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District reviews consolidated student-discipline policies, debates discrimination language
Summary
The policy committee reviewed revisions to the student-discipline policy series (Policy 218 and related 218.2 and 218.3). Trustees considered adopting the PSBA model language, discussed alignment with the district’s student code of conduct and whether to retain broader protected-category language used in the district code.
The Kennett Consolidated School District policy committee reviewed proposed revisions to the student-discipline policies (Policy 218 and companion policies 218.2 and 218.3) on Feb. 24, including recommended alignment with the district’s student code of conduct and language that defines prohibited discrimination.
Cassandra Jones, Director of Pupil Services and Supports, said the district is renaming the existing "Code of Student Conduct" policy to "Student Discipline" to align with PSBA (Pennsylvania School Boards Association) model policy and neighboring districts. She said the policy has been scaled back because district practice now relies on a comprehensive student code of conduct that functions as the operative document for discipline.
Jones drew the committee’s attention to a key choice: whether to use the model-policy language about prohibited bases for discipline or to preserve broader wording from the district’s current code of conduct. "The student code of conduct actually states that students cannot be discriminated upon based on their actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or sex," Jones said. She said the model PSBA language lists a narrower set of protected categories, and the board will need to decide which version to adopt because the policy wording will affect future code-of-conduct revisions.
Board member Lizwayne Myers said she supports retaining the broader language used in the recently adopted code of conduct and recommended bringing the policy to the full board with that language. "I like the code of conduct language... aligning these policies with that makes complete sense," Myers said. President Dave Cronenberg concurred, noting the board previously reviewed and adopted the broader code and could bring the policy forward with language consistent with that prior action.
Trustees also asked for reporting to the board on certain incidents. Myers asked that the superintendent provide the board annually by July 31 with any new instances reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and several trustees asked staff to ensure annual reporting and transparency around disciplinary metrics.
The committee generally supported adopting PSBA updates for the discipline series while ensuring that the district’s code-of-conduct language remains consistent with the chosen policy wording. No vote was taken; staff will bring a revised draft to the full board for consideration.
