What a North Carolina public school must do when it suspends or expels your child — the caps, the hearing, and where the appeal clock actually lives.
Federal floor (all states): notice of the charges, an explanation of the evidence if your child denies them, and a chance to tell their side before a suspension of up to 10 days (Goss v. Lopez). With an IEP, the federal discipline clock adds the 10-school-day manifestation review and the 45-school-day interim-setting rules (34 CFR §§300.530–300.536).
Longest single suspension: 10 school days.
Hearing: No long-term suspension may be imposed until an opportunity for a formal hearing is provided to the student (G.S. 115C-390.8(c)); expulsion requires a hearing before the governing body before the student is expelled (G.S. 115C-390.11(a))..
Appeal deadline: state law does not set one — it is in your district's code of conduct / grievance policy. Send the protective appeal letter today and make the district confirm its deadline in writing.
Longest expulsion: Indefinite exclusion from school enrollment (definition of expulsion, G.S. 115C-390.1(b)(5)); expulsion is limited to a student 14 years of age or older whose continued presence is a clear threat to the safety of other students or school staff, with notice of the right to petition for readmission (G.S. 115C-390.11(a), 115C-390.12).
Sources: G.S. 115C-390.1, 115C-390.5, 115C-390.6, 115C-390.7, 115C-390.8, 115C-390.11
Rules checked October 2026 — every rule on this page is cited to its source. Verify day counts against your district's official calendar.
Every letter, checklist, and worksheet for this fight, filled with your state's rules — yours to keep, no subscription.
$39 one-time payment