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Board reviews tougher tobacco penalties and new rule on discriminatory language in code of conduct
Summary
The student code of conduct draft raises tobacco/vaping to a higher‑level offense and creates a new level‑3 category for discriminatory language; board members debated K–2 handling, parent notification after interviews, and how schools should balance corrective interventions with disciplinary consequences.
Joel Colossa, the director of student services, and discipline hearing officer Ryan Wilson presented the recommended updates to the student code of conduct. The draft clarifies that parents will be notified after student interviews and raises tobacco/vaping incidents from a level‑2 to a level‑3 offense with stronger consequences; staff reported 307 tobacco cases this year.
A major addition is a new code for discriminatory language (race, religion, protected characteristics) categorized as a level‑3 offense, starting at a recommended 1–3 days out‑of‑school suspension for a first offense. The committee said the change responds to recurring reports from schools and student representatives that existing codes did not adequately capture racially or otherwise discriminatory language.
Board members and administrators debated how the new disciplinary matrix should apply to very young children. Several trustees and the superintendent urged options for K–2 students that prioritize classroom interventions, parent conferences and counseling before resorting to OSS, while keeping firmer consequences for middle‑ and high‑school students where intent and maturity are more likely. The board asked staff to modify the draft to allow K–2 alternative interventions (parent notification, counseling, ISS/OSS as an option) and to return with clarified procedural language. No final vote was taken at the workshop.
