The Safe Schools Act:
What's Legally Covered
I frequently am asked whether certain
acts (or failures to act) on the part of school administrators are
violations of the Safe Schools Act. It is apparent from these questions
that there is a misperception about what the act provides.
Safe Schools Act breakdown
The Safe Schools Act, contained in sections 160.261–160.272
of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, can be broken down into four
main areas:
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Each local school board
shall establish a written discipline policy.
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The policy shall require
administrators to report acts of school violence to district
employees with a “need to know.”
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Administrators must
report to law enforcement students’ acts that would constitute
a felony if adults committed them.
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The policy shall provide
for a one-year suspension or expulsion of a student who brings
a weapon to school in violation of school policy.
Specific behavior
The question most frequently asked
deals with whether a student must be disciplined in a certain way
for specific behavior. With the exception of weapons violations,
the act does not provide for specific discipline for specific behaviors.
What behaviors merit discipline and the discipline to be administered
for those behaviors are left up to the school’s discipline policy.
Therefore, unless a student has brought a weapon to school, the
place to look for the discipline required in specific situations
is the district’s discipline policy, not the Safe Schools Act.
Threats
Another area of concern centers on what must
be done when a student has threatened a teacher. Once again, the
school’s discipline policy must be consulted first. The act itself
mandates no specific course of action for a threat. The act requires
the policy to define “an act of violence” and to require reporting
of acts of violence to district employees with a need to know. At
a minimum, an act of violence must be defined as the “exertion of
physical force by a student with the intent to do serious bodily
harm to another person.”
The lesson to be learned is
that the Safe Schools Act does not require specific actions in most
of the situations with which district employees are faced on a regular
basis. The school’s discipline policy provides the guidance to which
we must turn. It is important for district employees to be familiar
with the discipline policy. If the policy does not address areas
of concern, discuss with your UniServ director and/or local association
leaders the best method by which to bring your concerns to the administration
and school board.
by Jacqueline Shipma
Director of legal services
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