Charter School Disenrolled Student for Skipping Tests — ALJ Rules It Was Not an Expulsion

What Happened

Student was a 14-year-old enrolled in Empire Springs Charter School's independent study homeschool program for the 2018-2019 school year. He began the year eligible for special education under an IEP, but his mother revoked consent for special education services effective April 1, 2019, making him a general education student. When Mother later requested a new initial special education evaluation on April 5, 2019, she believed this action had automatically reinstated her son's special education status — but legally, it did not.

Empire Springs required all students to complete either the state standardized test (the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress) or an alternative charter school exam each year as a condition of reenrollment — unless the student had an active IEP or 504 Plan. Because Student no longer had an IEP, his exemption from testing no longer applied. Mother opted him out of both exams entirely. Empire Springs warned the family multiple times in writing that failure to complete testing could result in the student not being eligible to reenroll the following year. After Student did not complete any required testing, Empire Springs disenrolled him effective June 13, 2019. Parents filed an expedited due process hearing, claiming the disenrollment was an illegal expulsion violating IDEA discipline protections for students with disabilities.

What the ALJ Found

The ALJ ruled entirely in favor of Empire Springs, finding that the disenrollment was not a disciplinary action and that the IDEA's discipline protections did not apply. Key findings included:

1. Student was a general education student at the time of disenrollment. When Mother revoked consent for special education services on April 1, 2019, Student lost all IEP protections. Her subsequent request for a new initial evaluation on April 5 did not rescind the revocation or reinstate special education status. He remained a general education student.

2. Failing to complete testing was not a student code of conduct violation. The IDEA's discipline protections (20 U.S.C. § 1415(k)) only apply when a student is removed for violating a student code of conduct. Not taking required tests was not a disciplinary infraction by the student — it was a contractual breach by the parent under the signed Student Agreement.

3. The disenrollment was contractual, not punitive. Both Student and Mother had signed a Student Agreement committing to complete required annual testing. The Student Agreement explicitly warned that failure to comply could result in inability to reenroll. Empire Springs enforced this agreed-upon policy.

4. No expulsion restrictions applied. Unlike expelled students, Student was free to enroll in any other school district without board approval — further evidence that this was not an expulsion.

5. Empire Springs provided multiple written warnings. The school sent letters in March, April, and May 2019 advising the family of testing requirements and the consequences of non-participation. Parents did not appeal the disenrollment through Empire Springs' internal appeals process as they were invited to do.

What Was Ordered

1. All relief requested by Student and Parents was denied.
2. Empire Springs was declared the prevailing party on the sole issue presented.
3. The ALJ expressly noted that this decision made no ruling on whether Empire Springs' disenrollment policy complied with any other provisions of federal or state law — leaving open potential challenges on other legal grounds.

Why This Matters for Parents

1. Revoking special education consent has immediate and serious consequences. The moment a parent revokes consent for special education services, the child loses all IEP protections — including protections during discipline and from policies that apply differently to general education students. Do not revoke consent without fully understanding what your child will lose.

2. Requesting a new evaluation does NOT automatically restore special education status. Many parents assume that asking for a re-evaluation puts their child "back in" special education. It does not. Your child remains a general education student until a full evaluation is completed, an IEP team finds eligibility, and you provide new consent to the IEP.

3. Student Agreements with charter schools are binding contracts. When you sign a Student Agreement, you are entering into a legal contract. Understand every requirement — including mandatory testing — before signing. Non-compliance can result in disenrollment even if your child did nothing wrong behaviorally.

4. IDEA discipline protections only apply to students currently receiving special education. The special procedural safeguards around suspension, expulsion, and manifestation determinations only protect students who have an active IEP or, in limited cases, where the school has "basis of knowledge" that a disability exists AND the removal is for a code-of-conduct violation. They do not apply to disenrollments based on contractual non-compliance.

5. Always exhaust internal school appeals before filing due process. Empire Springs offered Parents a formal appeals process in its disenrollment letter. Parents did not use it. While this did not legally bar the hearing, using every available internal remedy first can sometimes resolve disputes faster and strengthens your legal record if litigation is needed later.