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Orangeburg board adopts revisions to student code of conduct, adds clearer language on attendance, searches and digital citizenship
Summary
The board approved revisions clarifying parent and staff responsibilities, attendance interventions, rules for searches and digital citizenship language; the code keeps discretionary authority for principals on some school‑level consequences.
The Orangeburg County School District Board of Trustees voted June 9 to adopt revisions to the student code of conduct that administrators said refine wording, clarify responsibilities and add digital citizenship guidance.
Student Services staff outlined changes intended to make the document more parent‑friendly and consistent with state incident management guidelines. Revisions highlighted in the presentation include clearer definitions of chronic absenteeism, updated attendance intervention language, revised parent and staff responsibility statements, and added language on digital citizenship and the use of artificial‑intelligence tools.
On discipline and dress, staff said they will permit leggings when paired with a dress or other appropriate attire "that extends to the knee or below" and will not implement a blanket ban on hoodies; principal discretion and the code’s refusal‑to‑obey language will guide enforcement. The presenter emphasized that searches of vehicles on school property remain governed by state code and that administrators may conduct reasonable searches under existing law.
Board members pressed for clarity on medical exceptions for cell phones, how attendance intervention plans will be monitored, and how schools will teach frequently violated policies. One trustee urged administrators to hold assemblies and require parents and students to sign that they received the revised code.
A motion to accept the 2026–27 student code of conduct changes as presented was moved and seconded; the motion carried with no recorded opposition. Administrators said revised copies will be distributed to parents and administrators in July and that schools will use meetings and assemblies to review rules with students.
