Ohio — school discipline
- The lines the state draws
- On suspension: "the superintendent of schools of a city, exempted village, or local school district, or the principal of a public school may suspend a pupil from school for not more than ten school days." (R.C. 3313.66(A)(1)) On expulsion: the superintendent "may expel a pupil from school for a period not to exceed the greater of eighty school days or the number of school days remaining in the semester or term in which the incident that gives rise to the expulsion takes place," subject to the section's stated exceptions and extensions. (R.C. 3313.66(B)(1)) On emergency removal: "if a pupil's presence poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of disrupting the academic process taking place either within a classroom or elsewhere on the school premises, the superintendent or a principal or assistant principal may remove a pupil from curricular activities or from the school premises, and a teacher may remove a pupil from curricular activities under the teacher's supervision, without the notice and hearing requirements of division (A) or (B) of this section." (R.C. 3313.66(C)(1))
- Offices and appeal bodies in these sources
- Suspension and expulsion decisions belong to district officers; the appeal is stated: "A pupil or the pupil's parent, guardian, or custodian may appeal the pupil's expulsion by a superintendent or suspension by a superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator to the board of education or to its designee." At that hearing, "The pupil or the pupil's parent, guardian, or custodian may be represented in all appeal proceedings and shall be granted a hearing before the board or its designee in order to be heard against the suspension or expulsion." (R.C. 3313.66(E)) The record and the court route are stated: "The board or its designee shall make a verbatim record of hearings held under this division. The decisions of the board or its designee may be appealed under Chapter 2506. of the Revised Code."
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 Ohio publishes in statute about K-12 school discipline: who may remove a pupil and how, the notice and hearing the statute requires, what continues during a removal, what record follows a pupil, and, because the statute assigns much of the detail to each district's board policy, a map of the questions answered only there. The statute's own vocabulary appears throughout: suspension, expulsion, removal, permanent exclusion, an adjudication order, the pupil's superintendent, custodian. District board policies 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 Ohio 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
Suspension (Sec. 3313.66(A)). The superintendent or principal "may suspend a pupil from school for not more than ten school days." "The board of education of a city, exempted village, or local school district may adopt a policy granting assistant principals and other administrators the authority to suspend a pupil from school for a period of time as specified in the policy of the board of education, not to exceed ten school days." "Each school district board shall adopt a policy establishing parameters for completing and grading assignments missed because of a pupil's suspension." That policy "shall prohibit the receipt of a failing grade on a completed assignment solely on account of the pupil's suspension."
Expulsion generally (Sec. 3313.66(B)(1)). The superintendent "may expel a pupil from school for a period not to exceed the greater of eighty school days or the number of school days remaining in the semester or term in which the incident that gives rise to the expulsion takes place, unless the expulsion is extended pursuant to division (F) of this section."
Mandatory one-year expulsion — firearms (Sec. 3313.66(B)(2)). "Unless a pupil is permanently excluded pursuant to section 3313.662 of the Revised Code, the superintendent of schools of a city, exempted village, or local school district shall expel a pupil from school for a period of one year for bringing a firearm to a school operated by the board of education of the district or onto any other property owned or controlled by the board, except that the superintendent may reduce this requirement on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the policy adopted by the board under section 3313.661 of the Revised Code."
Board-authorized expulsions up to one year (Sec. 3313.66(B)(3)–(5)). A board may by resolution authorize the superintendent to expel for up to one year for bringing to school, or possessing at school, "a knife capable of causing serious bodily injury"; for committing an act "that is a criminal offense when committed by an adult and that results in serious physical harm to persons" or property; or for "making a bomb threat to a school building or to any premises at which a school activity is occurring at the time of the threat."
Board-authorized expulsion for imminent and severe endangerment (Sec. 3313.66(B)(6)). A board may by resolution authorize the superintendent to expel "for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty school days for actions that the superintendent determines pose imminent and severe endangerment to the health and safety of other pupils or school employees, even though the pupil's actions may not qualify for permanent exclusion under section 3313.662 of the Revised Code." The superintendent must develop written reinstatement conditions and arrange a psychiatric or psychological assessment; at the end of the term, "the superintendent shall assess the pupil and determine whether the pupil has shown sufficient rehabilitation to be reinstated." If not, the superintendent may extend the expulsion "for an additional period not to exceed ninety school days". "There is no limit on the number of times the superintendent may extend an expulsion under division (B)(6)(a) (ii) of this section."
