Student Discipline

  • Conflicts are a part of daily life and making mistakes is a part of growing and learning. When a student’s behavior disrupts the learning environment, the school will use restorative practices, and when needed, the lowest level of corrective action needed to change the behavior. This means the school will first try to resolve the conflict and change the behavior without using suspension or expulsion, unless safety requires immediate removal.

    Definitions

    • Short-Term Suspension: When a school removes a student from one or more classes or subjects for 10 days or less.
    • Long-Term Suspension: When a school removes a student from one or more subjects or classes for 90 days or less.
    • Expulsion: When a school removes a student from school for 90 days or less (the superintendent can make it longer for health or safety reasons).
    • Emergency Expulsion: When a school removes a student from school for up to 10 school days in a row because the student is putting others in danger or is causing substantial disruption to learning. The school can turn this into another form of corrective action (like long-term suspension) before the 10 days is over.

What to Expect

During a suspension or expulsion:

  • The school will provide school assignments.
  • School staff are available to answer your questions and concerns.
  • Your child is not permitted to be at the school, even for extra-curricular activities.

Before a student returns to school after a long-term suspension or expulsion:

  • The school will invite you and your child to a re-engagement meeting to create a written plan that makes sure your child gets the support he/she needs to be successful moving forward and to repair harm and restore relationships.
  • You are welcome to bring support people from your family or community.

When a student returns from a short-term suspension:

  • A staff member at the school will check in with your child to make sure that they feel supported and welcomed back into the school community.
  • This check-in may include discussing what happened, repairing relationships, and identifying supports that your child needs to be successful moving forward. Your child’s voice is critical to this process.

If you disagree with your child’s suspension or expulsion:

For students with a 504 Plan or an Individual Education Program (IEP):

  • If your child is removed from school for more than 10 consecutive school days or a total of 10 or more school days in the same school year, the school will invite you to a Manifestation Determination meeting.
  • The purpose of this meeting is to find out if there is a relationship between your child’s disability and the behavior that led to the discipline.
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