15-843; Version 2

15-843. Pupil disciplinary proceedings

(L10, Ch. 311, sec. 2. Eff. 1/1/11)

A. An action concerning discipline, suspension or expulsion of a pupil is not
subject to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1, except that the governing board of a school
district shall post regular notice and shall take minutes of any hearing held by the
governing board concerning the discipline, suspension or expulsion of a pupil.

B. The governing board of any school district, in consultation with the teachers
and parents of the school district, shall prescribe rules for the discipline, suspension
and expulsion of pupils. The rules shall be consistent with the constitutional rights of
pupils and shall include at least the following:

1. Penalties for excessive pupil absenteeism pursuant to section 15-803, including
failure in a subject, failure to pass a grade, suspension or expulsion.

2. Procedures for the use of corporal punishment if allowed by the governing board.

3. Procedures for the reasonable use of physical force by certificated or
classified personnel in self-defense, defense of others and defense of property.

4. Procedures for dealing with pupils who have committed or who are believed to
have committed a crime.

5. A notice and hearing procedure for cases concerning the suspension of a pupil
for more than ten days.

6. Procedures and conditions for readmission of a pupil who has been expelled or
suspended for more than ten days.

7. Procedures for appeal to the governing board of the suspension of a pupil for
more than ten days, if the decision to suspend the pupil was not made by the governing
board.

8. Procedures for appeal of the recommendation of the hearing officer or officers
designated by the board as provided in subsection F of this section at the time the board
considers the recommendation.

C. Penalties adopted pursuant to subsection B, paragraph 1 of this section for
excessive absenteeism shall not be applied to pupils who have completed the course
requirements and whose absence from school is due solely to illness, disease or accident
as certified by a person who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 7, 13, 15 or 17.

D. The governing board shall:

1. Support and assist teachers in the implementation and enforcement of the rules
prescribed pursuant to subsection B of this section.

2. Develop procedures allowing teachers and principals to recommend the suspension
or expulsion of pupils.

3. Develop procedures allowing teachers and principals to temporarily remove
disruptive pupils from a class.

4. Delegate to the principal the authority to remove a disruptive pupil from the
classroom.

E. If a pupil withdraws from school after receiving notice of possible action
concerning discipline, expulsion or suspension, the governing board may continue with the
action after the withdrawal and may record the results of such action in the pupil's
permanent file.

F. In all action concerning the expulsion of a pupil, the governing board of a
school district shall:

1. Be notified of the intended action.

2. Either:

(a) Decide, in executive session, whether to hold a hearing or to designate one or
more hearing officers to hold a hearing to hear the evidence, prepare a record and bring
a recommendation to the board for action and whether the hearing shall be held in
executive session.

(b) Provide by policy or vote at its annual organizational meeting that all
hearings concerning the expulsion of a pupil conducted pursuant to this section will be
conducted before a hearing officer selected from a list of hearing officers approved by
the governing board.

3. Give written notice, at least five working days before the hearing by the
governing board or the hearing officer or officers designated by the governing board, to
all pupils subject to expulsion and their parents or guardians of the date, time and
place of the hearing. If the governing board decides that the hearing is to be held in
executive session, the written notice shall include a statement of the right of the
parents or guardians or an emancipated pupil who is subject to expulsion to object to the
governing board's decision to have the hearing held in executive session. Objections
shall be made in writing to the governing board.

G. If a parent or guardian or an emancipated pupil who is subject to expulsion
disagrees that the hearing should be held in executive session, it shall be held in an
open meeting unless:

1. If only one pupil is subject to expulsion and disagreement exists between that
pupil's parents or guardians, the governing board, after consultations with the pupil's
parents or guardians or the emancipated pupil, shall decide in executive session whether
the hearing will be in executive session.

2. If more than one pupil is subject to expulsion and disagreement exists between
the parents or guardians of different pupils, separate hearings shall be held subject to
this section.

H. This section does not prevent the pupil who is subject to expulsion or
suspension, and the pupil's parents or guardians and legal counsel, from attending any
executive session pertaining to the proposed disciplinary action, from having access to
the minutes and testimony of the executive session or from recording the session at the
parent's or guardian's expense.

I. In schools employing a superintendent or a principal, the authority to suspend a
pupil from school is vested in the superintendent, principal or other school officials
granted this power by the governing board of the school district.

J. In schools that do not have a superintendent or principal, a teacher may suspend
a pupil from school.

K. In all cases of suspension, it shall be for good cause and shall be reported
within five days to the governing board by the superintendent or the person imposing the
suspension.

L. Rules pertaining to the discipline, suspension and expulsion of pupils shall not
be based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin or ancestry. If the department of
education, the auditor general or the attorney general determines that a school district
is substantially and deliberately not in compliance with this subsection and if the
school district has failed to correct the deficiency within ninety days after receiving
notice from the department of education, the superintendent of public instruction may
withhold the monies the school district would otherwise be entitled to receive from the
date of the determination of noncompliance until the department of education determines
that the school district is in compliance with this subsection.

M. The principal of each school shall ensure that a copy of all rules pertaining to
discipline, suspension and expulsion of pupils is distributed to the parents of each
pupil at the time the pupil is enrolled in school.

N. The principal of each school shall ensure that all rules pertaining to the
discipline, suspension and expulsion of pupils are communicated to students at the
beginning of each school year, and to transfer students at the time of their enrollment
in the school.