HIBBING PUBLIC SCHOOLS
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 701

BOARD POLICY 523
SERIES: 500 Students
SUBJECT: 523 Staff Notification of Violent Behavior by Students
ADOPTED:  
REVISED:  


Purpose

In an effort to provide a safe school environment, the assigned classroom teacher and certain staff members should know whether a student to be placed in the classroom has a history of violent behavior.  Additionally, decisions should be made regarding how to manage such a student.

The purpose of this policy is to address the circumstances in which data should be provided to classroom teachers and other school staff members about students with a history of violent behavior and to establish a procedure for notifying staff regarding the placement of students with a history of violent behavior.


General Statement of Policy

A. Any staff member or other employee of the school district who obtains or possesses information concerning a student in the building with a history of violent behavior shall immediately report said information to the principal of the building in which the student attends school.
B. The administration will meet with the assigned classroom teacher and other appropriate staff members for the purpose of notifying and determining how staff will manage such student.
C. Only staff members who have a legitimate educational interest in the information will receive notification.


Definitions

A. Administration
“Administration” means the superintendent, building principal, or other designee.
B. Classroom Teacher
“Classroom Teacher” means the instructional personnel responsible for the course or room to which a student is assigned at any given time, including a substitute hired in place of the classroom teacher.
C. History of Violent Behavior
     1. a student will be considered to have a history of violent behavior if incident(s) of violence have occurred during the current or previous school year.
     2. if a student has an incident of violence during the current or previous school year, that incident and all other past elated or similar incidents of violence will be reported.
D. Incident(s) of Violence
“Incident(s) of violence” means willful conduct in which a student endangers or causes physical injury to the student, other students, or surrounding person(s) or endangers or causes significant damage to school district property, regardless of whether related to a disability or whether discipline was imposed.
E. Legitimate Educational Interest
“Legitimate educational interest” includes interest directly related to classroom instruction, teaching, student achievement and progress, discipline of a student, student health and welfare, and the ability to respond to a request for educational data. It includes a person’s need to know in order t:
     1. Perform an administrative task required in the school or the employee’s contract or position description approved by the school board;
     2. Perform a supervisory or instructional task directly related to the student’s education; or
     3. Perform a service or benefit for the student or the student’s family such as health care, counseling, student job placement, or student financial aid.
     4. Perform a task directly related to responding to a request for data.
F. School Staff Member
“School Staff Member” includes:
     1. A person duly elected to the school board;
     2. A person employed by the school board in an administrative, supervisory, instructional, or other professional position;
     3. A person employed by the school board as a temporary substitute in a professional position for the period of his or her performance as a substitute; and
     4. A person employed by, or under contract, to, the school board to perform a special task such as a secretary, a clerk, pupil support assistant, bus driver, an attorney, or an auditory for the period of his or her performance as an employee or contractor.


Procedure for Staff Notification of Students with Violent Behavior

A. Reports of Violent Behavior
Any staff member or other employee of the school district who becomes aware of any information regarding the violent behavior of an enrolling student or any student enrolled in the school district shall immediately report
the information to the building principal where the student is enrolled or seeks to enroll.

B. Recipients of Notice
Each classroom teacher of a student with a history of violent behavior (see Section III.C., above) will receive written notification from the administration prior to placement of the student in the teacher’s classroom.  In addition, written notice will be given by the administration to other school staff members who have a legitimate educational interest, as defined in this policy, when a student with a history of violent behavior is placed in a teacher’s classroom.  The administration will provide notice to anyone substituting for the classroom teacher or school staff member, who has received notice under this policy, that the substitute will be overseeing a student with a history of violent behavior.


The administration may provide other school district employees or individuals outside of the school district with information regarding a student, including information regarding a student’s history of violent behavior, in accordance with Policy 515, Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records.
C. Determination of Who Receives Notice
The determination of which classroom teachers and school staff members who have a legitimate educational interest in information regarding a student with a history of violent behavior will be made by school administration.
D. Form of Written Notice
The notice given to classroom teachers and school staff members will be in writing and will include the following:
     1. Name of the student;
     2. Date of notice;
     3. Notification that the student has been identified as a student with a history of violent behavior as defined in Section III of this policy; and
     4. Reminder of the private nature of the data provided.
E. Record of Notice
     1. The administration will retain a copy of the notice or other documentation provided to classroom teachers and school staff members notified under this section.
     2. Retention of the written notice or other documentation provided to classroom teachers and school staff members is governed by the approved Records Retention Schedule.
F. Meetings Regarding Students with a History of Violent Behavior
     1. If the administration determines, in his or her discretion, that the classroom teacher and/or school staff members with a legitimate educational interest in such data reasonably require access to the details regarding a student’s history of violent behavior for purposes of school safety and/or intervention services for the student, the administration also may convene a meeting to share and discuss such data.
     2. the persons present at the meeting may have access to the data described in Section IV.D., above.


Maintenance and Transfer of Records

A report, notice, or documentation pertaining to a student with a history of violent behavior are educational records of a student and will be retained, maintained, and transferred to a school or school district in which a student seeks to enroll in accordance with Policy 514.



Legal References:
M.S. 120A.22, Subd. 7 (Education Records)
M.S. 121A.45 (Grounds for Dismissal)
M.S. 121A.64 (Notification of Students with Violent Behavior)
M.S. 121A.75 (Law Enforcement Notice to Schools)
M.S. Ch. 13 (Minnesota Government Data Practices Act)
MN rules parts 1205.0100-1205.2000 (Data Practices)
20 U.S.C. 1232G (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
34 CFR 99.1-99.67 (Rules Implementing FERPA)