Board adopts updated alternative-education policy after extended debate on student behavior

The Berkeley County Schools Board of Education voted Feb. 3, 2025, to adopt revisions to policy IGBH, Alternative Education, after a lengthy discussion about student behavior, eligibility and classroom supports.

The update to IGBH expands the district's definition of alternative placements to include homebound, virtual, partial in-person and other flexible settings and clarifies eligibility criteria to reference West Virginia Code 18A-5-1a for certain Level 4 offenses and to prescribe steps when students repeatedly violate the district discipline matrix. "Eligibility there now includes violations of West Virginia code 18 a dash 5 dash 1 a," the presenting administrator said as the package was introduced to the board.

The matter drew sustained debate about how the district balances staff and student safety, federal special-education obligations and the use of transitional school placements. Board members pressed administrators on whether parents could use homeschooling to avoid discipline and on the threshold for labeling a pupil "dangerous." The presenting administrator and other staff described existing practices that aim to provide instruction while addressing behavior concerns, saying students sent to transitional school are considered transfers, not suspensions. "The students that that we send the transitional school, you know, what that's a referral to transitional school. That's a transfer," the presenter said.

Board members asked for more tracking and data about interim interventions such as behavior contracts, the Student Assistance Team (SAT) process, and the district's use of RBTs (registered behavior technicians) and homebound placements that return students to school in limited increments. One board member requested a workshop to review methodologies and success rates of behavioral interventions; administrators agreed to schedule a follow-up workshop on the topic.

The board adopted the policy by voice vote after a motion to adopt was made and seconded. The policy text references state code language and describes processes for involving SAT teams, creating behavior plans and, in specific cases, refusing alternative education when a student is deemed too dangerous to be educated in district schools.

The discussion highlighted tensions school leaders said they face between protecting staff and complying with federal and state special-education obligations. Administrators reiterated that serious incidents (Level 4 offenses) follow the statutory process; they also described the district's reliance on transitional school placements and outside psychological assessments when determining appropriate settings.

The board directed staff to provide additional detail at a future workshop on intervention tools (RBT deployment, homebound reintegration, behavior-contract usage and success rates) and discipline data trends.