8220-R1 - Procedures and Standards Governing Student Rights and Responsibilities

Adopted
6/21/71

Revised
5/15/72
4/16/73
2/21/78
9/4/79
9/2/80
8/19/86
6/21/88
7/6/93
11/16/93
11/30/94
9/11/95
9/25/95
10/1/96
2/28/97
2/28/00
6/10/02
2/2/04
8/12/13
8/23/14

Section I: DEFINITIONS

As used in this policy the term:

1. "Discipline" shall mean all forms of corrective action other than emergency removal from a class, subject, or activity, suspension, or expulsion and shall include the exclusion of a student from a class or instructional activity by a teacher, administrator, or designee for a period of time not exceeding the balance of the immediate class, subject, or instructional activity period: PROVIDED, that the student is in the custody of a school district employee for the balance of such period. Discipline shall also mean the exclusion of a student from any other type of activity conducted by or on behalf of the school district.

2. "Suspension" shall mean a denial of attendance (other than for the balance of the immediate class, subject, or activity period for "discipline" purposes) for any single subject or class, or for any full schedule of subjects or classes, for a stated period of time. A suspension also may include a denial of admission to, or entry upon real and personal property that is owned, leased, rented, or controlled by the school district.

3. "Short-term suspension" shall mean a suspension for any portion of a calendar day up to and not exceeding ten consecutive school days.

4. "Long-term suspension" shall mean a suspension that:

(a) Exceeds ten school days;

(b) Cannot be imposed in such a manner that causes the student to lose academic grades or credit in excess of one semester or trimester during the same school year; and

(c) Cannot be imposed beyond the school year in which the alleged misbehavior occurs.

5. "Emergency Expulsion" shall mean an emergency removal from school for up to, and not exceeding, ten consecutive school days from the student's current school placement by the district superintendent or a designee of the superintendent. The superintendent or designee must have good and sufficient reason to believe that the student's presence poses an immediate and continuing danger to other students or school staff or an immediate and continuing threat of substantial disruption of the educational process. An emergency expulsion must end or be converted to another form of corrective action within ten school days from the date of the emergency removal from school.

6. "Expulsion" shall mean a denial of attendance for a period of time up to, but not longer than one calendar year from the time a student is removed from his or her current school placement by the district superintendent or a designee or the superintendent. An expulsion also may include a denial of admission to, or entry upon, real and personal property that is owned, leased, rented, or controlled by the district.

7. "School business day" shall mean any calendar day, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and any federal and school holidays, upon which the office of the superintendent of the school district is open to the public for the conduct of business. A school business day shall be concluded or terminated upon the closure of said office. 

8. "School day" shall mean a calendar day except school holidays on which students enrolled in the school district are afforded the opportunity to be engaged in educational activity which is planned, supervised, and conducted by or under the supervision of the school district certificated staff, and on which day all or any portion of the students enrolled in the program actually participate in such educational activity.

9. "Re-engagement meetings" shall mean a meeting held between the school district and the student and parent and/or guardian to discuss how to return a long-term suspended or expelled student to an educational setting as soon as possible.

10. "Re-engagement plan" shall mean a written plan developed between the school district and a student and his/her parent or guardian designed to aid the student in taking the necessary steps to remedy the situation that led to the student's suspension or expulsion and return the student to the educational setting as soon as possible.

11."Exceptional Misconduct" is student misconduct other than absenteeism which (a) is of such frequent occurrence, despite past attempts of staff to control such misconduct through the use of other forms of corrective action; or (b) is so serious in nature, or so serious in terms of the disruptive effect upon the operation of the school as to warrant an immediate resort to a short-term or a long-term suspension or expulsion.

