4087 - Student Discipline
Discipline is the responsibility of all students and all staff members. When students exhibit behavior and/or academic problems in school, every effort should be made on the part of the school to solve the problem. The principal shall administer all formal disciplinary action outside of the classroom.
The school shall inform parents when problems are first noted in poor student achievement, attendance and behavior. School personnel shall inform parent/guardian when students are failing academically or having serious behavior problems in school.
General Authority
If a particular type of conduct has the effect of disrupting the learning atmosphere, it should be subject to regulation. The Board possesses discretion in promulgating regulations for the proper conduct of students.
Utah Code Ann. § 53A-1-402(1)(b)(v)
Utah Admin. R. 277-609-3
Relation of school discipline rules to other policies
Rules and procedures shall restrict corporal punishment and the use of reasonable and necessary physical restraint or force as set forth in these policies and pursuant to Utah Code Ann. S 53A-11-802. Policies shall include written procedures for the suspension and expulsion of, or denial of admission to, a student, consistent with due process and other provisions of law, including 53A-11-904 et seq. Moreover, all rules and procedures shall be consistent with all other policies of the Board, and all state statutes and federal laws governing school discipline, including 53A-11-902, 53A-11-903 and §504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 794(a)).
Utah Code Ann. § 53A-11-902
Revising discipline rules
In adopting or revising the District’s rules and regulations, the school board shall solicit input from various interest groups at the school and in the community, including district employees, parents and guardians of students, and students.
Utah Code Ann. § 53A-11-901
EMERGENCY SAFETY INTERVENTIONS R277-609
- A school shall provide a parent or guardian with a copy of any notes or additional documentation taken during a crisis situation upon request of the parent or guardian.
- Within 24 hours of a crisis situation, a school shall notify a parent or guardian that the parent or guardian may request a copy of any notes or additional documentation taken during a crisis situation.
- A parent or guardian may request a time to meet with school staff and administration to discuss [the]a crisis situation.
- A school employee may not subject a student to physical restraint or seclusionary time out unless utilized as a necessary emergency safety intervention (ESI) in compliance with this section.
Definitions
4.1.1. An “emergency safety intervention (ESI)” is the use of seclusionary time out or physical restraint when a student presents an immediate/imminent danger of physical violence/aggression towards self or others likely to cause serious physical harm. An “emergency safety intervention” is not for disciplinary purposes.
4.1.2. “Physical restraint” means personal restriction immobilizing or reducing the ability of an individual to move his arms, legs, body, or head freely.
4.1.3. “Seclusionary time out” means that a student is placed in a safe enclosed area, isolated from adults and peers, and the student is, or reasonably believes, he will be prevented from leaving the area.
General Procedures
4.2.1. Teachers and other personnel who may work directly with students shall be trained on the use of effective alternatives to ESI as well as the safe use of ESI and a release criteria.
4.2.2. ESI shall:
[a] be applied for the minimum time necessary to ensure safety;
[b] be discontinued as soon as imminent danger of physical harm to self or others has dissipated;
[c] be discontinued if the student is in severe distress;
[d] never be used as punishment or discipline;
[e] in no instance be imposed for more than 30 minutes.
Students with Disabilities Receiving Special Education Services
Use of ESI for a student with a disability receiving specialized educational services under IDEA or Section 504, shall be subject to the applicable state and District Least Restrictive Behavioral Interventions (LRBI) policies and procedures for special education/504 programs.
Physical Restraint
4.4.1. A school employee may, when acting within the scope of employment, use and apply physical restraint or force as an ESI as may be reasonable and necessary under the following circumstances:
[a] to protect the student or another person from serious physical harm;
[b] to take possession of a weapon, other dangerous objects in the possession or under the control of a student; or
[c] the student is destroying property.
4.4.2. When an employee exercises physical restraint as an ESI on a student, the following types of physical restraint are prohibited:
[a] prone, or face-down;
[b] supine, or face-up;
[c] restraint which obstructs the airway or adversely affects the student’s primary mode of communication;
[d] mechanical restraint, except for seatbelts or safety equipment used to secure students during transportation; or
[e] chemical restraint, except as prescribed by a licensed physician and implemented in compliance with a student’s Health Care Plan.
