Ed. Code, § 48901.1

Notwithstanding Section 47610 or any other law, the following provisions apply to charter schools:

(a) (1) A pupil enrolled in a charter school in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 5, inclusive, shall not be suspended on the basis of having 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, and those acts shall not constitute grounds for a pupil enrolled in a charter school in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to be recommended for expulsion.

(2) A pupil enrolled in a charter school in any of grades 6 to 8, inclusive, shall not be suspended on the basis of having 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. This paragraph is inoperative on July 1, 2029.

(3) Except as provided in Section 48910, commencing July 1, 2024, a pupil enrolled in a charter school in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, shall not be suspended for any of the acts described in paragraph (1). This paragraph is inoperative on July 1, 2029.

(4) (A) A certificated or noncertificated employee may refer a pupil to charter school administrators for appropriate and timely in-school interventions or supports from the list specified in subdivision (b) of Section 48900.5 for any of the acts described in paragraph (1).

(B) A charter school administrator shall, within five business days, document the actions taken pursuant to subparagraph (A) and place that documentation in the pupil’s record to be available for access, to the extent permissible under state and federal law, pursuant to Section 49069.7. The charter school administrator shall, by the end of the fifth business day, also inform the referring certificated or noncertificated employee, verbally or in writing, what actions were taken and, if none, the rationale used for not providing any appropriate or timely in-school interventions or supports.

(b) A pupil enrolled in a charter school in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, who voluntarily discloses their use of a tobacco product, controlled substance, alcohol, or an intoxicant of any kind in order to seek help through services or supports shall not be suspended solely for that disclosure.