Expulsion Structure
According to the CPS policy manual adopted in 2010, expelling students is divided into two categories: expelling students with disabilities, and those without disabilities. Expulsion is done through a hearing when a student has served a mandatory suspension of 10 days. After a hearing, the expulsion ranges between 11 days and 2 years for each incident. Non-disabled in CPS can be expelled due to: fighting, kidnapping, bullying, arson, violence, bomb threats, gang activity, and stealing. Disabled in CPS can be expelled due to the same reasons but if the offense is due to disability, then there would be no expulsion for the students.
Control of Structures and Decisions
Decisions and structures are guided by SCC (Students Code of Conduct) formulated by Board of Education. Decisions are made to address student misconduct, and can be appealed. Factors considered before decisions are: age, prior conduct, student attitude, level of guardian involvement, willingness to change, severity of offence, and willingness to enroll in assistance program. The structure of the decisions are categorized into: age appropriate discipline; balanced and restorative justice; student uniform & dress code policies; discipline in military academies; anti-bullying statement; dating violence; and discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation statement.
Objective and Strategy to Decrease Expulsions
The objective of CPS is to decrease expulsion of students by introducing innovative alternatives for out of school expulsions. The strategies for achieving the objective are: relocating learners to supervised suspension classrooms run by the district; parents made to accompany students to school for a portion of the school day; and students providing community service on school grounds during non-school hours. For disabled learners, the school can carry out a pre-expulsion assessment before placement to prevent re-occurrences of inappropriate behavior.
Psychological Concept of Student Behavior
Children prone to expulsions are those that are: least supervised, near and below poverty level, have single parents, victims of drug abuse, depressed, or mentally ill (Wayne 199). Expulsions add to depressions, force them to be more violent, or engage in crime. They need extra adult supervision and professional help. Absence of professional help has been proved to lead to permanent school drop-out (Wayne 201).
How can Parents be part of Authority Structure?
They can aid in enforcing standards of student conduct & compulsory school attendance. Parents should always be available for contacting when allegations towards their children are made. Take part of the due process so that they can appeal for unfair decisions on behalf of their children. Assist in seeking alternative schooling and professional help for expelled students so that they do not miss out on education. Keep proper records of student’s misconduct reports and other records for future references or when need of professional help.
Works Cited
Policy Manual. Student code of conduct for the Chicago public schools for the 2010-2011 school year. (July 28th, 2010). Available at:
Wayne, Steven L. Encyclopedia of School Psychology. California: SAGE Publishers. 2005. Print. : 199-207
