HB2317 - 561R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 15-154, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-154. School safety program; purpose; program proposals; requirements; annual report; definitions

A. The school safety program is established within the department of education to support, promote and enhance safe and effective learning environments for all students by supporting the costs of placing school resource officers, juvenile probation officers, school counselors and school social workers on school campuses. A school district or charter school may apply to participate in the school safety program as provided in this section for up to three fiscal years by submitting by April 15 a program proposal to the department of education. A school district or charter school that receives approval for a three-year program under this subsection may annually submit a modified spending plan for its approved program.

B. A program proposal submitted by a school district or charter school for supporting the costs of placing school resource officers or juvenile probation officers, or both, on a school campus shall contain:

1. A detailed description of the school safety needs of the charter school or school district.

2. A plan for implementing a law-related education program or a plan that demonstrates the existence of a law-related education program as a school safety prevention strategy.

3. A plan to use trained school resource officers or juvenile probation officers in the school, or both.

4. If the school district or charter school has already participated in the school safety program, information on the success, compliance and implementation of the most recent grant.

C. A program proposal submitted by a school district or charter school for supporting the costs of placing school counselors or school social workers, or both, on a school campus shall contain:

1. A detailed description of the school safety needs of the charter school or school district.

2. A plan for implementing a school guidance and counseling program that includes the following:

(a) A detailed description of the relationship between the school counselor or the social worker, or both, and local community resources.

(b) A plan for using school counselor and school social worker services in the school, or both.

(d) Policies on confidentiality under the school guidance and counseling plan.

(e) Policies on notifying parents and other family members of issues or concerns as identified in the school guidance and counseling plan.

(f) A detailed description of the school's, school district's or charter school's referral procedures to the appropriate community entities and state agencies.

(g) Policies on providing parents with school counseling consent forms as required under section 15-509.

3. If the school district or charter school has already participated in the school safety program, information on the success, compliance and implementation of the most recent approved program proposal.

D. The department of education shall review and administer the school resource officers and juvenile probation officers program proposals in cooperation with the courts, law enforcement agencies and law-related education providers awarded a contract pursuant to section 41-2534, subject to review and approval by the state board of education. The department of education shall use relevant crime statistics to assess the needs of each program proposal and shall visit school districts and charter schools that submit program proposals in order to verify the information contained in the program proposals. The department of education shall contract to provide guidelines, curricula and support resources for school resource officers and juvenile probation officers to use in implementing a law-related education program.

E. The department of education shall review and administer the school counselors and school social workers program proposals in cooperation with school administrators, principals, teachers, parents and community mental health professionals. The department of education shall use relevant school-level academic, social and emotional statistics to assess the needs of each program proposal and shall visit school districts and charter schools that submit program proposals in order to verify the information contained in the program proposals.

F. The department of education, subject to the review and approval of the state board of education, shall distribute monies to the school districts and charter schools that are in compliance with program requirements and whose program proposals have been approved by the state board of education.

G. The department of education shall review program proposals submitted by school districts and charter schools for participation in the school safety program and shall select school sites that are eligible to receive funding based on school safety needs pursuant to this section. The department of education may prioritize program proposals for school resource officer and juvenile probation officer grants to school districts and charter schools that have agreements to share the cost of the school resource officer or juvenile probation officer with a law enforcement agency or the courts.

H. The department of education shall evaluate the effectiveness of all the approved program proposals submitted pursuant to subsections B and C of this section within the school safety program and report on the activities of the program and the participants in the school safety program to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the governor on or before November 1 of each year and shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state. The evaluation and report shall include survey results from participating schools and data from participating schools on the impact of participating in the school safety program. The department shall establish data guidelines for school safety program participants to follow in reporting pursuant to this subsection.

I. The school safety program established by this section shall include a school safety program guidance manual adopted by the department of education that requires a dispute resolution process to be included in the service agreement between a school district or charter school that submitted a program proposal and received a school resource officer grant from the school safety program and the law enforcement agency that provides services to the school district or charter school.

J. Any appropriations that are made to the department of education for the approved program proposals within the school safety program are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. All monies that are not used for an approved program proposal within the school safety program during the fiscal year for which the monies were appropriated revert to the department of education for distribution to the program in the following fiscal year.

K. Monies received by a school district or charter school under the program shall be spent to implement the approved program proposals.

L. The auditor general shall include the school safety program as part of its ongoing sunset review of agencies and programs.

M. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Law-related education" means interactive education to equip children and youth with knowledge and skills pertaining to the law, school safety and effective citizenship.

2. "Law-related education program" means a program designed to provide children and youth with knowledge, skills and activities pertaining to the law and legal process and to promote law-abiding behavior with the purpose of preventing children and youth from engaging in delinquency or violence and enabling them to become productive citizens.

3. "School counselor" means a professional educator who holds a valid school counselor certificate issued by the department of education.

4. "School guidance and counseling program" means a counseling program that supports, promotes and enhances the academic, personal, social, emotional and career development of all students.

5. "School resource officer" means a peace officer or a full-authority reserve peace officer who is certified by the Arizona peace officer standards and training board.

