5840 - CRIMINAL GANG ACTIVITY
Prohibited Conduct
New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corporation prohibits criminal gang activity on school property, school buses, or at school-sponsored functions.
New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corporation prohibits reprisal or retaliation against individuals who report criminal gang activity or who are victims, witnesses, bystanders, or others with reliable information about criminal gang activity.
Definitions
Per IC 35-45-9-1, "Criminal gang" means a group with at least three members that specifically either:
promotes, sponsors, or assists in; or participates in; or
requires as a condition of membership or continued membership; the commission of a felony or an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult or the offense of battery (IC 35-42-2-1).
"Gang Activity" means knowing or intentional participation by a student in a criminal gang, or knowing or intentional solicitation, recruitment, enticement, or intimidation of another individual to join a criminal gang.
Procedures for Reporting and Investigating
A school employee is required by law to report any incidence of suspected criminal gang activity, including criminal gang intimidation or criminal gang recruitment, to the principal and school safety specialist.
The principal or designee shall conduct a thorough and complete investigation for each report of suspected gang activity.
Each school within the school corporation shall record the number of investigations disposed of internally and the number of cases referred to local law enforcement, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, and sex. Each school shall report this information to the superintendent who shall submit a written report to the Indiana Department of Education by June 1 of each year, starting in 2017.
Consequences
A confirmed incident of criminal gang activity is a violation of the school’s code of conduct. The principal or the principal’s designee shall respond to criminal gang activity, according to the parameters described in the school’s code of conduct.
Support Services
The principal may provide intervention or relevant support services to a student involved in, or suspected of, being involved in criminal gang activity. The following types of services, including family support services, are available:
refer to counseling
establish programs to enhance school climate
enlist parent cooperation and involvement
enlist community cooperation and involvement
Criminal Gang Prevention and Education
The school corporation shall establish an evidence-based educational criminal gang awareness program for students, school employees, and parents (IC 20-26-18-4).
The school corporation shall implement school employee development to provide training to school employees in the implementation of its criminal gang policy (IC 20-26-18-4).
The superintendent shall ensure that notice of this policy appears in the student handbooks and on the school corporation’s website.
T.C. 3/3/25