3200 Policy – Rights and Responsibilities

 

Each year, the superintendent will develop and distribute to all students, their parents/guardians, the community and staff information pertaining to student rights, conduct, corrective actions and discipline.  In consultation with school district staff, students, families and the community, the district will periodically review and update this policy and its accompanying procedure. The school principal and staff will confer at least annually to develop and/or review student conduct standards and the uniform enforcement of those standards as related to the established policy and procedure. They will also confer annually to establish criteria for determining when certificated employees must complete classes to improve classroom management skills. All students who attend the district’s schools will comply with the written policies, rules and regulations of the schools, will pursue the required course of studies, and will submit to the authority of staff of the schools, subject to such corrective action or discipline as the school officials will determine. Staff are responsible for supervising student behavior, employing effective classroom management methods and enforcing the rules of student conduct in a fair, consistent and non-discriminatory manner. Corrective action must be reasonable and necessary under the circumstances and reflect the district’s priority to maintain a safe and positive learning environment for all students and staff.

The board delegates its authority to hear and decide discipline, including short-term suspension, long-term suspension and expulsion appeals, to a school district disciplinary appeal council. The council shall consist of at least three members selected by the superintendent to annual terms at the beginning of each school year. If a member of the disciplinary council recuses him or herself from a particular case because of prior involvement in the underlying corrective action, the remaining council members shall appoint a temporary third member who is not a witness in the case.

The district will assist long-term suspended and expelled students in returning to school as soon as possible by providing them with a reengagement plan tailored to the student’s individual circumstances, including consideration of the incident that led to the student’s long-term suspension or expulsion.

The district will annually collect and review data on disciplinary actions taken against students within each school. The data will be disaggregated into subgroups as required by RCW 28A.300.042 and will include students protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The review must include short-term suspensions, long-term suspensions and expulsions. In reviewing the data, the district will determine whether it has disciplined a substantially disproportionate number of students within any of the disaggregated categories. If disproportionality is found, the district will take action to ensure that it is not the result of discrimination.