Notice and hearing before expulsion (Sec. 3313.66(B)(7)). No pupil may be expelled unless the superintendent first "Gives the pupil and the pupil's parent, guardian, or custodian written notice of the intention to expel the pupil" and "Provides the pupil and the pupil's parent, guardian, custodian, or representative an opportunity to appear in person before the superintendent or the superintendent's designee to challenge the reasons for the intended expulsion or otherwise to explain the pupil's actions." "The time to appear shall not be earlier than three nor later than five school days after the notice is given, unless the superintendent grants an extension of time at the request of the pupil or the pupil's parent, guardian, custodian, or representative."
A withdrawn pupil (Sec. 3313.66(B)(8)). The superintendent "shall initiate expulsion proceedings pursuant to this section with respect to any pupil who has committed an act warranting expulsion under the district's policy regarding expulsion even if the pupil has withdrawn from school for any reason after the incident that gives rise to the hearing but prior to the hearing or decision to impose the expulsion."
Emergency removal (Sec. 3313.66(C)). Where a pupil poses "a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of disrupting the academic process taking place either within a classroom or elsewhere on the school premises", the superintendent, a principal, an assistant principal, or a teacher (from the teacher's own class) may remove the pupil "without the notice and hearing requirements of division (A) or (B) of this section." A pupil in pre-kindergarten through grade three so removed "may be removed pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section only for the remainder of the school day and shall be permitted to return to curricular and extracurricular activities on the school day following the day in which the student was removed." That limit does not apply to a pupil who has committed an act described in Sec. 3313.668(B)(1)(a)-(b).
Permanent exclusion (Sec. 3313.662). Separately from suspension and expulsion, "The director of education and workforce, pursuant to this section and the adjudication procedures of section 3301.121 of the Revised Code, may issue an adjudication order that permanently excludes a pupil from attending any of the public schools of this state" where the pupil, at sixteen or older, is convicted of or adjudicated delinquent for one of a list of serious offenses the section names, committed on school property or against a board employee. "A pupil may be suspended or expelled in accordance with section 3313.66 of the Revised Code prior to being permanently excluded" under this section.
The published process
- Notice of charges and the hearing right before long-term exclusion
- For suspension, the superintendent or principal must first "Gives the pupil written notice of the intention to suspend the pupil and the reasons for the intended suspension" and "Provides the pupil an opportunity to appear at an informal hearing before the principal, assistant principal, superintendent, or superintendent's designee and challenge the reason for the intended suspension or otherwise to explain the pupil's actions." (Sec. 3313.66(A)(1)) For expulsion, the notice and in-person hearing requirements and the three-to-five-school-day timing are quoted in the framework above. (Sec. 3313.66(B)(7))
- Services during exclusion
- During a suspension, "The policy shall provide the pupil an opportunity to do both of the following: (i) Complete any classroom assignments missed because of the suspension; (ii) Receive at least partial credit for a completed assignment." The policy also "shall prohibit the receipt of a failing grade on a completed assignment solely on account of the pupil's suspension." (Sec. 3313.66(A)(3)) For a pupil expelled up to 180 days for imminent and severe endangerment, "the superintendent, in consultation with the pupil, the pupil's parent, guardian, or custodian, and the pupil's IEP team, as defined in section 3323.01 of the Revised Code, if the pupil has one, shall develop a plan for the continued education of the pupil, which may include education by the district in an alternative setting under division (I) of this section, including instruction at home, enrollment in another district or other type of public or nonpublic school, or any other form of instruction that complies with Chapter 3321. of the Revised Code." (Sec. 3313.66(B)(6)(f)) More generally: "Whenever a student is expelled under this section, the expulsion shall result in removal of the student from the student's regular school setting. However, during the period of the expulsion, the board of education of the school district that expelled the student or any board of education admitting the student during that expulsion period may provide educational services to the student in an alternative setting." (Sec. 3313.66(I))
- The record made, and the appeal route
- "The superintendent or principal, within one school day after the time of a pupil's expulsion or suspension, shall notify in writing the parent, guardian, or custodian of the pupil of the expulsion or suspension." That notice must include "notification of the right of the pupil or the pupil's parent, guardian, or custodian to appeal the expulsion or suspension to the board of education or to its designee, to be represented in all appeal proceedings, to be granted a hearing before the board or its designee in order to be heard against the suspension or expulsion, and to request that the hearing be held in executive session". (Sec. 3313.66(D)) The appeal itself: "A pupil or the pupil's parent, guardian, or custodian may appeal the pupil's expulsion by a superintendent or suspension by a superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator to the board of education or to its designee." "The board or its designee shall make a verbatim record of hearings held under this division. The decisions of the board or its designee may be appealed under Chapter 2506. of the Revised Code." (Sec. 3313.66(E))
- If the pupil has an IEP or Section 504 plan
- The disability layer (evaluation, the IEP team, manifestation determination, services during removal, and the dispute routes) lives on this site's Ohio special education page. The discipline statute itself names the IEP team as a required participant in the continued-education planning quoted above where the pupil has one. (Sec. 3313.66(B)(6)(f))
The four rows above answer the questions an experienced advocate 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 R.C. 3313.66, 3313.661, and 3313.662, as retrieved Oct 24, 2026.
