Policy 5.8 Code of Student Conduct - browardschoolsbcpsagenda.browardschools.com/agenda/01042/Item 1A (17598...• Endorsement of PROMISE by Police Chief’s Association • Data sharing
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Policies 5.8 & 5006 Code of Student Conduct &
Suspension & Expulsion
Special Board Workshop
March 31, 2015
•Michaelle Pope, Executive Director, Student Support Initiatives
The PROMISE program is an intervention programdesigned to address the unique needs of students(Grades K-12), who have committed specific acts ofmisconduct that might normally lead to a juveniledelinquency arrest and, therefore, entry into thejuvenile justice system. In addition, it serves studentswho have committed behavior infractions related tobullying and harassment.
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Framing the Conversation
• Community Advocacy• State & Federal Guidance• Policy Revision• Communication & Training• Workgroups / Committees
• Code of Student Conduct Committee Members: 29• Suspension and Expulsion Committee: 10
(Membership Overlap: 8)
• Elimination of the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Workgroup: 49
• PROMISE Advisory Group: 213
The School Discipline Consensus ReportJustice Center – Council of State Governments
REPORT FINDINGS ON SCHOOL DISCIPLINE:
• Millions of students are being removed from their classrooms each year (mostly in middle and high school) for minor misconduct.
• A disproportionately large percentage of disciplined students are youth of color, students with disabilities, and youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT).
• These students are at a significantly higher risk of falling behind academically, dropping out of school, and coming into contact with the juvenile justice system.
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The School Discipline Consensus ReportJustice Center – Council of State Governments
REPORT FINDINGS ON SCHOOL DISCIPLINE:
• When students commit serious offenses or pose a threat to school safety they may need to be removed from the campus or arrested. However, such incidents are relatively rare.
• In schools with high rates of suspension for minor offenses, students and teachers often feel they are not safe or supported in their learning environment.
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The School Discipline Consensus ReportJustice Center – Council of State Governments
REPORT FINDINGS ON SCHOOL DISCIPLINE:
• Student and parent groups, advocacy organizations, researchers, professional associations, and school districts have raised the visibility of exclusionary discipline practices across the nation.
• Individual schools, districts, and state education systems are implementing research-based approaches to:
• Address student misbehavior that hold youth accountable
• Address victims’ needs
• Effectively improve both student conduct and adult responses
• These approaches also help keep students engaged in classrooms and out of courtrooms.
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The School Discipline Consensus ReportJustice Center – Council of State Governments
REPORT FINDINGS ON SCHOOL DISCIPLINE:
• Local and state governments must not only help schools reduce thenumber of students suspended, expelled, and arrested, but mustalso provide conditions for learning wherein all students feel safe,welcome, and supported.
• Achieving these objectives requires the combination of a positiveschool climate, tiered levels of behavioral interventions, and apartnership between education, police, and court officials that isdedicated to preventing youth arrests or referrals to the juvenilejustice system for minor school-based offenses. 7
Amendments to Zero ToleranceF.S. 1006.13
• “… Intent - to promote a safe and supportive learning environment in schools, to protect students and staff from conduct that poses a serious threat to school safety, and to encourage schools to use alternatives to expulsion or referral to law enforcement agencies by addressing disruptive behavior through restitution, civil citation, teen court, neighborhood restorative justice, or similar programs.”
• “… zero-tolerance policies are not intended to be rigorously applied to petty acts of misconduct and misdemeanors, including, but not limited to, minor fights or disturbances.”
• “… Zero-tolerance policies do not require the reporting of petty acts of misconduct and misdemeanors to a law enforcement agency, including, but not limited to, disorderly conduct, disrupting a school function, simple assault or battery, affray, theft of less than $300, trespassing, and vandalism of less than $1,000.” 8
New Proposed Language HB 393 (2015)
• 1006.13 Policy of zero tolerance for crime and victimization.—
…Intent - to promote a safe and supportive learning environment in schools, to protect students and staff from conduct that poses a serious threat to school safety, and to require encourage schools to use alternatives to expulsion or referral to law enforcement agencies, except when there is a threat to school safety, by addressing disruptive behavior through restitution, civil citation, teen court, neighborhood restorative justice, or similar programs.
