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Terrebonne Parish School Board adopts 2026–27 code of conduct after debate over withholding recess
Summary
The Terrebonne Parish School Board approved the 2026–27 student Code of Conduct after public comment and a board discussion about whether schools should be allowed to withhold recess or physical education as a disciplinary measure. The board approved the code as presented by voice vote.
The Terrebonne Parish School Board voted July 7 to approve the 2026–27 student Code of Conduct after a public commenter urged the board to prohibit withholding recess and physical education as a punishment.
Shauna Hale of 228 Terracane Drive, Houma, told the board she had emailed the Louisiana Department of Education’s physical education content standards and an American Academy of Pediatrics report on the importance of recess and asked the board to add language to the code or district policy that would prohibit withholding physical activity for discipline and require evidence-based interventions instead. "When we withhold physical activity as punishment, we take away one of the very supports that help students succeed in the classroom," Hale said.
Board members discussed the request at length. Matthew Ford, a board member, said the district should prioritize student safety and cited the benefits of the projects and programs under discussion, while cautioning against embedding highly specific classroom management rules into board policy. "I don't want to prohibit it. I definitely discourage it, but I don't want to prohibit it because I don't want to tie the hands of my teachers," Ford said, while acknowledging the research Hale cited.
Superintendent Corey Butler said the district has worked on a discipline matrix intended to provide consistent, tiered responses across schools and noted that special-education behavior plans and state law affect how some measures can be applied. Butler cited Louisiana statute guidance that requires recess be provided for kindergarten through fifth grade and said the district also uses restorative practices and PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports).
After public comment and discussion among board members, the board approved the code of conduct as presented by voice vote. No roll-call tallies were recorded in the meeting transcript; the chair declared the recommendation passed after asking for objections and hearing none.
Next steps: board members said implementation will be monitored and that the discipline matrix will be revisited in the fall and again in January to adjust based on data collected.
