Disciplinary Referral to the Department of Student Services Roles and Responsibilities

Disciplinary Referral to the Department of Student Services Roles and Responsibilities

Procedures to be followed by the school administrator are outlined below.

Investigate

q The school administrator must be involved in the investigation of an incident; you cannot rely on hearsay. w The school administrator must collect witness statements and take pictures of injuries, weapons, controlled substances, and physical damage. Every effort must be made to obtain documentation of medical attention.

Note: The school administrator’s report is not a witness statement. e Witness statements should be collected separately and discreetly. Original statements must be signed and dated by the author. All statements must be typed verbatim, omitting the names of other students. r Determine if video is available. If so, have two staff members review it and write witness statements of what they observed. t A parent must be notified if the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) removes a student from school. y For cases involving drugs, MPD must confirm the substance and the weight/amount. u Complete Behavior Response in Infinite Campus (IC), if applicable.

Special note: Procedures for students enrolled at one school but are involved in a serious incident at another school. If a student enrolled at another school is involved in a serious incident at your school, notify the student’s school of enrollment immediately. The administrator, at the school of enrollment, must issue the suspension notice to the student and prepare the conference packet. The administrator at the school where the incident occurred provides witness statements and any other evidence (videos & pictures) to the administrator at the school of enrollment. This must be done in a timely manner to ensure adequate time to prepare the principal’s packet. The Student Services supervisor will notify the administrator at the school of incident if their presence at the conference is required. The conference is the responsibility of the school of enrollment in accordance with level 3 and 4 guidelines.

Suspend

q Issue a 5-day suspension notice (OSS) to student by the end of the school day. For students that are completely virtual, issue a Virtual Discipline Process (VDP) resolution. w If student is SpEd, be aware of the total days suspended and have a Plan of Provision in place. e The incident needs to be recorded in IC immediately. r Contact and inform parent/guardian of suspension. Issue a suspension letter to the student and mail a copy to the address of record. For students that are completely virtual, issue a Virtual

Discipline Process (VDP) letter. t Document the issuance of the suspension letter or Virtual Discipline Process letter in a PLP note and scan the original into IC. For suspension letters, use a PLP – suspension notice. Virtual

Discipline Process letters will use a PLP – Virtual Discipline Process. y Contact and inform parent/guardian if the police were involved, citation(s) were issued, and if the police removed student from the building. u If the Student Services supervisor determines that the incident is a Level 1 offense or a Level 2 offense, a conference will not be scheduled. i If the student is detained/incarcerated or hospitalized, the suspension or Virtual Discipline Process is not in effect. Upon receiving notification of student’s release and availability, issue/reissue student suspension or Virtual Discipline Process and inform the Student Supervisor.

Note: Update the student’s attendance in IC.

Refer

q Email the Report of Conduct that Violates the Code of School/Classroom Conduct and Discipline within 24 hours. The first day of suspension starts the 5-day timeline. Complete the Report of

Conduct form, save, and submit by email to: csincident@lists.milwaukee.k12.wi.us. Please do not email the supervisors. w A Student Services supervisor will contact the school administrator within 24 hours of receiving the Report of Conduct form(s) for the incident. If you have not heard from the assigned supervisor within 24 hours, contact the assigned supervisor. e The supervisor will give the school administrator the date, time, and level of the conference, or a disposition for the incident. The Department of Student Services will also upgrade the suspension to 5 days in IC if a conference is scheduled. If handled at the local school level, the Regional

Superintendent must approve a 5-day suspension and inform the supervisor. r If a conference is scheduled:

For all conferences, email the entire School Administrator’s Packet to the assigned Student

Services supervisor no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) the day before the scheduled conference.

Failure to submit the packet by the deadline will result in the conference being canceled. The case will be dismissed and referred back to the school to be handled at the local school level.

Prepare

q Detailed school administrator’s report (provide specific information). w Refer to the checklist to prepare your School Administrator’s Packet. e Remember to NUMBER each page of the School Administrator’s Packet sequentially, using only consecutive numbers (i.e., no letters, repeating numbers). r Review the entire packet PRIOR to the conference. t Make sure the witness names and other student names are blocked out of the documents, including the school administrator’s report, witness statements and IC incident reports. All statements must be typed verbatim, omitting the names of other students. Refer to other students as Student A /Student 1, victim, etc. y Ensure that you have the correct packet with the correct student’s information. u Review staff comments to ensure that they are appropriate and not inflammatory. i Inform the Student Services supervisor prior to the conference if: – Parent is hostile or has made threats of bodily harm to the school administrator – A battered teacher wants to give testimony at the conference

Note: It is the school’s responsibility to provide a translator for non-English-speaking families.

Report

q The investigating school administrator should present the report at the conference. w Be on time. e Be professional. r Bring the student’s cumulative folder to the expulsion hearing. t The School Administrator’s Packet is the sole responsibility of the administrator.

Central Services Conference Documents

You can find the Central Services Conference Documents on the Apps Page next to Infinite Campus. a) Next to Infinite Campus, select the Red H (Help Button). b) Click Behavior and click the following to access the documents. q CS Conference Checklist w Principal Recommendation e Report of Conduct r Teacher Report t Sample Level 3 Parent Letter

The Student Services supervisor will:

] Receive the Report of Conduct Form from the school administrator within 24 hours of the incident via csincident@lists.milwaukee.k12.wi.us, ] Consult with the school administrator regarding details of incident ] Determine whether the incident is to be filed only, handled at the local level (HALL), referred to a

Level 3 video conference, or a Level 4 conference ] The Student Services supervisor considers multiple factors and variables to determine if an incident can be resolved or addressed without a conference. The following are examples of the factors and variables the Student Services supervisor uses to make this determination: q The student’s age w The amount of time and number of staff involved to restore order e The degree of injury to students/staff r The number of students and staff involved in the incident t Involvement by the police and or fire departments y Amount of financial loss u Documented previous offenses i School-level interventions

Even though the Student Services supervisors follow a consistent set of procedures, the final determination for similar offenses may vary because of these multiple factors and variables. ] Schedule a Level 3 or Level 4 conference and upgrade the student’s suspension period to 5 days.

Level three or four offenses are defined by the Code of School/Classroom Conduct and Discipline

Chart in the MPS Parent/Student Handbook on Rights, Responsibilities and Discipline for the following behaviors: a. Arson b. Assault c. Battery d. Bomb threats e. Possession/ownership/use of a weapon f. Possession/possession with intent to distribute/ownership/use of alcohol or illegal drugs g. Other substances/materials h. Sexual assault ] Conduct the conference, review the School Administrator’s Packet, render a decision, and explain decision carefully.

The supervisor, after selecting the new school, calls the school administrator to notify the school administrator of the date the student will enroll at the school. At that time, the offense as determined at the Central Services conference can be specified. ] Arrange for the student’s new assignment. ] Complete a report with details of the conference and stated disposition. In cases involving students with special needs, the Special Services supervisor or LEA must: ] Attend the conference conducted by the Student Services supervisor. Ensure that a current copy of the student’s IEP is in cumulative folder. If the supervisor is not available, the LEA or designee will attend the conference. The LEA cannot be the same administrator presenting the case. ] Conduct an IEP team meeting to review/revise and modify the IEP, if appropriate. Complete a manifestation determination, if needed, and review placement as determined by the IEP team.