STATE'S ONE-STRIKE RULE CHALLENGED BY PARENT

A parent has asked the Modesto City Schools Board of Education to hear a
public challenge to the state's "one strike, you're out" discipline policy.

The case dates from December when Noubar Toutikian's 15-year-old son,
Raffee, showed up at Beyer High School with a folding jackknife -- with a 1
3/4-inch blade -- attached to his keychain.

Raffee's principal and a three-member administrative panel say he should be
expelled.

His father thinks his son has learned his lesson. And Raffee, who has been
banned from campus since Dec. 6, thinks the whole thing has been blown out
of proportion.

"I guess I should get suspended, but not expelled," he said. "I think that
is too much."

The school board's Monday night agenda includes Raffee's proposed
expulsion, a matter that normally would be decided in closed session.

Noubar Toutikian, who gave The Bee copies of his son's discipline records
and grades, has asked the board to hold a public hearing, and consider his
side of the story, before it votes.

District officials said they will discuss Toutikian's request with the
board behind closed doors.

The officials said the school board gets two or three requests for public
hearings each year. The board has these options: It can hear such cases in
open session, it can ask administrative panels to rehear the cases, or it
can consider the cases in private.

"They have always upheld the administrative panel hearing," said Randy
Fillpot, director of child welfare and attendance.

District officials said the board is likely to deny the request for a
public hearing. Even if the board holds a hearing, the Toutikians could
have a difficult time making their case.

Modesto expulsions higher

Expulsion rates in Modesto City Schools are significantly higher than
statewide averages, according to data from the 2000-01 school year, the
latest available from the California Department of Education.

The district also is less likely to order suspended-expulsions, which let
students enroll in other district schools as long as they agree to certain
conditions and cause no more trouble.

In 2000-01, principals in Mo-desto City Schools recommended expulsions for
86 students who were caught with knives, explosives or other dangerous objects.

The school board expelled 85 of them, or 99 percent, and gave
suspended-expulsions to 27 students, or 31 percent.

Statewide, principals recommended expulsions for 4,398 students who were
caught with knives, explosives or other dangerous objects.

School boards expelled 3,589 of them, or about 82 percent, and gave
suspended-expulsions to 1,851 students, or 52 percent.

Under the "one strike" policy, state law requires that school officials
recommend expulsion for any student who possesses a knife. The board may
give any punishment, or none, as long it documents the outcome.

A student caught with a firearm, brandishing a knife, selling a controlled
substance or committing a sexual assault or battery is automatically expelled.

Jim Pfaff, associate superintendent of administrative and pupil services
for Modesto City Schools, said the district appears stricter than others
because it takes a firm and consistent approach to school safety.

"Schools are safer because we consistently apply our conduct code," he
said. "We have clear consequences for behaviors."

Students who are kicked out of school can enroll in alternative- education
programs run by the Stanislaus County Office of Education or at private
schools.

Noubar Toutikian said he asked for a public hearing because he thinks the
circumstances of his son's case call for lesser discipline.

He said his son has never been in fights, although he got in trouble for
being tardy and talking back to teachers during his freshman year, and in
September was caught with marijuana and suspended for three days.

He also said his son's grades -- mostly B's, C's and D's -- had been
improving, in part because he has been grounded since the marijuana incident.

And he said his son handed his keys, with the knife attached, to a physical
education teacher at least 10 times before anyone said there was a problem.

Raffee Toutikian said he gave the keys to his teacher because his home was
broken into in November. He said he suspected a former friend in his
physical education class and did not want to leave the keys in his locker.

It never occurred to him that the knife was a problem, he said, although he
now understands that it is.

Panel recommends expulsion

An administrative panel on Jan. 14 said the young man should be expelled
for the rest of the year, and may apply for readmission this summer.

Raffee Toutikian enrolled Tuesday at the Petersen Alternative Center for
Education, an alternative program run by the county Office of Education,
but he wants to return to Beyer.

He said he had used the knife as a carving tool at home, slipped it onto
his keychain because he thought it was cool, and never intended to use it
as a weapon.

Noubar Toutikian said he is disgusted with the whole situation, which he
calls "overkill," and noted that he could not get his son's homework from
Beyer until the district intervened in mid-January.

He said he will appeal to the county Board of Education if the district
expels his son.

"This punishment doesn't fit the crime," Noubar Toutikian said. "It just
doesn't."

The Board of Education's Tuesday meeting is scheduled to start with a 5
p.m. closed session, during which it is expected to consider Noubar
Toutikian's request for an open hearing. The board is expected to announce
its decision at the start of the open meeting, set for 6 p.m