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Salina board adopts new infraction-based discipline charts, asks staff to strengthen consistency checks
Summary
Board approved replacing days‑based discipline tables with infraction-based charts in middle- and high-school handbooks, and added an elementary discipline-infraction outline; board members and staff discussed how the district will enforce consistent application across buildings.
The Salina Public Schools Board of Education on April 8 approved revisions to student handbooks that replace explicit days‑based suspension tables with an infraction‑organized discipline chart for middle and high schools and add a discipline‑infraction outline to the elementary handbook.
Board discussion focused on how principals will exercise discretion under the new language and what district oversight will ensure consistent application. Staff said the change is intended to let school administrators consider the circumstances of each incident rather than rely on a fixed “1‑day/3‑day/5‑day” framework.
Crystal Lenneberger (elementary presenter) and secondary staff explained the reasoning: the infraction‑based chart lists offenses and the range of disciplinary responses (in‑school suspension, out‑of‑school suspension and other actions) while explicitly allowing principals to weigh individual factors. Staff described an existing discipline dashboard used by principals and the district office to monitor entries and identify inconsistencies across buildings. They said the district will continue to use that dashboard and an updated Skyward implementation next year to improve data alignment and “inter‑rater reliability” across sites.
During public discussion board members raised questions about community perception if sanction levels vary by building, and asked whether district office review can identify heavier or lighter application at particular schools. Staff responded that regular review of discipline data, scenario discussions among principals and district‑level reporting on suspension lengths and causes are intended to provide checks and balances. Staff also noted one change in the infraction chart: obscenity/profanity directed at staff is flagged to go to an administrator rather than be handled only at the teacher level, to ensure teacher support in those cases.
Board members voted 6-0 to move both the middle- and high‑school handbook updates to the action agenda and approve them as presented; the elementary handbook revisions were also moved to action and approved 6-0.
Why it matters: The handbook language change alters how discipline is coded and administered at the school level. Staff emphasized that the change seeks to support administrator judgement and restorative conversations while using district data tools to track consistency across the district.
