Louisiana School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Teacher Authority to Remove Students From Classrooms

Louisiana School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Teacher Authority to Remove Students From Classrooms

Category: In-School Discipline
Subcategory: Teacher Authority to Remove Students From Classrooms
State: Louisiana

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Louisiana

LAWS

§17:416. Discipline of students; suspension; expulsion.

A.(1)(b)(i) Each teacher may take disciplinary action to correct a student who disrupts normal classroom activities, who is disrespectful to a teacher, who willfully disobeys a teacher, who uses abusive or foul language directed at a teacher or another student, who engages in bullying, who violates school rules, or who interferes with an orderly education process.

(ii) In addition to those procedures set forth in R.S. 17:416.13 regarding bullying, disciplinary action may include but is not limited to:

(aa) Oral or written reprimands.

(bb) Referral for a counseling session which shall include but shall not be limited to conflict resolution, social responsibility, family responsibility, peer mediation, and stress management.

(cc) Written notification to parents of disruptive or unacceptable behavior, a copy of which shall be provided to the principal.

(dd) Other disciplinary measures approved by the principal and faculty of the school and in compliance with school board policy.

(c)(i) When a student's behavior prevents the orderly instruction of other students or poses an immediate threat to the safety or physical well being of any student or teacher, when a student exhibits disrespectful behavior toward the teacher such as using foul or abusive language or gestures directed at or threatening a student or a teacher, when a student violates the school's code of conduct, or when a student exhibits other disruptive, dangerous, or unruly behavior, including inappropriate physical contact, inappropriate verbal conduct, sexual or other harassment, bullying, throwing objects, inciting other students to misbehave, or destroying property, the teacher may have the student immediately removed from his classroom and placed in the custody of the principal or his designee. A student removed from the classroom pursuant to this Subparagraph shall be assigned school work missed and shall receive either partial or full credit for such work if it is completed satisfactorily and timely as determined by the principal or his designee, upon the recommendation of the student's teacher; however, the teacher shall not be required to interrupt class instruction time to prepare any such assignment.

§17:416.18. Teacher Bill of Rights.

A. Respecting the authority of teachers is essential to creating an environment conducive to learning, effective instruction in the classroom, and proper administration of city, parish, and other local public schools. To maintain and protect that authority, it is important that teachers, administrators, parents, and students are fully informed of the various rights conferred upon teachers pursuant to this Section, which are:

(1) A teacher has the right to teach free from the fear of frivolous lawsuits, including the right to qualified immunity and to a legal defense, and to indemnification by the employing school board, pursuant to R.S. 17:416.1(C), 416.4, 416.5, and 416.11, for actions taken in the performance of duties of the teacher's employment.

(2) A teacher has the right to appropriately discipline students in accordance with R.S. 17:223 and 416 through 416.16 and any city, parish, or other local public school board regulation.

(3) A teacher has the right to remove any persistently disruptive student from his classroom when the student's behavior prevents the orderly instruction of other students or when the student displays impudent or defiant behavior and to place the student in the custody of the principal or his designee pursuant to R.S. 17:416(A)(1)(c).

(4) A teacher has the right to have his or her professional judgment and discretion respected by school and district administrators in any disciplinary action taken by the teacher in accordance with school and district policy and with R.S. 17:416(A)(1)(c).

(5) A teacher has the right to teach in a safe, secure, and orderly environment that is conducive to learning and free from recognized dangers or hazards that are causing or likely to cause serious injury in accordance with R.S. 17:416.9 and 416.16.

(6) A teacher has the right to be treated with civility and respect as provided in R.S. 17:416.12.

(7) A teacher has the right to communicate with and to request the participation of parents in appropriate student disciplinary decisions pursuant to R.S. 17:235.1 and 416(A).

(8) A teacher has the right to complete only paperwork that is not excessively burdensome and that, if required by law or regulation, adheres to the law or regulation and does not result in overly cumbersome interpretations of that law or regulation.

(9) A beginning teacher has the right to receive leadership and support in accordance with R.S. 17:3881, including the assignment of a qualified, experienced mentor who commits to helping him become a competent, confident professional in the classroom and offers support and assistance as needed to meet performance standards and professional expectations.

(10) A teacher has the right to be afforded time during the school day or week to collaborate with other teachers.

B. No city, parish, or other local public school board shall establish policies that prevent teachers from exercising the rights provided in this Section or in any other provision included in R.S. 17:416 through 416.16.

C. The provisions of this Section shall not be construed to supersede any other state law, State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education policy, or city, parish, or other local public school board policy enacted or adopted relative to the discipline of students.

D. Each city, parish, or other local public school board shall provide a copy of this Section to all teachers at the beginning of each school year. Each such school board also shall post a copy of the rights provided in this Section in a prominent place in every school and administrative building it operates and provide such a copy to parents or legal guardians of all children attending such schools in a form and manner approved by the school board. Each city, parish, or other local public school board and every school under its jurisdiction that maintains an Internet website shall post on such website a copy of the Teacher Bill of Rights required by this Section.

REGULATIONS

LAC 28:CXV.519. Teacher Bill of Rights.

3. a teacher has the right to remove any persistently disruptive student from his classroom when the student's behavior prevents the orderly instruction of other students or when the student displays impudent or defiant behavior and to place the student in the custody of the principal or his designee pursuant to R.S. 17:416(A)(1)(c).

LAC 28:CXV.1301. Disciplinary regulations.

A. Each LEA shall adopt such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to implement and control any disorderly conduct in the school or on the playground of the school, on any school bus, on the street or road while going to and from school, or during intermission and recess, or at any school sponsored activity or function.

1. The plan shall not prohibit a teacher from removing a pupil from the classroom for disciplinary reasons.

2. Each LEA shall adopt rules regarding the reporting and review of disciplinary actions.

B. Teachers, principals, and administrators may, subject to any rules as may be adopted by the LEA, apply reasonable disciplinary and corrective measures to maintain order in the schools (refer to R.S. 17:416 and R.S. 17:223).

C. The disciplinary rules (regulations) shall be made known to teachers, parents, and students and shall be reasonably and consistently enforced.

D. Any principal who fails to act on a report of student violations of disciplinary regulations shall explain his/her reasons for such an action to the superintendent of the LEA by which he or she is employed, or to the superintendent's designee.

E. Students, who, through no fault of their parents or guardians or other persons having charge of them, regularly disrupt the orderly processes of the school to which they have been assigned, shall be considered as delinquents and may be reported by the visiting teacher or supervisor of child welfare and attendance, to the district or family court of the parish having jurisdiction in juvenile matters, there to be dealt with in the manner prescribed by law.

F. Schools shall provide due process prior to suspensions and expulsions.

G. Students who are removed from the classroom for disruptive, dangerous, or unruly behavior or who are suspended for 10 days or less shall be assigned school work missed and shall receive either full or partial credit for such work if it is completed satisfactorily and timely as determined by the principal or designee, upon the recommendation of the student's teacher. A student who is suspended for more than 10 days or is expelled and receives educational services in an alternative school site, shall be assigned school work by a certified teacher and shall receive credit for school work if it is completed satisfactorily and timely as determined by the teacher. Such work shall be aligned with the curriculum used at the school from which the student was suspended or expelled.

H. Each local educational governing authority LEA shall adopt rules regarding the implementation of in-school suspension and detention.

I. Each LEA shall establish a discipline policy review committee comprised of sixteen members in accordance with the mandates of R.S. 17:416.8. The LEA shall establish procedures for appointing the two parent members.