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A.
Introduction to Student Discipline
Philosophy
1.
This section is intended to be a brief orientation to the student
discipline policies contained in Chapter 8 on Student Conduct and should not be
used as a substitute for a careful review of all applicable policies and regulations.
The purpose of Chapter 8’s section on Student Conduct are to provide for
appropriate discipline, ensure the safety of all and create a positive learning
environment.
2.
Each student is an individual with unique personal, social, and
educational needs. As a result, every disciplinary situation should be considered
unique while adhering to the Code of Virginia and the policies of Loudoun County
Public Schools.
3.
The importance of ensuring that schools are safe and conducive to
learning is reflected in numerous laws enacted by the Virginia General Assembly and
regulations established by the Virginia Board of Education. Among other
responsibilities, the school boards are required to:
B.
a.
Establish policies designed to provide that public education be
conducted in an atmosphere free of disruption and threat to persons
or property and supportive of individual rights;
b.
Adopt codes of student conduct and procedures for suspension
and expulsion; and
c.
Develop programs to prevent violence and crime on school property
and at school-sponsored events.
Roles and Responsibilities
1.
Students. The students are expected to arrive to school and class on
time every school day ready and eager to learn. Rules for behavior are provided
at each school as well as in the Student’s Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R)
Handbook. Students should conduct themselves within the rules.
2.
Parents/Guardians
a.
Parents have a shared responsibility with schools for the
education of their children and are encouraged to be engaged
and involved with their child’s school.
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b.
Each parent is to assist the school in enforcing the standards of
student conduct and school attendance in order that education
may be conducted in an atmosphere free of disruption and
threat to persons or property, and supportive of individual rights.
Parents should annually review the Student Rights and
Responsibilities (SR&R) Handbook and school rules with their
child and must sign and return to the school an
acknowledgement of receipt of the handbook and school rules.
c.
The school principal may request the student's parent or
parents, if both parents have legal and physical custody of the
student, to meet with the principal or his designee to review the
school board's standards of student conduct and the parents'
responsibility to participate with the school in disciplining the
student and maintaining order, to ensure the student's
compliance with compulsory school attendance law, and to
discuss improvement of the child's behavior, school attendance,
and educational progress.
3.
Principals. School administrators have the responsibility for carrying out
policies established by the school board. At the school level, principals have primary
responsibility for enforcing the SR&R and School Board policy. They are authorized to
impose a broad range of disciplinary actions such as in-school suspension, after-school
detention, suspension of certain privileges, and out-of-school suspension for up to ten
days.
4.
Superintendent. At the school division level, the superintendent
administers discipline policy. In most school divisions there is a superintendent’s
designee who typically conducts disciplinary hearings, has authority to suspend
for more than ten days, investigates incidents, and prepares recommendations for
action by the school board. Virginia law defines the designee as a “(i) trained
hearing officer or (ii) professional employee within the administrative offices of the
school division who reports directly to the division superintendent and who is not a
school-based instructional or administrative employee”. In LCPS, the
superintendent or his designee may serve this role in any given case.
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5.
School Board. In accordance with Virginia laws and regulations, only
the school board has the authority to establish student conduct policies and
procedures, often referred to as “discipline policies.” Final administrative authority for
all disciplinary matters rests with the school board to determine how and under what
circumstances a disciplinary action may be appealed. Only the school board has the
authority to expel a student from school.
C.
Definitions
1.
Short-term suspension is defined as disciplinary action whereby
a student is not permitted to attend school for a period not to exceed ten days.
2.
Long-term suspension is defined as disciplinary action whereby
a student is not permitted to attend school for more than ten school days but
less than 365 calendar days.
3.
Expulsion is defined as disciplinary action imposed by a school
board whereby a student is not permitted to attend school within the school
division and is ineligible for readmission for 365 calendar days after the date of
the expulsion. Students may apply or reapply for readmission in accordance with
school board policy. The schedule for considering applications for readmission is
established in Policy 8-23 (Readmission of Expelled Students), so that, if the
readmission is granted, the student would be allowed to return to school within
one calendar year from the expulsion.
4.
In-school Discipline is defined as the various disciplinary measures
available for appropriate responses to student conduct. These include reprimands
and counseling, detention, denial of school privileges, minor work assignments,
temporary removal from class, in-school restrictions, and denial of bus riding
privileges. Extracurricular activities are cover by the LCPS Athletic Handbook,
training rules, and Policy 8-26 (In-School Disciplinary Measures) regarding exclusion
from participation.
D.
Offenses. Student conduct may constitute cause for discipline and offenses
are generally listed in Policy 8-27 (Short Term Suspension) and are highlighted
below. References to related policies in addition to Policy 8-29 are also provided.