On the length of a suspension: "not more than ten school days." (Sec. 3313.66(A)(1))
On the length of an expulsion generally: "not to exceed the greater of eighty school days or the number of school days remaining in the semester or term in which the incident that gives rise to the expulsion takes place". (Sec. 3313.66(B)(1))
On the mandatory firearm expulsion: "a period of one year", reducible case-by-case under board policy. (Sec. 3313.66(B)(2)(a))
On the imminent-and-severe-endangerment expulsion: "not to exceed one hundred eighty school days", extendable "for an additional period not to exceed ninety school days" at a time, with no stated limit on the number of extensions. (Sec. 3313.66(B)(6))
On the continued-education plan after a (B)(6) expulsion: "Not later than fifteen school days after the beginning of the original expulsion period or of any extended expulsion period under division (B)(6) of this section for a pupil who does not have an individualized education program", or "not later than ten school days" for a pupil who has one. (Sec. 3313.66(B)(6)(f))
On notice before an expulsion hearing: "shall not be earlier than three nor later than five school days after the notice is given", extendable at the pupil's or parent's request. (Sec. 3313.66(B)(7))
On notice of the decision: "within one school day after the time of a pupil's expulsion or suspension" (Sec. 3313.66(D))
On the appeal-notice deadline the board's own policy sets: the board's policy "shall not specify a date that is less than fourteen days after the date of the notice provided to the pupil or the pupil's parent, guardian, or custodian under division (D) of that section." (Sec. 3313.661(A))
On an emergency-removal hearing: it must be "held on the next school day after the initial removal is ordered." (Sec. 3313.66(C)(3))
On agency-referral information: required in the notice where "Any superintendent expelling a pupil under this section for more than twenty school days or for any period of time if the expulsion will extend into the following semester or school year". (Sec. 3313.66(D))
What any of this means for a particular situation is for the agency and its processes to determine.
District delegation map
The statute writes the frame and expressly hands the detail to each district's board of education, largely through the policy R.C. 3313.661 requires. Each entry below is a question a district's own board policy answers, with the delegating text quoted. No district's code of conduct is captured or quoted here.
The suspension, expulsion, removal, and permanent-exclusion policy itself. "the board of education of each city, exempted village, and local school district shall adopt a policy regarding suspension, expulsion, removal, and permanent exclusion that specifies the types of misconduct for which a pupil may be suspended, expelled, or removed." (Sec. 3313.661(A)) "A copy of the policy shall be posted in a central location in the school or on the district's web site and made available to pupils upon request. No pupil shall be suspended, expelled, or removed except in accordance with the policy adopted by the board of education of the school district in which the pupil attends school, and no pupil shall be permanently excluded except in accordance with sections 3301.121 and 3313.662 of the Revised Code." (Sec. 3313.661(A))
Who beyond the superintendent and principal may suspend, and for how long. "The board of education of a city, exempted village, or local school district may adopt a policy granting assistant principals and other administrators the authority to suspend a pupil from school for a period of time as specified in the policy of the board of education, not to exceed ten school days." (Sec. 3313.66(A)(1))
Whether the knife, serious-harm, and bomb-threat expulsion categories exist in a district at all, and their terms. Each requires its own board resolution: for a knife capable of serious bodily injury, "The board of education of a city, exempted village, or local school district may adopt a resolution authorizing the superintendent of schools to expel a pupil from school for a period not to exceed one year" for the acts described; for serious physical harm and for bomb threats, the board "may adopt a resolution establishing a policy under section 3313.661 of the Revised Code that authorizes the superintendent" to do the same. (Sec. 3313.66(B)(3)–(5)) Where a board adopts the knife resolution, "the policy shall define the term "knife capable of causing serious bodily injury" or "firearm," as applicable, for purposes of expulsion under that resolution and shall specify any reasons for which the superintendent of the district may reduce any required expulsion period on a case-by-case basis." (Sec. 3313.661(A))
