AF Amistad High School Family Handbook 2017-2018 | 75 Informal Hearing Regarding Out-of-School Suspension Decisions When notified about an out-of-school suspension decision, a parent may request an informal conference with the principal and to present the scholar’s version of the incident and question the complaining witnesses against the scholar. The school may limit or prohibit questioning of other scholars if there is good reason to do so (e.g., bullying, harassment, or any other situation that might impact the social, emotional, or physical well-being of a scholar). This informal hearing will be scheduled as soon as possible and normally within one day. The out-of-school suspension will stand while the informal hearing is taking place, although it will be removed from the child’s record if the informal hearing reveals that the suspension decision was made in error. Work completion during suspension and documentation of suspensions Scholars are responsible for completing academic work missed during the suspension. During the suspension, scholars have the right to substantially equivalent education in addition to IEP services. The completed work will receive full credit if it is submitted by the deadlines in accordance with the school make-up policy. If a scholar does not complete this work, the scholar may face standard academic consequences (e.g. no academic credit). Re-entry from In School Suspension or Out of School Suspension We ask all scholars who are suspended to take the following steps before they re-enter the school or classroom. We believe that the following practices are essential to set up the scholar for success. The length of a longer suspension may be reduced (at the discretion of the principal) if the following are satisfied:  The scholar and parent meet with the principal, dean, or dean’s designee  The scholar writes a letter of apology of acceptable quality (as deemed by the principal or dean) based on the child’s academic level.  The scholar presents this letter to Achievement First staff and/or scholars.  Scholars who are suspended two or more times may be asked to submit a reasonable and genuine plan for improvement (based on a template / guidance given by the school). This plan must meet an acceptable quality bar (as deemed by the principal or dean), and it must be approved before re-entry.  The scholar may be asked to meet additional conditions if school staff believe these conditions will improve the likelihood of the scholar returning to school successfully. Additional Laws Regarding Suspension Based on Connecticut law, no student shall be placed on In School Suspension more than fifteen times or a total of fifty (50) days in one school year, whichever results in fewer days of exclusion, unless a formal disciplinary hearing is first granted.