Kelley Baker kbaker@hslegalfirm.com
Karen Haase
Steve Williams
Bobby Truhe
khaase@hslegalfirm.com @KarenHaase
swilliams@hslegalfirm.com
btruhe@hslegalfirm.com @btruhe
Now that School is Out, We are Giving You Homework Most of you have just released students for the summer or will be doing so soon. Before you turn your attention to your summer plans, we have an assignment for you: review the discipline provisions of your student handbooks and your board’s policies. We have had several recent cases where schools were unable to impose the appropriate consequences for students who had engaged in serious misconduct because the student handbooks and/or board policies weren’t written correctly. So, NOW, before you move on to summer activities, please check your student handbooks for the following:
Are there any conflicts between the handbooks for your elementary, middle and high schools? Are there any conflicts between your student handbooks and your board policies on student discipline? Do your student code of conduct and disciplinary procedures track the Student Discipline Act exactly (or with very few exceptions)? Have you updated your handbooks and/or board policies since 2009, the last time the Unicameral amended the Student Discipline Act?
Increasingly, parents are hiring attorneys to challenge even minor student discipline, and the first thing the attorneys do is review your handbooks and policies in detail. They can have a field day with any guarantees of “due process,” casually written statements or paraphrasing – all at the administrators’ expense. NOW is the time to review and update your student handbooks and board policies - before you face a legal challenge. Staff Handbooks. We also encourage you to review staff handbooks and policies. Though our most recent headaches have been with student discipline, we have had many cases where the wording of staff handbooks has given administrators and board members fits. Well-intentioned but poorly crafted wording has interfered with their ability to do what they want, particularly in personnel matters, has caused legal wrangling, and has been expensive for the district. If you have questions or need assistance in reviewing or updating your handbooks and/or board policies, call your school district’s attorney or Kelley, Karen, Steve or Bobby. I:\3\7613\E-mail Updates\122 - Review Discipline Policies.docx