Montgomery County educators present revised student code of conduct, expand restorative practices and mandatory reintegration plans

Montgomery County Public Schools officials briefed the Education and Culture Committee on Sept. 25 on updates to the district’s Student Code of Conduct and the expansion of restorative justice practices across the district, including a new requirement that all schools create reintegration plans and hold reentry conferences when students return from exclusionary discipline.

The presentation said the 2025–26 code narrows and clarifies behavior categories and response levels, elevates restorative approaches as the district’s primary disciplinary strategy, and explicitly mandates reintegration planning at all 211 schools. MCPS officials also described a new cell-phone regulation that requires elementary and middle school students to keep personal devices powered off and put away during the school day "bell to bell," while high school students may use devices during lunch and between classes but not during instructional time.

MCPS Chief of Schools Peter Moran told the committee the revisions are intended to make discipline more consistent across schools and to emphasize rehabilitative, educational and restorative goals. "We are teaching responsibility, repairing harm, and keeping students engaged in their education," Moran said.

Why it matters: MCPS officials said the changes are intended to reduce exclusions and instructional loss while keeping safety central. The district presented multi-year rubric results it said show growth in restorative practice implementation: 3% of schools rated "reactive," 30.5% as "early implementers," 58% as "intermediate," and 8.5% as "mature." MCPS framed reintegration plans and required reentry conferences as a corrective step aimed at welcoming students back and minimizing lost instructional time.

Key details and implementation steps - Reintegration plans and reentry conferences: The revised code requires these plans districtwide; MCPS said they are mandatory and tied to the…