Whether the up-to-180-day endangerment expulsion exists in a district, and its reinstatement guidelines. The category itself requires a board resolution (Sec. 3313.66(B)(6)), and "If a board of education adopts a resolution pursuant to division (B)(6) of section 3313.66 of the Revised Code, the board shall establish guidelines for appropriate conditions that the superintendent may develop pursuant to division (B)(6) of section 3313.66 of the Revised Code." (Sec. 3313.661(E)) The district superintendent separately "shall develop a list of alternative educational options for pupils who are expelled under division (B)(6) of section 3313.66 of the Revised Code." (Sec. 3313.661(F))
The date and manner for notifying the board of an intent to appeal. "The policy adopted under this division shall specify the date and manner by which a pupil or a pupil's parent, guardian, or custodian may notify the board of the pupil's, parent's, guardian's, or custodian's intent to appeal an expulsion or suspension to the board or its designee pursuant to division (E) of section 3313.66 of the Revised Code", subject to the fourteen-day floor for expulsions quoted in the timelines above. (Sec. 3313.661(A))
Whether community service is offered in place of or alongside a suspension or expulsion. "A board of education may establish a program and adopt guidelines under which a superintendent may require a pupil to perform community service in conjunction with a suspension or expulsion imposed under section 3313.66 of the Revised Code or in place of a suspension or expulsion imposed under section 3313.66 of the Revised Code except for an expulsion imposed pursuant to division (B)(2) of that section." (Sec. 3313.661(B))
A note on this delegation apparatus: Sec. 3313.661 was amended by House Bill 455 (136th General Assembly), and its source page states an effective date of October 9, 2026. The version quoted here is that one, as retrieved Oct 24, 2026; the change log records what the amendment changed in the policy-posting sentence quoted above.
Records access, as stated in the sources
For an expulsion under the imminent-and-severe-endangerment category, the district must report to the state: "A board shall provide the department of education and workforce records of each expulsion made under division (B)(6) of this section and any changes to a pupil's expulsion status. Such records shall not include a pupil's name" and must include the school's name, the reasons and duration of the expulsion, the district's total expulsions that year, and "The pupil's age, gender, race, and other demographic information." (Sec. 3313.66(B)(6)(h)) A transfer carries the record forward: "A district or school to which a pupil with an expulsion record under division (B)(6) of this section transfers may request such records from the district in which the pupil was enrolled prior to the transfer or from the department." (Sec. 3313.66(B)(6)(i))
The permanent-exclusion process draws directly on a pupil's disciplinary history: the board of education, before voting to seek permanent exclusion, reviews "The disciplinary record of the pupil and any available records of the pupil's prior behavioral problems other than the behavioral problems contained in the disciplinary record" among other factors (Sec. 3313.662(C)(2)(b)), and once it adopts a resolution, "the board of education immediately shall forward to the director of education and workforce the written resolution, proof of the conviction or adjudication that is the basis of the resolution, a copy of the pupil's entire school record, and any other relevant information" as part of the same act that forwards a copy of the resolution to the pupil and the pupil's parent, guardian, or custodian. (Sec. 3313.662(D)(1))
Expungement of a suspension or expulsion record is not stated in the sources reviewed (R.C. 3313.66, 3313.661, 3313.662). Federal records rights under FERPA are federal and are not restated here.
