School Discipline and the Juvenile Justice System Advocacy - PDF document

4/8/2020 School Discipline and the Juvenile Justice System Advocacy Committee Maryland PTA April 8, 2020 Overview • Rights when facing school discipline Presenter : Monisha Cherayil, Esquire Public Justice Center • Rights in the juvenile justice system Presenter : Michal Gross, Esquire Maryland Office of the Public Defender • Questions & Answers 1

4/8/2020 Stopping School Pushout Protecting the Rights of Children Facing Suspension and Expulsion Public Justice Center www.publicjustice.org Why Not Suspension? 2

4/8/2020 Suspension Does Not Work  Does not address underlying causes of behavior  Does not teach kids how to improve behavior  Does not make schools safer Suspension Harms Kids  Leads to disengagement from school  Leads to poor academic performance, grade repetition, dropping out  Leads to involvement in juvenile justice system  Leads to negative school climate for all kids 3

4/8/2020 Disproportionately Affects Children of Color Student Population Suspensions and Expulsions Other African 19% Other American African 30% 34% American White 59% 22% White Statewide, 2018-19 School Year Disproportionately Affects Children With Disabilities Suspensions and Expulsions Student Population Students With Students With Disabilities Disabilities 25% Students Without Students Without Disabilities Disabilities 75% 88% Statewide, 2018-19 School Year 4

4/8/2020 Disproportionately Affects Children of Color 92 (2018-19 school year) 79 76 77 73 66 65 63 59 57 56 49 46 45 44 41 41 39 38 37 37 35 32 27 25 25 24 23 21 22 20 18 18 18 16 16 14 13 15 13 10 9 8 6 4 3 0 0.4 Disproportionately Affects Children With Disabilities (2018-19 school year) 34 32 30 30 29 28 28 27 26 23 23 23 22 22 22 21 21 20 20 20 19 18 18 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 13 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 5

4/8/2020 Suspension is Used for Minor, Subjective Behaviors  Statewide, 36% of suspensions and expulsions were for Disrespect/Disruption during the 2018-19 school year Effective Alternatives for Addressing Student Conflict & Behavior Concerns Restorative Approaches  Builds positive relationships among students and staff to prevent conflict, and repair harm and impose accountability when conflict does occur School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS)  A multi-tiered set of interventions to prevent and remedy antisocial behavior Trauma-Informed Teaching  Minimize fight-or-flight responses, including aggression, for students who have suffered trauma Mindfulness Practices  Help students manage stress in healthy ways Special Education Identification & Planning  Students with disabilities may need accommodations or services in order to avoid challenging behaviors 6

4/8/2020 Legal Framework – All Students Maryland School Discipline Regulations COMAR 13A.01.08.11, passed in 2014 Short term suspension 1-3 school days Long term suspension 4-10 school days Extended suspension 11-44 school days Expulsion 45+ school days 7

4/8/2020 Short Term and Long Term Suspension Who may suspend?  Principal On what basis?  Not stated in regulations but in school district policies and codes of conduct  Varies widely among school districts  Cannot suspend out-of-school for attendance-related offenses Process?  Principal must hold conference with student or parent  Student must receive notice of charges, explanation of evidence, and opportunity to present their side Short Term and Long Term Suspension Educational services (short term suspension):  Students must have opportunity to complete work they missed without penalty  Students and parents must be given contact information for school employee responsible for this  All other aspects of makeup work are identical to school’s policy and practice for other excused absences Educational services (long term suspension):  Students must be placed in alternative education program or receive daily classwork from each teacher, which must be corrected on a weekly basis and returned to students  Schools must have liaison between teachers and suspended students to communicate weekly about classwork and school issues 8

4/8/2020 Extended Suspension and Expulsion Who may suspend?  Superintendent or designee On what basis (extended suspension)?  Student’s return to school would pose imminent threat of serious harm to other students and staff; OR  Student has engaged in chronic and extreme disruption of educational process that has created substantial barrier to learning for other students across the school day, and other available and appropriate behavioral and disciplinary interventions have been exhausted On what basis (expulsion)?  Student’s return to school would pose imminent threat of serious harm to other students and staff Extended Suspension and Expulsion Process?  Superintendent or designee must investigate matter  Superintendent or designee must hold conference with student and parent AND advise them of decision within 10 school days  If not, student is allowed to return to school  Student and parent may bring lawyer or non-lawyer advocate to conference 9

4/8/2020 Extended Suspension and Expulsion Appeal process?  Student or parent may appeal decision to school board within 10 days  School board must hear and decide appeal within 45 days  Student or parent must be given school system’s witness list and evidence 5 days before hearing  Student or parent may bring lawyer or non-lawyer advocate and witnesses to hearing Extended Suspension and Expulsion Educational Services:  Student must be given comparable educational services and appropriate behavioral support services to promote successful return to student’s regular academic program  Students must be placed in alternative education program or receive daily classwork from each teacher, which must be corrected on a weekly basis and returned to students  Schools must have liaison between teachers and suspended students to communicate weekly about classwork and school issues 10

4/8/2020 Red Flags Illegal send-homes  School sends student home for behavioral reasons, but does not treat it as an official suspension  Examples: School calls parent to pick up child and records it as parent walk-in School tells student to go home for the day School places student on a modified schedule (e.g. half-day schedule) Administrative transfers to alternative school  District transfers student to alternative school after or instead of a suspension  Student has the right to return to their regular school after a suspension! Calls to police  School calls police about behavior that should be handled by the school, and student is removed from school Reportable Offense Removals What is it?  School/district removes student from school after receiving notice from police department that student has been arrested in the community  Not a suspension or expulsion because it does not result from behavior in school; but it is a conduct- based removal that can have the same harmful effect  District may have separate policy governing this What rights apply?  School must develop a plan that “addresses appropriate educational programming and related services for the student and that maintains a safe and secure school environment for all students and school personnel”  School must request that the parent participate in developing plan, and after development, schedule a conference to inform parent of the plan  Plan must be implemented no later than 5 school days after notice of arrest  School must have process for resolving disputes regarding the plan  School must review plan at least quarterly and upon disposition of arrest  Record of arrest is confidential and may not be part of student’s permanent school record COMAR 13A.08.01.17 11

4/8/2020 Legal Framework - Special Populations PreK-2 nd Grade Suspension Ban 2017 legislation banning suspension and expulsion for preK-2 nd grade students:  Exception: student may be suspended for up to 5 days if school administration, in consultation with school psychologist or other mental health professional, determines that there is imminent threat of serious harm to other students or staff that cannot be reduced through interventions and supports  School must provide intervention and support if student is suspended, is disruptive, or commits an act that would be subject to suspension but for the student’s grade  School shall remedy impact of student’s behavior through appropriate intervention methods that may include restorative practices 12