Adoption Date: 12/12/2023, 

History: 3/11/25 (reviewed)

Effective student discipline policies serve the needs of the District in maintaining the order of the education environment while safeguarding the education interests of all students.  For this reason, it is crucial to engage many perspectives in crafting sound policies related to discipline. The board, in conjunction with teachers and administrators in the District, have assigned further meaning to concepts listed in this policy.  

Incident Levels Defined

Incident levels must escalate, with Level 3 being less severe than Level 1 incidents. However, the District maintains discretion in applying the level of discipline appropriate for an incident. In making this determination, the administration will consider the incident levels identified in the Comprehensive Behavior Plan. Because no definition could encompass all possible threats or incidents, the administration has discretion in determining which level to assign the incident after looking at the nature of the incident as well as the age, grade level, and maturity of the student.  

Care Assessment  

This approach to violence prevention emphasizes early attention to problems such as bullying, teasing and other forms of student conflict before they escalate into violent behavior. This model generates broader changes in the nature of student-staff interactions around discipline matters and to encourage a more positive school climate in which students feel treated with dignity and respect.  

Considerations for Determining the Maturity of the Student

The District believes that gauging the maturity of a student is subject to interpretation and best left to the licensed employees who interact most closely with the student on a regular basis.  Assessing a student’s maturity level is based on individual characteristics unique to each student. Therefore, in making a determination about the maturity of a student, the administration may consult with the student’s classroom teacher and other relevant licensed staff.  The administration will consider at least the following factors in determining the maturity of the student:

 • Age

• Grade level

• Student disability (504 or IEP) 

Considerations for Determining Whether the Off-Campus Threat of Violence or Incident of Violence Will Directly Affect the Good Order, Efficient Management and Welfare of the School District  

The District recognizes that students maintain First Amendment rights to free expression both within school and outside. However, free speech protections are not absolute and do not extend to true threats of violence toward an individual or a group of individuals. In considering whether a threat or incident of violence will directly affect the good order, efficient management and welfare of the school district necessitating the need for investigation, the administration will consider at least the following factors:

• The specificity of the threat for time, location or individual(s) targeted;

• The reasonable likelihood of the student’s ability to carry out the threat;

• The reasonable likelihood that the threat will interfere with the operation of the educational environment.  

In addition to the notification requirements in policy, the administration will apprise the parents or guardians of any student who suffered violence or a threat of violence, of the rights to file complaints under any other relevant board policies including but not limited to anti-bullying/anti-harassment and Title IX. 

 

Legal Reference:  
Iowa Code §279.79   

Cross Reference: 
502 Student Rights and Responsibilities  
503 Student Discipline