The authority of the state and of local school boards to prescribe and enforce standards of conduct for public school students must be exercised consistently with constitutional safeguards of individual student rights. The right to a public education is not absolute; it may be taken away, temporarily or permanently, for violations of school rules. The right to a public education is a property right which may only be denied where school authorities have adhered to the minimum procedural safeguards required to afford the student due process of law. This section prescribes minimum requirements for detention, in-school suspension, and temporary, long-term or permanent removal of students from public schools. Local school boards may adopt procedures which afford students more protection than this rule requires. The procedures in this section apply only to disciplinary detentions, suspensions, and expulsions. They do not apply to disenrollment of students who fail to meet immunization, age, residence, or other requirements for valid enrollment, nor to the removal from school membership reports of students who have been absent from school for 10 consecutive school days in accordance with Subsection B of Section 22-8-2 NMSA 1978. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting school boards or administrative authorities from involving other school staff, students, and members of the community in the enforcement of rules of student conduct to the extent they believe is appropriate.
C. Immediate removal. Students whose presence poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of interfering with the educational process may be immediately removed from school, subject to the following rules:
(1) A rudimentary hearing, as required for temporary suspensions, shall follow as soon as possible;
(2) Students shall be reinstated after no more than one school day unless within that time a temporary suspension is also imposed after the required rudimentary hearing. In such circumstances, a single hearing will support both the immediate removal and a temporary suspension imposed in connection with the same incident(s); and
(3) The school shall exert reasonable efforts to inform the student's parent of the charges against the student and the action taken as soon as practicable. If the school has not communicated with the parent by telephone or in person by the end of the school day following the immediate removal, the school shall on that day mail a written notice with the required information to the parent's address of record.