1. Classroom Management and Behavior Support for Staff

2. Rewarding Positive Behavior

3. Supports for Struggling Students

1. Adult in-school mentoring;

2. Peer in-school mentoring;

3. Access to guidance counselors, student support staff, social workers or student advocates as appropriate;

4. Involvement of parents in the discipline process;

5. The development and implementation of a behavior support plan;

6. Assistance with learning appropriate behavior and developing self-management skills; and

7. Referral for educational services, where indicated and appropriate.

1. In collaboration with the consultant, the District will analyze its 2011-2012 and 2012- 2013 discipline data by race/ethnicity. Based on this analysis, the District will work in collaboration with the consultant to identify any possible improvements or revisions to existing disciplinary policies and procedures in the following areas:

1. Referrals for discipline;

2. Help/SAFE assignments;

3. Isolated Classroom Environment (ICE) assignments;

4. Out-of-school suspensions (OSS); and

5. Referrals to law enforcement.

2. The District will revise and submit to OCR for review and comment its student discipline policies as necessary to fulfill the purposes of this Agreement. In doing so, the District will take into account those proposed revisions developed with the assistance of the consultant, as well as any recommendations or suggestions made by students (including through school climate surveys or student forums referenced herein), faculty/staff, and parents. The District will ensure that its student discipline policies are written and organized in such a way that they are easily understood by students, faculty/staff, and parents.

3. The revised student discipline policies will require that disciplinary authorities consider alternatives to expulsion, suspension or other sanctions that require removal from the education setting, except when applicable state or federal law would require otherwise.

4. OCR will notify the District when it has completed its review of the revised student discipline policies. Within 90 days of OCR’s review, the District will publish the student discipline policies in the form of a revised Code of Acceptable Behavior (the Code). The District will take steps to ensure that the revised student discipline policies are disseminated in a timely manner to all District students, parents and staff, and are posted in a prominent location on the District’s website and in each District school. In addition, within 45 days of OCR’s review, the District will ensure that the revised student discipline policies are translated into any high-incidence languages within the District.

1. By April 1 2014, the District will designate an employee to serve as the District’s Discipline Supervisor, and will publish this individual’s name and/or title, office address, e-mail address and telephone number on its website, in all school publications regarding discipline, and in the notice that the District sends to parents annually. The Discipline Supervisor shall be responsible for ensuring that the implementation of the District’s policies concerning discipline is fair and equitable.

2. In addition the District will identify a District office administrator who will address complaints of discrimination and denial of due process from parents, guardians, students and others regarding the implementation of the District’s disciplinary policies, and will publish this individual’s name and/or title, office address, e-mail address and telephone number on its website, in all school publications regarding discipline, and in the notice that the District sends to parents annually. In addressing complaints, the review of individual discipline decisions shall be limited to a review of the written record of the discipline for violations of due process rights or unlawful discrimination.

3. In collaboration with the consultant, the District will develop a training program for the District office administrator and for the Discipline Supervisor, including the responsibility of the Discipline Supervisor to regularly develop and participate in activities designed to raise awareness within the District about the implementation of the District’s disciplinary policies, as set forth in Sections E, F, G and H below.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

• By April 1, 2014, the District will notify OCR of the names of the individuals who have been designated as Discipline Supervisor and District office administrator.
• By April 1, 2014, the District will submit the training program for the Discipline Supervisor and the District office administrator to OCR for review.
• By August 1, 2014, and annually thereafter until OCR closes the monitoring of this Agreement, the District will provide to OCR a summary of the District Supervisor’s activities as set forth in this section.

1. School Climate Surveys

1. In collaboration with the Consultant, the District will develop and administer an annual school climate survey to students (grades 3-12), staff, and parents. The survey will be administered separately to each of these groups and will measure (including, but not limited to) the perceptions of: relationships among the school community members (teacher-student, teacher-parent, and student relationships); school safety; clarity of rules and behavioral expectations; and fairness and equity in the administration of discipline. The District agrees to submit the climate survey to OCR for review and comment.
2. Beginning August 1, 2014, and annually thereafter during the course of OCR’s monitoring of this Agreement, the District will provide a summary report of the substance of the responses and the response rate of each group to OCR. The District will also determine a method for sharing the report publically, particularly with the participating groups. For the purposes of this Agreement, all schools will be requested to participate in the climate survey.

