Pupil Disciplinary Hearing Panel PDHP
The Board of Education developed the process in which student expulsion cases are heard by an impartial panel called the Pupil Disciplinary Hearing Panel (PDHP). A student who is referred by a principal to the Pupil Disciplinary Hearing Panel (PDHP) must participate in a hearing to determine whether he / she should be recommended to be expelled from the District due to certain violations. While Education Code requires the Pupil Disciplinary Hearing Panel (PDHP) to follow these procedures when hearing expulsion cases, the panel actively works with District staff and students to try to keep students in school. The panel does this by developing strategies to support students and schools to help prevent minor classroom offenses from growing into critical violations that could lead to students’ expulsions.
Goals/Priorities
- Develop intervention strategies to help prevent minor classroom disruptions from growing into referrals for expulsion
- Reduce the number of students referred to the Pupil Disciplinary Hearing Panel (PDHP) for non-critical offenses
- Ensure that students who are referred to the Pupil Disciplinary Hearing Panel (PDHP) receive a fair hearing
How Our Work is a Part of the Strategic Plan
OUSD is committed to creating and maintaining safe, positive learning communities that nurture and inspire every child to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. The Pupil Disciplinary Hearing Panel (PDHP) supports the District’s work of developing positive school cultures by creating a disciplinary process for those students who create dangerous and unsafe environments at schools. While hearing expulsion cases is one of the primary responsibilities of the PDHP, the ultimate goal of the panel is to support students and staff by empowering them to prevent minor offenses from growing into situations that could result in unsafe learning environments at schools.
Programs and Services
For Students:
- Support students and families by providing them with information and answering questions about the expulsion process and their rights throughout the process
- Interview students expelled from other districts to be placed at OUSD’s Community Day School
- Refer students, when appropriate, to local community or District programs and services
For Schools and Staff:
- Support schools in answering questions about the expulsion process
- Provide training to District staff about the expulsion process and interventions that can be used to reduce expulsion referrals
- Work with the District’s Legal department to respond to appeals to the County
General Services:
- Schedule and hold expulsion hearings
- Schedule and hold re-admission, admission, and reinstatement hearings
- Review expulsion paperwork to ensure that they comply with Education Code mandates
- Present expulsion referrals to the District’s Board of Education