Beaufort County district staff told the Board of Education’s Academics Committee on Oct. 30 that a revised discipline matrix implemented last year led to more students being referred to hearing officers, while discipline programs and reentry practices contributed to declines in major violent incidents.

In a two‑year comparison presented to the committee, staff reported 21,858 office referrals in 2022‑23 and 22,742 in 2023‑24, a modest increase they said reflected both an uptick in lower‑level referrals and a larger number of hearings for severe infractions. "We redid all the discipline matrices last year," a presenter explained, and the secondary matrices in particular now require more consistent, often stricter, consequences for drug and violent offenses.

Why it matters: Board members pressed staff to explain an apparent contradiction in the data — larger numbers of alternative‑education hearings paired with falls in in‑school and out‑of‑school suspensions. Staff said the new matrix escalates some incidents more quickly to a hearing, while stronger school‑based interventions have reduced repeated major incidents.

Dr. Lee, deputy superintendent (on the call), told the committee that the hearings kept for alternative placement were those tied to safety concerns: "The ones that actually were upheld and remained in alternative placement were those safety concerns," she said, noting that many hearings resulted in students being returned to school with individualized re‑entry plans.

Staff highlighted programs intended to reduce reoccurrence, including the district’s expansion of "Too Good for Drugs" to elementary schools and district‑wide training in the free "Overcoming Obstacles" curriculum. The district also described a reentry protocol (referenced in the presentation as AR SS 40 / AR SS 66040) requiring individualized reentry plans, committee review and monitored supports for students returning from alternative placements.

Board members asked for additional disaggregated data before the matter goes to the full board: which infractions most often lead to hearings, how many repeat referrals are associated with individual students, and how bullying incidents reported to the district’s reporting system compare with incidents that meet the discipline definition and resulted in disciplinary action. Staff agreed to return with matrices and a breakdown at the committee’s next meeting and to provide materials in advance for board review.

The committee did not take a final vote on OE‑13; instead, members directed staff to bring the requested clarifications to the next committee meeting and to the full board for consideration.