School Discipline & Massachusetts State Law

Massachusetts Law on School Discipline 

Under Massachusetts General Law, the following three statues govern discipline for public schools:

• § 37H: Suspension or expulsion for weapons, drugs or assaulting staff.  (This statute was unchanged.) 

• § 37H ½ : Suspension for felony charge or conviction.  (This statute was unchanged.) 

• § 37H ¾ : All other offenses, considered “handbook violations.” (This is the statute that was updated in November 2022).  

Since 2014, G.L. c. 71, § 37H ¾ and DESE regulation 603 CMR 53.05 has required that principals 1) Exercise discretion in deciding the consequences for the offense; 2) Consider ways to re-engage the student in learning; and 3) Avoid using long-term suspension from school as a consequence until alternatives have been tried.  Until November 8th, 2022 the laws and regulations did not otherwise require principals to use alternative remedies before issuing discipline.  Effective November 8th, 2022, principals are now required to 1) Consider ways to re-engage the student in the learning process; 2) Not suspend or expel a student until “alternative remedies” are employed and their use and results documented, unless specific reasons are documented why they would be unsuitable or counter-productive.  

• “Alternative Remedies” include Mediation, Conflict Resolution, Restorative Justice and Collaborative Problem Solving 

• Suspension/expulsion is also permitted in cases where the student’s continued presence in school would pose a specific, documentable concern about the infliction of serious bodily injury or other serious harm upon another person while in school. 

The law requires schools to document the use and results of alternative remedies using 1) Student information system (PowerSchool); 2) District-developed checklist form to include in student record; and 3) Written communications between administration and staff members implementing alternative remedies (i.e. principal and school counselor). 

The law also requires schools to implement school-wide or district-wide models to re-engage students in the learning process which include, but are not limited to the following learning models: Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports and Trauma Sensitive Learning.  Use of models themselves is not considered a direct response to a specific incident.  The RHS Restorative Framework for Accountability and Support is a comprehensive Framework for school climate that draws on appropriate elements of the programs listed above, in accordance with the law. 

Removal of Students From School

Some behavior incidents require the removal of students from the school for a period of time.  This section highlights the conditions under which the school can and will remove students from school for various lengths of time.  

Emergency Removal.  When the administration has determined that a student’s continued presence at the school poses a danger to persons or property, or materially and substantially disrupts the order of the school and there is no alternative to alleviate the danger or disruption, then the student may be Emergency Removed for up to 2 school days while the administration continues their investigation. Parents/caregivers will be provided with written notification of the removal in English and their home language. Before the expiration of the 2 school days, the parents/caregivers will be provided with written notification of the appropriate hearing in English and their home language.

Out of School Suspension:  Out of School Suspension (OSS) is considered a very serious consequence. It signals the gravity of the violation, communicates the urgent need for the student to turn around inappropriate and unacceptable behaviors, and becomes part of the student’s school record. Exclusion from the school community for a limited number of days can provide some distance from the student for those impacted by the incident. It also allows time for the suspended student to reflect on the impact of their behavior, receive targeted restorative interventions and engage in a supportive re-entry protocol upon their return to school.  It is worth repeating that exclusion should be minimized and used only when warranted.  Suspensions are categorized in the following ways: 

• Short Term Suspension (1-4 Consecutive Days for Level 3 and Level 4 Behavior Violations): Limiting the length of OSS encourages students to recover more quickly from lost instructional time and re-engage in the school community. Suspensions beyond four days have an exponentially negative impact on student performance. The student serves Out-of-School Suspension for the assigned number of days. 

• Short Term Suspension (5 - 10 Consecutive Days for some Level 5 Behavior Violations):  Assignment of a  5-10  day suspension is only used for the most egregious or violent violations that have a profoundly negative impact on the classroom/school community. Extended exclusion from the school community has a lasting impact on the student’s social and emotional well-being and the student’s attachment to school. The student in this situation may find it extremely difficult to make up for missed learning. 

• Long-Term Suspension (10+ Days for some Level 5 Behavior Violations): Except for suspensions under 37H and 37H ½, no student may be suspended for more than ninety (90) school days in a school year, beginning with the first day that the student is removed from school. No Level 5 suspension shall extend beyond the end of the school year in which such suspension is imposed. A student who has been suspended from school for more than 10 school days for a single violation or for more than ten (10) school days cumulatively for multiple violations in any school year has the Right to Appeal the suspension to the Superintendent.

• Expulsion (90+ Days for some Level 5 Behavior Violations):  An expulsion is the removal of a student from the school premises, regular classroom activities, and school activities for more than ninety (90) school days, or indefinitely, or permanently. as permitted under M.G.L. c. 71,  37H or 37H½  for the following reasons: Possession of a dangerous weapon, Possession of a controlled substance, Assault on a member of the educational staff, or A felony charge or felony delinquency complaint or conviction, or adjudication or admission of guilt with respect to such a felony, if a principal determines that the student's continued presence in school would have a substantial detrimental effect on the general welfare of the school. 

Additional Procedural Protections for Special Education Students

Special education students who are in IEPs may be excluded from their programs for up to ten school days per school year just as any other student. If the district seeks to exclude a special education student from their program for more than ten school days in the school year, however, the student’s special education Team must first determine whether (1) the student’s behavior was caused by, or was directly and substantially related to their disability or (2) whether the conduct in question was the direct result of the district’s failure to implement the student’s IEP. This is called a “manifestation determination.” If the Team determines that the behavior was a manifestation of the student’s disability or was caused by the district’s failure to implement the student’s IEP, the Team must (1) conduct a functional behavioral assessment and (2) develop a behavior plan or review any existing behavior plan and modify it, if necessary, and (3) return the student to their current program unless the student’s parents and the district agree to a change in placement. If the Team determines the behavior was not caused by, or directly and substantially related to, the student’s disability or by the district’s failure to implement the IEP, the school may discipline the student according to the school’s code of student conduct, except that during the period of suspension or expulsion, the district must continue to provide the student with a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and, if appropriate, conduct a functional behavior assessment and provide intervention services and modifications to prevent the conduct from recurring. If the conduct involves weapons or a controlled substance at school or a school function, or a determination that the current placement is substantially likely to result in injury to the student or others,, a special education student may be removed to an interim alternative educational placement for up to 45 school days regardless of the behavior’s relationship to their disability.

When a parent/guardian disagrees with the Team’s decision on the “manifestation determination” or with a decision regarding placement, the parent/guardian has the right to request an expedited due process hearing from the Bureau of Special Education Appeals.