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Redford board tables monthly long-term suspension reports, requests draft code of conduct by March 2025
Summary
After a heated discussion about confidentiality and board oversight, Redford Union Schools’ board tabled a proposal to receive monthly reports on long-term suspensions and voted to request a draft student code of conduct by March 2025, with a workshop planned to review procedures.
The Redford Union Schools Board of Education on Sept. 9 debated whether the board should receive monthly reports on long-term student suspensions and voted to postpone a required-notification measure until a workshop can provide more background.
Board member Missus Martin moved that the board be notified of all long-term suspensions (defined in the proposal as 10 days or more) and that each report include the student’s gender, school, grade, offense, whether the student has an IEP or 504 plan, and the number of days suspended. The motion’s intent, Martin said, was "to give us a scope of what's actually going on at buildings," and to surface any patterns while a new code of conduct is under review.
Several board members pushed back on privacy and role concerns. Mister Osowski said the proposal risked micromanaging administrators and could raise student-privacy issues; the chair and others noted that long-term suspension details are highly confidential and that administrators typically notify the superintendent when such hearings occur. Superintendent Jason Witt suggested the item be explained in a workshop setting to allow a fuller review of the review board and investigation procedures.
After extended discussion, the board voted to table the motion and to discuss the topic in the September board workshop. The chair said the workshop would allow administrators to explain current processes and the review committee’s role before any reporting requirement is adopted.
Separately, the board approved Missus Martin’s request that a draft of the updated student code of conduct be provided for board review by March 2025. Witt said a draft could likely be presented earlier, at the November workshop, to allow additional discussion before a final policy is adopted.
Next steps: the board will take up the suspension-reporting proposal in workshop format this month, and the district will prepare a draft code of conduct for board review by March 2025 (with an initial draft possible in November).
