The Board believes inappropriate student conduct causes material and substantial disruption to the school environment, interferes with the rights of others, and/or presents a threat to the health and safety of students, personnel, and visitors on school premises. Appropriate classroom behavior allows teachers to communicate more effectively with students.
Students shall conduct themselves in a manner fitting to their age level and maturity and with mutual respect and consideration for the rights of others while in school, on school property, in school owned and/or operated school or chartered vehicles; attending or engaged in school events, acting as a representative of the school district, or while away from school grounds if misconduct will directly affect the good order, efficient management, and welfare of the school district. Consequences for the misconduct will be fair and developmentally appropriate in light of the circumstances.
Students will be informed of the building regulations which they must follow. Students who fail to abide by this policy and the building regulations supporting it, or whose conduct disrupts or interferes with the education program or the efficient operation of the school district or activity, or whose conduct disrupts the rights of other students to obtain their education or participation, or whose conduct is violent or destructive, or whose conduct interrupts the maintenance of a disciplined atmosphere shall be subject to disciplinary measures.
Discipline will be administered depending on the severity and frequency of the acts of misconduct. The imposition of discipline will be within the discretion of the individual responsible for imposing the discipline. In instances where there has been a violation of the law, as well as school rules, appropriate law enforcement officials will be contacted and may become involved in the district’s administration of discipline. The school reserves the right to seek restitution from the parents/guardians of a student or the student for damage caused by the student.
Discipline may include, but is not limited to, removal from the classroom, detention, restriction from activities, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, probation, and expulsion. These disciplinary measures are defined as follows:
- Removal from the classroom means a student is sent to the building principal’s office. It is within the discretion of the person in charge of the classroom to remove the student.
- Detention means the student’s presence is required during non-school hours for disciplinary purposes. The student can be required to appear prior to the beginning of the school day, after school has been dismissed for the day, or on a non-school day. Whether a student will serve detention, and the length of the detention, is within the discretion of the licensed employee disciplining the student or the building principal.
- Suspension means either an in-school suspension, an out-of-school suspension, a restriction from activities, or loss of eligibility. An in-school suspension means the student will attend school but will be temporarily isolated from one or more classes while under supervision. An in-school suspension will not exceed ten consecutive school days. An out-of-school suspension means the student is removed from the school environment, which includes school classes and activities. An out-of-school suspension will not exceed ten days. A restriction from school activities means a student will attend school and classes and practice but will not participate in school activities.
- Probation means a student is given a conditional suspension of a penalty for a definite period of time in addition to being reprimanded. The conditional suspension will mean the student must meet the conditions and terms for the suspension of the penalty. Failure of the student to meet these conditions and terms will result in immediate reinstatement of the penalty.
- Expulsion means an action by the board to remove a student from the school environment, which includes but is not limited to, classes and activities, for a period of time set by the board.
The school district may issue discipline beyond what is outlined above. Additionally, the school district and the student and/or the student’s parent/guardian may mutually agree to alternative discipline beyond what is outlined above. The Board authorizes the superintendent to consider and approve any discipline that does not rise to the level of a student expulsion, as defined above and under Iowa law.
A student who commits an assault against an employee or against school district property or on property within the jurisdiction of the school district, while on school-owned or school-operated chartered buses, or while attending or engaged in school district activities shall be suspended by the principal and/or activities director. Notice of the suspension shall be sent to the Superintendent. The superintendent shall inform the Board, and the Board shall review the suspension to determine whether to impose further sanctions against the student which may include expulsion. Assault for purposes of this section of this policy is defined as:
- an act which is intended to cause pain or injury to, or which is intended to result in physical contact which will be insulting or offensive to another, coupled with the apparent ability to execute the act; or
- any act which is intended to place another in fear of immediate physical contact which will be painful, injurious, insulting or offensive, coupled with the apparent ability to execute the act; or
- the intentional pointing of any firearm toward another or displaying in a threatening manner any dangerous weapon toward another.
The act is not an assault when the person doing any of the above and the other person are voluntary participants in a sport, social or other activity, not in itself criminal, when the act is a reasonably foreseeable incident of such sport or activity, and does not create an unreasonable risk of serious injury or breach of the peace.
If a special education student’s suspension(s), either in or out of school, equals ten days on a cumulative basis, a staffing team shall meet to determine whether the Individual Education Plan (IEP) is appropriate. Alternative educational setting may be made for up to forty-five (45) days if a special education child carries a weapon to school or knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs or sells or solicits the sale of a controlled substance while in school or attending a school function. Further, if a student is deemed to be dangerous, a hearing officer may order a change in placement for up to forty-five (45) days. During an alternative setting, or suspension, or expulsion, a student is to continue to participate in instruction and receive special services and modifications to meet the goals set out in the IEP. This will also occur prior to decisions regarding the expulsion of a special education student. When a special education student is suspended for reasons related to an assault upon a school employee, an informal evaluation of the student’s placement shall take place and the IEP shall be evaluated to determine whether it needs to be changed or modified in response to the behavior that led to the suspension.
Approved: April 6, 198
Reviewed: January 16, 1989; June 15, 1992; September 19, 1994; November 17, 1997, March 15, 2010; March 21, 2011; January 19, 2015; August 19, 2019
Revised: January 16, 2023