5610B - REPORTING STUDENT EXPULSION INFORMATION TO THE SCHOOL BOARD
The Board of School Trustees has, pursuant to its policies, voted to not hear student expulsion appeals, which the Board is permitted to do under Indiana law. However, the Board does have an interest in wanting to receive information relating to student expulsion appeals so that it can review and evaluate the overall effectiveness of Board policies. With that goal in mind, the following guidelines will be adhered to by the administration with respect to reporting information to the Board relating to student expulsions:
When a student is expelled from school, the student and the student’s family (if the student is under 18 years of age) will be notified in writing that the School Board does not hear student expulsion appeals, but that the student may appeal the administration’s expulsion decision to the local county court.
Once a student expulsion is internally complete and the final administrative decision to expel has been made, if the case is one in which no alternative education setting has been offered to the student, then the Superintendent or his/her designee will report to the Board in executive session the circumstances of that expulsion with a particular focus on all Board policies that were relevant to the expulsion so that the Board can review its policies to ensure they are effective as written. Because personally identifiable information relating to students, including individual student disciplinary information, is confidential under the Federal Educational Rights & Privacy Act, the Board may meet in executive session pursuant to Indiana Code 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(7) "For discussion of records classified as confidential by State or Federal statute."
The Board will have no authority to change the expulsion determination made by the administration as the Board has voted not to hear expulsion appeals. But should the Board determine that its policies need clarification or otherwise need revision to ensure more effective implementation in the future, then the Board can take any subsequent public action with respect to its policies that it believes (if applicable) may be appropriate. The same procedure the Board utilizes to implement new policies or to revise existing policies will be applicable to any policy additions or changes the Board may determine may be necessary.
These guidelines will become effective with the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year.