CHCA

APPROVAL OF HANDBOOKS AND DIRECTIVES

Statute requires that in each school building containing the grades nine to twelve, inclusive, the Principal, in consultation with the School Council, shall prepare and distribute to each student a handbook (hereinafter referred to as the Student Handbook) setting forth the rules pertaining to conduct of students. The School Council shall review the Student Handbook each year to consider changes in the disciplinary policy to take effect the following school year.

It is essential that the contents of all Student Handbooks (including those of the elementary and middle schools) conform to AWRSD School Committee policies. It is also important that all Student Handbooks bearing the name of each of the District schools be of a quality that reflects credit on the District. Therefore, all Student Handbooks are to be submitted for approval by the Committee prior to the first of May each year.

In addition, Committee approval is necessary for all handbooks that pertain to required standards of conduct for employees and/or students so that their contents may be accorded the status of Committee approved policy or regulation. Therefore the Superintendent shall insure that all District Handbooks, as well as the Student Handbook(s), distributed to staff, students, or any sub-category thereof, be submitted prior to the first of May each year for Committee review and, if required based on content, Committee approval.

The following rules of conduct, as dictated by statute, shall be included in the High School Student Handbook and such rules of conduct as recommended by Administration may also be included in the Elementary and/or Middle School Student Handbooks:

(a) Any student who is found on school premises or at school-sponsored or school-related events, including athletic games, in possession of a dangerous weapon, including, but not limited to, a gun or a knife; or a controlled substance as defined in chapter MGL c 94C, including, but not limited to, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, may be subject to expulsion from the school or school district by the Principal.

(b) Any student who assaults a principal, assistant principal, teacher, teacher’s aide or other educational staff on school premises or at school-sponsored or school-related events, including athletic games, may be subject to expulsion from the school or school district by the Principal.

(c) Any student who is charged with a violation of either paragraph (a) or (b) shall be notified in writing of an opportunity for a hearing; provided, however, that the student may have representation, along with the opportunity to present evidence and witnesses at said hearing before the Principal.

After said hearing, a Principal may, in his discretion, decide to suspend rather than expel a student who has been determined by the Principal to have violated either paragraph (a) or (b).

(d) Any student who has been expelled from a school district pursuant to these provisions shall have the right to appeal to the Superintendent. The expelled student shall have ten days from the date of the expulsion in which to notify the Superintendent of his/her appeal. The student has the right to counsel at a hearing before the Superintendent. The subject matter of the appeal shall not be limited solely to a factual determination of whether the student has violated any provisions of this section.

(e) Any school district that suspends or expels a student under this section shall continue to provide educational services to the student during the period of suspension or expulsion, under MGL c 76 §21. If the student moves to another district during the period of suspension or expulsion, the new district of residence shall either admit the student to its schools or provide educational services to the student in an education service plan, under MGL c 76 §21.

(f) Districts shall report to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education the specific reasons for all suspensions and expulsions, regardless of duration or type, in a manner and form established by the commissioner. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall use its existing data collection tools to obtain this information from districts and shall modify those tools, as necessary, to obtain the information. On an annual basis, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 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 online in a machine readable format. This report shall include district level data disaggregated by student status and categories established by the commissioner.

(g) Under the regulations promulgated by the department, for each school that suspends or expels a significant number of students for more than 10 cumulative days in a school year, the Commissioner shall investigate and, as appropriate, shall recommend models that incorporate intermediary steps prior to the use of suspension or expulsion. The results of the analysis shall be publicly reported at the school district level.

SOURCE: MASC

LEGAL REFS: M.G.L. 71:37H

First Reading: 10/25/04 Second Reading: 11/02/04 ADOPTED: 11/16/04 Revised & Readopted: 06/23/15