6. "School social worker" means a professional educator who holds a valid school social worker certificate issued by the department of education. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 15, chapter 5, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-509, to read:

START_STATUTE15-509. School counselors; consent form

A. At the beginning of each school year, each public school that offers the services of a school counselor shall provide the parent of each student enrolled in the public school with a school counseling consent form. Each parent may indicate on the school counseling consent form any topic or topics that the school counselor is prohibited from discussing with the parent's child. Except as prescribed in subsection B of this section, a school counselor may not discuss any topic with a student that the student's parent has indicated on the school counselor consent form.

B. A parent may not prohibit a school counselor from discussing either of the following with the parent's child:

1. Any matter that the school counselor would be required to report under section 13-3620.

2. Student safety concerns. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 15-843, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-843. Pupil disciplinary proceedings; definition

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 using 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 readmitting a pupil who has been expelled or suspended for more than ten days.

7. Procedures to appeal to the governing board 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 to appeal 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.

9. Disciplinary policies for confining pupils who are left alone in an enclosed space. These policies shall include the following:

(a) A process for prior written parental notification that confinement may be used for disciplinary purposes and that is included in the pupil's enrollment packet or admission form.

(b) A process for prior written parental consent before confinement is allowed for any pupil in the school district. The policies shall provide for an exemption to prior written parental consent if a school principal or teacher determines that the pupil poses imminent physical harm to self or others. The school principal or teacher shall make reasonable attempts to notify the pupil's parent or guardian in writing by the end of the same day that confinement was used.

10. Procedures that require the school district to annually report to the department of education in a manner prescribed by the department the number of suspensions and expulsions that involve the possession, use or sale of an illegal substance under title 13, chapter 34 and the type of illegal substance involved in each suspension or expulsion. The department of education shall compile this information and annually post the information on its website. The information shall comply with the family educational rights and privacy act of 1974 (P.L. 93-380; 88 Stat. 57 571; 20 United States Code section 1232g), shall not include personally identifiable information and shall show the number of suspensions and expulsions associated with each illegal substance aggregated statewide and by county.

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, 14, 15 or 17.

D. The governing board shall:

1. Support and assist teachers in implementing and enforcing 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 actions 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, the hearing 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. Unless required by section 15-841, subsection G, a school district or charter school may suspend or expel a pupil who is enrolled in a kindergarten program, first grade, second grade, third grade or fourth grade only if all of the following apply:

1. The pupil is seven years of age or older.

2. The pupil engaged in conduct on school grounds that meets one of the following criteria:

(a) Involves the possession of a dangerous weapon without authorization from the school.

(b) Involves the possession, use or sale of a dangerous drug as defined in section 13-3401 or a narcotic drug as defined in section 13-3401 or a violation of section 13-3411.

(d) The pupil's behavior is determined by the school district governing board or charter school governing body to qualify as aggravating circumstances and that all of the following apply:

(i) The pupil is engaged in persistent behavior that has been documented by the school and that prevents other pupils from learning or prevents the teacher from maintaining control of the classroom environment.

(ii) The pupil's ongoing behavior is unresponsive to targeted interventions as documented through an established intervention process that includes discussion with the pupil's parent or guardian and consultation with a school counselor, school psychologist or other mental health professional or social worker if available within the school district or charter school or through a state-sponsored program.

(iii) The pupil's parent or guardian was notified and consulted about the ongoing behavior.

(iv) Before a long-term suspension or expulsion, the school provides the pupil with a disability screening and the screening finds that the behavioral issues were not the result of a disability.

3. Failing to remove the pupil from the school building would create a safety threat that cannot otherwise reasonably be addressed or qualifies as aggravating circumstances as specified in paragraph 2 of this subsection.

4. Before suspending or expelling the pupil, the school district or charter school considers and, if feasible while maintaining the health and safety of others, in consultation with the pupil's parent or guardian to the extent possible, employs alternative behavioral and disciplinary interventions that are available to the school district or charter school, that are appropriate to the circumstances and that are considerate of health and safety. The school district or charter school shall document the alternative behavioral and disciplinary interventions it considers and employs.

5. The school district or charter school, by policy, provides for both:

(a) A readmission procedure for pupils who are in kindergarten programs, first grade, second grade, third grade and fourth grade and who have served at least five school days of a suspension from the school that exceeds ten school days to be considered for readmission on appeal of the pupil's parent or guardian.

(b) A readmission procedure for pupils who are in kindergarten programs, first grade, second grade, third grade and fourth grade and who are expelled from or subject to alternative reassignment at the school to be considered for readmission on appeal of the pupil's parent or guardian at least twenty school days after the effective date of the expulsion or alternative reassignment.

L. All cases of suspension 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.

M. 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.

N. The principal of each school shall ensure that a copy of all rules pertaining to the discipline, suspension and expulsion of pupils is distributed to the parents of each pupil at the time the pupil is enrolled in the school.

O. 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.

P. School districts may refer a pupil who has been subject to discipline, suspension or expulsion pursuant to this section to a career and college readiness program for at-risk students established pursuant to section 15-707.

Q. For the purposes of this section, "aggravating circumstances" means the pupil is engaged in persistent behavior that:

1. Has been documented by the school.

2. Prevents other students from learning or prevents the teacher from maintaining control of the classroom environment.

3. Is unresponsive to targeted interventions as documented through an established intervention process. END_STATUTE