5S-100 Student Conduct and Discipline
Seclusionary Time Out
A school employee may, when acting within the scope of employment, place a student in seclusionary time out as an ESI under the following circumstances:
4.5.1. the student presents an immediate danger of serious physical harm to self or others;
4.5.2. any door remains unlocked; and
4.5.3. the student is within line sight of the employee at all times.
Notification
4.6.1. If a crisis situation occurs requiring an ESI be used, the school or employee shall notify the student’s parent/guardian, the school administrator, and the school director as soon as possible and no later than the end of the school day.
4.6.2. If the ESI is applied for longer than fifteen minutes, the school shall immediately notify the student’s parent/guardian and school administration.
4.6.3. Parent notifications made under this section shall be documented in the student information system as required by R277-609-6(C)(4).
4.6.4. Within 24 hours of using ESI, the school shall notify the parent/guardian that they may request a copy of any notes or additional documentation taken during the crisis situation.
4.6.5. Upon request of a parent/guardian, the school shall provide a copy of any notes or additional documentation taken during a crisis situation.
4.6.6. A parent/guardian may request a time to meet with school staff and administration to discuss the crisis situation.
Prohibition of Corporal Punishment
A school employee may not inflict or cause the infliction of corporal punishment.
Students with Disabilities
Removal of a handicapped student for any of these reasons shall be used only in emergency situations and shall not exceed ten school days. Consecutive ten-day removals are prohibited, unless the Special Education Committee determines that the student poses an immediate threat to the safety of them self or others, or disrupts the safety of the learning environment. If the parents appeal the Special Education Committee's decision and refuse to permit a change in placement, the District may seek a court injunction to remove a dangerous handicapped student for more than ten consecutive days.
If emergency removals, suspensions, or removals to alternative education total 10 school days in a year, the Special Education Committee shall review the student's IEP, unless the discipline management portion of the IEP specifies otherwise.
Teacher’s Authority
A teacher may send a student to the Principal's office in order to maintain effective discipline in the classroom. The Principal shall respond by employing appropriate discipline management techniques.
A teacher may remove from class a student who has been documented by the teacher to repeatedly interfere with the teacher's ability to communicate effectively with the students in the class. Not later than the third class day after the day on which the student is removed from the class, the Principal shall schedule a hearing to be attended by the Principal or the Principal's designee, a parent or guardian of the student, the teacher, and the student.
Following the hearing, whether or not all requested parties are in attendance after valid attempts to require their attendance, the Principal shall take one or more of the following actions:
- Suspend the student for a period not to exceed six school days.
- Place the student in an alternative education program.
- Place the student back in the class.
If the student is removed by the teacher a second time within the same semester, the student may be returned to that class only by action of the Superintendent at the Principal's request. If the student is removed by the teacher a third or subsequent time within the same semester, the student may be returned to that class only by action of the Board at the request of the Superintendent.
Corporal Punishment
A school employee may not inflict or cause the infliction of corporal punishment upon a child who is receiving service from the school, unless written permission has been given by the student’s parent or guardian to do so. Such written permission shall be valid only if delivered by the parent or guardian to the student's teacher or to the school administration, and shall be kept and maintained by the school administration.
Utah Admin R 277-608
Utah Code Ann. § 53A-11-802
The term "corporal punishment" means the intentional infliction of physical pain upon the body of a student as a disciplinary measure. The term “child” means a person under the age of eighteen (18) or under the age of twenty-three (23) if the person is receiving educational services as an individual with a disability.
Utah Code Ann. § 53A-11-801
Appropriate Conduct
This policy does not prohibit the use of reasonable and necessary physical restraint or force in self-defense or otherwise appropriate to the circumstances to:
- protect the child or another person from physical injury;
- remove from a situation a child who is violent or disruptive; or
- protect property from being damaged.
Utah Code Ann. § 53A-11-802
An employee of the District may not be subjected to any sanction for failure or refusal to commit an act prohibited by this policy.
Utah Code Ann. § 53A-11-802
Child Abuse Reporting and Investigation shall apply to complaints made to the District regarding improper or unauthorized use of corporal punishment.
Utah Code Ann. § 53A-11-803
Limitation
This policy does not restrict the use of corporal punishment which is considered to be reasonable discipline for purposes of behavior reduction intervention and which is also in compliance with state regulations and District policies adopted pursuant to Utah Code Ann. 53a-15-301 regarding provision of education for handicapped students.
