Mill Valley School Board Holds Special Meeting on Student Expulsion Case

The Mill Valley School District board held a special meeting this week to discuss the details of a student expulsion case that involved a host of allegations, including injuring another student, possessing a firearm or a weapon, attempting to damage school property, disrupting school activities and possession of an imitation firearm.

District officials declined to comment "due to the confidential subject matter of the hearing." The district is required under the Ralph Brown Act to report out to the public if it took any action in its closed session hearing on the matter.

Here are the sections of the California Education Code cited by the district in its review of the expulsion case:

48900. A pupil shall not be suspended from school or recommended for expulsion, unless the superintendent of the school district or the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines that the pupil has committed an act as defined pursuant to any of subdivisions (a) to (r), inclusive:    

• (a) (1) Caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to cause physical injury to another person.   
  (b) Possessed, sold, or otherwise furnished a firearm, knife, explosive, or other dangerous object, unless, in the case of possession of an object of this type, the pupil had obtained written permission to possess the item from a certificated school employee, which is concurred in by the principal or the designee of the principal
• (f) Caused or attempted to cause damage to school property or private property.   
  (k) Disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties. (m) Possessed an imitation firearm. As used in this section, "imitation firearm" means a replica of a firearm that is so substantially similar in physical properties to an existing firearm as to lead a reasonable person to conclude that the replica is a firearm.