Adopted:
2001 District
599 Policy 529
529 NOTIFICATION TO STAFF REGARDING
PLACEMENT OF STUDENTS WITH VIOLENT BEHAVIOR
I. PURPOSE
In an effort to
provide a safe school environment, the assigned classroom teacher and certain
staff members should know whether a student to be placed in the classroom has a
history of violent behavior.
Additionally, decisions should be made regarding how to manage such a
student.
The purpose of
this policy is to address the circumstances in which data should be provided to
classroom teachers and other school staff members about students with a history
of violent behavior and to establish a procedure for notifying staff regarding
the placement of students with a history of violent behavior.
II. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
A. Any staff member or other employee of the
school district who obtains or possesses information concerning a student in
the building with a history of violent behavior shall immediately report said
information to the principal of the building in which the student attends
school.
B. The administration will meet with the
assigned classroom teacher and other appropriate staff members for the purpose
of notifying and determining how staff will manage such student.
C. Only staff members who have a legitimate
educational interest in the information will receive notification.
III. DEFINITIONS
For purposes of
this policy, the following terms have the meaning given them.
A. Administration
“Administration” means
the superintendent, building principal, or other designee.
B. Classroom Teacher
“Classroom Teacher”
means the instructional personnel responsible for the course or room to which a
student is assigned at any given time, including a substitute hired in place of
the classroom teacher.
C. History of Violent Behavior
1. A student
will be considered to have a history of violent behavior if incident(s) of
violence have occurred during the current or previous school year.
2. If a
student has an incident of violence during the current or previous school year,
that incident and all other past related or similar incidents of violence will
be reported.
D. Incident(s) of Violence
“Incident(s) of violence” means willful
conduct in which a student endangers or causes physical injury to the student,
other students, or surrounding person(s) or endangers or causes significant
damage to school district property, regardless of whether related to a
disability or whether discipline was imposed.
E. Legitimate Educational Interest
“Legitimate educational interest” includes
interest directly related to classroom instruction, teaching, student
achievement and progress, discipline of a student, student health and welfare,
and the ability to respond to a request for educational data. It includes a person’s need to know in order
to:
1. Perform an
administrative task required in the school or the employee’s contract or
position description approved by the school board;
2. Perform a
supervisory or instructional task directly related to the student’s education;
or
3. Perform a
service or benefit for the student or the student’s family such as health care,
counseling, student job placement, or student financial aid.
4. Perform a
task directly related to responding to a request for data.
F. School
“School
1. A person
duly elected to the school board;
2. A person
employed by the school board in an administrative, supervisory, instructional,
or other professional position;
3. A person
employed by the school board as a temporary substitute in a professional
position for the period of his or her performance as a substitute; and
4. A person employed by, or under contract to, the school board to perform a special task such as a secretary, a clerk, a public information officer or data practices compliance official, an attorney, or an auditor for the period of his or her performance as an employee or contractor.
IV. PROCEDURE FOR STAFF NOTIFICATION OF STUDENTS
WITH VIOLENT BEHAVIOR
A. Reports of Violent Behavior
Any staff member or
other employee of the school district who becomes aware of any information
regarding the violent behavior of an enrolling student or any student enrolled
in the school district shall immediately report the information to the building
principal where the student is enrolled or seeks to enroll.
B. Recipients of Notice
Each classroom teacher
of a student with a history of violent behavior (see Section III.C., above)
will receive written notification from the administration prior to placement of
the student in the teacher’s classroom.
In addition, written notice will be given by the administration to other
school staff members who have a legitimate educational interest, as defined in
this policy, when a student with a history of violent behavior is placed in a
teacher’s classroom. The administration
will provide notice to anyone substituting for the classroom teacher or school
staff member, who has received notice under this policy, that the substitute
will be overseeing a student with a history of violent behavior.
The administration may
provide other school district employees or individuals outside of the school
district with information regarding a student, including information regarding
a student’s history of violent behavior, in accordance with Policy 515,
Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records.
C. Determination of Who Receives Notice
The determination of
which classroom teachers and school staff members have a legitimate educational
interest in information regarding a student with a history of violent behavior
will be made by either: (1) the school district’s Responsible Authority
appointed by the school board under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act
or (2) the administration. In the event
the administration makes this determination, the Responsible Authority will
provide guidance to the administration as to what data will be shared.
D. Form of Written Notice
The notice given to
classroom teachers and school staff members will be in writing and will include
the following:
1. Name of the
student;
2. Date of notice;
3. Notification
that the student has been identified as a student with a history of violent
behavior as defined in Section III. of this policy;
and
4. Reminder of
the private nature of the data provided.
E. Record of Notice
1. The
administration will retain a copy of the notice or other documentation provided
to classroom teachers and school staff members notified under this section.
2. Retention
of the written notice or other documentation provided to classroom teachers and
school staff members is governed by the approved Records Retention Schedule.
F. Meetings Regarding Students with a
History of Violent Behavior
1. If the
administration determines, in his or her discretion, that the classroom teacher
and/or school staff members with a legitimate educational interest in such data
reasonably require access to the details regarding a student’s history of
violent behavior for purposes of school safety and/or intervention services for
the student, the administration also may convene a meeting to share and discuss
such data.
2. The persons
present at the meeting may have access to the data described in Section IV.D.,
above.
G. Law Enforcement Reports
V. MAINTENANCE AND TRANSFER OF RECORDS
A report,
notice, or documentation pertaining to a student with a history of violent
behavior are educational records of a student and will be retained, maintained,
and transferred to a school or school district in which a student seeks to
enroll in accordance with Policy 515, Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records.
VI. PARENTAL NOTICE
A. The administration will notify parents
annually that the school district gives classroom teachers and other school
staff members notice about students’ history of violent behavior.
B. Prior to providing the written notice of a
student’s violent behavior to classroom teachers and/or school staff members,
the administration will inform the student’s parent or guardian that such
notice will be provided.
C. Parents will be given notice that they have
the right to review and challenge records or data, including the data
documenting the history of violent behavior, in accordance with Policy 515,
Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records.
VII. TRAINING NEEDS
Representatives of the
school board and representatives of the teachers will discuss the needs of
students and staff. The parties may
discuss necessary training which may include training on conflict resolution
and positive behavior interventions and may discuss necessary intervention
services such as student behavioral assessments.
Legal
References: Minn.
Stat. Ch. 13 (
20
U.S.C. § 1232g (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
34
C.F.R. §§ 99.1-99.67 (Rules Implementing FERPA)
Cross
References: Policy
515 (Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records)