2. Student Forums

1. Staff Training

1. The training will emphasize the District’s commitment to using the policies referenced in this Agreement to ensure a safe and orderly educational environment and to ensure the fair treatment of all students when making disciplinary referrals and imposing disciplinary sanctions.
2. The training will emphasize the other approaches and strategies for student development outside the disciplinary system referenced in Section B of this Agreement.
3. The training will include but not be limited to detailed explanations of the discipline code, the definitions of offense categories, the specific manner in which progressive disciplinary consequences will be employed, if applicable, the circumstances under which deviations from established policies may be justified, the documentation that must be used by all staff within the District who make disciplinary referrals or impose disciplinary sanctions, evidence-based techniques on classroom management and de-escalation approaches, information on how to administer discipline fairly and equitably, resources that are available to staff who are having difficulty with classroom management, resources that are available to students to assist them in developing self-management skills, the value of recognizing and reinforcing positive student behavior, and the importance of ensuring to the maximum extent practicable that misbehavior is addressed in a manner that does not require removal from the educational program.
4. The training will provide District employees with information concerning the role that School Resource Officers (SROs) are expected to play in the discipline process, focusing in particular on guidelines for when it is appropriate and when it is not appropriate to refer a student to an SRO.
5. The training will provide employees the opportunity to raise concerns or suggestions regarding the improvement of the District’s disciplinary policies, including any issues in connection with fairness and non-discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity.

2. Student Training

1. The training will emphasize the District’s commitment to using the policies referenced in this Agreement to ensure a safe and orderly educational environment and to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of all students when making disciplinary referrals and imposing disciplinary sanctions. The training will advise students of their right to appropriate due process protections in connection with any disciplinary action taken or proposed by the District, including the names and contact information for the Discipline Supervisor and the District office administrator.
2. The training will include but not be limited to detailed explanations of the discipline code, the definitions of offense categories, the specific manner in which progressive disciplinary consequences will be employed, if applicable, the circumstances under which deviations from established policies may be justified, and the District’s commitment to ensuring to the maximum extent practicable that misbehavior is addressed in a manner that does not require removal from the educational program.
3. The training will emphasize not only the consequences and procedures associated with non-compliance with the disciplinary code, but also provide guidance and information regarding appropriate behavioral standards, including resources to assist in developing self-management skills.
4. The training will be distinct from, and not offered simultaneously with, the student forums described in Section E.2 of this Agreement.

3. Informational Programs for Parents, Including Outreach and Distribution of Policies

1. The program will include District officials involved in the administration of discipline (e.g., administrators, teachers, guidance counselors); information about the District’s recent actions under this Agreement; and a record of the meeting in order that the information collected can be considered by the District when assessing and modifying its policies and under this Agreement.
2. The program will emphasize the District’s commitment to using the policies referenced in this Agreement to ensure a safe and orderly educational environment and to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of all students when making disciplinary referrals and imposing disciplinary sanctions.
3. The program will advise the parents or guardians of the right of students to appropriate due process in connection with any disciplinary action taken or proposed by the District.
4. The program will include but not be limited to detailed explanations of the discipline code, the definitions of offense categories, the specific manner in which progressive disciplinary consequences will be employed, if applicable, the circumstances under which deviations from established policies may be justified, resources that are available to students to assist them in developing self- management skills and the District’s commitment to recognizing and reinforcing positive student behavior and to ensuring to the maximum extent practicable that misbehavior is addressed in a manner that does not require removal from the educational program.
5. The program will advise the parents or guardians of the availability of the District Discipline Supervisor and the District office administrator, whom they may contact if they have any concerns about the manner in which the District’s discipline policies are being implemented or if they need assistance in addressing student behavioral problems. The review of discipline decisions will be limited to the issues of determining compliance with due process and nondiscrimination policies.

