Committee reviews student discipline rewrite and teacher'removal rules; asks legal counsel about added safeguards

Committee members reviewed the district's new student discipline material (policy 5306 and related sections) and noted the text largely mirrors Arizona statute governing suspension, expulsion and teacher removal. Members praised the concise draft but raised concerns about procedural protections when teachers remove students from class repeatedly.

James and other members emphasized the statutory nature of the provisions. As James observed, the composition and duties of the placement review committee and the teacher removal process are set out in statute (cited in the meeting as ARS 15-841). Adriana said the statutory text is "micromanaged" and therefore difficult to change at the district level but asked staff to investigate whether procedural safeguards could be added in regulations or site procedures to reduce the risk of a student being repeatedly removed without restorative steps.

Concerns raised included whether (1) a required chain of site-level interventions and documentation (for example, repeated teacher-managed interventions, parent contacts and a behavior intervention plan) should be more explicit; and (2) the district should define additional procedural steps between a single teacher removal and a placement review to ensure due process and prevent misuse. The committee agreed to have Adriana/committee staff forward the relevant statutory sections to district counsel (Jessica) and request a legal opinion on whether the district may add safeguards in procedure that do not conflict with statute.

No formal policy adoption or changes were made at this meeting. Members assigned follow-up tasks to collect existing site practices and to ask legal counsel whether the district can adopt supplemental procedures that are consistent with ARS 15-841.