Brevard board reviews sweeping updates to student code of conduct; staff to return with refinements

Brevard County School Board members on March 11 reviewed a broad package of proposed changes to the district's student code of conduct and gave staff direction to refine several items and return with recommended language for the April board agenda and a public hearing in April.

The proposed revisions were developed by a district discipline work group that met four times from October through February and included representatives from board members, the Brevard Federation of Teachers, the Brevard Association of School Administrators, student advisory groups, school resource officers and community members. "We are bringing it forward in March to the school board for recommendations," staff presenter said, adding they would seek a public hearing in April.

Why it matters: The draft rewrites aim to reduce coding confusion for incidents, set clearer expectations for attendance and parent notification, address new technologies such as artificial intelligence and smart glasses, clarify how threats are recorded under state definitions, and add options for handling data-theft devices described in the meeting as "flippers." Board members and staff repeatedly emphasized the need for consistency across schools and legal review before final adoption.

What staff presented

- Process and timeline: Mrs. Dampier, who introduced the work group's package, said the discipline work group solicited stakeholder feedback and returned successive drafts; the group met four times and included student voice from the superintendent's student advisory council.

- Code restructuring and examples: Director of Student Services Mr. Armstrong described the spreadsheet-format recommendations. He said the group proposed collapsing multiple physical-aggression incident codes into simplified definitions. In his words, the recommended language for the new physical-aggression entry would read: "Individuals participating in a mutual or non mutual and or aggressive physical contact with aggressive intent towards another student or school board employee resulting in no injury." Armstrong said the change is intended to reduce duplication and data confusion.

- Threats and state alignment: Staff recommended removing a local code for "threat to school staff and student" and coding such incidents under the state-defined…