1. The District’s Code is available in hard copy and on the District’s website. Students receive additional information about student responsibilities and behavior expectations in Student Handbooks, which are unique to each school site. The District will revise these documents to reflect any changes in disciplinary policies and practices made under this Agreement, as necessary, and continue its existing practice of notification to parents and students.

2. The District will develop a means to inform the public on data concerning referrals for discipline, Help/SAFE room and ICE assignments, out of school suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to law enforcement, including the most frequent reasons leading to exclusionary discipline and other factors determined by the District and/or the Consultant. The data will be disaggregated by race/ ethnicity, school, and/or grade level. The District will consider, but is not limited to, publishing a “data dashboard” or some other means of information dissemination on its website or providing reports at Board meetings and other relevant public District forums.

3. The District will provide notice to parents and guardians about the availability of all sources of information regarding discipline, including the information required by Section G.2, contact information for the District’s Discipline Supervisor and the District office administrator, and the right to file complaints of unlawful discrimination and denial of due process regarding the implementation of discipline policies. This notice will be posted on the District’s website and will be mailed annually to all parents and guardians.

1. Reporting

2. Review of SRO Interventions and Practices

3. SRO Training

1. The District will establish uniform standards for the content of student discipline files at all District schools. The standards will be designed to ensure that the District keeps accurate and complete records of all discipline incidents, including those that do not result in the imposition of disciplinary sanctions. To this end, the District will develop and submit to OCR for review and comment a uniform District referral form and a uniform District disciplinary sanctions form at each school level to be used by all staff within the District when imposing disciplinary sanctions. At a minimum, the forms will require the person using them to provide the following information:

1. the name or staff identification/employee number of the person making the referral;
2. the name or staff identification/employee number of the person determining the sanction;
3. detailed information to explain the circumstances that led to the disciplinary referral, including the conduct and the setting (e.g., classroom, bus, cafeteria, hallway);
4. any student and/or adult witness(es) to the incident;
5. any other students involved in the incident;
6. a description of all approaches that were attempted in order to address the behavior at issue prior to referral for discipline;
7. the number of “chances” or opportunities the student was given to self-correct the behavior before the office referral became necessary;
8. instructions to the referring staff member to describe the incident in terms of conduct and not in terms of the Code violation;
9. the disciplinary sanction imposed or, if no sanction was imposed, the reason for that decision;
10. the Code violation(s) for which the sanction was imposed;
11. the factual basis for the sanction imposed and the justification for the selection of the particular penalty imposed from within the range of possible penalties that could have been imposed, including the student’s prior disciplinary history; or, if no sanction was imposed, the reason for that decision;
12. the date the referral was made or the sanction was imposed;
13. the name/identification number, race/ ethnicity, and grade level of the student(s) being referred and all other students involved in the incident, whether or not they were referred for discipline themselves; and
14. attempts to contact parents and/or guardians.

2. The District will work with the developers of the District’s data system to obtain enhancements or updates to the system as needed in order to collect and accurately record the information required by this Section electronically. However, unless and until paper forms are no longer in use, the District will retain and store paper referral forms as well as all other documents used in the discipline of students throughout the monitoring of this Agreement.

