District Corrective Actions or Punishment
District Corrective Actions or Punishment
All students shall submit to the reasonable rules of the district. Refusal to comply with written rules and regulations established for the governing of the school shall constitute sufficient cause for discipline, suspension or expulsion. Corrective action and/or punishment for misconduct must reflect good faith effort on the part of the staff. For the purposes of the district's policies relating to corrective action or punishment:
- "Expulsion" is the exclusion from school or individual classes for an indefinite period.
- "Suspension" is the exclusion from school, or individual classes for a specific period of time, after which the student has a right to return.
- A suspension is "short term" if it is for a period of 5 consecutive school days or less. Separate short-term suspensions shall not total more than 10 school days in a semester for any student in grades K-4. Separate short-term suspensions shall not total more than 15 days in a semester for a student in any other grade. Students' grades shall not be affected substantially as a result of a short-term suspension.
- Suspensions which exceed 10 consecutive school days are long-term suspensions.
- "Discipline" constitutes all other forms of corrective action or punishment, including brief exclusions from a class for not more than the remainder of the class period, including exclusion from any other type of activity conducted by or for the district. Discipline shall not adversely affect specific academic grade, subject, or graduation requirements, so long as all required work is performed.
As a general rule no student shall be suspended for a short or long term unless other forms of corrective action or punishment reasonably calculated to modify his/her conduct have previously been imposed upon the student as a consequence of misconduct of the same nature. However, a student may be suspended for exceptional misconduct, other than absenteeism, when such misconduct is of frequent occurrence or is serious in nature and/or is disruptive to the operation of the school. The superintendent, following consultation with a representative committee of administrators, staff, parents, and citizens, shall recommend for board approval, the nature and extent of the corrective actions and/or punishments which may be imposed as a consequence of prescribed misconduct. An exception may be granted by an administrator and/or hearing officer when warranted by extenuating circumstances. Suspensions or expulsions shall be used only for instances of serious student misconduct.
Prior to the imposition of a corrective action or punishment upon a special education student, the school principal and special education staff who have knowledge of the student's handicapping condition will determine if there is a causal relationship between the handicapping condition and the misconduct giving rise to the corrective action or punishment. When a relationship is found to exist, special education programming procedures shall be employed.
Once a student is expelled in compliance with district policy, the expulsion shall be brought to the attention of appropriate local and state authorities, including, but not limited to, the local juvenile authorities acting pursuant to the statutes dealing with the Basic Juvenile Court Act, in order that such authorities may address the student's educational needs.
No student shall be expelled, suspended, or disciplined in any manner for the performance of or failure to perform any act not related to the orderly operation of the school or school sponsored activities or any other aspect of the educational process.
The superintendent shall have the authority to discipline, suspend or expel students. The superintendent shall identify the conditions under which a teacher may exclude a student for all or any portion of a school day and shall also designate which staff have the authority to initiate or to impose discipline, suspensions or expulsions.
The following actions are considered exceptional misconduct for students. Corrective actions will be imposed as a consequence of exceptional misconduct.
- Possessing, selling and/or using alcohol, drugs, illegal chemical substances, or improper use of inhalants or over the counter drugs
- Threatening or verbal abuse, fighting or fighting words, all forms of harassment or for situations where administrative staff feel there is a threat to staff or students
- Setting fire or damaging school, staff, or other students' property
- Possession and/or using weapons or explosive devices
- Possessing and/or using firearms
- Possessing/using tobacco products
- Disrupting the educational process
- Interference by force or violence
- Theft