NORTH PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT
Lansdale, PA 19446-3960
INFORMATIONAL SHEETS
ITEM NUMBER: ______
====================================================================
SUBJECT: New, Amended & Reviewed Board Policies
MONTH/YEAR PRESENTED TO BOARD: June 2015
INITIATED BY: Dr. Diane Holben
COMMITTEE: Education/Community/Policy Committee
RECOMMENDATION: Recommend approval of reviewed Board Policies #5112: Special
Education, #5115: Bullying, #5144.4:Behavior Management; amended Board Policy
#5144.5: Discipline of Students with Disabilities; new Board Policy #5126: Transportation
Video/Audio Monitoring
====================================================================
BACKGROUND:
Five policies are being presented for the Board’s review and approval process. The policies and
their status are as follows:





Board Policy #5112: Special Education [reviewed]
Board Policy #5115: Bullying [reviewed]
Board Policy #5144.4: Behavior Management [reviewed]
Board Policy #5144.5: Discipline of Students with Disabilities [amended]
Board Policy #5126: Transportation Video/Audio Monitoring [new]
All policies have been reviewed by the NPSD Solicitor.
[Note: Changes to the amended policies are indicated in the following manner: additions in
italics and bold; deletions with a strikethrough.]
Date Prepared: 6/4/2015
NORTH PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT
School Board Policy
5112(a)
STUDENTS
Elementary and Secondary
Special Education
Each student with a disability who is a resident of the district shall be provided quality education
programs and services that meet the student’s needs for educational, instructional, transitional,
and related services. The special education program shall be designated to comply with law;
conform to district goals; and integrate programs of special education with the regular
instructional program of the schools, consistent with the interests of the student with a disability
and other students.
Students with disabilities who are provided special education programs by the district shall
include all resident children who meet the criteria defined by law.
The school board directs that all resident students with disabilities shall be identified, evaluated,
and provided with appropriate educational services, in accordance with federal and state laws
and regulations. The district shall establish and implement a system of procedural safeguards
and parental notification.
The district’s special education plan shall include procedures for identifying and educating
students with disabilities and shall be aligned with the Strategic Plan adopted by the board.
The school board shall determine the facilities, programs, services, and staff that will be
provided by the district for the instruction of students with disabilities.
In order to maintain an effective special education plan, the school board may participate in
special education programs of Montgomery County Intermediate Unit No. 23.
The superintendent or designee is directed to annually recommend to the school board the
employment and retention of necessary staff and provision of required facilities, programs and
services to provide for the needs of students with disabilities.
The superintendent or designee shall develop procedures for evaluating the effectiveness of the
district’s special education plan and shall periodically report to the school board the criteria and
results of such evaluation.
The program to which each student with a disability is assigned shall be one that provides an
appropriate education, seeks to assure success in learning, and offers the least restrictive
environment, in accordance with federal and state regulations.
The school board directs that all procedures for implementing an individualized education
program be designed to guard the privacy of the student and family.
No student with a disability shall be denied, because of handicap/disability, participation in
activities, programs or services offered or recognitions rendered to district students, unless
participation is not possible because of the handicap/disability.
CONTINUED
The district shall maintain procedures and processes that implement special education
programs and services, in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations, in the
following areas:
1.
Educational Plans
2.
Child Find
3.
Assessments
4.
Screening
5.
Evaluation
6.
Reevaluation
7.
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
8.
Extended School Year (ESY)
9.
Behavior Support
10.
Educational Placement
11.
Disciplinary Placements
12.
Facilities
13.
Early Intervention
14.
Procedural Safeguards
15.
Confidentiality of Information
Policy:
Adopted: September 23, 2004
Reviewed: June 22, 2006
Reviewed: November 15, 2007
Reviewed: ___, 2015
NORTH PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT
School Board Policy
5115(a)
STUDENTS
Welfare
Bullying
Purpose
The board strives to provide a safe, positive learning climate for students in the schools. The
North Penn School District recognizes that bullying of students has a negative effect on the
educational environment of its schools. Students who are bullied, intimidated or fearful of other
students may not be able to take full advantage of the educational opportunities offered by the
school district. Bullying can also escalate into more serious violence. Therefore, the school
district strives to offer all students an educational environment free from bullying.