…zero-tolerance policies are not intended to be rigorously applied to petty acts of misconduct and misdemeanors, including, but not limited to, minor fights or disturbances.
…The Legislature finds that zero-tolerance policies must apply equally to all students regardless of their economic status, race, or disability. 9
New Proposed Language SB 1104 (2015)
• An act relating to student discipline; creating s. 1006.01, F.S.; defining terms; amending s. 1006.07, F.S.; revising the duties of the district school boards relating to student discipline and school safety; requiring school districts to adopt standards for intervention…; requiring a school district to meaningfully involve the community in creating and applying certain policies; requiring a school district to fund and support the implementation of school-based restorative justice practices…; authorizing a school resource officer and a school safety officer to arrest a student only for certain violations of law…; prohibiting an officer from arresting or referring a student to the criminal justice system or juvenile justice system for petty acts of misconduct…
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New Proposed Language SB 1104 (2015)
…requiring a law enforcement agency that serves a school district to enter into cooperative agreements with the district school board, ensure the training of school resource officers and school safety officers…; providing that a school’s authority and discretion to use other disciplinary consequences and interventions is not limited by the act…; requiring, rather than encouraging, a school district to use alternatives to expulsion or referral to a law enforcement agency unless the use of such alternatives poses a threat to school safety;
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U. S. Department of EducationGuiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate
and Discipline-Arne Duncan, January 2014
• Research findings – Office of Civil Rights; Council of State Governments Justice Center; Education Policy Center Indiana University
• Suspended students are less likely to graduate on-time, more likely to be suspended again, repeat a grade, dropout of school and become involved in the juvenile justice system.
• An association between higher suspension rates and lower school-wide academic achievement and standardized test scores.
• Schools and taxpayers bear steep direct and indirect costs from associated grade retention and elevated dropout rates
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U. S. Department of EducationGuiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate
and Discipline-Arne Duncan, January 2014
• A call for state, district and school leaders to reexamine school discipline in light of three guiding principle that are grounded in our work with a wide variety of high-achieving and safe schools, emerging research and consultation with experts in the field.
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U. S. Department of Education - ContinuedGuiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate
and Discipline-Arne Duncan, January 2014
Three Guiding Principles
1. Take deliberate steps to create positive school climates that can help prevent and change inappropriate behaviors:
• Train staff, engage families & community partners
• Deploy resources to help students develop social, emotional and conflict resolution skills
• Focus student supports on addressing underlying behavior, such as trauma, substance abuse and mental issues
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U. S. Department of Education - ContinuedGuiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate
and Discipline-Arne Duncan, January 2014
Three Guiding Principles
2. Ensure clear, appropriate, and consistent expectations and consequences are in place to address disruptive student behaviors. Hold students accountable for their actions in developmentally appropriate ways…rely on suspension and expulsion as a last resort…alternative strategies to address problem behaviors while keeping all students engage in instruction to the greatest extent possible.
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U. S. Department of Education - ContinuedGuiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate
and Discipline-Arne Duncan, January 2014
Three Guiding Principles
3. Districts and schools must understand their civil rights obligations and ensure fairness and equity for all students, and continuously evaluate the impact of their discipline policies and practices using data and analysis.
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U. S. Department of Education - ContinuedGuiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate
and Discipline-Arne Duncan, January 2014
• Call for National Reforms
• Revisions to discipline laws to enhance local discretion
• Curtailment of zero-tolerance requirements
• Development of alternative disciplinary approaches such as restorative justice.