3. The District will collect and evaluate data regarding all referrals for student discipline, including those that did not result in the imposition of disciplinary sanctions, the imposition of disciplinary sanctions, referrals to law enforcement, and suspension and expulsion at all District schools. The data collected will include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. The name/identification number, race/ ethnicity, and grade level of each student referred for discipline;
2. For each referral, the name/identification number, race/ ethnicity, and grade level of all other students involved in the incident, whether or not they were referred for discipline themselves;
3. A detailed description of the misconduct (in the comment field);
4. A description of all approaches that were attempted in order to address the behavior at issue prior to referral for discipline;
5. The date of the referral;
6. The specific Code violation for which the referral was made;
7. The referring staff member (by staff identification/employee number);
8. The school and type of class from which the referral was made or other specific settings (e.g. bus referral, hallway referral);
9. Whether there were any student and/or adult witness(es) of the incident; names of witness(es); number of witnesses;
10. the number of “chances” or opportunities the student was given to self-correct the behavior before the office referral became necessary;
11. whether the student’s parent/guardian was contacted;
12. The prior disciplinary history of the student;
13. (If different from f., above) The specific Code violation for which the student was punished and the penalty/sanction imposed or, if no violation was charged or penalty/sanction imposed, the reason why;
14. The outcome of the manifestation hearing determination, if applicable;
15. The date the penalty/sanction was imposed;
16. The length of the penalty/sanction (in number of days);
17. The staff member who assigned the penalty/sanction (by staff identification/employee number);
18. Whether the student was transferred to the alternative school or to a different school site;
19. Whether school-based or local law enforcement were involved (e.g. law enforcement was notified of the offense);
20. Whether the referral to law enforcement was mandatory and, if so, the statute or ordinance governing the referral;
21. Whether the student was arrested as a result of school-based or law enforcement involvement;
22. Any other non-punitive outcomes arising out of each referral incident, including, but not limited to, referral for homebound services, disability evaluation; and
23. Whether the student was given access to appropriate due process procedures in connection with the penalty/sanction, including but not limited to being given the opportunity to present his or her version of events and/or an explanation for their conduct prior to the imposition of sanctions, and whether, when, and how their parents were contacted in connection with each referral incident.

4. Each school principal will meet at the conclusion of each semester with the teachers at his/her school to discuss strategies for teaching, encouraging and reinforcing positive student behavior that do not require engagement with the discipline system and to discuss the discipline of students for that semester. The discussion will specifically review the data gathered by the District under Section I.3 of this Agreement and the results of the review conducted by the discipline review team under Section 6 of this Agreement. The meetings will examine how discipline referrals and disciplinary sanctions imposed at the school compare to those at other schools and consider any data or other information showing that members of any group for whom data are collected pursuant to Section I.3 above are disproportionately referred for discipline or sanctioned more harshly than similarly-situated students of other groups. If the data show such disproportion, the teachers will be reminded of District resources that are available to assist them in managing their classrooms and reinforcing positive student behavior. Where the data or other information show that a particular teacher is responsible for a disproportionate number of referrals or disproportionately refers members of any such group, the principal will meet privately with that teacher to explore the reasons for the disproportion, and examine potential solutions. If the data or information shows that the teacher is failing to adhere to the District’s student discipline policies or practices or is engaging in discrimination, the principal will consider appropriate corrective action, including but not limited to, additional training or disciplinary action, subject to the rights afforded to employees under state and/or federal law. Where the data show no disproportion at the school and/or in particular classrooms or suggest that a teacher has been particularly successful in managing student discipline at the classroom level, the meetings will examine steps that are being taken at the school or by the individual teacher to ensure the fair and equitable enforcement of the District’s student discipline policies that might be shared as “best practices” with other teachers at the school and with other schools where disproportion exists.

5. The Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee(s) will meet at the conclusion of each school year with the principal of each school to discuss the data gathered by the District under Section I.3, as well as with the Discipline Supervisor, to examine the issues raised pursuant to Section D and the report of the discipline review team pursuant to Section I.6. The meetings will examine how discipline referrals and disciplinary sanctions imposed at each school compare to those at other schools and, if applicable, to schools outside the District, and consider any data showing that members of any group for whom data are collected pursuant to Section I.3 are disproportionately referred for discipline or sanctioned more harshly than similarly- situated students of other groups. If the data show such disproportion, the meetings will explore possible causes for the disproportion. The meeting will also review the District’s resources that are available to teachers to assist them in managing their classrooms and reinforcing positive student behavior. If the data or other information shows that the principal or other school staff are failing to adhere to the District’s student discipline policies and practices or are engaging in discrimination, the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee(s) will consider appropriate corrective action, including but not limited to, additional training or disciplinary action, subject to the rights afforded to employees (including administrators) under state and/or federal law. Where the data show no disproportion, the meetings will examine steps that are being taken at the school to ensure the fair and equitable enforcement of the District’s student discipline policies that might be adopted as “best practices” at those schools where disproportion exists.

