Board approves redlined discipline policy for homeless and foster students with clarifying edits

The Elko County School District Board of Trustees on April 7 approved a redlined revision to policy JDFH that clarifies how the district handles suspensions for students who are homeless or in foster care, while asking staff to return with minor edits and clearer procedural language.

Director of Secondary Education (presenter) explained the revision was intended to align the policy with the current Nevada Revised Statutes and to remove wording that had caused confusion about when a suspension must be terminated. The presenter told the board the draft now reads that if it is determined a student’s misconduct was caused by their status (homelessness or foster care), the suspension must be terminated.

Trustees pressed for clearer language in the section that governs suspensions of five to eight school days. One trustee asked whether the principal alone may make the determination stated in subsection 2 or whether that determination requires a committee. The director and other trustees explained that in policy structure subsection 2 covers principal actions for short suspensions and subsection 3 governs longer suspensions that require a committee. “The principal determines that the conduct possesses an ongoing threat, and the principal determines that homelessness or being in foster care was not a factor,” a trustee said as an example of clearer wording they wanted in the draft.

Board members also discussed whether to change the statutory term “long-term suspension” to explicitly reference expulsions and permanent expulsions; staff said they would consider redefining long-term as nine or more days to ensure expulsion is included in future language. After the discussion, a trustee moved to approve the redlined JDFH with the suggested clarifications and with the understanding the item would return no later than two meetings for final review. The motion passed by voice vote.

The action does not immediately change practice; the approved redline will be updated to reflect the board’s requested clarifications and will come back for review so trustees can confirm the committee/principal decision-making language is explicit.

Board next steps include legal review and placement of the revised policy on the consent or action agenda at a subsequent meeting so the board can confirm the corrected text.