Indiana School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Data Collection, Review, and Reporting of Discipline Policies and Actions

Indiana School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Data Collection, Review, and Reporting of Discipline Policies and Actions

Category: Monitoring and Accountability
Subcategory: Data Collection, Review, and Reporting of Discipline Policies and Actions
State: Indiana

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Indiana

LAWS

IC 20-19-3-4. Duties of department; suspension and expulsion statistics; provision of data necessary for audit or evaluation of education programs; identification numbers for new schools.

(a) The department shall:

(1) perform the duties required by statute;

(2) implement the policies and procedures established by the state board;

(3) conduct analytical research to assist the state board in determining the state's educational policy;

(4) compile statistics concerning the ethnicity, gender, and disability status of students in Indiana schools, including statistics for all information that the department receives from school corporations on enrollment, number of suspensions, and number of expulsions; and

(5) provide technical assistance to school corporations.

(b) In compiling statistics by gender, ethnicity, and disability status under subsection (a)(4), the department shall also categorize suspensions and expulsions by cause as follows:

(1) Alcohol.

(2) Drugs.

(3) Deadly weapons (other than firearms).

(4) Handguns.

(5) Rifles or shotguns.

(6) Other firearms.

(7) Tobacco.

(8) Attendance.

(9) Destruction of property.

(10) Legal settlement (under IC 20-33-8-17).

(11) Fighting (incident does not rise to the level of battery).

(12) A battery offense included in IC 35-42-2.

(13) Intimidation (IC 35-45-2-1).

(14) Verbal aggression or profanity.

(15) Defiance.

(16) Other.

(c) The department shall provide the state board any data, including fiscal data, as determined by the state board, in a reasonable time frame established by the state board after consultation with the department, necessary to conduct an audit or evaluation of any federal or state supported program principally engaged in the provision of education, including, but not limited to:

(1) early childhood education;

(2) elementary and secondary education;

(3) postsecondary education;

(4) special education;

(5) job training;

(6) career and technical education; and

(7) adult education;

or for the enforcement of or compliance with federal legal requirements related to those education programs as determined by the state board. The state board and the department are considered state educational authorities within the meaning of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g and 34 CFR Part 99) for the purpose of allowing the free exchange of information between the department and the state board.

(d) The department may, upon request by a new school, assign an identification number for the new school.

(e) The department shall develop guidelines necessary to implement this section.

IC 20-26-18-6. Reporting requirements.

(a) Not later than June 1, 2017, and before June 2 of each year thereafter, each school corporation shall submit to the department a written report, on forms developed by the department, outlining the activities undertaken as part of the school corporation's compliance with this chapter. The report must include school based data to monitor for disproportionality, with each school reporting the number of investigations disposed of internally and the number of cases referred to local law enforcement, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, and gender.

(b) Not later than November 1, 2017, and before November 2 of each year thereafter, the department shall submit a comprehensive report concerning criminal organization activity in schools to the governor and the general assembly. A report submitted to the general assembly under this subsection must be in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6. The report must include the following:

(1) A summary of the activities reported to the department under subsection (a).

(2) Any recommendations or conclusions made by the department to assist in the prevention of, education about, and intervention in criminal organization activity in schools.

IC 20-26-18.2-4. Reporting use of restraints and seclusion.

A school corporation, a state accredited nonpublic school, or a charter school shall report all instances of:

(1) seclusion (as defined in IC 20-20-40-9);

(2) chemical restraint (as defined in IC 20-20-40-2);

(3) mechanical restraint (as defined in IC 20-20-40-4); and

(4) physical restraint (as defined in IC 20-20-40-5);

involving a school resource officer in accordance with the restraint and seclusion plan adopted by the school corporation, state accredited nonpublic school, or charter school under IC 20-20-40-14.

IC 20-26-5-32. Involvement of parents with discipline plan; department’s model discipline plan.

(a) The governing body of each school corporation shall work with parents to:

(1) develop; and

(2) review periodically;

an evidence based plan for improving student behavior and discipline in the school corporation after receiving a model plan developed by the department.

(b) The model plan developed by the department under subsection (a) must:

(1) reduce out-of-school suspension and disproportionality in discipline and expulsion;

(2) limit referrals to law enforcement and arrests on school property to cases in which referral to law enforcement or arrest is necessary to protect the health and safety of students or school employees; and

(3) include policies to address instances of bullying and cyberbullying on school property of a school corporation.

