G’town schools eyes suspension policy

Board considers appeals process for Category B offenses

A proposed policy change would require an automatic 180day suspension for all “Category B” offenses in the Germantown Municipal School District, but would include an appeals process that would take circumstances into consideration.

Category B offenses include bringing a knife to school and consuming alcohol at a school event. As the policy stands now, administrators can assign suspensions ranging from one day to 180 days, with no guidelines on how to decide which end of the spectrum is appropriate.

The new policy, up for a first reading Monday at the Germantown Municipal School Board meeting, would require a 180-day suspension for each offense. The student would have seven days to file an appeal, and the district’s disciplinary hearing authority would review the case. The student would have a chance to defend him or herself, and the board would determine whether the alleged misconduct occurred, and if so, what the length of the suspension should be.

Supt. Jason Manuel said the disciplinary board could lower the suspension to the one-to-10day range, keep it at 180 days, or find a solution in the middle.

“That allows us to have a consistent process where we’re looking at all the facts available for student behavior,” Manuel said.

Earlier this year, the district suspended a Houston High School student for 180 days for having knives in her backpack.

Director of Student Services Chauncey Bland said in a work session last week that he would expect many of the appeals to result in suspensions of less than 180 days, and that the change is one of procedure and not severity of punishment.

“As an assistant principal or

an administrator, it takes a lot of pressure off you to have to do that investigation and make that decision,” Bland said.

Board member Linda Fisher said the change would allow for consistency in the process while also taking situations into account.

“What it’s allowing them to do is look at each case closely,” she said.

Board member Mark Dely said he is concerned about students who, for example, are Boy Scouts and have a pocket knife in their backpack from a weekend trip.

“They should pay the consequences for those decisions, but I do want to make sure those consequences are commensurate with the offense,” Dely said.

Bland said that’s where the appeals process would come in, and it would be the final punishment, not the original 180- day suspension, that would go on the student’s record.

Other Category B offenses include off-campus criminal behavior that results in a felony charge, gang activities, threats against school personnel and evidence or use of drug paraphernalia.