Utah Code Ann. §§ 53a-11-704, 53a-11-705
Utah Code Ann. § 53a-11-401
Disciplinary Record
Disciplinary records shall be made available to parents/legal guardians or the student; whichever is appropriate, pursuant to the District's student records policy.
Notice of rules
A copy of the rules and procedures shall be made available to all students at the time of their enrollment in the school. If a school makes significant changes to its discipline rules and procedures, written notice of the adopted and revised discipline rules and procedures shall be distributed to all new and continuing students. In the case of all new, continuing or transfer students, a copy of the rules and procedures shall be mailed to the student's parents or legal guardian.
Utah Code Ann. § 53A-11-903
Board review of school discipline rules
Each school shall file a copy of its school discipline rules and procedures with the Board within thirty days after adoption of the rules and procedures. The Board shall review the rules and procedures filed by each school and may require the school to modify any rule or procedure that is not consistent with Board policy or state statutes on discipline in the public schools.
Utah Code Ann. § 53A-11-901, 902.
Dropouts
Dropouts are students who voluntarily request to be released from school attendance. School personnel should utilize every resource possible to help prevent students from prematurely terminating their school experience. School personnel should counsel with the student and his/her parents to convince the potential dropout that it is unwise for him/her to leave school. All of the resources of the school and community should be utilized to help students who are threatening to drop out of school.
Pregnant Students
If a student becomes pregnant and wishes to drop out of school, the student and parent/guardian should meet with the principal and request that the principal recommend to the superintendent that the student be released from school attendance. The superintendent shall determine appropriate action.
Pregnant students who wish to continue schooling in the regular program may do so until such time as the principal, student, and/or the student's doctor determine that the student's condition no longer permits school attendance.
Married Students
If a student gets married, the student is legally an adult and has a choice of continuing or dropping from school. The superintendent shall be notified when a married student is dropping.
Adult Students
A student who reaches 18 years of age is legally an adult and can elect to drop from school. The superintendent shall be notified if this occurs. However if the student elects to remain in school adult status will not be recognized until the student’s graduation or the end of the school year in which the 18th birthday occurs.
Teachers Responsibilities and Rights
It is the duty of all teachers to cooperate with and to assist the principal in the maintenance of proper order, study and organized play in their separate schools. They shall assist the principal in discipline during school hours or other places where students are under the supervision of the teacher.
Any unusual incidents that occur to any child or groups of children that may result in further complications, criticism, and repercussions shall be reported immediately. Such reports should be transmitted from teachers to the principal.
Teachers shall keep order and discipline in their classes. Students shall be treated with fairness and justice, but teachers shall have the authority to take those measures within the limits of acceptable professional practice to maintain good order and discipline when students are under their jurisdiction.
Most discipline problems should be handled in the classroom. Teachers shall enforce board discipline policy, rules and regulations for schools. These shall apply to teachers and students at all school-sponsored activities. Individual schools shall establish a referral system for reporting the disciplinary problems from the teacher to administration, and for reporting the action taken back to the teacher.
In the event that criminal action is brought against a teacher for appropriately enforcing rules or keeping order and discipline, the full authority of the Board of Education is placed behind the teacher. The teacher may request Board cooperation in the form of legal aid in preparing a defense.
Teachers shall immediately report cases of assault suffered by them in connection with their employment to their principal or other immediate supervisor.
Such notification shall be immediately forwarded to the superintendent, who shall comply with any reasonable request from the teacher for information in the possession of the district relating to the incident of the person involved, and shall act in appropriate ways as liaison between the teacher, the policy and the courts. This is not construed to cover cases where teachers are negligent or in cases of unavoidable accident.
Student-Staff Relations
All teachers of this school district shall insist that students address them properly during the time that they are performing their official duties. Students will be discouraged from using first names or nicknames in addressing teachers. Teachers may be informal when working in groups with other teachers and administrators; however, they should be more formal when addressing professional associates in the presence of students. Staff members shall be expected to regard each student as an individual and to accord each the rights and respect due any individual.
Students shall be treated with courtesy and consideration. Neither insults nor sarcasm shall be used before a student's peer as a way of forcing compliance with a staff member's requirements or expectations. No profanity is allowable in the classroom. Students shall be expected to regard staff members as individuals, employed to provide direct or indirect contributions to learning. While students are to have considerable latitude in making choices for themselves, they shall be required to respect the rights of staff members and other students. Interference with those rights shall not be condoned. No student shall have the right to interfere with the educational process.