School committee reviews code-of-conduct updates, proposes separate bullying rule and more bus-driver training

The Student Conduct and Support Committee of Frederick County Public Schools reviewed proposed revisions to the student code of conduct at an informational meeting on May 13, 2006. Committee members heard a presentation outlining edits to prohibited items, appeal procedures and a proposed separate bullying and cyberbullying regulation.

The superintendent opened the presentation, saying the committee meets twice yearly to review the code and provide a midyear and end-of-year summary. "We started this process last year where we meet twice a year to review a midyear point of our code of conduct, looking at our data," the superintendent said, and turned the presentation over to Miss Moore, who led the discussion of specific edits.

Miss Moore told the committee staff had "added pepper spray" to the list of prohibited items and clarified dress-code language by defining "pajamas" as sleepwear, noting examples such as cartoon or TV characters on garments. Committee members asked whether the reference to OC/pepper spray meant students were carrying it; Miss Moore replied these are items students are not permitted to bring to school.

The presenters also clarified appeal routes for classroom detentions and class restrictions: when a dean or assistant principal issues a detention or class restriction, parents may appeal to the building principal; if the principal issued the sanction, the transcript states there is no further appeal. The staff described the change as a clarification to make who has final authority in the building explicit.

On transportation, staff summarized a district review of bus-discipline procedures and outlined steps for next school year to reduce disconnects between bus drivers and school staff. "Building principals at the secondary and elementary levels will . . . be bringing in all of their bus drivers who have routes to those schools so they can meet," a staff member said, and the district will expand training for drivers so they better understand referral procedures and the progressive-discipline framework. Staff emphasized that serious misconduct (for example, fighting) will be disciplined under the same SBAR codes whether it occurs on the bus, at a school activity or in the building.

A committee member asked how the rules apply to charter buses used for field trips. Staff said the district’s vehicle-discipline rules would not apply to a charter-company driver; in that case teachers or chaperones would follow normal referral procedures during the trip.

The presentation addressed alternative-education placement for students charged with crimes. Staff reported an increase in notifications about charged students and added language clarifying the appeal process related to a hearing officer's decision to alternatively place a student. The staff described alternative placement authority as "permissive" under the code. On the question of education for detained juveniles, staff said detained students are typically disenrolled from Frederick County Public Schools and placed with the agency the transcript names as "DOJ" for instruction, but that the district's special-instructional-services staff coordinates with that agency so required IEP services continue and students are reenrolled when released. The transcript does not further specify the agency referred to as "DOJ."

Mister Thompson, speaking from his experience as a principal at Dowager, said schools sometimes provided remote work to detained students so they could stay up to date and re-enter on the same footing.

Committee members treated the session as information only; the agenda was approved at the start of the meeting and the committee adjourned without taking formal action on the code revisions during this session. The next procedural step was not specified during the meeting.