Definition
Bullying shall mean an intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act, or a series of acts,
directed at another student or students, which occurs in a school setting and/or outside a school
setting, that is severe, persistent or pervasive and has the effect, or is likely to have the effect,
of (1) substantially interfering with a student’s education; (2) creating a threatening environment;
or (3) substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school.
Examples of bullying include, but are not limited to, physically, emotionally or mentally harming
a student; damaging, extorting or taking a student’s personal property; placing a student in
reasonable fear of physical, emotional or mental harm; placing a student in reasonable fear of
damage to, or loss of, personal property; creating an intimidating or hostile environment that
interferes with a student’s educational opportunities; or engaging in conduct that is intended to
have the effect of, or has the effect of, demeaning, dehumanizing, embarrassing, ridiculing,
taunting, teasing, or threatening a student or group of students.
Bullying, as defined in this policy, includes cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying means an intentional act, or series of acts, directed at another student or
students, which occurs in a school setting and/or outside a school setting, is carried out through
the utilization of computers, the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or electronic
devices, is severe, persistent or pervasive and has the effect, or is likely to have the effect, of
(1) substantially interfering with a student’s education; (2) creating a threatening environment; or
(3) substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school.
School setting means in the school, on school grounds, in school vehicles, at a designated bus
stop, during the time students necessarily spend traveling to and from school or schoolsponsored activities, and at any activity sponsored, supervised or sanctioned by the school.
CONTINUED
Authority
The school district will not tolerate any act, or acts, of bullying occurring in a school setting
and/or outside a school setting that is/are severe, persistent or pervasive and has the effect, or
is likely to have the effect, of (1) substantially interfering with a student’s education; (2) creating
a threatening environment; or (3) substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school.
Delegation of Responsibility
The superintendent or designee shall develop administrative procedures to increase the
awareness of the problems of bullying, and train teachers to effectively intervene if bullying is
witnessed in their presence or brought to their attention.
The superintendent or designee shall ensure (1) that this policy and the procedures for reporting
bullying are reviewed with students at least once each school year, (2) that this policy is posted
in a prominent location within each school building, (3) that this policy is posted on the district’s
official website, (4) that this policy is available in every classroom (this may be achieved by
ensuring that a classroom computer with access to the district’s website is available for student
use), (5) that the code of student conduct, which shall contain this policy, is readily available to
students and (6) that, in cooperation with other appropriate administrators, this policy is
reviewed every three years and that necessary revisions are recommended to the board.
Intervention:
•
Teachers and other staff (including, but not limited to, secretaries, custodians, bus drivers,
hall monitors, etc.) who observe acts of bullying shall take reasonable steps to intervene to
stop such conduct, unless intervention would threaten a staff member’s safety. The nature
of the intervention will vary depending upon the age of the student (both the victim and
aggressor), the severity of the bullying and the student’s involvement in prior acts of
bullying. The purpose of the intervention is to take prompt remedial steps to ensure
observed acts of bullying cease and to teach students that bullying is not an acceptable
behavior.
Guidelines
Student, Parent/Guardian and Employee Reporting:
•
The school district encourages all students and parents/guardians who become aware of
any act of bullying to immediately report that conduct. Students may report acts of bullying
to their teachers, building principal or other school employees supervising schoolsponsored activities. Parents/guardians may contact the building principal to report acts of
bullying.
•
If teachers and/or other staff cannot reasonably remediate acts of bullying through their
own intervention, they should report the bullying to the building principal. Other school
employees who observe acts of bullying shall report that conduct to the building principal.
Investigation Procedures:
•
Each building principal or designee is authorized to complete an impartial, thorough
investigation of the bullying brought to their attention by students, parents/guardians or
school employees. Any investigation of a report may include meetings with students,
parents/guardians or employees; a review of student records; and other reasonable efforts
to better understand the facts surrounding a reported incident.
