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Board approves updates to student code of conduct; district expands restorative practices and clarifies IEP treatment
Summary
Cumberland County Schools moved to update its student code of conduct to add clarity around interventions, expand restorative-practices training and explicitly reference deepfake AI images; staff committed to a brief EC-specific insert clarifying IEP and disciplinary procedures.
The Cumberland County Board of Education—s student support services committee on May 6 approved proposed updates to the 2025-26 student code of conduct, expanded restorative-practices training and additional behavior and mental-health supports across the district.
District leaders said the updates were developed through a stakeholder-driven process that included an electronic survey, focus groups and a work group; more than 500 responses came from teachers, students and parents. Revisions emphasize clearer definitions, a glossary of frequently used educational terms, clarified interventions aligned to violation levels and updated communications materials for families. The code now explicitly references modern forms of cyberbullying by proposing the addition of malicious or deceptive deepfake AI images to the cyberbullying definition so schools can address emerging digital harms.
Student services staff also summarized behavior supports rolled out this year: the district reported 4,065 secondary students assigned to the Restorative Justice Center in 2023—24 and 5,629 short-term suspensions with an average short-term suspension length of five days for the same year. Staff described an MTSS-based approach with tier 1 universal supports (SEL curricula, calm corners), tier 2 small-group work and tier 3 individualized interventions. The district intends to train all schools in restorative practices by June 2026 and expand coaching and school-level PBIS fidelity work.
Several board members raised concerns about whether students with individualized education programs (IEPs) were receiving required services while assigned to restorative settings. District staff said IEPs and manifestation-determination protections remain in effect, noted the 10-day suspension threshold before a formal manifestation review, and committed to add a clear EC-focused insert to the code of conduct to explain rights and procedures for students with disabilities. The revised code of conduct, as updated, was approved by the committee by vote.