The following acts have been identified by an ad hoc citizens committee as "exceptional misconduct":

a. being under the influence of or the use, possession, sale, offering for sale, or distribution of alcohol;
b. being under the influence of or the use, possession, sale, offering for sale, or distribution of controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, or other substances that could result in cognitive, mental, physical, or psychological impairment.
c. being under the influence of, or the use, possession, sale, offering for sale, or distribution of Marijuana or Marijuana paraphernalia;
d. assault or battery;
e. lewd conduct, indecent exposure, use of obscenity or profanity (oral, written or gestured);
f. arson;
g. the use, possession, or sale of explosive devices;
h. possession of firearms, weapons, or other dangerous objects, including toy or facsimile weapons;
i. vandalism;
j. burglary;
k. extortion;
l. false alarms;
m. robbery or theft;
n. malicious mischief or endangering the health and safety of self or others;
o. possession of stolen property;
p. unlawful interference with or intimidation of school authorities;
q. failure to submit to lawful supervisory or disciplinary authority of the district and school;
r. failure to identify oneself;
s. failure to submit to reasonable corrective action imposed by the district or its authorized employees;
t. fighting;
u. lying or misrepresentation;
v. bullying, harassment and intimidation;
w. forgery;
x. threat;
y. sexual harassment;
z. use of tobacco products, including the possession of any form of tobacco or other smoking material. Tobacco includes, but is not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, snuff, smoking tobacco, smokeless tobacco, nicotine, nicotine delivering devices, chemicals or devices that produce the same flavor or physical effect of nicotine substances; and any other tobacco innovation.
aa. commission of any act classified as a felony or gross misdemeanor under the laws of the State of Washington.

Section II: STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

Each student shall be responsible to pursue his or her course of studies, comply with written rules and regulations of Edmonds School District which are adopted pursuant to and in compliance with state law and regulation and this policy, and submit to reasonable corrective action imposed by the school district and its agents for violation(s) of such rules.

Section III: STUDENT RIGHTS

Each student served by or on behalf of Edmonds School District shall possess the following substantive rights, and the school district shall not limit these rights except for good and sufficient cause:

1. No student shall be unlawfully denied access to the educational opportunity offered in this district;

2. No student shall be unlawfully discriminated against because of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identify, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal. Any student who feels he/she has suffered discrimination on account of the above-mentioned, any disciplinary action may also use the district's equal educational opportunity grievance procedure;

3. All students' constitutional rights shall be subject only to reasonable limitations upon the time, place, and manner of exercising such rights.

4. No student with an IEP shall be subjected to suspensions or expulsions totaling more than 10 school days in a school year without a review and concurrence by the child study or multidisciplinary team. The purpose of the review is to determine whether or not the behavior resulting in the corrective action is caused by the student's disability.

The foregoing enumeration of rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights set forth in the Federal Constitution, the constitution and the laws of the State of Washington or the rights retained by the people. 

Section IV: SCHOOL DISTRICT RULES DEFINING MISCONDUCT — DISTRIBUTION OF RULES

1. The district shall adopt, publish, and make available on an annual basis to all students and parents written rules which state with reasonable clarity the types of misconduct for which discipline, suspension, and expulsion may be imposed.

2. Rules that establish types of misconduct pursuant to this section must have a real and substantial relationship to the lawful maintenance and operation of the school district including, but not limited to, the preservation of the health and safety of students and employees and the preservation of an educational process which is conducive to learning.

3. Any pupil who willfully performs or fails to perform any act which materially interferes with or is detrimental to the orderly operation of a school, a school-sponsored activity, or any other aspect of the educational process of the school district shall be subject to discipline, suspension, or expulsion by authorized school district authorities. The following acts or omissions by a pupil on school premises or in reasonable proximity there to, on school provided transportation, or off school premises at any school-sponsored activity shall constitute sufficient cause for discipline, suspension, or expulsion:

• "exceptional misconduct" as defined in Section I.11.;
• disruptive conduct;
• disobedience of the reasonable instructions of school authorities;
• immoral conduct;
• vulgarity;
• truancy, unexcused absence(s) or tardiness;
• intimidation;
• cheating;
• plagiarism;
• the commission of any criminal act as defined by law; or
• violation of other school or district rules, regulations, or policies now or hereafter adopted.

4. The consequences of violations listed above shall be determined at the building level and shall be consistent with district policy and state and local law as applicable. The principal or his/her designee(s) shall have the responsibility to establish disciplinary standards appropriate to his/her particular school as he/she deems necessary and which bear a real and substantial relationship to the direct preservation of the students, staff, and public health and safety, or for the maintenance of the educational process.

Once these standards and consequences have been determined they will be published and made available to all students, parents, and staff.

