SB 170 — Public schools; student discipline.

E.

Local school boards may allow the requirements of subsection A to be met under the following conditions:

For a student who is at least 16 years of age, there shall be a meeting of the student, the student's parents, and the principal or his designee of the school in which the student is enrolled in which an individual student alternative education plan shall be developed in conformity with guidelines prescribed by the Board, which plan must include:

1.

Career guidance counseling;

2.

Mandatory enrollment and attendance in a preparatory program for passing a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education or other alternative education program approved by the local school board with attendance requirements that provide for reporting of student attendance by the chief administrator of such preparatory program or approved alternative education program to such principal or his designee;

3.

Mandatory enrollment in a program to earn a Board of Education-approved career and technical education credential, such as the successful completion of an industry certification, a state licensure examination, a national occupational competency assessment, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or the Virginia workplace readiness skills assessment;

4.

Successful completion of the course in economics and personal finance required to earn a Board of Education-approved high school diploma;

5.

Counseling on the economic impact of failing to complete high school;

and 6.

Procedures for reenrollment to comply with the requirements of subsection A.

A student for whom an individual student alternative education plan has been granted pursuant to this subsection and who fails to comply with the conditions of such plan shall be in violation of the compulsory school attendance law, and the division superintendent or attendance officer of the school division in which such student was last enrolled shall seek immediate compliance with the compulsory school attendance law as set forth in this article.

Students enrolled with an individual student alternative education plan shall be counted in the average daily membership of the school division.

F.

A school board may, in accordance with the procedures set forth in Article 3 (§ 22.1-276.01 et seq.) of Chapter 14 and upon a finding that a school-age child has been (i) charged with an offense relating to the Commonwealth's laws, or with a violation of school board policies, on weapons, alcohol or drugs, or intentional injury to another person;

(ii) found guilty or not innocent of a crime that resulted in or could have resulted in injury to others, or of an offense that is required to be disclosed to the superintendent of the school division pursuant to subsection G of § 16.1-260;

(iii) suspended pursuant to § 22.1-277.05;

or (iv) expelled from school attendance pursuant to § 22.1-277.06 or 22.1-277.07 or subsection B C of § 22.1-277, require the child to attend an alternative education program as provided in § 22.1-209.1:2 or 22.1-277.2:1.

G.

Whenever a court orders any pupil into an alternative education program, including a program preparing students for a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education, offered in the public schools, the local school board of the school division in which the program is offered shall determine the appropriate alternative education placement of the pupil, regardless of whether the pupil attends the public schools it supervises or resides within its school division.

The juvenile and domestic relations district court of the county or city in which a pupil resides or in which charges are pending against a pupil, or any court in which charges are pending against a pupil, may require the pupil who has been charged with (i) a crime that resulted in or could have resulted in injury to others, (ii) a violation of Article 1 (§ 18.2-77 et seq.) of Chapter 5 of Title 18.2, or (iii) any offense related to possession or distribution of any Schedule I, II, or III controlled substances to attend an alternative education program, including, but not limited to, night school, adult education, or any other education program designed to offer instruction to students for whom the regular program of instruction may be inappropriate.

This subsection shall not be construed to limit the authority of school boards to expel, suspend, or exclude students, as provided in §§ 22.1-277.04, 22.1-277.05, 22.1-277.06, 22.1-277.07, and 22.1-277.2.

As used in this subsection, the term "charged" means that a petition or warrant has been filed or is pending against a pupil.

H.

Within one calendar month of the opening of school, each school board shall send to the parents or guardian of each student enrolled in the division a copy of the compulsory school attendance law and the enforcement procedures and policies established by the school board.

I.

The provisions of this article shall not apply to:

1.

Children suffering from contagious or infectious diseases while suffering from such diseases;

2.

Children whose immunizations against communicable diseases have not been completed as provided in § 22.1-271.2;

3.

Children under 10 years of age who live more than two miles from a public school unless public transportation is provided within one mile of the place where such children live;

4.

Children between the ages of 10 and 17, inclusive, who live more than 2.5 miles from a public school unless public transportation is provided within 1.5 miles of the place where such children live;

and 5.

