Student Discipline

School’s Responsibility To maintain a safe environment conducive to learning Have the legal responsibility to maintain safe, violence free schools Includes the establishment of a code of conduct including specific consequences for violations of the code of behavioral conduct

Procedural Protections for Students Not Yet Eligible for Special Educ. Students who have not yet been determined eligible for special education and related services may assert disciplinary protections under IDEA if the school had a basis of knowledge that the child is a child with a disability before the behavior that precipitated the disciplinary action occurred. The school is deemed to have knowledge if: 1. The child’s parent expressed concern in writing to the school that the child is in need of special education services 2. The parent requested a special education evaluation 3. The child’s teacher or other school personnel expressed specific concerns to the director of special education or to an administrator about a pattern of behavior .

The school is not deemed to have knowledge of a disability if: The parents have not allowed an evaluation or has refused special education and related services Or, the child was evaluated and determined not to be a child with a disability.

Manifestation Determination Any child who has an IEP, or 504 plan is afforded procedural protections. After a child has been suspended 10 days a behavior Manifestation determination must be held. (Can be held before 10 days). The determination is made by the district, the parent and relevant Team members.

Manifestation Determination Requirements A review of all information in the student’s file including the IEP, teacher observations, and relevant information provided by the parents. The Team must determine whether: 1.The conduct in question was caused by or had a direct and substantial relationship to the child’s disability; or 2. The conduct in question was the direct result of the district’s failure to implement the student’s IEP. 34 CFR S 300.530(e)

Manifestation Determination If the MD is a manifestation of the disability: The parents must be given written notice of the proposed change in placement. Have the right to a due process hearing. An FBA must be completed (can be in the form of a clinical interview) and a Behavior Improvement Plan must be implemented.

If the Behavior is NOT a manifestation of the disability: The school is required to provide the student with access to regular education services and special education services at the cost of the school. An FBA may be completed and a BIP may be implemented.

Students on 504 Plans If it is related to a disability, the student can not be removed from the setting. If is not related to the disability, the school does not have to provide ANY educational services (student is regarded as a student without a disability).

Placement Generally, no school can change the placement of a child without a Team meeting and consent of the parent HOWEVER, schools have been granted provisions under the law to automatically change a students placement when the disciplinary conduct is a “special circumstance”.

IAES: Interim Alternative Educational Setting A principal can remove a student to an IAES for not more than 45 days, regardless of the results of the manifestation determination meeting. Special circumstances exist if the student: * carries a weapon to or possesses a weapon at school, on the school premises, or to or at a school function under the jurisdiction of a school * knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs, or sells or solicits the sale of a controlled substance, while at school, on school premises, or at a school function. * inflicts serious bodily injury upon another person while at school, on school premises or at a school function (34 CFR s 300.530(g)

Definition of serious bodily injury A bodily injury that involves a substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty. 34 CFR s 300.530(i)(3).

ZERO Tolerance - What Is it? Zero – Tolerance originated from state and federal drug enforcement policies in the 1980’s. It was first initiate by the Navy in 1983 to crack down on the use of drugs by military personnel

In 1986 the U.S. attorney in San Diego implemented the policy to impound a seacraft carrying any amount of drugs. By 1988, the U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese authorized customs to seize boats, automobiles, and passports of anyone crossing the border with even trace amounts of drugs and to charge those individuals in federal court.

People who had their private property confiscated for small amounts of drugs approached the ACLU who was prepared to file a suit against the program. After two research vessels were seized for small amounts in 1990, the zero-tolerance policy was quietly discontinued on a federal level.

However….. The term “zero tolerance” had caught on and by 1993 the public school system had begun to incorporate it’s policies in schools.

1990’s – There was a growing concern about school safety. Parents and school administrators were struggling with an influx of weapons, drugs, and violence in the schools.

School boards nation wide adopted the zero tolerance policy for: weapons and drugs. Some individual schools expanded on the policy to include broad sweeping terms such as “ gang activity” and “disruptive students”.

As a school policy zero – tolerance should be reserved for the most serious crimes not for minor non-violent offenses. However, it has become the primary standard fro disciplining everything from actual gun possession to guns drawn on a piece of paper.

There are few guidelines regarding Zero Tolerance Results: Four kindergartners at Wilson Elementary School in Sayreville, NJ were suspended for three days for playing a make believe game of cops and robbers during recess, using their fingers as guns… the case is now before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gun-Free Schools Act 1994 – Gun-Free Schools Act was passed Requires that each state have in effect a state law that states any student caught carrying a gun on school property will have a “ mandatory one-year expulsion”.

The law also required that school’s receiving federal ESEA funds must adopt a policy requiring referral to the criminal justice or juvenile delinquency system of any student who brings a firearm to school. Each state law must allow the chief administering officer of the school to modify the expulsion requirement on a case-by-case basis.

GFSA states that nothing in the GFSA shall be construed to prevent a state from allowing a school that has expelled a student from that student’s regular school setting from providing educational services to that student in an alternative setting

The GFSA requires states to provide annual reports to the Secretary of Education. The Secretary is required to report to Congress if any state is not in compliance with the GFSA.

Massachusetts General Law MGL Chapter 71, 37 1/2 H Students / children have felony charges against them. A principal or headmaster of a school may suspend a student’s charged with felony’s for any period of time if they determined that the student’s “continued presence in school would have a substantial detrimental effect on the general welfare of the school”.

If a student is convicted of a felony or upon an adjudication or admission, in a court of guilt, the principal or headmaster of a school in which the student is enrolled may expel the student if the principal determines that the student’s continued presence in school would have a substantial detrimental effect on the general welfare of the school. The student has the right to appeal the expulsion to the superintendent. The student must put the request in writing no later than five calendar days following the effective date of the expulsion.

The superintendent shall have the authority to overturn or alter the decision of the principal, including recommending an alternate education program for the student. The superintendent will render a decision on the appeal within five calendar days of the hearing. Such decision shall be the final decision of the city, town, or regional school district with regard to the expulsion. Upon expulsion, no school or school district shall be required to provide educational services to the student (Added by St. 1993,c.380, s.2)