EXPULSION/SUSPENSION

Expulsion means denial to a student to participate in any school activity for a period of time as determined by the school board. Expulsion will be a result of one of the following:

  1. “Insubordination” which means refusal to comply with reasonable school board policies, building rules, regulations, orders, or instructions in a single instance.
  2. “Habitual disobedience” which means refusal to comply with reasonable school board and/or building rules, regulations, policies, orders, or instructions on three or more separate occasions.
    Note: Any student found with a weapon on school premises will be recommended for a long-term suspension or expulsion.

A student is entitled to a hearing in accordance with the standards for hearing procedures adopted by the Board of Education. (Copies of this procedure are available in the principal’s office.)

Suspension means denial to a student to participate in regular school activities for 1 to 10 days as determined by the school principal. The superintendent may suspend for up to 90 school days.

Students who exhibit the following types of behavior while on school property or participating in a school activity can be suspended:

  1. Students, including those 18 years or older, who consume, possess, buy, sell, give away or are under the influence of a controlled substance, including alcohol, tobacco or other chemicals
  2. Students found guilty of altering school records, of forging signatures of parents, teachers or other school personnel or of forging signatures of doctors or employers, or knowingly using a falsified document.
  3. Students found guilty of stealing or damaging the property of the school or of other individuals within the school jurisdiction.
  4. Students who willfully disobey or defy reasonable directions given by school personnel (insubordination).
  5. Students who are guilty of attendance policy violations, truancy, tardiness.
  6. Students who possess, transmit, buy or sell; or assist other persons in obtaining, storing, keeping, leaving, placing or putting into the possession of another person; or use weapons or firearms of any kind. Students are prohibited from bringing to school or school-related activities any weapons or firearms. This prohibition will normally not apply to school supplies, such as pencils, compasses and the like, unless they are used in a menacing or threatening manner. If a student has intentionally brought a firearm onto school premises, the expulsion shall be for not less than one year. The superintendent or the superintendent’s designees may modify a firearm-related expulsion on a case-by-case basis.
  7. The following terms as used in the policy are defined as follows:
    1. “Firearm” as defined in SDCL 13-32-7
    2. “Weapons” will include objects not commonly considered as such, but modified for use as weapons, facsimiles of weapons, or replicas or toys that look like weapons, or as defined by SDCL 13-32-7.
  8. Students found guilty of possessing, transmitting, buying, selling, using or bringing on to school property items such as inhalants/oils of cinnamon, pepper water, mace or any toxic substance that can do physical harm, externally or internally to self or others.
  9. Students found guilty of physically or verbally assaulting students or school personnel.
  10. Students found guilty of harassment or discrimination against students or school personnel as defined in Policy AC-P1.
  11. Students found guilty of rumor spreading or agitation of a conflict situation, which can result in a fight by other people.
  12. Students who exhibit inappropriate and disruptive behavior, including profanity, inappropriate dress, parking and driving violations on school property and trespassing.
  13. Students found guilty of making threats or acts, which cause emergency procedures to be implemented for the building.
  14. Students found guilty of behavior, which threatens to do physical violence or other inappropriate activities to a person or their property.
  15. Students found guilty of Habitual Disobedience.
  16. Inappropriate behavior is defined as students who conduct themselves in such a manner as to disrupt the educational process and impede the learning of themselves and/or other students, and when requested to cease such behavior are disobedient and continue such behavior.
  17. Disruptive behavior is behavior that detracts from maintaining classroom discipline; unnecessarily draws attention to the students involved and away from classroom activity; and prevents those students and/or other students from their pursuit of learning.

Habitual disobedience is defined as behavior by students who have been advised on more than one occasion of their inappropriate behavior and the nature of it, including but not limited to disobeying a teacher; and despite being so advised and directed to cease behaving inappropriately, continue to behave in an inappropriate manner.