Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 15, chapter 1, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding sections 15-111 and 15-112, to read:
START_STATUTE15-111. Declaration of policy
The legislature finds
and declares that public school pupils should be taught to treat and value each
other as individuals and not based on ethnic background. END_STATUTE
START_STATUTE15-112. Prohibited courses and classes;
enforcement
A. A school
district or charter school in this state shall not include in its program of
instruction any courses or classes that either:
1. Are
designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.
2. Advocate
ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.
B. If the
superintendent of public instruction determines that a school district or charter school is in violation of subsection A, the superintendent of public instruction shall
notify the school district or charter school that it is in violation of
subsection A. If the superintendent of public instruction determines
that the school district or charter school has failed to comply with subsection
A within sixty days after a notice has been issued pursuant to this subsection,
The superintendent of public instruction may direct the department of education
to withhold up to ten per cent of the monthly apportionment of state aid that
would otherwise be due the school district or charter school. The department
of education shall adjust the school district or charter school's apportionment
accordingly. When the superintendent of public instruction determines that the
school district or charter school is in compliance with subsection A, the
department of education shall restore the full amount of state aid payments to
the school district or charter school.
C. Actions
taken under this section are subject to appeal pursuant to title 41, chapter 6,
article 10.
D. This
section shall not be construed to restrict or prohibit:
1. Courses
or classes for native American pupils that are required to comply with federal
law.
2. The
grouping of pupils according to academic performance, including capability in the
English language, that may result in a disparate impact by ethnicity. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 15-843, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE15-843. Pupil disciplinary proceedings
A. An action concerning discipline, suspension or
expulsion of a pupil is not subject to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1, except
that the governing board of a school district shall post regular notice and shall
take minutes of any hearing held by the governing board concerning the
discipline, suspension or expulsion of a pupil.
B. The governing
board of any school district, in consultation with the teachers and parents of
the school district, shall prescribe rules for the discipline, suspension and
expulsion of pupils. The rules shall be consistent with the constitutional
rights of pupils and shall include at least the following:
1. Penalties for excessive pupil absenteeism
pursuant to section 15‑803, including failure in a subject, failure to
pass a grade, suspension or expulsion.
2. Procedures for the use of corporal punishment if
allowed by the governing board.
3. Procedures for the reasonable use of physical
force by certificated or classified personnel in self‑defense, defense of
others and defense of property.
4. Procedures for dealing with pupils who have
committed or who are believed to have committed a crime.
5. A notice and hearing procedure for cases
concerning the suspension of a pupil for more than ten days.
6. Procedures and conditions for readmission of a
pupil who has been expelled or suspended for more than ten days.
7. Procedures for appeal to the governing board of
the suspension of a pupil for more than ten days, if the decision to suspend
the pupil was not made by the governing board.
8. Procedures for appeal of the recommendation of
the hearing officer or officers designated by the board as provided in
subsection F of this section at the time the board considers the
recommendation.
C. Penalties adopted pursuant to subsection B,
paragraph 1 of this section for excessive absenteeism shall not be applied to
pupils who have completed the course requirements and whose absence from school
is due solely to illness, disease or accident as certified by a person who is
licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 7, 13, 15 or 17.
D. The governing board shall:
1. Support and assist teachers in the implementation
and enforcement of the rules prescribed pursuant to subsection B of this
section.
2. Develop procedures allowing teachers and
principals to recommend the suspension or expulsion of pupils.
3. Develop procedures allowing teachers and
principals to temporarily remove disruptive pupils from a class.
4. Delegate to the principal the authority to remove
a disruptive pupil from the classroom.
E. If a pupil withdraws from school after receiving
notice of possible action concerning discipline, expulsion or suspension, the
governing board may continue with the action after the withdrawal and may record
the results of such action in the pupil's permanent file.
F. In all action concerning the expulsion of a
pupil, the governing board of a school district shall:
1. Be notified of the intended action.
2. Either:
(a) Decide, in
executive session, whether to hold a hearing or to designate one or more
hearing officers to hold a hearing to hear the evidence, prepare a record and
bring a recommendation to the board for action and whether the hearing shall be
held in executive session.
(b) Provide by policy or vote at its annual
organizational meeting that all hearings concerning the expulsion of a pupil
conducted pursuant to this section will be conducted before a hearing officer
selected from a list of hearing officers approved by the governing board.
3. Give written notice, at least five working days
before the hearing by the governing board or the hearing officer or officers
designated by the governing board, to all pupils subject to expulsion and their
parents or guardians of the date, time and place of the hearing. If
the governing board decides that the hearing is to be held in executive
session, the written notice shall include a statement of the right of the
parents or guardians or an emancipated pupil who is subject to expulsion to object
to the governing board's decision to have the hearing held in executive
session. Objections shall be made in writing to the governing board.
G. If a parent or guardian or an emancipated pupil
who is subject to expulsion disagrees that the hearing should be held in
executive session, it shall be held in an open meeting unless:
1. If only one pupil is subject to expulsion and
disagreement exists between that pupil's parents or guardians, the governing
board, after consultations with the pupil's parents or guardians or the
emancipated pupil, shall decide in executive session whether the hearing will
be in executive session.
2. If more than one pupil is subject to expulsion
and disagreement exists between the parents or guardians of different pupils,
separate hearings shall be held subject to this section.
H. This section does not prevent the pupil who is
subject to expulsion or suspension, and the pupil's parents or guardians and
legal counsel, from attending any executive session pertaining to the proposed
disciplinary action, from having access to the minutes and testimony of the
executive session or from recording the session at the parent's or guardian's
expense.
I. In schools employing a superintendent or a
principal, the authority to suspend a pupil from school is vested in the
superintendent, principal or other school officials granted this power by the
governing board of the school district.
J. In schools that do not have a superintendent or
principal, a teacher may suspend a pupil from school.
K. In all cases of suspension, it shall be for good
cause and shall be reported within five days to the governing board by the
superintendent or the person imposing the suspension.
L. Rules
pertaining to the discipline, suspension and expulsion of pupils shall not be
based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin or ancestry. If the
department of education, the auditor general or the attorney general determines
that a school district is substantially and deliberately not in compliance with
this subsection and if the school district has failed to correct the deficiency
within ninety days after receiving notice from the department of education, the
superintendent of public instruction may withhold the monies the school
district would otherwise be entitled to receive from the date of the
determination of noncompliance until the department of education determines
that the school district is in compliance with this subsection.
L. M. The principal of
each school shall ensure that a copy of all rules pertaining to discipline,
suspension and expulsion of pupils is distributed to the parents of each pupil
at the time the pupil is enrolled in school.
M. N. The principal of
each school shall ensure that all rules pertaining to the discipline,
suspension and expulsion of pupils are communicated to students at the
beginning of each school year, and to transfer students at the time of their
enrollment in the school. END_STATUTE
