Denver public schools preview new disciplinary rules
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Bringing a gun to school makes a student eligible for expulsion at any age, under new disciplinary guidance from Denver Public Schools.
State of play: The punishment is part of a closely watched overhaul of the district's three-year-old rules on how to discipline students, our education reporting partners at Chalkbeat write.
- Under the new guidance, a fight that doesn't end in major injury is punishable by in-school or out-of-school suspension. And vaping or smoking in school leads to an in-school suspension.
Why it matters: A guiding principle is restorative justice, and school officials are being told to find alternatives to suspending students.
Context: The guidelines are more detailed than current rules and are designed to be less subjective and more realistic, district officials told school board members in a presentation last week previewing the matrix.
What they're saying: "Our goal is not to have kids out of school," DPS deputy chief of staff Deborah Staten says. "Our goal is to have kids in school."
The big picture: The new rules come as the district faces scrutiny from state officials and criticism from parents about how it dispenses discipline after a shooting at East High School by a student who had previous weapons charges and had been expelled from another school district.
- The other impetus for the rewrite is the district's policies on disciplining Black students with disabilities. A state review flagged the district for giving disproportionate discipline twice in a four-year span and forced them to submit a corrective action plan.
What's next: The full guidelines are expected to debut in July, with training for staff and teachers starting in August ahead of the new school year.