(c) Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, the department, in collaboration with parent organizations, teacher organizations, educational support professional organizations, and state educational institutions, shall, upon a school corporation's request, provide information and assistance to the school corporation regarding the implementation of the school corporation's evidence based plan developed under subsection (a) to ensure that teachers and administrators receive appropriate professional development and other resources in preparation for carrying out the plan.

IC 20-33-8-13.5. Disciplinary rule requirements - Section does not give rise to cause of action.

(a) Discipline rules adopted by the governing body of a school corporation under section 12 [IC 20-33-8-12] of this chapter must:

(1) prohibit bullying; and

(2) include:

(A) provisions concerning education, parental involvement, and intervention;

(B) a detailed procedure for the expedited investigation of incidents of bullying that includes:

(i) appropriate responses to bullying behaviors, wherever the behaviors occur;

(ii) provisions for anonymous and personal reporting of bullying to a teacher or other school staff;

(iii) provisions that require a school to prioritize the safety of the victim;

(iv) timetables for reporting of bullying incidents to the parents of both the targeted student and the alleged perpetrator, in an expedited manner that is not later than five (5) business days after the incident is report;

(v) timetables for reporting of bullying incidents to school counselors, school administrators, the superintendent, or law enforcement, if it is determined that reporting the bullying incident to law enforcement is necessary;

(vi) discipline provisions for teachers, school staff, or school administrators who fail to initiate or conduct an investigation of a bullying incident; and

(vii) discipline provisions for false reporting of bullying; and

(i) support services for the victim; and

(ii) bullying education for the bully.

(b) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) may be applied regardless of the physical location in which the bullying behavior occurred, whenever:

(1) the individual committing the bullying behavior and any of the intended targets of the bullying behavior are students attending a school within a school corporation; and

(2) disciplinary action is reasonably necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or prevent an unreasonable threat to the rights of others to a safe and peaceful learning environment.

(c) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) must prohibit bullying through the use of data or computer software that is accessed through a:

(1) computer;

(2) computer system;

(3) computer network; or

(4) cellular telephone or other wireless or cellular communications device.

(d) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) must include policies to allow a parent of a child in the school corporation to review any materials used in any bullying prevention or suicide prevention program.

(e) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) may include provisions to determine:

(1) the severity of an incident of bullying; and

(2) whether an incident of bullying may warrant the transfer of the victim or the alleged perpetrator to another school in the school corporation.

(f) This section may not be construed to give rise to a cause of action against a person or school corporation based on an allegation of noncompliance with this section. Noncompliance with this section may not be used as evidence against a school corporation in a cause of action.

(g) A record made of an investigation, a disciplinary action, or a follow-up action performed under rules adopted under this section is not a public record under IC 5-14-3.

(h) The department shall periodically review each policy adopted under this section to ensure the policy's compliance with this section.

IC 20-34-6-1. School corporation reports; department reports.

(a) By July 1 of each year, each school corporation shall submit a report to the department detailing the following information for the current school year for each school in the school corporation and for the entire school corporation:

(1) The number of arrests of students on school corporation property, including arrests made by law enforcement officers, security guards, school safety specialists, and other school corporation employees, and any citizen arrests.

(2) The offenses for which students were arrested on school corporation property.

(3) The number of contacts with law enforcement personnel from a school corporation employee that have resulted in arrests of students not on school corporation property.

(4) Statistics concerning the age, race, and gender of students arrested on school corporation property and categorizing the statistics by offenses.

(5) Whether the school corporation has established and employs a school corporation police department under IC 20-26-16, and if so, report:

(A) the number of officers in the school corporation police department; and

(B) the training the officers must complete.

(6) If the school corporation employs private security guards to enforce rules or laws on school property, a detailed explanation of the use of private security guards by the school corporation.

(7) If the school corporation has an agreement with a local law enforcement agency regarding procedures to arrest students on school property, a detailed explanation of the use of the local law enforcement agency by the school corporation.

(8) The number of reported bullying incidents involving a student of the school corporation by category. However, nothing in this subdivision may be construed to require all bullying incidents to be reported to a law enforcement agency.

