken by the superintendent and the reasons therefor and the board, upon request, shall grant a hearing to the appealing party to be conducted as provided in section 167.161." (167.171(1)) Beyond the board, Missouri names the court route directly rather than leaving it to be inferred: student discipline hearings "shall not be required to comply with the requirements applicable to contested case hearings as provided in chapter 536, provided that appropriate due process procedures shall be observed which shall include the right for a trial de novo by the circuit court." (167.161(3))
- If the student has an IEP or Section 504 plan
- The disability layer (evaluations, the IEP team, manifestation determination, services during removal, and the dispute routes) lives on this site's Missouri special education page. The discipline statute itself states directly: "Removal of any pupil who is a student with a disability is subject to state and federal procedural rights." (167.161(1)) The readmission bar above carries the same cross-reference in its own terms: "This subsection shall not apply to a student with a disability, as identified under state eligibility criteria, who is convicted or adjudicated guilty as a result of an action related to the student's disability." (167.171(3))
The four rows above answer the questions an experienced adviser raises first, from the state's own statutes, or record that a question is not answered in them.
Timelines, as stated in the sources
All quoted; none calculated. From Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 167 as retrieved Sep 3, 2026.
On a principal's summary suspension: "not to exceed ten school days". (167.171(1))
On a superintendent's summary suspension: "not to exceed one hundred and eighty school days". (167.171(1))
On when the board appeal opens: "In case of a suspension by the superintendent for more than ten school days," an appeal may be taken to the board. (167.171(1))
On the stay pending appeal: where a suspension of more than ten school days is appealed, "the suspension shall be stayed until the board renders its decision, unless in the judgment of the superintendent of schools, or of the district superintendent, the pupil's presence poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of disrupting the academic process, in which case the pupil may be immediately removed from school, and the notice and hearing shall follow as soon as practicable." (167.171(2)(4))
On the readmission-conference trigger: the conference requirement applies to "a pupil properly suspended for more than ten consecutive school days for an act of school violence as defined in subsection 2 of section 160.261". (167.171(3))
On interdistrict cost transfers between districts: where alternative education has been provided by a district other than the pupil's district of domicile, and "the responsible district fails to pay the appropriate amount to the district within ninety days after a voucher is submitted, the state department of elementary and secondary education shall deduct the appropriate amount due from the next payments of any state financial aid due that district and shall pay the same to the appropriate district." (167.164(1)) This is a payment timeline running between districts and the state, not a step in a pupil's own removal, and is recorded here for completeness rather than as a fact a family would act on.
What any of this means for a particular situation is for the district, the board, and the courts to determine.
Assigned to district policy by the quoted provision
The statute writes the frame and expressly hands part of it to each district's board, by general rule. Each entry below is a question a district's own general rule answers, with the delegating text quoted. No district's general rule or code of conduct is captured or quoted here.
Whether summary suspension is authorized, and for what causes. The board must act "by general rule and for the causes provided in section 167.161" before principals and superintendents may summarily suspend pupils at all. (167.171(1))
Whether immediate removal for a threat of harm is authorized. In addition to the summary-suspension authority above, "a school board may authorize, by general rule, the immediate removal of a pupil upon a finding by the principal, superintendent, or school board that the pupil poses a threat of harm to such pupil or others, as evidenced by the prior conduct of such pupil." (167.161(1))
The procedure and conduct of expulsion and summary-suspension hearings. "The board may provide by general rule not inconsistent with this section for the procedure and conduct of such hearings." (167.161(1))
The procedure and conduct of felony-suspension hearings. A separate grant covers the felony-suspension hearings of 167.161(2): "The board may provide for the procedure and conduct of such hearings." (167.161(2))
Records access, as stated in the sources
The sources reviewed (167.161, 167.171, and 167.164) address what a board may weigh as evidence at a hearing — "the board shall consider the evidence and statements that the parties present and may consider records of past disciplinary actions, criminal court records or juvenile court records consistent with other provisions of the law" (167.161(1)) — but that is a rule about what the board may use, not a statement about a parent's access to, or the expungement of, a pupil's own discipline record. Inspection or expungement of a discipline record: not stated in the sources reviewed. Missouri's separate public-records and student-records statutes may address it and were not reached by this review; that is recorded as a gap for a later capture, not filled from another state. Federal records rights under FERPA are not restated here.
