A recent School Law Blog in the April 26 Education Week edition presents a scenario that administrators need to careful to avoid. When a student is suspected or discovered with involvement of illegal activities in school, the building administrators need to exclude the School Resource Officer (SRO) in the initial office investigation conversation. Establishing student guilt …
Tag: Student Discipline
Jun 12
Fairfax Administrators Thwart Board Intrusion Into Discipline Policy
The issue of planned notification for parents before their child is questioned about serious offenses in schools has surfaced in Northern Virginia. Last week at the June 7th school board meeting, the Fairfax County School Board voted to postpone action on a policy that would change the notification process for children involved in serious infractions, including …
Feb 20
General Assembly Report – February 16
The 2012 General Assembly session has had a variety of bills presented related to discipline in our public schools. While news coverage of this topic has been scattered, discipline remains one of the more frequently addressed topics in the General Assembly. In the 2012 session, eight (8) bills proposed on this subject have either failed …
Feb 02
General Assembly Report – February 1
Patrons are rushing to consolidate a number of discipline bills – there were 9 (nine!) introduced, and they range from mandating alternative education to requiring principals to “read them their rights.” With this many bills in the hopper, representing legislation in both the House and the Senate, the odds would not seem to be in …
Jan 18
Capital Issues at the General Assembly
The 2012 General Assembly Session is less than a week old, and already politicians have filed 9 bills related to suspension and expulsion that challenge a principal’s ability to maintain safety and discipline in schools. Additionally, among bills related to K-12, is legislation that would allow home-schooled students to play public school sports; require allocation …
Nov 27
Group Critizes Virginia School Disciplinary Tactics
According to a new report, more than 90,500 individual students were suspended or expelled from Virginia schools during the 2010-11 academic year. JustChildren, a legal aid program that advocates on behalf of low-income students, issued a report Thursday, November 17, 2011, that is critical of disciplinary practices at Virginia’s public schools. According to the report, more …