Section V: PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO IMPOSE DISCIPLINE, SUSPENSION, EXPULSION, OR EMERGENCY REMOVAL UPON STUDENTS

1. Each certificated teacher, each school administrator, each school bus driver, and any other employee designated by the superintendent shall possess the authority to impose discipline upon a student for misconduct which violates rules of the school district established pursuant to Section IV and to impose an emergency removal from a class, subject, or activity upon a student pursuant to Section XVII and Policy 8245.

2. Subject to the limitations set forth herewith in connection with the suspension or expulsion of students, the following school district personnel are delegated the authority to suspend, expel, or order the emergency expulsion of students for any misconduct which violates the rules for student conduct: superintendent, assistant superintendent, principals, assistant principals, and any other district employee to whom such authority has been delegated by the superintendent. Each certificated teacher and each administrator shall possess the authority to recommend suspensions and expulsions for such misconduct which violates rules of the school district established pursuant to Section IV.

3. A student shall not be released from, nor denied, custody by school authorities due to discipline, suspension, or expulsion prior to notification of the parent, guardian, custodian, or other responsible adult. In cases of emergency expulsion, evidence of reasonable effort to so notify shall be deemed compliance with this requirement in lieu of said notification.

Section VI: DISCIPLINE — CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS

Discipline may be imposed upon any student for violation of the rules of the school district that have been established pursuant to Section IV, subject to the following limitations and conditions and the grievance procedure set forth in Section VII:

1. No form of "discipline" shall be enforced in such a manner as to prevent a student from accomplishing specific academic grade, subject, or graduation requirements.

2. A student's academic grade or credit in a particular subject or course may be adversely affected by reason of tardiness or absences only to the extent and upon the basis that the student's attendance and/or participation is related to and identified by the district-approved instructional objectives or goals of the particular subject or course as a basis for grading, in whole or in part, or as provided in Policy 8130. The circumstances pertaining to the student's inability to attend school has been taken into consideration, including whether the tardiness or absences are directly related to the students disability under Section 504 of IDEA.

3. Before a student is disciplined by removal from a teacher's class for the remainder of the class period or day, the teacher must have attempted one or more alternative forms of corrective action, except in emergency situations. A student may not return to class before the end of the class or activity period without the teacher's consent.

4. Building administrators shall have the responsibility for ensuring that written procedures for administering corrective action are developed for their schools with the input of parents, staff, and the community. The procedures shall provide that every reasonable attempt be made to involve parents and the student in the resolution of behavior problems at an early stage. The building administrator and staff shall meet at least annually to review building behavior standards and discuss uniform enforcement of those standards. All staff shall work cooperatively toward consistent enforcement of behavior standards.

5. Corporal punishment which is defined as any act which willfully inflicts or willfully causes the infliction of physical pain on a student is prohibited.

6. Corporal punishment does not include:

(a) The use of reasonable physical force by a school administrator, teacher, school employee or volunteer as necessary to maintain order or to prevent a student from harming him/herself, other students and school staff or property.

(b) Physical pain or discomfort resulting from or caused by training for or participating in athletic competition or recreational activity voluntarily engaged in by a student, or athletic competition or recreational activity voluntarily engaged in by a student, or 

(c) Physical exertion shared by all students in a teacher directed class activity, which may include but is not limited to, physical education exercise, field trips or vocational education projects.

7. Nothing herein shall be construed as limiting or otherwise modifying provisions governing aversive interventions set forth in WAC 392-172A-03120 through 392-172A-03135.

8. For each full day of suspension, an alternative of four (4) hours may be offered up to a maximum of 48 hours for a semester suspension. Alternatives may include but are not limited to after school detention, Saturday School, community service, or providing a service to the school.

Section VII: DISCIPLINE — GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

Any student, parent, or guardian who is aggrieved by the imposition of discipline shall have the right to an informal conference with the building principal or his/her designee for the purpose of resolving the grievance. The conference must be requested within three (3) school days of the time the parent receives notice by mail or in person. The employee whose action is being grieved shall be notified of the initiation of a grievance as soon as reasonably possible. During such conference the student, parent, or guardian shall be subject to questioning by the building principal or his/her designee and shall be entitled to question school personnel involved in the matter being grieved. Subsequent to the building level grievance meeting, the student, parent, or guardian, upon two (2) school business days' prior notice, shall have the right to present a written or oral grievance to the superintendent of the district or his/her designee. If the grievance is not resolved, the student, parent, or guardian, upon two (2) school business days' prior notice, shall have the right to present a written or oral grievance to the board of directors during the board's next regular meeting. The board shall notify the student, parent, or guardian of its response to the grievance within ten (10) school business days after the date of the meeting. The discipline action shall continue notwithstanding the implementation of the grievance procedure set forth in this section unless the principal or his/her designee elects to postpone such action.

