Category
Alternatives to Exclusionary Discipline
Category
Alternatives to Exclusionary Discipline
State law encourages districts to use alternatives to out-of-school suspension or expulsion, such as in-school suspension, behavioral interventions, or restorative practices.
17 V.I.C. § 823 Student eligibility and program criteria
(d) Disciplinary Programs.
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(1) Disciplinary programs serve the student who has a disruptive behavior in school or has committed an offense that warrants suspension, adjudication as a person in need of supervision, or expulsion from school according to the code of student conduct. For the purposes of this program, disruptive behavior is behavior that:
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(A) interferes with the student's own learning or the educational process of others and requires attention and assistance beyond that which the traditional program can provide, or results in frequent conflicts of a disruptive nature while the student is under the jurisdiction of the school either in or out of the classrooms; or
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(B) severely threatens the general welfare of the student or others with whom the student comes into contact.
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(2) The program includes, but is not necessarily limited to, in-school suspension, alternatives to expulsion, counseling centers, and crisis intervention centers.
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(3) Students who have been placed in detention or a court-adjudicated commitment program or a person adjudicated in need of supervision must be evaluated by school district personnel upon the completion of the program prior to the placement of the students into an educational program. Such students must not be automatically assigned to a disciplinary program upon re-entering the school system.
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(4) Prior to assigning a student to a disciplinary program of more than 10 days in duration, the insular superintendent shall attempt a continuum of education and student services to identify the causes of the disruptive behavior, to modify the behavior, or to provide more appropriate educational services to the student; however, students who have committed an offense which warrants expulsion according to the code of student conduct may be assigned to a disciplinary program without attempting a continuum of services.