OCEANSIDE - School district trustees have expelled 10 students for what the trustees say were their actions in late March during a week of student walkouts throughout North County to protest proposed federal legislation to toughen laws against illegal immigration.

The expulsions were announced this week.

Oceanside Unified School District Director of Pupil Services Raye Clendening said trustees had considered expelling as many as 17 students. She said that after reviewing each case trustees decided there was sufficient evidence to expel 10 middle school and high school students.

District Superintendent Ken Noonan said Wednesday that expelled students weren't forced from district schools for simply being among the 200 students who walked out on March 29.

"It's more than just a simple act of defiance," Noonan said. "Some students actually hit teachers with objects."

The district expelled 164 students for the 2005-06 school year, slightly more than double the number of students expelled in 2004-05.

District officials declined to discuss the reasons for the expulsions of students involved in the walkouts, saying they're legally forbidden from disclosing information about students that could reveal their identities. But Clendening said trustees determined that the students violated the California Education Code by being defiant or disruptive.

On March 29, about 200 Oceanside High School students walked out of school but were stopped from leaving campus by police stationed in riot gear at campus entrances and exits. When students began shaking exit gates, officers released pepper-spray to keep them on campus. Police arrested three Oceanside students for allegedly throwing objects at officers.

A dozen students at Jefferson Middle School left school for a protest march that same day. A day earlier, between 300 and 400 students at Oceanside and El Camino high schools left school to protest through city streets.

The Oceanside students were among more than 1,200 from Vista, San Marcos, Carlsbad, Escondido, Encinitas and Ramona that left campuses to protest a House of Representatives bill that would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant in the country or to help one. The bill is still pending.

Following the protests, school officials reviewed separate videos shot by district officials and police during the March 29 protest to identify students who threw objects at police or who tried to break a campus gate. Noonan said last spring that students who were violent would be expelled.

On Wednesday, he reiterated those statements, saying "We have a zero-tolerance policy for violence."

After the clash with police, Noonan decided to close schools for the next two days, saying he was concerned about the possibility of violence. Noonan said at the time that school officials were also concerned about reports of racial tensions related to the protests on some campuses.

Clendening said students who are expelled typically are not allowed to attend district schools for one or two semesters. She said the state is required to offer an education to expelled students, and that the district's expelled students have been referred to an alternative school for juveniles run by the county Office of Education.

To be considered for readmission to one of the district's schools, Clendening said students must attend the alternative school regularly and be performing academically. She said the students are also often expected to attend counseling or anger management sessions.

To be re-enrolled in a district school, trustees generally want students to demonstrate that they've learned from their mistakes.

"You want them to reason through what happened and to respond differently next time," Clendening said.

- Contact staff writer Keith Rushing at (760) 901-4151 or krushing@nctimes.com.