Source map
| Document | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| R.C. 3313.66 (suspension, expulsion, removal procedures) | codes.ohio.gov | page states effective April 9, 2025; retrieved Oct 24, 2026 |
| R.C. 3313.661 (board policy on suspension, expulsion, removal, permanent exclusion) | codes.ohio.gov | page states effective October 9, 2026 (House Bill 455, 136th General Assembly); retrieved Oct 24, 2026 |
| R.C. 3313.662 (permanent exclusion by adjudication order) | codes.ohio.gov | page states effective October 3, 2023; retrieved Oct 24, 2026 |
| R.C. 3313.668 (in-school-alternative limits, cross-referenced repeatedly) | cited in the sections above | capture pending |
| Chapter 2506 (court appeal from an administrative decision) | cited in the sections above | capture pending |
| R.C. 3301.121 (adjudication hearing procedure for permanent exclusion) | cited in the sections above | capture pending |
| ODEW guidance on student discipline | — | not located in this review; capture pending |
| District board policies | each district, per R.C. 3313.661 | never captured; the delegation map above points at them |
Change log
Oct 24, 2026 · Policy-posting provision rebuilt against the amended R.C. 3313.661 (attended drift resolution). Recaptured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/ohio-discipline.json (digest 373b0910f519), by curl, three sections. What moved, and which kind of drift it was: a quotation the source now states in different words. The amendment this page flagged on Sep 1, 2026 has taken effect: the R.C. 3313.661 source page now states an effective date of October 9, 2026 and names House Bill 455 of the 136th General Assembly, and it no longer carries the notice "A new version of Section 3313.661 exists that takes effect October 9, 2026". In division (A), the sentence this page quoted as "A copy of the policy shall be posted in a central location in the school and made available to pupils upon request." now reads "A copy of the policy shall be posted in a central location in the school or on the district's web site and made available to pupils upon request." No other text of R.C. 3313.66, 3313.661 or 3313.662 moved. The recapture also no longer carries a Legislative Service Commission copyright block that the server had printed as unrendered template markup; this page never quoted it. The delegation map now quotes the amended sentence, the capture-time note about a pending version is retired, and the docket, timelines and source map carry the new retrieval date. First detected by the nightly review on Oct 15, 2026 and re-detected unchanged on Oct 22, 2026 and Oct 24, 2026 (FA-Q-20261015-01). Not yet captured, unchanged: R.C. 3313.668, Chapter 2506, R.C. 3301.121, and ODEW guidance. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter (review confirmed 2026-10-24). Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.
Sep 1, 2026 · Deepened to a full page (discipline-layer deepening pass). Re-captured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/ohio-discipline.json: R.C. 3313.66, 3313.661, and 3313.662 from codes.ohio.gov, unchanged in substance from the Aug 29, 2026 baseline capture (dates refreshed only). Built sections 01–02 (the framework route by route, the four hoisted process rows, the timelines section, the district delegation map, and records access) from those same three sections; no additional source was needed to reach full depth. Findings recorded: (1) the appeal route is fully stated in the statute — to the board or its designee, with representation, a verbatim record, and court review under Chapter 2506; (2) the statute layers several board-authorized expulsion categories (knife, serious physical harm, bomb threat, imminent and severe endangerment) atop the general 80-day expulsion and the mandatory one-year firearm expulsion, each requiring its own board resolution, and the up-to-180-day endangerment category carries its own rehabilitation-assessment and reinstatement apparatus; (3) an expulsion under the endangerment category triggers a state reporting duty (no pupil name) and a transfer-records right, and the permanent-exclusion process draws on the pupil's disciplinary record and forwards the pupil's entire school record to the state director, but expungement of any record is not stated in the sections reviewed; (4) the R.C. 3313.661 source page itself flags a version taking effect October 9, 2026, after this review's capture; the page quotes the version effective April 9, 2025, current as of this review; (5) no state office or contact for parents appears in the sources. Not yet captured: R.C. 3313.668, Chapter 2506, R.C. 3301.121, and ODEW guidance. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.
Aug 29, 2026 · Baseline page created (discipline-layer breadth sprint). Captured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/ohio-discipline.json: R.C. 3313.66, 3313.661, and 3313.662 from codes.ohio.gov, which serves the sections statically. Findings recorded: (1) the appeal route is fully stated in the statute — to the board or its designee, with representation, a verbatim record, and court review under Chapter 2506; (2) the statute states one-school-day written-notice clocks after a suspension or expulsion and next-school-day hearing clocks after an emergency removal, to be carried in the full page's timelines section; (3) no state office or contact for parents appears in the sources; (4) R.C. 3313.668 (the in-school-alternative limits the captured sections repeatedly reference) and Chapter 2506 are cited but not yet captured. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-29. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.
Oct 16, 2026 · Internet Archive captures recorded. Captures requested this date by an automated capture pass; no human review is claimed for this entry. No quotation, date, finding or link above was changed by it. Each capture below was requested through Save Page Now and then confirmed to play back. Captures added: codes.ohio.gov → https://web.archive.org/web/20261016044139/https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3313.662. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.