Source map
| Document | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Mo. Rev. Stat. 167.161 (suspension or expulsion; notice; hearing) | revisor.mo.gov | session-law history on the section page; no separate revision date; retrieved Sep 3, 2026 |
| Mo. Rev. Stat. 167.171 (summary suspension; appeal; procedure; conference) | revisor.mo.gov | session-law history on the section page; no separate revision date; retrieved Sep 3, 2026 |
| Mo. Rev. Stat. 167.164 (duty to educate; alternative education costs) | revisor.mo.gov | session-law history on the section page; no separate revision date; retrieved Sep 3, 2026 |
| Mo. Rev. Stat. 160.261 (discipline policy; acts of school violence) and chapter 536 (contested cases) | cited in the captured sections | capture pending |
| Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidance on student discipline | — | not located in this review; capture pending |
| District general rules on discipline and on the conduct of hearings | each board, per 167.161(1) and 167.171(1), (2) | never captured; the delegation map above points at them |
Change log
Aug 30, 2026 · Baseline page created (discipline-layer breadth sprint). Captured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/missouri-discipline.json: Mo. Rev. Stat. 167.161, 167.171, and 167.164, each from its own address at the Revisor of Statutes. Findings recorded: (1) Missouri splits its suspension power by officer — ten school days for a principal, a hundred and eighty for the superintendent — with a principal's suspension immediately reportable to the superintendent, who may revoke it at any time; (2) the ten-day mark opens an appeal to the board or to a committee of board members with full authority to act in its place; (3) where a suspension of more than ten days is appealed, the statute stays the suspension until the board decides, unless the superintendent judges the pupil a continuing danger — a stay that no other state captured so far grants by default, and one a family would need to know exists; (4) the four conditions owed before any suspension are stated in the section rather than left to policy; (5) the statute states expressly that student discipline hearings need not meet the state's contested-case requirements, while requiring appropriate due process and naming a right to a trial de novo by the circuit court — the narrowest characterization of a school hearing captured so far, paired with the broadest court route; (6) prior disciplinary actions may not be the sole basis for a removal, and the district must make a good-faith effort to have the family present at the hearing; (7) suspension and expulsion do not relieve the duty to educate, and districts are encouraged to use in-school suspension and other alternatives before removals beyond ten days; (8) no state office or parent contact appears in the sources. Not yet built, pending the deepening pass: sections 01–02 (framework, hoisted rows, timelines), the district delegation map, and records access. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-30. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.
Sep 3, 2026 · Deepened to full depth. Re-captured first-party under the same recipe (tools/recipes/missouri-discipline.json, digest f927b9b95565); the three statute sections verified unchanged in substance from the 2026-08-30 baseline. Built section 01 (the framework route by route: summary suspension, board expulsion and the narrower immediate-removal-for-threat power, the lighter-weight felony-suspension route, the readmission conference and categorical bar after an act of school violence, and the conference for a pupil enrolling during another district's suspension or expulsion), section 02's four hoisted rows, the timelines block, the district delegation map, and records access. Findings recorded rather than smoothed: (1) 167.171(3) bars readmission outright for eleven categories of adjudicated conduct, from first degree murder to kidnapping in the first degree, except where the case was dismissed or the pupil was acquitted, and expressly carves out a pupil with a disability who is convicted or adjudicated as a result of an action related to that disability — a second, distinct disability cross-reference alongside 167.161(1)'s; (2) the felony-suspension route of 167.161(2) runs a lighter hearing than expulsion — the board "shall consider statements that the parties present" rather than evidence and disciplinary records — and carries its own, separate delegation of hearing procedure to the board, distinct from the one in 167.161(1); (3) the interdistrict cost-transfer timeline in 167.164(1) (a ninety-day payment window between districts, backstopped by a state deduction from aid) is recorded under Timelines for completeness though it is not a step in a pupil's own removal; (4) the Revisor's page for both 167.161 and 167.171 carries a 2022 case annotation beneath the statute text; per MODULE-DISCIPLINE.md's no-case-law rule, that annotation was read and excluded from this page entirely — neither quoted nor summarized — because it is a court's holding, not the statute; (5) records access (inspection or expungement of a pupil's own discipline record) is not stated in the three sections reviewed; the only records-adjacent text found is 167.161(1)'s rule on what the board may weigh as evidence at a hearing, which is a different question and is recorded as such rather than conflated. Capture pending: Mo. Rev. Stat. 160.261 and chapter 536 (both cited in the captured sections but not themselves fetched), DESE discipline guidance (not located in this review), and any separate state board or agency regulation on general K-12 discipline (none located). Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.