Ask an Expert: Judy Goddess
Using California School Law To Advocate For Your Kids

Questions from past weeks (most recent at top):

Will homeschooling my middle school child affect his ability to enter the public high school?

Can I challenge our school's refusal to let my son into the GATE program?

Does my daughter have to follow the school dress code?

Is it legal and fair that my son was expelled for bringing a pellet gun to school?

How can I get my daughter's teacher to give her credit for work she did at home during an illness?

How do I get my daughter’s school to assess her attention deficit problem?

Can I insist that my daughter opt out of a required middle school course?

Can the principal force my child to transfer to another school in the middle of the year?

Should we let our son be tested for dyslexia?

Can a parent refuse to keep a child in a class for English learners?

Can we request a particular teacher for our child?

How can we convince my son's middle school to let him into the honors program, where he belongs?

Why would my smart child need an IEP?

Can my child's teacher force her to repeat kindergarten?

Do GATE students have rights?

What rights do non-custodial parents have to school information?

Can my child be expelled for tardiness?

What rights do parents have to remove a problem teacher from school?

When do I have the right to transfer my child to the school I prefer?

Do low test scores or declining enrollment in a district indicate poor teaching?

What can I do about teachers who are insensitive to my daughter's speech disorders and memory problems?

Is there any fair reason for a principal to suspend a kindergartner?

How can I help my son enroll in a better high school outside our district?

Must my son be expelled for being caught with a small pocketknife?

Can my son's expulsion result in his losing credit for the classes he's taken?

What does a School Site Council really do?

Is it my right to review and appeal my child's school records?

My son's teacher is abusive and teaches poorly, yet the vice principal won't act on my complaints.

Am I legally required to give a social security number to my child's school?

To what extent is my dyslexic daughter's school supposed to help her learn?

Now that my daughter has an Individual Education Plan (IEP), can I trust that the school will hold to the terms of the agreement?

To what extent is our district responsible to provide an accelerated program?

Can a high school refuse to accept community college credits?

Can the principal flunk my daughter, solely because she was out sick for nine days?

Can community college or homeschooling courses serve as a substitute for high school credits?

Can a principal stop me from applying to another school in this district?

Can a teacher knock down a student's grades for taking excused absences?

Are schools required by law to meet with parents when they request it?

Gaining access to a school district's budgets and expense records

Questioning a teacher's grading system

Pursuing Independent Studies in High School

Age-Appropriate Lessons for Kindergarten

Observing Kindergarten Classes

Appealling a possibly undeserved bad grade

Keeping in Touch with Your School

Equivalency Degrees for Drop-outs

Title I funding

Tracking

Girls' sports programs

Using test scores to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers

Doubts about new teachers

Keeping a good substitute

Saturday detention

When your district turns down your request for the school of your choice

New vs. old math

Holding a third-grader back a year

Excessive suspensions

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