CONTINUED
Consequences/Discipline:
•
Consequences for students who are found to have bullied others may include counseling,
a parent conference, detention, suspension, expulsion, a loss of school privileges and/or
exclusion from school-sponsored activities. Depending upon the severity of a particular
situation, the building principal may also take appropriate steps for student safety.
Intervention will be in line with approved student code of conduct.
Policy:
Adopted: November 15, 2007
Revised:September 20, 2012
Reviewed: _______, 2015
NORTH PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT
School Board Policy
5144.4(a)
STUDENTS
Welfare
Behavior Management
Purpose
The school board enacts this policy to ensure that district staff use appropriate behavior
management techniques and that, for each disabled or thought to be disabled student who
exhibits behavior problems which interfere with the student’s ability to learn, the IEP team
develops a plan that provides for an appropriate program of behavior management. The
purpose of this policy and its implementing guidelines is to ensure adherence by all staff to the
requirements of state and federal law as they exist at the time of the adoption of this policy and
its implementing guidelines and as they may from time to time be amended and interpreted by
the courts and various administrative agencies.
The school board intends that the application of behavior management rules and procedures be
applied to students with disabilities in a nondiscriminatory manner and in full compliance with
the requirements of state and federal law. The school board intends with this policy neither to
confer upon students and their parents or guardians any greater right that they enjoy under
state and federal law nor to impose upon the district any greater limitations or duties that are
imposed by state and federal law. Nothing in this policy should be construed in a manner
inconsistent with intent. To the extent that any portion of this policy or the implementing
guidelines is inconsistent with such laws as they now or shall hereafter exist, such portion shall
be deemed null and void without prejudice to the unaffected provisions.
Philosophy/Rationale
A. The North Penn School District recognizes that appropriate learning outcomes take place in
an appropriately managed classroom. When the behavior of a student with disabilities
interferes with learning, a functional behavior assessment will be done and an appropriate
management plan will be implemented. Consistent with this policy and federal and state
law, all students with disabilities shall comply with the school board approved discipline
policy.
B. Behavior management programs include a variety of techniques to develop and maintain
skills that will enhance an individual student’s opportunity for learning and self-fulfillment.
Potential causes of behavior problems such as physical or medical conditions,
environmental factors, staffing and program concerns shall be reviewed and addressed prior
to development of a behavior management program.
C. Positive rather than negative measures shall form the basis of behavior management
programs. Positive techniques for the development, change, and maintenance of selected
behaviors shall be attempted prior to the use of more intrusive or restraining measures. The
types of intervention chosen for a particular student shall be the least intrusive necessary
and shall be in accordance with state and federal law. Adverse techniques, restraints or
disciplinary procedures may not be used as a substitute for a behavior management
program.
CONTINUED
D. Restraints to control acute or episodic aggressive behavior may be used only when a student
is acting in a manner as to be a clear and present danger to himself, to other students or to
employees, and only when less restrictive measures and techniques have proved to be or
are less effective. The use of restraints to control the aggressive behavior of an individual
student shall cause a meeting of the IEP to review the current IEP for appropriateness and
effectiveness. The use of restraints may not be included in the IEP, employed as
punishment, for the convience of staff or as a substitute for an educational program. The
use of restraints for the convenience of staff, as a substitute for an educational program, or
employed as punishment may not be included in the IEP.
E. Mechanical restraints, which are used to control involuntary movement or lack of muscular
control of students when due to organic causes or conditions, may be employed only when
specified by an IEP and as determined by a medical professional qualified to make the
determination, and as agreed to by the student’s parents. Mechanical restraints shall prevent
a student from injuring himself or others or promote normative body positioning and physical
functioning.
F. The following aversive techniques of handling behavior are considered inappropriate and
may not be used by agencies in educational programs:
a) Corporal punishment
b) Punishment for a manifestation of a student’s disability
c) Locked rooms, locked boxes, or other locked structures or spaces from which the
student cannot readily exit
d) Noxious substances
e) Deprivation of basic human rights, such as withholding meals, water, or
fresh air
f) Suspension constituting a pattern under 22 PA Code 14.143(a)
g) Treatment of a demeaning nature
h) Electric shock
G. North Penn School District has the responsibility for ensuring that behavior support programs
are in accordance with 22 PA Code Chapter 14, including the training of personnel, for the use
of specific procedures, methods, and techniques.
