Filed 1/17/23 (unmodified opn. attached)

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT

(Sacramento) ----

NATOMAS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, C093475

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 34-2019-8000- 3194-CU-WM-GDS) v.

ORDER MODIFYING

SACRAMENTO COUNTY BOARD OF OPINION AND DENYING

EDUCATION, REHEARING

Defendant and Appellant, NO CHANGE IN JUDGMENT

I.O., a Minor, etc.,

Real Party in Interest and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Sacramento County, Michael W. Jones, Judge. Reversed.

Teresa Stinson, Elizabeth Linton; Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin Law Corporation and Brendan J. Begley for Defendant and Appellant.

1 DLA Piper US, Stanley J. Panikowski, Gaspard Rappoport and Amanda McCaffrey for Former School District Superintendents as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Michael L. Newman, Assistant Attorney General, Srividya Panchalam, Benjamin T. Conway, Carly J. Munson and Alexis M. Piazza, Deputy Attorneys General for the Attorney General of California as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant.

C. Athena Roussos; Mary M. Sechser for Real Party in Interest and Appellant.

Abigail Trillin, William S. Koski; Cynthia L. Rice, Reina Canale, Phyllis Shafton Katz; Nedra Shawler and Joyeta Basu for Youth & Education Law Project Stanford Law School, California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., and Legal Services for Children as Amici Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest and Appellant.

Alexandra Santa Ana, Mona Tawatao; Stephanie Horwitz, Michael Harris; Victor Leung; Linnea Nelson, Brandon Greene; Jonathan Markovitz and Bardis Vakili for Equal Justice Society, National Center for Youth Law, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California and ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties as Amici Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest and Appellant.

Mary Louise Frampton as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest and Appellant.

Orbach Huff & Henderson and Sarah L.W. Sutherland for Plaintiff and Respondent.

THE COURT:

It is ordered that the opinion filed herein on December 22, 2022, be modified as follows:

On page 24, the following footnote is added to the end of the first full paragraph, before part III of the Discussion:

In a petition for rehearing, the District argues it should have an opportunity to conduct a new hearing on I.O.’s proposed expulsion from his middle school—even though, at this point, I.O. has long since graduated from his middle school. The District argues a rehearing would be appropriate under

2 section 48923, subdivision (a), which provides: “If the county board finds that relevant and material evidence exists which . . . was improperly excluded at the hearing before the governing board, it may do either of the following: [¶] (1) Remand the matter to the governing board for reconsideration . . . . [¶] (2) Grant a hearing de novo upon reasonable notice thereof to the pupil and to the governing board.” But the District did more than exclude relevant and material evidence; it also failed to conduct the appropriate inquiry under section 48915. For that reason, we reject the District’s reliance on section 48923, subdivision (a). (See § 48923, subd. (c) [for most types of legal errors, the county board will not remand the matter for a new hearing; it will instead enter an order “reversing the decision of the governing board”].)

This modification does not change the judgment. Respondent’s petition for rehearing is denied.

FOR THE COURT:

/s/ ROBIE, Acting P. J.

/s/

BOULWARE EURIE, J.

/s/

HOCH, J.

 Retired Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.

3 Filed 12/22/22 (unmodified opinion)

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT

(Sacramento) ----

NATOMAS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, C093475

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 34-2019-8000- 3194-CU-WM-GDS) v.

SACRAMENTO COUNTY BOARD OF

EDUCATION,

Defendant and Appellant;