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District details new discipline law changes and secures $15,000 grant for student self-efficacy work
Summary
District officials described compliance steps for July 2024 discipline law changes, emphasized restorative practices and reengagement, and announced a $15,000 Pierce County Health grant to support student self-efficacy and vaping prevention work.
District administrators outlined how Eatonville is aligning to new state discipline law changes that took effect in July 2024 and described steps to prioritize restorative practices, reengagement and equity in disciplinary responses.
The update, presented by Tracy (staff member), emphasized that exclusionary discipline should be a last resort, that teachers must try corrective actions before removing students from class, and that students removed from instruction must still receive educational services. “Exclusionary practices are last resort,” Tracy said, describing the district’s emphasis on positive behavior intervention systems (PBIS), restorative conversations and reengagement meetings with parents and students.
Tracy explained key changes: discipline decisions must be individualized and cannot rely on years-old incidents; students with disabilities retain FAPE protections and may require functional behavior assessments and behavior intervention plans; families must be notified within 24 hours of a discipline event (Skyward email is acceptable); and classroom exclusion authority requires demonstration of corrective steps and is limited to short periods (presenter said up to two days for classroom exclusion and 10 days in certain cases before escalation).
Staff said administrators have developed common behavior matrices for elementary, middle and high schools to align responses and trained teachers on classroom-managed versus office-managed behaviors. Middle-school work includes volunteer support from Puget Sound ESD and a MaSH (Moving All Students to Health) initiative focused on PBIS tiers, with volunteer interventions targeted at cafeteria, hallways and bathrooms.
The district also announced a $15,000 grant from Pierce County Health Department to address low student self-efficacy (measured via Panorama data) and link that work to vaping prevention. The board heard that administrators will monitor discipline data closely for disproportionality by race, gender and disability.
Ending: the district said it will continue training, monitor discipline outcomes, deploy restorative practices, and report data to the board; staff invited questions and said the work will focus first at the middle school.