H. North Penn School District must obtain parental consent prior to the use of highly restraining
or intrusive procedures
Definitions
The following words and terms, when used in this policy or in its implementing guidelines, shall
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Aversive Techniques – deliberate activities designed to establish a negative association with
specific behavior.
Behavior Management – the development, change and maintenance of selected behaviors
through the systematic application of behavior change techniques.
Focused Intervention Planning – a plan addressing a disabled student’s behavioral needs
and interventions within an IEP.
Functional Behavioral Assessment – an assessment of a student, the purpose of which shall
be to determine the environmental, behavioral, or circumstantial factors that precede or
accompany the behavior for which discipline is imposed and the effectiveness of the
interventions undertaken to address, or the reactions to, the behavior.
CONTINUED
Positive Techniques – methods which utilize positive reinforcement to shape a student’s
behavior, ranging from the use of positive verbal statements as a reward for good behavior to
specific tangible rewards.
Restraints – devices and techniques designed and used to control acute or episodic aggressive
behaviors or to control involuntary movements or lack of muscular control due to organic causes
or conditions. The term includes physical and mechanical restraints.*
* Devices that are designed as postural restraints include:
• Rifton chairs (may include seat belts and/or chest straps)
• K-Chairs
• Ther-adapt chairs (may include seat belts and/or chest straps)
• Prone Stander
• Free Stander
• Adapted toilet seat and seat belt if needed
• Hoyer lift
• Bike with chest and hip belts if needed
• Car seat with harness as needed
• Wheel chair with seat belts
Students with Disabilities – shall mean a student who is eligible for special education under
the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Act and its implementing regulation, Chapter 14
of the regulations of the State Board of Education. For the purposes of this policy and its
implementing guidelines, the definition of disabled students include students whom the District
suspects or has reason to suspect are students with disabilities and to students who are in the
process of a multidisciplinary team evaluation at the time of the incident for which discipline is
imposed.
This policy and its implementing guidelines shall also apply to “protected
handicapped students” within the meaning of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and
its implementing regulation and Chapter 15 of the regulations of the State Board of Education.
As applied to such students, references to IEPs and to IEP teams shall be construed as
references to service agreements and to teams of appropriate school staff and parents or
guardians that develop and revise service agreements.
Prior to the development of a behavior management plan, an appropriate functional behavior
assessment of the student will be completed.
The school board authorizes the superintendent to develop guidelines for the implementation of
this policy.
Policy:
Adopted: May 17, 2001
Amended: June 22, 2006
Reviewed: November 15, 2007
Reviewed: _____, 2015
NORTH PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT
School Board Policy
5144.5(a)
STUDENTS
[Reference: Administrative Regulation #5144]
Welfare
Discipline of Students with Disabilities
When necessary, behavior support shall be developed and maintained for students with
disabilities in order to promote and strengthen desirable behaviors and reduce identified
inappropriate behaviors.
Students with disabilities who engage in inappropriate behavior, disruptive or prohibited
activities and/or actions injurious to themselves or others shall be disciplined in accordance with
their Individualized Education Program (IEP), Section 504 Plan, behavior support plan, and
school board policy.
The school board directs that the district shall comply with provisions of the Individuals With
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and federal
and state regulations when disciplining students with disabilities for violations of district policy or
school rules and regulations. No student with a disability shall be expelled if the student’s
particular misconduct is a manifestation of his/her disability.
[A student with a disability may be suspended for ten (10) consecutive and fifteen (15)
cumulative days of school per school year, regardless of whether the student’s behavior
is a manifestation of his/her disability.] The district shall hold a manifestation
determination meeting within ten (10) school days of any decision to change the
placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct.
The disciplinary removal of a student with a disability constitutes a change in placement
if the removal is for more than ten (10) consecutive school days, more than fifteen (15)
cumulative school days in a school year or more than ten (10) cumulative school days in
a school year where the removals constitute a pattern.
Any removal from school is a change in placement for a student identified with an intellectual
disability mental retardation.
