This article proposes that the concept of "educational state of exception" (based on Giorgio Agamben's idea of the "state of exception") can productively explain a history of school administration, teachers, and class organization observed by the author at a school in a leper village. The educational state of exception found at the leper school has three primary aspects: (1) The educational state of exception is a method that operates outside of the normal order; it is neutral, possessing both just and unjust properties (from the just side, it can offer education to those who otherwise would not receive it; from the unjust side it can turn into a kind of exclusion, excluding an exceptional group from public education); (2) the educational state of exception wavers between the normal and the abnormal; and (3) the educational state of exception can be a tool of modern educational governance; it suspends the rules of the normal order while guaranteeing the most rudimentary rights to an exceptional group. The history of education in the leper village illustrates the meaning of this specialized term. It also shows us that we need to pay attention to the educational state of exception and utilize its positive functions but avoid its negative consequences; it leads us to use extreme educational exclusion as a lens through which to consider the real meaning of educational equality.