Section VIII: SHORT-TERM SUSPENSION — CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS

1. A short-term suspension may be imposed upon a student for violation of school district rules adopted pursuant to Section IV, subject to the following limitations or conditions, the prior informal conference procedures in Section IX, and the grievance procedures in Section X; provided:

a. the nature and circumstances of the violation must be considered and must reasonably warrant a short-term suspension and the length of the suspension imposed; and

b. other forms of corrective action reasonably calculated to modify his/her conduct have previously been imposed upon the student as a consequence of misconduct of the same nature; except that a short-term suspension may be imposed immediately in cases of "Exceptional Misconduct" as defined in Section I.8.

2. Students with one or more unexcused absences and subject to compulsory attendance pursuant to state law and district policy may be subject to corrective action reasonably calculated to modify the student's conduct. If the school imposes corrective action on a student for one or more unexcused absences, the district must:

a. provide notice to the student's parent(s) or guardian(s) or custodial parent(s) in writing in English or, if different, the primary language of the parent(s) or guardian(s), that the student has failed to attend school without valid justification, and by other means reasonably necessary to achieve notice of such fact;

b. schedule a conference or conferences with the parent(s) or guardian(s) and the student at a time and place reasonably convenient to all persons included to analyze the causes for the student's absence and to determine, by appropriate means, whether the student should be made a focus of concern for placement in special programs for his or her educational success; and

c. take steps to reduce the student's absence which include, where appropriate in the judgment of local school officials and where possible, discussed with the student, parent(s) or guardian(s), adjustments of the student's school program or school or course assignment or assisting the student or parent to obtain supplementary services that might ameliorate the cause(s) for the student's absence from school. 

3. A student's academic grade or credit in a particular subject or course may be adversely affected by reason of tardiness or absence only to the extent upon the basis that:

(a) The student's attendance or participation is related to the instructional objectives or goals of the particular subject or course;

(b) The student's attendance or participation has been identified by the teacher pursuant to policy of the district as a basis for grading, in whole or in part, in the particular subject or course; and

(c) The circumstances pertaining to the student's inability to attend school have been taken into consideration, including whether the tardiness or absences are directly related to the student's disability under Section 504 or IDEA.

4. No student in grades kindergarten through grade four shall be subject to short-term suspensions for more than a total of ten (10) school days during any single semester or trimester as the case may be, and no loss of academic grades or credit shall be imposed by reason of the suspension of such a student.

5. No student in the grade five and above program shall be subjected to short-term suspensions for more than a total of fifteen (15) school days during any single semester or ten (10) school days during any single trimester, as the case may be.

6. Any student subject to a short-term suspension shall be provided the opportunity upon his/her return to make up assignments and tests missed by reason of the short-term suspension if:

a. Such assignments or tests have a substantial effect upon the student's semester or trimester grade or grades; or,
b. failure to complete such assignments or tests would preclude the student from receiving credit for the course or courses.

7. Any student, or the parent(s) or guardian(s) of any student who has been suspended, shall be allowed to make written application to the superintendent for readmission at any time. Such application shall follow the procedures set forth in Section XXIV.

Section IX: SHORT-TERM SUSPENSION — PRIOR CONFERENCE REQUIRED — NOTICE TO PARENT

1. Prior to the short-term suspension of any student a conference shall be conducted with the student as follows:

a. an oral or written notice of the alleged misconduct and violation(s) of school district rules shall be provided to the student;
b. an oral or written explanation of the evidence in support of the allegation(s) shall be provided to the student;
c. an oral or written explanation of the corrective action which may be imposed shall be provided to the student; and,
d. the student shall be provided the opportunity to present his/her explanation.

2. In the event a short-term suspension is to exceed one calendar day, the parent(s) or guardian(s) of the student shall be notified of the reason for the student's suspension and the duration of the suspension orally and/or by letter deposited in the United States mail as soon as reasonably possible. The notice shall also inform the parent or guardian of the right to an informal conference pursuant to Section X.

