Minnesota Session Laws - 1983, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1983 

                        CHAPTER 163--H.F.No. 159
           An act relating to education; requiring school boards 
          to adopt and review discipline policies including 
          rules of conduct for pupils, and grounds and 
          procedures for removal of pupils from class; amending 
          Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 127.27, subdivision 2;
          proposing new law coded in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 
          127. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 127.27, 
subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 2.  "Dismissal" means the denial of the appropriate 
educational program to any pupil, including exclusion, 
expulsion, and suspension.  It does not include removal from 
class.  
    Sec. 2.  [127.40] [DEFINITIONS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [REMOVAL FROM CLASS.] "Removal from class" 
and "removal" mean any actions taken by a teacher, principal, or 
other school district employee to prohibit a pupil from 
attending class for a period of time not to exceed three class 
or activity periods, pursuant to procedures established in the 
school district discipline policy adopted by the school board 
pursuant to section 3.  
    Subd. 2.  [CLASS PERIOD.] "Class period" or "activity 
period" means, in secondary grades, instruction for a given 
course of study.  A class period or activity period means, in 
elementary grades, a period of time not to exceed one hour, 
regardless of the subject of instruction.  
    Sec. 3.  [127.41] [ADOPTION OF POLICY ON DISCIPLINE AND 
REMOVAL OF STUDENTS FROM CLASS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [REQUIRED POLICY.] Prior to the beginning 
of the 1984-1985 school year each school board shall adopt a 
written district-wide school discipline policy which shall 
include written rules of conduct for pupils and grounds and 
procedures for removal of pupils from class.  The policy shall 
be developed with the participation of administrators, teachers, 
employees, pupils, parents, community members, and such other 
individuals or organizations as the board determines appropriate.
    Subd. 2.  [GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL FROM CLASS.] The policy 
shall establish the various grounds for which a pupil may be 
removed from a class in the district for a period of time 
pursuant to the procedures specified in the policy.  The grounds 
in the policy shall include at least the following provisions as 
well as other grounds determined appropriate by the board:  
    (a) willful conduct which materially and substantially 
disrupts the rights of others to an education;  
    (b) willful conduct which endangers school district 
employees, the pupil or other pupils, or the property of the 
school;  
    (c) willful violation of any rule of conduct specified in 
the discipline policy adopted by the board.  
    Subd. 3.  [POLICY COMPONENTS.] The policy shall include at 
least the following components:  
    (a) rules governing pupil conduct and procedures for 
informing pupils of the rules;  
    (b) the grounds for removal of a pupil from a class;  
    (c) the authority of the classroom teacher to remove pupils 
from the classroom pursuant to procedures and rules established 
in the district's policy;  
    (d) the procedures for removal of a pupil from a class by a 
teacher, school administrator, or other school district employee;
    (e) the period of time for which a pupil may be removed 
from a class, which may not exceed three class periods for a 
violation of a rule of conduct;  
    (f) provisions relating to the responsibility for and 
custody of a pupil removed from a class;  
    (g) the procedures for return of a pupil to the specified 
class from which the pupil has been removed;  
    (h) the procedures for notifying pupils and parents or 
guardians of violations of the rules of conduct and of resulting 
disciplinary actions;  
    (i) any procedures determined appropriate for encouraging 
early involvement of parents or guardians in attempts to improve 
a pupil's behavior;  
    (j) any procedures determined appropriate for encouraging 
early detection of behavioral problems;  
    (k) any procedures determined appropriate for referring 
pupils in need of special education services to those services; 
and 
    (1) the procedures for consideration of whether there is a 
need for a further assessment or of whether there is a need for 
a review of the adequacy of a current individual education plan 
of a handicapped pupil who is removed from class.  
     Sec. 4.  [127.42] [REVIEW OF POLICY.] 
    The principal and the licensed employees in a school 
building shall confer at least annually to review the discipline 
policy and to assess whether the policy has been enforced. 
    Approved May 18, 1983