Discipline at LPS

The following is checklist prepared by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to ensure schools are following the legal aspects of Chapter 222. All administrators responsible for discipline in the district have a copy of this checklist and it is regularly referenced throughout the the student discipline process.

1. The superintendent, principals and assistant principals, and other school leaders, have reviewed new G.L. c. 71, § 37H ¾ and G.L. c. 76, § 21, ESE Student Discipline Regulations, and, as it becomes available, Department-issued guidance on student discipline.

2. The Superintendent has worked with staff to determine the budgetary implications of implementation of Chapter 222.

3. Local policies, procedures, and protocols as well as handbooks have been revised to comply with the new discipline requirements.

4. Local policies, procedures, and protocols reflect the practices, interventions, and program models that will be in place in schools as a consequence for misconduct so that long-term suspension (more than 10 school days) is used only as a last resort as a consequence for non-statutory offenses.

5. School staff have information about practices, interventions, and program models that may be used as a consequence for non-statutory offenses so that long-term suspension is used only as a last resort.

6. Each school has a school-wide education service plan in place that describes the education services that will be offered to students who are suspended or expelled from school for more than 10 consecutive days, and that will provide an opportunity for the student to make academic progress during the period of exclusion.

7. Principals are prepared to offer education services to students who are suspended, in-school or out-of school, for 10 days or less so that students can made academic progress while they are removed from their classroom or school premises.

8. Schools have a system that they will use to timely notify, orally and in writing, parents of students who have violated school rules and may be suspended, so that parents may be involved in a meeting/hearing with the principal to discuss the misconduct and consequences before consequences are imposed. Schools have a plan for translation of required notices and access to interpreters who may be used at disciplinary hearings.

9. The district has a data collection system for suspensions and expulsions that meets ESE data reporting requirements. The district has also developed a system for tracking participation and academic progress of students who are offered education services during suspension or expulsion. (See #6 and #7)

10. School leaders periodically review data to determine the impact of suspensions and expulsions on selected student populations, including but not limited to race and ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, English language learner status and student with a disability status, and whether the data indicate over-reliance on suspension or expulsion as a consequence for student misconduct.