Children excused pursuant to subsections B and D.

Further, any child who will not have reached his sixth birthday on or before September 30 of each school year whose parent or guardian notifies the appropriate school board that he does not wish the child to attend school until the following year because the child, in the opinion of the parent or guardian, is not mentally, physically, or emotionally prepared to attend school, may delay the child's attendance for one year.

The distances specified in subdivisions 3 and 4 of this subsection shall be measured or determined from the child's residence to the entrance to the school grounds or to the school bus stop nearest the entrance to the residence of such children by the nearest practical routes which are usable for walking or riding.

Disease shall be established by the certificate of a reputable practicing physician in accordance with regulations adopted by the Board of Education.

§ 22.1-277.

Suspensions and expulsions of pupils generally.

A.

Pupils Students may be suspended or expelled from attendance at school for sufficient cause;

however, in no cases may sufficient cause for suspensions include only instances of truancy.

B.

Except as provided in subsection C or § 22.1-277.07 or 22.1-277.08, no student in preschool through grade three shall be suspended for more than three school days or expelled from attendance at school, unless (i) the offense involves physical harm or credible threat of physical harm to others or (ii) the local school board or the division superintendent or his designee finds that aggravating circumstances exist, as defined by the Department.

C.

Any student for whom the division superintendent of the school division in which such student is enrolled has received a report pursuant to § 16.1-305.1 of an adjudication of delinquency or a conviction for an offense listed in subsection G of § 16.1-260 may be suspended or expelled from school attendance pursuant to this article.

C.

D.

The authority provided in § 22.1-276.2 for teachers to remove students from their classes in certain instances of disruptive behavior shall not be interpreted to affect the operation of § 22.1-277.04, 22.1-277.05, or 22.1-277.06.

§ 22.1-277.2:1.

Disciplinary authority of school boards under certain circumstances;

alternative education program.

A.

A school board may, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this article, require any student who has been (i) charged with an offense relating to the Commonwealth's laws, or with a violation of school board policies, on weapons, alcohol or drugs, or intentional injury to another person, or with an offense that is required to be disclosed to the superintendent of the school division pursuant to subsection G of § 16.1-260;

(ii) found guilty or not innocent of an offense relating to the Commonwealth's laws on weapons, alcohol, or drugs, or of a crime that resulted in or could have resulted in injury to others, or of an offense that is required to be disclosed to the superintendent of the school division pursuant to subsection G of § 16.1-260;

(iii) found to have committed a serious offense or repeated offenses in violation of school board policies;

(iv) suspended pursuant to § 22.1-277.05;

or (v) expelled pursuant to § 22.1-277.06, 22.1-277.07, or 22.1-277.08, or subsection B C of § 22.1-277, to attend an alternative education program.

A school board may require such student to attend such programs regardless of where the crime occurred.

School boards may require any student who has been found, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this article, to have been in possession of, or under the influence of, drugs or alcohol on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity in violation of school board policies, to undergo evaluation for drug or alcohol abuse, or both, and, if recommended by the evaluator and with the consent of the student's parent, to participate in a treatment program.

As used in this section, the term "charged" means that a petition or warrant has been filed or is pending against a pupil.

B.

A school board may adopt regulations authorizing the division superintendent or his designee to require students to attend an alternative education program consistent with the provisions of subsection A after (i) written notice to the student and his parent that the student will be required to attend an alternative education program and (ii) notice of the opportunity for the student or his parent to participate in a hearing to be conducted by the division superintendent or his designee regarding such placement.

The decision of the superintendent or his designee regarding such alternative education placement shall be final unless altered by the school board, upon timely written petition, as established in regulation, by the student or his parent, for a review of the record by the school board.

C.

A school board may adopt regulations authorizing the principal or his designee to impose a short-term suspension, pursuant to § 22.1-277.04, upon a student who has been charged with an offense involving intentional injury enumerated in subsection G of § 16.1-260, to another student in the same school pending a decision as to whether to require that such student attend an alternative education program.