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CLICK TO EDIT MASTER TITLE STYLESTUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

2020-2021

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Agenda

• Background

• General updates

• State legislative requirements

• Model policy alignment

• Corrections and alignment to practice

• American Institutes for Research (AIR) Recommendations

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Student Rights and Responsibilities (R2601) Background

• Regulation 2601 – Student Rights and

Responsibilities (SR&R)

• Reviewed and updated yearly with approval from

the School Board

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Spring 2019 Discipline Studies

• SY 2018-19

• Conducted internal discipline study through the Office of Research and Strategic Improvement and two external agencies, Temple University and the American Institutes for Research (AIR)

• June 17, 2019 - outcomes of three studies were presented

• Equity Plan for Discipline Policy and Practices developed as a response to studies

• SY 2019-20

• AIR consulted on SR&R revisions

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https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BCWVCK70B5E2

http://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BCWVCK70B5E2


Virginia Board of Education – Model Guidance

• January, 2019

• Virginia BOE released a model guidance document with the expectation that school divisions fully implement the outlined expectations by the 2021-2022 school year

• Changes to 2020-2021 FCPS Regulation 2601

• Aligned FCPS code of conduct with the Board of Education’s expectations

• New elements of Virginia Code have a direct impact on SR&R

• HB837 (Dress Code Equity Act)

• HB415 (Suspension - Access to Graded Work)

• HB257 and SB729 (Principals – Incident Reports)

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https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB837




General Updates

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General Updates

• New distribution protocols outlined

• Clarifying attendance language added

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General Updates

• Distribution Language - A supply of the Student Rights and Responsibilities shall be provided to each school and made available online by September 30 of each year. Additional copies may be duplicated as needed. With the documents made available online, parents who have a student enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) may request a printed copy at any time from their child’s school’s main office. Each new student who enters FCPS after the general distribution shall be given access to the document at the time of registration. Regulation 2602.P, Rules of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures, will be used only for due process. As required by Section 22.1–279.3 of the Code of Virginia, the rules of conduct shall be printed and made available online within one calendar month of the opening of school.

• Updated Attendance Language - The Virginia Department of Education now uses each school’s chronic absence rate as one of the measures to determine school accreditation and school quality.

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Virginia (VA) Legislative Changes

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Legislative Changes

The Dress Code has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in House Bill 837 – Dress Code Equity Act

Examples of prohibited clothing include, but are not limited to: sagging or low-cut pants, tube or halter tops, studded or chain belts, clothing constructed of see-through materials, and head coverings unless worn for a bona fide purpose (religious, ethnic, medical). Parents requesting permission for their student to wear a head covering are instructed to contact the school principal.

School staff will deal with dress code infractions in a discreet and respectful manner and without any of the following: using any direct physical contact with the student or the student’s attire or requiring any student to undress in front of another. Dress code standards apply to all students. Students who are not compliant with the foregoing may be subject to counseling, loss of privileges, removal from class or activities, or disciplinary action.

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Additional Legislative Changes

HB 837

Requires that standards for reducing bias are part of our guidelines. A Reflective Considerations for Disciplinary Action flow chart will be added to the administrator training toolbox for 2020-2021.

HB 415

If a student has been suspended from school, make-up work will be provided by the school during the period of suspension and graded upon return.

HB 257/SB 729:

School principals; incident reports. Eliminates the requirement that school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense. 11


Recommended Changes based upon VA BOE Model Guidance

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Model Guidance – Codes

• FCPS codes updated to provide consistent definitions and record-keeping across schools and to support progressive discipline practices with leveled administrative responses which focus on the impact of the behavior

• New codes have been developed by the VDOE and were intended to be implemented across the state for the 2020-21 school year

• Due to Covid-19, VDOE delayed implementation of new codes until 2021-22

• FCPS plans to pilot the new codes in school year 2020-21 to support our discipline vision and philosophy

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Example of New Codes Categorized by Impact


Model Guidance – Self-Defense language

• School officials may, in their discretion, consider self-defense as a factor when determining appropriate disciplinary action for misconduct involving fighting. Self-defense will never justify or excuse any other violation of the SR&R, including but not limited to any possession or use of a weapon.

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Corrections and Alignment to Practice

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Corrections

• Term Restorative Behavior Intervention Specialistupdated to Restorative Justice practitioner

• Deleted information referencing that the Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) intervention is not intended for students who participated previously

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Alignment to Practices

Added “in lieu of a five day out of school suspension” language to the first time possession and use consequence and changed shall result in a “five day suspension out of school” to “an out of school suspension for three days” if a student does not complete the 2 day in school suspension with the AOD intervention.


American Institutes for Research (AIR) Recommendations

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AIR Recommendations

Language added to the introduction to include social emotional learning, multi-tiered system of support and restorative practices.

Fairfax County Public Schools uses a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) to support the individual needs of each student using a whole-child approach. MTSS is a framework through which teams make decisions based on data to provide differentiated classroom instruction and the necessary academic, behavior, and social-emotional wellness supports for all students across all schools.

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AIR Recommendations

Language added between code charts and leveled response charts to emphasize FCPS disciplinary philosophy.

The following levels of administrative response are comprised of tiered social-emotional, behavioral, and academic supports provided by other school personnel and in collaboration with the student’s family and can be paired with potential sanctions. The following administrative responses to student behavior are provided as a guide for administrators and intended to provide a progressive leveled response that is as minimally exclusionary to the extent possible.

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AIR Recommendations

Added phrase “as outlined in this regulation” in the introduction of Chapter II to emphasize that certain exclusionary consequences can only be assigned for specific behaviors that meet certain criteria outlined in the regulation

Updates and realignment of the family guide for clarity, more user friendly

Addition of a General Disciplinary Procedures Flow Chart and a Special Education Disciplinary Procedures Flow Chart to family guide

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TIMELINE

• New business date – April 23, 2020

• Work session – May 11, 2020

• Action date – June 18, 2020

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www.fcps.edu

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