In addition, if the data or other information show that a particular school is referring disproportionately high numbers of students of a particular group to law enforcement or that the SRO is involved in disproportionately high numbers of disciplinary referrals of students of a particular group, the appropriate District administrator will meet with the SRO and all administrators involved in disciplinary decisions to discuss the data and obtain an explanation for the disproportionality. The principal will then submit a written report to the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee(s) explaining the principal’s findings and recommendations for further action. Based on the principal’s report and recommendations, the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee(s) will take whatever corrective action he or she deems necessary to address the disproportionality, up to and including, if appropriate, a request that the SRO be replaced and modification of student discipline files, subject to applicable state and/or federal law.

6. The District will establish a Discipline Review Team for the purpose of randomly reviewing a percentage of the disciplinary actions taken at each District school on an ongoing basis to ensure that the actions taken were non-discriminatory and consistent with the District’s student discipline policies and practices.

7. Beginning with June 30, 2015, and at the conclusion of each subsequent school year, the Discipline Review Team will prepare a report that summarizes the results of its review at each school and includes recommendations on any changes to the District’s student discipline policies and practices that should be made in light of the team’s findings. The Discipline Review Team will, in consultation with the consultant, develop goals and benchmarks for measuring the District’s efforts at implementing its student discipline policies and practices in a non-discriminatory manner. If at any point during this process the Discipline Review Team identifies any disciplinary action that was discriminatory or inconsistent with the District’s student discipline policies, it will immediately report its finding to the Superintendent, who will take immediate corrective action, subject to the requirements of applicable state and/or federal law. Under such a circumstance, the Discipline Review Team will also expand its review at the school in question to include every disciplinary action taken at the school during the school year.

8. At the conclusion of the 2013-14 school year and each school year thereafter, the District will consider whether additional changes to its student discipline policies are warranted based on its evaluation of the District-wide student discipline data gathered under Section I.3 of this Agreement, the meetings conducted by the District under Sections I.4 and I.5 of this Agreement, the input and recommendations made by the Discipline Supervisor under Section D of this Agreement, and the findings made by the Discipline Review Team established under Section I.6 of this Agreement.

9. The District will ensure that its employees enter accurate discipline data in the Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection.

10. Prior to the conclusion of the monitoring of this agreement by OCR, the District will provide information to OCR establishing that any remaining racial disparities in the administration of discipline are not the result of unlawful discrimination.

1. Periodic review of discipline referrals and penalties imposed to examine whether any group of students for whom data are collected pursuant to Section I.3 above is receiving more referrals or discipline than other groups in comparison to their respective enrollments;
2. Periodic review of referrals to law enforcement to examine whether any group of students for whom data are collected pursuant to Section I.3 above is receiving more referrals than students of other groups or the SRO is involved in disproportionately high numbers of disciplinary referrals of students of a particular group;
3. Periodic review of student expulsions to examine whether any group of students for whom data are collected pursuant to Section I.3 above is receiving more expulsions than students of other groups;
4. Examination of whether certain teachers and administrators refer disproportionately high numbers of any group of students for whom data are collected pursuant to Section I.3 above for discipline or are disproportionately responsible for imposing disciplinary sanctions that include exclusion from the educational program;
5. Examination of whether any group of students for whom data are collected pursuant to Section I.3 above are disproportionately referred for offenses in which subjective judgment is exercised, while students of other groups are not;
6. Examination of whether all students are consistently referred for similar misbehaviors;
7. Examination of whether waivers of punishment, if available, are available to all students;
8. Examination of whether penalties imposed are consistent with the penalties specified in the District’s discipline policies and procedures and, where exceptions are made, whether they are justified; and
9. A summary of all of the complaints received and their disposition by the District administrator identified by the superintendent to handle parent/student complaints related to discipline issues.