(b) By August 1 of each year, the department shall submit a report to:

(1) the legislative council;

(2) the board for the coordination of programs serving vulnerable individuals established by IC 4-23-30.2-8; and

(3) the criminal justice institute;

providing a summary of the reports submitted to the department under subsection (a). The report to the legislative council must be in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6.

(c) By August 1 of each year, the department must post the reports described in subsections (a) and (b) on the department's Internet web site.

(d) Information reported under subsection (a)(8) may not be used in the calculation of a school corporation's improvement under IC 20-31-8.

IC 20-34-6-2. Notice of reporting requirements; audits.

(a) Not later than June 1, 2018, and each June 1 thereafter, the department shall send notification via electronic mail or a letter to each school corporation explaining:

(1) the school corporation's obligation to report bullying incidents under section 1(a)(8) [IC 20-34-6-1(a)(8)] of this chapter; and

(2) that the department may conduct an audit of a school corporation under subsection (b) to ensure the school corporation's compliance with the requirements of section 1(a)(8) of this chapter.

(b) The department may conduct an audit of a school corporation to ensure that the school corporation is accurately reporting bullying incidents under section 1(a)(8) of this chapter. If the department finds discrepancies in the school corporation's reporting of bullying incidents under section 1(a)(8) of this chapter, the department shall post a copy of the department's findings on the department's Internet web site.

REGULATIONS

513 IAC 1-2-7. Monitoring and reporting.

(a) Every incident in which seclusion or restraint is used shall be carefully and continuously visually monitored to ensure the safety of the following:

(1) The student.

(2) Other students.

(3) Teachers.

(4) Staff.

(b) Immediately after the student has restored emotional and behavioral control following the use of restraint or seclusion, or both, a staff member not involved with the incident shall examine the student to ascertain if any injury has been sustained during the seclusion or restraint.

(c) The building administrator or designee shall attempt to report every incident, including every incident involving a school resource officer (as defined in 513 IAC 1-1-18.5), in which seclusion or restraint is used on a student to the student's parent or guardian:

(1) no later than the end of the school day or as soon as practical;

(2) verbally; and

(3) in accordance with the seclusion and restraint plan adopted by a school.

(d) In addition to the verbal notice described in subsection (c), written notification, as described in the school's adopted plan, must also be sent to the student's parent or guardian after every incident in which seclusion or restraint is used on a student. Such notice shall be provided as soon as practical.

(e) Public school corporations and charter schools shall report the number of incidents, including the number of incidents involving a school resource officer (as defined in 513 IAC 1-1-18.5), in which either seclusion or restraint is used in its annual performance report.

(f) A school resource officer is involved in an incident of restraint or seclusion of a student when the school resource officer:

(1) directs the restraint or seclusion of a student;

(2) assists with the restraint or seclusion of a student; or

(3) initiates the seclusion or restraint of a student.

(g) Each accredited nonpublic school shall report, in writing, the number of incidents in which either seclusion or restraint is used in its school to its governing authority.

(h) Each school must conduct an annual review of its plan for the purposes of improvement and revision.

513 IAC 1-2-8. Distribution of school seclusion and restraint policy or plan to parents and the public.

(a) Each school shall make available a copy of the school's seclusion and restraint plan to the student's parents or guardians, or to the student if the student is at least eighteen (18) years of age and the provisions of 511 IAC 7-43-5(b) do not apply.

(b) Including the location of the plan in the student handbook satisfies subsection (a).

513 IAC 1-2-10. Debriefing session.

(a) As soon as practical, and consistent with the school's plan, after every instance in which seclusion or restraint is used on a student, the school administrator or designee shall do the following:

(1) Meet with at least one (1) school personnel who participated in the implementation, monitoring, and supervision of seclusion or restraint to discuss whether proper restraint or seclusion procedures were followed, including the use of proper procedures to prevent the need for restraint or seclusion.

(2) Direct a proper staff person, including the administrator himself or herself, to debrief the incident with the student in a manner appropriate to the student's age and developmental ability, to discuss the behavior or behaviors, if any, that precipitated the use of restraint or seclusion.

(3) In accordance with the school's plan, provide a copy of an incident report and offer the parent or parents or guardian or guardians the opportunity to request a meeting regarding the incident of restraint or seclusion.