Jefferson City School District approves discipline policy

The Jefferson City School District's Board of Education on Monday night approved updates to the district's discipline policies that give more discretion to school principals in some situations.

Before the meeting, the only available punishment for a student caught selling, purchasing, transferring or distributing drugs, alcohol or drug-related paraphernalia the first time was expulsion.

The new policy, approved 5-1 - school board member Stephanie Johnson was not present - states that a first offense can be dealt with using an in-school suspension, a one- to 180-day out-of-school suspension or expulsion, and with a second offense, the student would face a one- to 180-day out-of-school suspension or expulsion.

Two other discipline policy changes were also approved: having "physical contact/aggression" as an offense - not all acts involving physical contact may be the more serious offenses of fighting or assault - and adding language that makes it legally defensible for elementary school principals to use loss of a privilege as a measure of discipline, such as denying a student from going to recess.

Board member Steve Bruce voted against the policy as written because he was concerned about including an in-school suspension as a possible disciplinary action for a student's drug distribution activity - despite that the board seemed to agree it was unlikely that an in-school suspension would ever actually be used for such a circumstance.

Bruce said his issue was not in trusting staff to make good decisions, but he wanted to know what other local schools' policies are, and he did not want the district to give the impression that it does not take such behavior seriously.

"I won't seek to bring this up again or criticize it," he said, adding "the majority spoke, and that was the decision" - though his concerns remained.

Columbia Public Schools uses similar language in its discipline policies compared to what JC Schools' Board of Education approved Monday. A Columbia student caught distributing drugs, alcohol or drug-related paraphernalia can face "administrator/student conference, detention, in-school suspension, 1-180 days out-of-school suspension or expulsion. Restitution if appropriate. May include loss of privileges including, but not limited to: confiscation of the contraband item; loss of parking privileges; loss of technology privileges."

In Columbia's policy, the same set of potential punishments applies to other serious offenses including arson, assault, bullying, cyber-bullying, fighting, sexual harassment and hazing.

"Building-level administrators are authorized to more narrowly tailor potential consequences as appropriate for the age level of students in the building within the ranges established in this regulation. In addition to the consequences specified here, school officials will notify law enforcement and document violations in the student's discipline file pursuant to law and Board policy," CPS' policy adds.

JC Schools' policy, like CPS', requires the district to report all crimes that occur on its property to law enforcement. Additionally, according to JC Schools' policy, "The principal shall also notify the appropriate law enforcement agency and superintendent if a student is discovered to possess a controlled substance or weapon in violation of the district's policy."

In other news, JC Schools' Chief of Learning Brian Shindorf also reported Monday night that the district is seeking more tutors for its seventh-graders.

Adult Basic Literacy Education Program tutors will continue to serve sixth-graders, Shindorf said, adding the district will try using paid tutors for its seventh-graders.

The paid tutors would each work with up to about four students, starting maybe 45-50 minutes before the start of school, he said.

Shindorf anticipated about 60 students being served at each middle school, with 30 tutors working three days a week.

He said the service would only be available for students who can get there in the morning - he was asked by board member Lindsey Rowden about students who ride the bus - but it might be possible for those students to get the tutoring in the afternoon and take an activities bus home.

Shindorf did not know when the service might start, adding the district was working with ABLE to see if it could provide the tutors for seventh-graders.