Academic committee reviews discipline data, sees decline in high‑severity incidents while documentation rises

The Beaufort County Board of Education Academic Committee on Oct. 23 heard a detailed presentation on OE‑13 (school discipline) that credited the district’s MTSS interventions with a decline in high‑severity referrals while noting higher overall referral counts driven largely by improved documentation and new state codes for phone violations.

The presenter, identified in the transcript as the student services presenter, told the committee the materials in the binder include stakeholder feedback (principals, teachers, counselors), embedded artifacts and an executive summary intended to make the system’s processes and evidence transparent to board members. “We have seen over the last 3 years a steady decline in high‑severity referrals,” the presenter said, naming fighting/assault, bullying/harassment and drug/tobacco/alcohol incidents as the categories tracked under the state definitions.

Why it matters: The committee was shown how expanded documentation and a single repository for referrals (an educator’s handbook that uploads nightly to PowerSchool) changed reporting patterns. The presenter said those changes make apparent both where behavior‑management is improving and where interventions need reinforcement. “Essentially, 22% of our students are the ones that are recurring the 5 or more referrals,” the presenter said, using that metric to illustrate how MTSS tiered supports are targeted at a relatively small group of students with repeated referrals.

Key details: The presenter explained that the district uses a three‑level discipline matrix (elementary, middle and high matrices) consistent with a recent state change; administrators investigate and classify incidents following state legal definitions. The presenter also said increased counts for lower‑level behaviors — for example, cell‑phone violations — reflect a new state code introduced in 2024–25 that requires a discrete reference in referral documentation.

Committee exchanges: Committee members pressed for operational detail. One member asked for an example of a minor classroom infraction and how it differs from an office referral; the presenter explained that classroom‑level interventions (warnings, parent contact) precede administrator‑processed office referrals and that the district uses progressive discipline plans to guide when a behavior moves into an office referral. Questions about access to prior‑year referral histories and protections for student records were answered with a description of role‑based viewing rules and a recently adopted Branching Minds documentation system for transition continuity.

Outcome and next steps: After questions and discussion the committee voted to place OE‑13 on the committee’s consent agenda for forwarding to the full board. The materials — including the referenced administrative regulations (SS16, SS39, SS40, SS18 and IS60) and the scanned artifacts — will be available to board members for the full‑board review.