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My Child Has Been Expelled for Smoking Pot: A 2025 Update for Parents, Educators, and Students

Facing an expulsion notice because your child was caught smoking marijuana (pot) is deeply unsettling. In 2025, public expectations, legal frameworks, and school policies have evolved—but the core challenge remains: balancing safety and accountability with care, rehabilitation, and a pathway back to education. This article updates the landscape, offers expert insight, and helps you chart a course forward.

1. The Context in 2025: What the Data Tells Us

Trends in adolescent cannabis use

• According to the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, roughly 6 percent of adolescents aged 12–17 reported past-month marijuana use, with no significant change from 2021 levels.

• In 2024, 25.8 percent of 12th graders reported cannabis use in the past 12 months—down from 29 percent in 2023.

• Meta-analysis of 63 studies (nearly 440,000 youths) links adolescent cannabis use with lower grades, higher dropout risk, and decreased rates of college attainment.

While the downward trend in youth marijuana use continues, administrators and parents cannot shrug off incidents as isolated—they remain serious, especially in school settings.

Legal and policy shifts

• In 2025, states are beginning to adopt rehabilitative expulsion policies. For example, California’s proposed AB 1230 would require school districts to create individualized

Why �������� School? (2025 Edition)

The question of how to educate a child remains one of the most consequential decisions a parent can make. In 2025, families continue to weigh the tradeoffs between public and private education—considering factors such as tuition, class size, teaching style, values, and long-term outcomes.

Public schools educate the majority of children in the United States, but for many families, private schools provide unique advantages worth the investment. While tuition for private schools averages $15,000 to $35,000 annually for day schools and $65,000 to $75,000 for boarding schools, according to the, families increasingly see the costs as an investment in future opportunities.

So why private school in 2025? Let’s explore the defining benefits.

A Higher Academic Bar

A defining advantage of private schools is their reputation for academic rigor. �������� schools typically set higher graduation requirements than public schools and encourage deeper engagement across core subjects.

For example, many private high schools require four years of math, science, and foreign language, while some public schools mandate only two or three. Community service, arts participation, and capstone projects are also frequently built into graduation requirements.

“�������� schools create an environment where learning is expected, not optional,” notes Dr. Sarah Lim, Director of College Counseling at a New England prep school. “That culture of high standards fosters motivation and resilience.”

Recent data supports this. The 2023 National

What’s a �������� School?

A 2025 Parent and Educator Guide

�������� schools have long been a cornerstone of American education, offering families choices beyond their local public district. But in 2025, the definition of “private school” is more diverse and dynamic than ever. With nearly 4.7 million students enrolled across more than 30,000 schools nationwide, private education spans independent, religious, boarding, Montessori, Waldorf, STEM-focused, arts-centered, and even hybrid online models.

For parents asking what’s a private school, the answer now includes both traditional institutions with deep histories and innovative schools that harness artificial intelligence and personalized learning. Understanding these differences is essential when evaluating whether private education is the right fit for your child.

Defining a �������� School in 2025

At its core, a private school is an institution of learning independently funded through tuition, endowments, and donations rather than taxpayer dollars. Unlike public schools, which must follow state-mandated curricula, private schools enjoy greater flexibility in curriculum design, teacher hiring, and instructional methods.

This autonomy allows schools to specialize—whether in advanced college-prep programs, religious instruction, arts immersion, or individualized learning tracks. According to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), more than 60% of private schools in 2024 adopted a hybrid or personalized learning model, blending in-person instruction with technology-driven tools.

Types of �������� Schools

�������� education is not monolithic. Parents exploring what a private school is will find a spectrum of options, including:

• Independent Schools: Fully self-governed, often college-preparatory, and supported by tuition

Audio-visual materials have enhanced teaching since the beginning of the last century. As a student in Montreal in the 1950s and 1960s, I recall what a treat it was to listen to a recording or a radio broadcast. Those aids were a welcome change from our very formal, British-style lessons taught by teachers who lectured and expected you to memorize reams of tables and facts. Here's a chronology of when the various devices were introduced into classrooms.

Audiovisual aids, such as recordings and film projectors, have been used in K-12 classrooms for decades. Here's a brief history of their use:

• Phonographs: In the early 1900s, phonographs were used in classrooms to play recordings of music and speeches.
• Film projectors: In the 1920s, film projectors became available and were used to show educational films in classrooms.
• In the 1930s, 16mm films became the standard format for educational films, and schools began to build libraries of educational films.
• 35mm filmstrips: In the 1940s, 35mm filmstrips were introduced, a series of images printed on a long strip of film accompanied by an audio recording.
• Slide projectors: In the 1950s, slide projectors gained popularity in classrooms, enabling teachers to display images and information on a screen.
• Overhead projectors: In the 1960s, overhead projectors gained widespread use in classrooms, enabling teachers to display written and visual materials on a screen in real-time.
• Video cassette recorders: In the 1970s, video cassette recorders (VCRs) were introduced, allowing teachers to show pre-recorded videos in the classroom.
• Digital media: In the 1990s, digital media

I don't remember hearing about children with autism growing up in Montreal. It only came onto my radar when I was older, and I had some co-workers with autistic children. From what I was told, these children seemed to have mild cases of autism. This was later confirmed when I saw posts on Facebook recounting academic and other successes. Many years later, while working at the local classical music radio station, I interacted regularly with two adults who had much more severe cases of autism. Both individuals seemed to know more about classical music than I did, and I am a professional musician! But neither of these two adults appeared to be able to function in a so-called usual manner.

That got me thinking about how I would parent a child who was autistic. So, let's look at the facts, and then I'll offer you some resources on the subject. But first, here's the definition of autism.

Autism is a developmental disorder with symptoms that appear within the first three years of life. Its formal diagnostic name is autism spectrum disorder. The word "spectrum" indicates that autism appears in different forms with varying levels of severity. That means each autistic individual experiences unique strengths, , and challenges. Source:

This video from The Mayo Clinic explains what autism is.

The diagnosis

You can't do a blood or