This summary came complements of Tom Mela from the Coalition. Hopefully it will prove helpful for folks in understanding the new law.
TO: Interested Persons
FROM: Tom Mela
Date: August 7, 2012
RE: New school discipline/dropout reform law
On August 6, 2012, Governor Patrick signed into law
amendments to the Massachusetts General Laws that address the subject of school
discipline and school dropout. It is
Chapter 222 of the Acts of 2012.
Chapter 222 shall take effect on July 1, 2014.
Summary of the Provisions of Chapter 222:
An Act Relative to Students’ Access to Educational Services and
Exclusion from School
I.
Access
to Education - All Disciplinary
Exclusions
·
Students excluded for more than 10 consecutive school days, whether in or out of school,
are entitled to educational services so they have an opportunity to make academic progress during the period of
exclusion, to make up assignments and earn credits missed, including but not
limited to homework, quizzes, exams, papers and projects missed.
·
Principals shall develop a school-wide education
service plan for all such students excluded more than 10 days. Such plans may include, but are not limited to:
o
tutoring,
o
alternative
placement,
o
Saturday
school, and
o
online or
distance learning.
·
Schools shall provide the student and the parent
or guardian with a list of alternative educational services. Upon selection of
an alternative educational service by the student and parent or guardian, the
school shall facilitate and verify enrollment in the service.
·
If the student
moves to another school district during the period of exclusion, the new
district shall either admit the student or provide educational services in an
education service plan.
·
Students suspended for 10 or fewer consecutive days, whether in or out of school, shall
have an opportunity to:
o
make
academic progress during the period of suspension,
o
make up assignments and earn credits missed,
including but not limited to:
§
homework,
§
quizzes,
§
exams,
§
papers and projects.
II. State
Oversight and Responsibility for School Exclusion
·
Instructional costs of alternative educational
services may be eligible for state
reimbursement. DESE shall submit an annual report to the Legislature on the
alternative education instructional costs
·
School districts shall report to DESE the
specific reasons for all exclusions, regardless
of duration or type. On an
annual basis, DESE shall make district level de-identified data and analysis,
including the total number of days each
student is excluded during the school year, available to the public. This
report shall include district level data disaggregated by student status and
categories established by the commissioner.
·
Under regulations promulgated by the
commissioner, for each school that excludes a significant number of students
for more than 10 cumulative days in a school year, the commissioner shall:
o
investigate
and,
o
as appropriate, shall recommend models that
incorporate intermediary steps prior to the use of exclusion.
o
The results of the analysis shall be publicly
reported.
·
DESE shall issue a report to the Legislature on
the costs of implementation of Chapter
222 (including the school dropout prevention provisions summarized below in
Section IV) not later than November 30,
2013.
III.
Due
Process Rights and Protections: Exclusions
for Non-serious Offenses
·
Non-serious
offenses are those that do not
involve drugs, weapons , and assaults on school staff, and those that do not
involve felony charges filed in court.
·
School officials, when deciding the disciplinary
consequences for a student, shall:
o
exercise discretion,
o
consider ways to re-engage the student in the
learning process, and
o
avoid using expulsion as a consequence until other remedies and consequences have been
employed.
·
No student shall be excluded for a time
period that exceeds 90 school days.
·
Principals shall provide to the student and
parent or guardian notice of the
charges and the reason for exclusion in English and in the primary language
spoken in the home.
·
Students shall receive the written notification
and have the opportunity to meet
with the principal or designee to discuss the charges and reasons prior to the
exclusion taking effect.
·
The principal or designee shall ensure that the parent or guardian is included in the
meeting, unless the principal or designee can document reasonable efforts to
include the parent or guardian.
·
DESE shall promulgate regulations regarding the
principal’s duties and the procedures for including parents.
·
The principal or designee shall update the
notification for an exclusion. If the student is excluded for more than 10
school days for a single infraction or for more than 10 school days
cumulatively for multiple infractions in any school year, the student and
parent or guardian shall also receive written notification of a right to appeal and the process for
appealing in English and the primary language spoken in the home.
·
The principal or designee shall notify the
superintendent of an exclusion imposed on a student enrolled in kindergarten through grade 3 prior to
such exclusion taking effect, describing the alleged misconduct and reason for
exclusion.
·
A student who has been excluded for more than 10
school days for a single infraction or for more than 10 school days
cumulatively for multiple infractions in any school year shall have the right to appeal to the superintendent.
·
The student or parent or guardian shall request the appeal within 5 calendar
days of the effective date of the exclusion, but can request and shall be
granted an extension of up to 7 calendar days.
·
The superintendent or designee shall hold a hearing with the student or
parent or guardian within 3 school days of the request, but the student or
parent or guardian can request and shall be granted an extension of up to 7
calendar days.
·
At the
hearing, the student shall have the right to present oral and written
testimony and cross-examine witnesses, and the right to counsel.
·
The superintendent shall render a decision in writing with 5 calendar days of the hearing.
IV.
School
Dropouts
·
Students between the ages of 14 and 16 who hold a permit for employment are no longer
exempt from the requirement to attend school.
·
Schools shall have a pupil absence notification program, designed to notify a parent or
guardian if the school has not received notification of an absence from the
parent or guardian within 3 days of the absence. Schools shall have a policy of
notifying the parent or guardian if the student has at least 5 days in which
the student has missed 2 or more periods unexcused in a school year or has
missed 5 or more school days unexcused in a school year. The principal or designee shall make a
reasonable effort to meet with the parent or guardian OF A STUDENT who has 5 or
more unexcused absences to develop action steps for student attendance.
·
No student who has not graduated from high
school shall be considered to have permanently left public school unless the
school administrator has sent notice within a period of 5 days from the
student’s 10th consecutive absence to the student and parent or
guardian in the primary language of the parent or guardian and English,
initially offering at least 2 dates and times for an exit interview between the superintendent or designee and the
student and parent or guardian.
·
The exit interview shall be for the purpose of
discussing the reasons for the student permanently leaving school and to
consider alternative education or other placements. During the exit interview,
the student shall be given information about:
o
the detrimental effects of early withdrawal from
school;
o
the benefits of earning a high school diploma;
and
o
the alternative education programs and services
available to the student.
·
DESE shall publish a model protocol for
conducting exit interviews, and compile and maintain a list of alternative
education resources and programs available to the student in addition to those
the district may provide.
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