While bullying could fit one or more of the below offenses, it is specifically prohibited
in Policy 8-41 (Bullying Prevention and Education). General offenses include, but are
not limited to, the following:
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1.
willful or continued disobedience of school rules and regulations or
school personnel;
2.
defiance of the authority of any teacher, principal, or other person
having authority in the school;
3.
conduct that endangers or threatens the physical well-being of
themselves, other students, or school personnel;
4.
physical assault upon another person, including fighting and
nonconsensual touching;
5.
damaging in any way property of the school or any person;
6.
theft or attempted theft of school property or the personal property of
another person;
7.
participation in unauthorized occupancy of any part of a school building
or grounds or presence on any school property in violation of a directive, or failure to
leave promptly any school property after having been directed to do so by the
principal or other person in charge;
8.
use or possession of any weapon or explosives, including
fireworks, on school property (Policy 8-32, Weapons);
9.
violation of attendance regulations, including leaving school without
permission;
10.
cursing, verbal abuse, written abuse, bullying, intimidation, or
harassment of another person by electronic means or otherwise as an individual
event or a pattern;
11.
willful interruption or disruption of any school or part thereof;
12.
any threat to bomb, burn or damage in any manner a school
building or other school property or the property of another person;
13.
violation of the alcohol policy (Policy 8-35, Alcohol);
14.
violation of the drug policy (Policy 8-36, Drugs);
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15.
violation of the policy on use of tobacco (Policy 8-37,Tobacco and
Electronic Cigarettes);
16.
lying or giving false information, verbally or in writing, to a school
employee, including forgery or the knowing use of forged writing;
17.
failure to abide by restrictions or punishments of a lesser nature
(such as in-school restrictions and so on);
18.
violation of any law of the United States or the Commonwealth
while on school property or of any policy for which the prescribed punishment is
suspension;
19.
unauthorized or illegal use of, or access to, computers, software,
telecommunications, and related technologies; any willful act that causes physical,
financial, or other harm or otherwise disrupts information technology (Policy 8-34,
Personal Electronic Devices and Laser Pointers);
20.
participation in a group, mob, or gang activity that involves inciting,
intimidating, harassing, threatening, or committing an assault or other act of violence;
21.
disruptive behavior; and
22.
Although the majority of suspensions and expulsions result from acts
at school or school-sponsored activities, a student may be suspended or expelled
also for acts off school property when the acts lead to a court judgment of
delinquency, a conviction for very serious crimes, or a charge that would be a
felony if committed by an adult. These laws were enacted by the Virginia General
Assembly with the intent of protecting students from others who have committed
violence or other serious crimes.
E.
Appeals
1.
Short-term Suspension. Short-term suspensions are suspensions from
school for 10 days or less and are covered in Policy 8-27 (Short Term Suspension).
a.
Students will receive an informal hearing and be given oral or
written notice of the charges. If the student denies the charges,
an opportunity will be provided for the student to explain the
facts and provide his or her side of the story. A written notice
will be sent to the parents when a student is suspended.
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b.
A parent can request a review of a short-term suspension by the
superintendent who may designate an administrator to review
the suspension.
c.
Requests for review must be submitted in writing to the
superintendent’s office within 2 school days of the suspension
decision. The decision of the superintendent or his designee is
final and not appealable to the School Board.
2.
Long-term Suspension. Long-term suspensions are suspensions from
school of less than 365 days issued by the superintendent and are covered by Policy
8-28 (Long Term Suspension and Expulsion). Frequently, for serious circumstances,
the student may initially receive a short-term suspension of 10 days from the school
followed by a long-term suspension notice issued by the superintendent which extends
the suspension.
a.
The superintendent’s letter will give the reasons and provide
the form for making a written request for an appeal hearing
with the Discipline Committee of the School Board.
b.
Parents have 5 calendar days from the receipt of the
superintendent’s letter to request in writing an appeal, if so
desired.
3.
Expulsions. Expulsion is an action of the Discipline Committee of the
School Board or the School Board based upon the recommendation of the
superintendent in which the student is not permitted to attend school for 365
calendar days and is ineligible for readmission during that time. Parents have 5
calendar days from the receipt of the superintendent’s recommendation for
expulsion to request in writing an appeal to the Discipline Committee of the School
Board, if so desired. If no appeal is filed, then the recommendation will be
submitted to the School Board for final action.
4.
Appeals to Discipline Committee of the School Board. Appeals of longterm suspensions and recommendations for expulsion are heard by a three-member
committee of the School Board. The procedures for the hearing are generally
explained in Policy 2-27 (Student Discipline – Appeals and Hearings – Long-Term
Suspensions and Expulsions). If, after the hearing, the committee’s vote is
unanimous, then the committee’s decision is final. If the decision is not unanimous,
then the parent can appeal to the full School Board by requesting in writing an appeal
within 5 calendar days of the Committee’s decision.
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F.
Self-Defense. Students involved in a physical assault or fighting may qualify for
the defense of self-defense if all of the requirements, as detailed in Policy 8-27 (Short
Term Suspension), are satisfied and proven by the student, but under no
circumstances may a child ever bring to school or possess a weapon or knife of any
kind whatsoever.
G.
Investigations and Searches. All searches involve some measure of intrusion
into privacy. Policy 8-2 (Investigations and Searches) seeks to balance the privacy
interests of students against the need to maintain order, discipline, safety and security
for all staff and students. The Policy addresses a variety of search techniques. In
non-emergency situations, a law enforcement agent’s interviews of students
suspected of criminal activity should occur outside of school time whenever feasible.
If this is not feasible, a reasonable effort should be made to inform the parents of the
suspected student prior to law enforcement’s interview.
Legal Refs: §§16.1-305.1, 16.1-260, 22.1-253.13:7.C.3, 22.1-276.01, 22.1-277, 22.1279.6.B, 22.1-279.9 of the Code of Virginia, Section 8 VAC 20-131-210.A and B
Adopted: 9/22/15