3. All short-term suspensions and the reasons therefore shall be reported in writing to the superintendent or his/her designee within twenty-four (24) hours after imposition of the suspension.

Section X: SHORT-TERM SUSPENSIONS — GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

1. The grievance procedure set forth in Section VII shall be followed with respect to short-term suspension grievances (substituting "short-term suspension" for "discipline" as applicable).

2. The short-term suspension shall continue notwithstanding the implementation of the grievance procedures set forth in this section unless the principal or his/her designee elects to postpone such actions.

Section XI: LONG-TERM SUSPENSION — CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS

1. A long-term suspension may be imposed upon a student for violation of school district rules adopted pursuant to Section IV, subject to the following limitations or conditions and the notice requirements set forth in Section XII and the hearing requirements set forth in Section XIII, provided:

a. the nature and circumstances of the violation must be considered and must reasonably warrant a long-term suspension and the length of the suspension imposed; and
b. other forms of corrective action reasonably calculated to modify his/her conduct have previously been imposed upon the student as a consequence of misconduct; except that a long-term suspension may be imposed immediately in the case of "Exceptional Misconduct" as defined in Section I.11.

2. Students with one or more unexcused absences and subject to compulsory attendance pursuant to state law and district policy may be subject to corrective action reasonably calculated to modify the student's conduct. If the school imposes corrective action on a student for one or more unexcused absences, the district must: 

a. provide notice to the student's parent(s) or guardian(s) or custodial parent(s) in writing in English or, if different, the primary language of the parent(s) or guardian(s), that the student has failed to attend school without valid justification, and by other means reasonably necessary to achieve notice of such fact;
b. schedule a conference or conferences with the parent(s) or guardian(s) and the student at a time and place reasonably convenient to all persons included to analyze the causes for the student's absence and to determine, by appropriate means, whether the student should be made a focus of concern for placement in special programs for his or her educational success; and 
c. take steps to reduce the student's absence which include, where appropriate in the judgment of local school officials and where possible, discussed with the student, parent(s) or guardian(s), adjustments of the student's school program or school or course assignment or assisting the student or parent to obtain supplementary services that might ameliorate the cause(s) for the student's absence from school. 

3. A student's academic grade or credit in a particular subject or course may be adversely affected by reason of tardiness or absence only to the extent and upon the basis that;

(a) The student's attendance or participation is related to the instructional objectives or goals of the particular subject or course;

(b) The student's attendance or participation has been identified by the teacher pursuant to policy of the district as a basis for grading, in whole or in part, in the particular subject or course; and 

(c) The circumstances pertaining to the student's inability to attend school have been taken into consideration, including whether the tardiness or absences are directly related to the student's disability under Section 504 or IDEA.

4. No student in grades kindergarten through grade four shall be subject to long-term suspensions and no loss of academic grades or credit shall be imposed by reason of the suspension of the student.

5. No single long-term suspension shall be imposed upon a student in the grade five and above program in a manner which causes the student to lose academic grades or credit for in excess of one semester or trimester, as the case may be, during the same school year.

6. Any student who has been suspended shall be allowed to make application for readmission at any time. Such application shall follow the procedures set forth in Section XXIV.

7. A re-engagement meeting with the student/parent(s) is required within twenty (20) days of a long-term suspension but no later than five (5) days before the student's re-entry or enrollment, regardless of whether an appeal or request for early reentry was made, to discuss a plan to reengage the student in a school program. Administrators must consider shortening the suspension, imposing other forms of corrective action, and using supportive interventions. Re-engagement meetings are separate from petitions for readmission and are not intended to replace a petition for readmission. 

8. In developing a re-engagement plan, the district should consider shortening the length of time that the student is suspended, other forms of corrective action, and supportive interventions that aid in the student's academic success and keep the student engaged and on track to graduate. The plan must be tailored to the student's individual circumstances, including consideration of the incident that led to the student's long-term suspension, and aid the student in taking the necessary steps to remedy that situation that led to the student's long-term suspension.

9. All long-term suspensions and the reasons therefore shall be reported in writing to the superintendent or his/her designee within twenty-four (24) hours after the imposition of the suspension.