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2001 SESSION

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SB 1359 Student discipline.

Introduced by: Nick Rerras | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS PASSED: (all summaries)

Student discipline. Reorganizes the student discipline statutes and moves some sections to other articles of Title 22.1. The measure makes the following substantive changes: (i) adds definitions for the various student disciplinary actions; (ii) requires division superintendents, in making recommendations for expulsion for violations other than those involving weapons or drugs, to consider various factors, such as the student's age, grade level, academic and attendance records, and disciplinary history, and the appropriateness and availability of an alternative education placement or program; (iii) requires subsequent confirmation or disapproval of a recommended student expulsion by the school board, or a committee thereof, regardless of whether the pupil exercised the right to a hearing; (iv) allows school boards to exclude from attendance students who have been suspended for more than 30 days or expelled by another school division or for whom private school admission has been withdrawn regardless of the offense for which the disciplinary action was imposed, upon a finding that the student presents a danger to the other students or staff of the school division and upon compliance with a hearing process; (v) eliminates the one-year cap for the period of time a student who has been expelled or for whom admission has been withdrawn may be excluded from school attendance in another school division, and provides that the date upon which the student may re-petition for admission must be issued by the relevant school board, committee thereof, or superintendent or designee rendering the initial exclusion, and, upon denial of the petition, a date for subsequent petitions set by the school board; (vi) permits school divisions excluding students who have been expelled from another school division in the Commonwealth to accept or waive any or all of any conditions for admission that may have been imposed by the expelling school division; however, the excluding school division cannot impose additional conditions for admission; (vii) allows school boards to permit students who have been expelled, excluded, are subject to a long-term suspension; found to have committed a serious offense or repeated offenses in violation of school board policies; found guilty or not innocent of an offense related to weapons, alcohol or drugs, or a crime that could have resulted in injury to others; or for whom a court disposition is required to be reported, to attend an alternative education program provided by the school division; (viii) permits school boards to take action against students or their parents for actual loss, breakage, or destruction of or failure to return school property, including seeking reimbursement from the student or the student's parent; and (ix) requires school boards to establish, by regulation, a schedule pursuant to which expelled students may apply and reapply for readmission to school. The schedule would be designed to ensure that the hearing and ruling on any initial petition for readmission, if granted, would enable the student to resume school attendance one calendar year from the date of the expulsion.

This measure is a recommendation of the Commission on Youth and is identical to HB 2512.


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