A student with a disability whose behavior is not a manifestation of his/her disability may be
expelled pursuant to district policy and procedures.
[A hearing officer may order removal of a student with a disability to an alternative
setting for forty-five (45) days where the district demonstrates by substantial evidence
that maintaining the student’s current placement is substantially likely to result in injury
to the student or others.]
Students who have not been identified as having a disability [disabled] may be subject to the
same disciplinary measures applied to students without disabilities if the district did not have
knowledge of the disability. If a request for evaluation is made during the period the student is
subject to disciplinary measures, the evaluation shall be expedited.
Weapons Violations
A student with a disability who carries a weapon to or possesses a weapon at school, on
school premises, or to a school function may be removed from his/her current placement. In
the event that the carrying or possession of the weapon is found to be a manifestation of
the student’s disability, Tthe student shall may be placed in an appropriate interim alternative
educational setting for not more than[t] forty-five (45) school days.
Drugs/Controlled Substances Violations
A student with a disability who knowingly possesses or uses[d] illegal drugs or sells or solicits
the sale of a controlled substance while at school, on school premises or a school function
may be removed from his/her current placement. In the event that the possession or use of
the illegal drug or controlled substance is found to be a manifestation of the student’s
disability, [T]the student [shall] may be placed in an appropriate interim alternative educational
setting for not more than forty-five (45) school days.
Serious Bodily Injury
A student with a disability who inflicts serious bodily injury, as defined by law, [to] upon
another [student or staff member] person while at school, on school premises or at a
school function may be removed from his/her current placement. In the event that the
infliction of serious bodily injury is found to be a manifestation of the student’s disability,
[T]the student [shall] may be placed in an appropriate interim alternative setting for not more
than forty-five (45) school days. [Serious bodily injury involves any of the following factors: a
substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or
protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.]
Policy:
Adopted: October 12, 2004
Amended: June 22, 2006
Reviewed: November 15, 2007
Amended: __________, 2015
NORTH PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT
School Board Policy
5126
STUDENTS
Elementary and Secondary
Transportation Video/Audio Monitoring
Purpose
The use of video and audio recording equipment supports efforts to maintain discipline and to
ensure the safety and security of all students, staff, contractors, and others being transported on
district-owned, operated, or contracted school buses or school vehicles.
Authority
The Board authorizes the use of video and audio recording on school buses and school vehicles
for disciplinary and security purposes.
The Board prohibits the use of audio recording on any school bus or school vehicle that is not
being used for a school-related purpose.
Delegation of Responsibility
The Board directs the Superintendent or designee to ensure that:
1. Each school bus and school vehicle that is equipped with audio recording equipment
contains a clearly visible posted notice informing drivers, students, and other passengers of the
potential for audio recording.
2. Parents/Guardians and students are informed each school year of the policy authorizing
video and audio recording on school buses and school vehicles by letter mailed to the students’
home addresses.
Use of Recorded Documentation
Reviews of video/audio recordings shall be limited to the Principal, Transportation Coordinator,
the Superintendent, and/or his/her designee. However, video/audio recordings may be used in
expulsion hearings if the video/audio recording provides evidence in the case.
CONTINUED
Destruction of Records
Video/audio documentation of misbehavior will be preserved only until any disciplinary
action/disposition is reached. Thereafter, all recorded evidence of the misbehavior will be
erased and/or recorded over. Additionally, video/audio recordings shall be routinely recorded
over when the video/audio recording equipment automatically resets.
Guidelines
The District shall comply with the provision of Federal and State law and regulations regarding
student records requirements as applicable to the District’s use and disclosure of recordings.
Recordings considered part of a student’s educational record shall be maintained in accordance
with established student record procedures governing access, review, and disclosure of student
records.
Parental Screening Rights
A request for viewing a video recording may be made by a student’s parents/guardians if the
student has been recorded and disciplinary action has been recommended. All requests must
be in writing and addressed to the building principal. Parents/Guardians will only be allowed to
view that portion of the recording which documents the alleged misconduct of their child on the
bus or school vehicle in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Policy:
Adopted: