Jerome Joint School District No. 261

STUDENTS 3330

Student Discipline

Disciplinary action may be taken against any student guilty of disobedience or misconduct, including, but not

limited to:

1. Habitual truancy.

2. Incorrigibility.

3. Academic dishonesty.

4. Conduct continuously disruptive of school discipline or of the instructional effectiveness of the District.

5. Conduct or presence of a student when the same is detrimental to the health and safety of other pupils.

6. Using, possessing, distributing, purchasing, or selling tobacco products.

7. Using, possessing, distributing, purchasing, or selling alcoholic beverages. Students who are under the

influence are not permitted to attend school functions and are treated as though they had alcohol in their

possession.

8. Using, possessing, distributing, purchasing, or selling illegal drugs or controlled substances, look-alike

drugs and drug paraphernalia. Students who are under the influence are not permitted to attend school

functions and are treated as though they had drugs in their possession.

9. Assembly or public expression that advocates the use of substances that are illegal to minors or otherwise

prohibited within this policy;

10. Using, possessing, controlling, or transferring a weapon in violation of the “Possession of Weapons on a

School property” section of this policy.

11. Using, possessing, controlling, or transferring any object that reasonably could be considered or used as a

weapon.

12. Disobeying directives from staff members or school officials and/or rules and regulations governing

student conduct.

13. Using violence, force, noise, coercion, threats, intimidation, fear, or other comparable conduct toward

anyone or urging other students to engage in such conduct.

14. Causing or attempting to cause damage to, or stealing or attempting to steal, school property or another

person’s property.

15. Engaging in any activity that constitutes disorderly conduct, an interference with school purposes or an

educational function or disruptive to the educational environment.

16. Unexcused absenteeism; however, the truancy statutes and Board policy will be utilized for chronic and

habitual truants.

17. Hazing – For purposes of this policy, the term “hazing” shall have the meaning set forth in Idaho Code.

18. Initiations

19. The forging of any signature, or the making of any false entry, or the authorization of any document used

or intended to be used in connection with the operation of the school.

20. Harassment, intimidation, cyber bullying, or bullying as defined in Idaho Code and District policy.

21. Gang activity as defined in Policy 3310.

These grounds for disciplinary action apply whenever the student’s conduct is reasonably related to school or

school activities, including, but not limited to:

● On, or within sight of, school grounds before, during, or after school hours or at any other time

when the school is being used by a school group;

● Off school grounds at a school-sponsored activity, or event, or any activity or event which bears a

reasonable relationship to school;

● Traveling to and from school or a school activity, function or event; or

● Anywhere, including off-campus, if the conduct may reasonably be considered to be a threat or

an attempted intimidation of a staff member, or an interference with the education environment.

Traditional Disciplinary Measures

Traditional disciplinary measures include, but are not limited to:

Expulsion

Suspension

Detention

Clean-up duty

Loss of student privileges

Loss of bus privileges

Notification to juvenile authorities and/or police

Temporary removal from the classroom

Meeting with the student and the student's parents; and

Restitution for damages to school property

No person who is employed or engaged by the District may inflict or cause to be inflicted corporal punishment on a

student. Corporal punishment does not include, and District personnel are permitted to use, reasonable force as

needed to maintain safety for other students, school personnel, or other persons, or for the purpose of

self-defense.

Alternative Disciplinary Measure

Alternative disciplinary action is discipline other than traditional suspension or expulsion from school that is

designed to correct and address the root causes of a student's specific misbehavior while retaining the student in

class or school, or restorative school practices to repair the harm done to relationships and persons from the

student's misbehavior.

Alternative discipline includes, but is not limited to:

● Reflective activities, such as requiring the student to write an essay about the student's misbehavior;

● Mediation when there is mutual conflict between peers, rather than one-way negative behavior;

● Counseling;

● Anger management;

● Health counseling or intervention;

● Mental health counseling;

● Participation in skills building and resolution activities, such as social-emotional cognitive skills building,

resolution, and restorative conferencing;

● Diversion or use of juvenile specialty courts;

● Behavioral management plan;

● Corrective instruction or other relevant learning or service experience;

● Community service; and

● In- school detention or suspension

Consequences for Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying

Students engaging in harassment, intimidation, or bullying will be subject to graduated consequences appropriate

to the severity of the violation as determined by the Board, school administrators, or designated personnel

depending upon the level of discipline. Graduated consequences for bullying may include any of the above listed

traditional or alternative disciplinary measures or a combination thereof in accordance with the nature of the

behavior, the developmental age of the student, and the student’s history of problem behaviors and performance.

However, depending upon the nature of the act, the District reserves the right to deviate from the process of

graduated consequences to appropriately address the conduct at issue and move directly to suspension or

expulsion proceedings. District personnel may also report the student’s conduct to the appropriate law

enforcement officials.

Disciplining Students on Individual Education or Section 504 Plans

The District shall comply with the procedural safeguards enumerated in state and federal law and rule when

disciplining students with individualized education plans or 504 plans.

Gun-Free Schools

A student who uses, possesses, controls, or transfers a firearm, or any object that can reasonably be considered, or looks like, a firearm, shall be expelled for a definite period of time of at least one (1) calendar year. The Board,

however, may modify the expulsion period on a case-by-case basis. The building administrator shall notify the

appropriate law enforcement agency of any student who brings a firearm to school.

If a student violating this policy is identified as disabled, either under the IDEA or Section 504, a determination

must be made whether the student’s conduct is related to the disability. If the violation of the policy is due to a

disability recognized by the IDEA or Section 504, lawful procedures for changes in placement must be followed.

Any student subject to an expulsion shall be entitled to a hearing before the Board and or District Discipline Review

Committee (DDRC), in accordance with Idaho Code and Board Policy.

Possession of a Weapon On School Property – Misdemeanor

It is unlawful and is a misdemeanor for any person to possess a firearm or other deadly or dangerous weapon while

on the property of a school or in those portions of any building, stadium or other structure on school grounds

which, at the time of the violation, were being used for an activity sponsored by or through a school in this state or

while riding school provided transportation. This also applies to students of schools while attending or participating

in any school sponsored activity, program or event regardless of location.

As used in this section of this Policy only:

(a) "Deadly or dangerous weapon" means any weapon as defined in United State Code. Such term does not

include a pocket knife with a blade less than 2-1/2 inches in length.

(b) "Firearm" means any firearm as defined in United States Code;

Any person who possesses, carries or stores a weapon in a school building or on school property, except as

provided below, shall be referred to law enforcement for immediate prosecution, as well as face disciplinary action

by the District.

The Board may grant persons and entities advance permission to possess, carry, or store a weapon in a school

building. All persons who wish to possess, carry or store a weapon in a school building shall present this request to

the Board in a regular meeting. It is solely within the Board’s discretion whether to allow a person to possess, carry

or store a weapon in a school building.

This section of this policy does not apply to:

1. law enforcement personnel;

2. Any adult over eighteen (18) years of age and not enrolled in a public or private elementary

or secondary school who has lawful possession of a firearm or other deadly or dangerous

weapon, secured and locked in his vehicle in an unobtrusive, non threatening manner;

3. A person who lawfully possesses a firearm or other deadly or dangerous weapon in a private

vehicle while delivering minor children, students or school employees to and from school or

a school activity;

4. A person or an employee of the school or school district who is authorized to carry a firearm

with the permission of the board of trustees of the school district or the governing board.

Delegation of Authority

Each teacher, and any other school personnel when students are under his/her charge, is authorized to impose any

disciplinary measure, other than suspension, or expulsion, or in-school suspension, which is appropriate and in

accordance with the policies and rules on student discipline. Teachers may remove students from a classroom for

disruptive behavior.

Nondiscrimination

The District will ensure that student discipline is enforced in a nondiscriminatory manner to avoid subjecting

similarly situated students to different treatment without a legitimate reason for doing so, or when such a reason is

merely a pretext for discrimination. Such discrimination, which the District will endeavor to avoid, includes the

following:

1. Adopting discipline rules which treat students differently based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex,

gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, language barrier, religious beliefs, physical and mental handicap or disability, economic or social conditions, or actual or potential marital or parental status or status as a homeless child;

2. Adopting any rule with the intention of targeting students based on the personal characteristics listed above,

rather than for a legitimate purpose, regardless of whether the phrasing of the rule appears neutral with regard to

students’ personal characteristics;

3. Enforcing an apparently neutral rule more harshly on the basis of a student’s personal characteristics; or

4. Discipline of any student when it is motivated by intentional discrimination.

Notification

A summarized version of this policy shall be provided in writing at the beginning of each school year to the school

personnel, parents, and students in the District. Information provided to students shall be provided in a manner

appropriate to the student's age, grade, and level of academic achievement.

The Board shall review this policy annually.

Cross Reference: 3295 Hazing, Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, Cyber Bullying

3320 Substance and Alcohol Abuse

3310 Gangs and Gang Activity

3340 Corrective Actions and Punishment

4175 Required Annual Notices

4320 Disruption of School Operations

Legal Reference: I.C. § 33-205 Denial of school attendance

I.C. § 18-917 Hazing

I.C. § 18-917A Student Harassment – Intimidation- Bullying

I.C. § 18-3302D Possession Weapons or Firearms on School Property

I.C. § 18-3302I Threatening Violence on School Grounds

I.C. § 33-1224 Powers and duties of teachers

I.C. § 33-1630 Requirements for Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Information

and Professional Development

20 U.S.C. § 7151 Gun-free requirements

20 U.S.C. § 8921, et seq. Gun Free Schools Act

29 U.S.C. § 701 Rehabilitation Act of 1973

IDAPA 08.02.03.109.05 Special Education

I.D.A.P.A. 08.02.03.160 Safe Environment and Discipline

Office of Civil Rights Dear Colleague Letter on the Nondiscriminatory Administration of

School Discipline

Policy History:

Adopted on: 04/28/2009

Revised on: 09/22/2015

Revised on: 02/23/2016

Revised on: 07/17/2018

Revised on: 01/26/2021

Revised on: 11/16/2021

Revised on: 10/15/2024