• Addition of social and emotional learning to curricula
• Implementation of positive behavioral intervention and support frameworks
• Replacement of suspension rooms with learning centers
• Forming intervention teams to help struggling students and their families
• Building and sustaining community partnerships 17
Strategic Advisors Included:
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Answering the Call…
BCPS Local Reforms• Continued Enhancements to Code of Conduct and PROMISE Intervention
Program
• Comprehensive Positive School-wide Behavior Planning and Support in all
Schools
• MTSS/RtI Processes
• School Climate Transformation Grant
• Project AWARE First Aid Mental Health Grant
• South Florida Educational Research Alliance
• Independent Evaluator
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EVOLUTION OF PROMISE PROGRAM IN BCPS
PRE-PROMISE PROMISE NOWPROMISE MOVING
FORWARD
OBJECTIVE
• Zero-Tolerance for any type
of student behavior
• Reduce suspensions,
expulsions, and school-related
arrests
• Zero tolerance remains for
felony incidents and incidents
that pose a serious threat to
school safety
• Intervention approach focused on
student success
• Zero tolerance remains for felony
incidents and incidents that pose a
serious threat to school safety
APPROACH
• Punitive
• “One size fits all”
• Removal from Setting
• Suspensions, Expulsions,
Arrests
• Long-term suspensions
• Suspensions (w/o
supervision by caregiver
lead to arrests in some
cases)
• Reliance on law
enforcement to handle
discipline
• Consequence in lieu of an
arrest for identified
misdemeanors, bullying, and
harassment
• Keep students in school
• Move away from “one size fits
all”
• Discipline Matrix identifies
consultation with law
enforcement
• Reduced suspension periods
• Student Success Model focused on
keeping students in school; develop
prosocial skills and coping
behaviors
• [1] builds on the strengths of the
participant[s], [2] employs a System-
of Care team approach, [3] embeds
Response to Intervention [RTI]
practices and [4] identifies clear and
specific expectations and outcome
measures
• Collaborative efforts between school
leaders and law enforcement
SUPPORTS
• Little to no support
• Alternative to Suspension
with limited interventions
• No transitional support upon
return
• Academic/Behavior
• Counseling; School Social
Worker
• Response to Intervention (RtI)
upon return
• Juvenile Justice System of Care
• Wrap-around supports to best meet
student’s individual needs:
Counseling; School Social Worker
• RtI-B Supports - Tiers 1-3, Behavior
intervention Committee, Behavior
Centers, Restorative Practices,
JJSC
1 2 3
PROMISE Supports
Student Support School SupportSystem/
CommunitySupport
• On-site, individual and group
counseling services
• Enforcement of victim’s rights
• Academic and behavioral focused
curriculum
• Group conflict resolution strategies
• Restorative Practices
• MTSS/RtI
• 6-weekTransition Plan
• On-going electronic enhancements
of the Discipline Management
System & BASIS
• Communication in all languages
regarding [1] the PROMISE
Program, [2] Victim’s Rights, and
[3] Juvenile Justice System of Care
flyer
• On-going school administrator
training
• PROMISE Liaison identified per
school
• Systematic Change in Schools
Recommendation form
• Social Worker Services/Case
management
• Developmental Assets Profile Plan
• Behavior Intervention Committee
recommendation
• Breaking Barriers Training Series
• Courageous Conversations
Professional Learning Community
• Endorsement of PROMISE by
Police Chief’s Association
• Data sharing with DJJ, Broward
County Civil Citation, State
Attorney and law enforcement
• Reconciling communication
processes with State Attorney’s
and the Public Defender’s Office,
DJJ and law enforcement within
each municipality
• Joint training between school
administration and law
enforcement
• Juvenile Justice System of Care
• PROMISE Advisory Group, The
Elimination of the Schoolhouse to
Jailhouse Workgroup, Code of
Student Conduct and Suspension
and Expulsion Committee
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Framing the Data Conversation13 PROMISE Eligible Incidents