INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 761
OWATONNA, MINNESOTA
506 - STUDENT DISCIPLINE - PART 1
Adopted: August 13, 1996
Revised: September 23, 2024
Reviewed: February 23, 2026
506 STUDENT DISCIPLINE
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that students are aware of and comply with the school district’s expectations for student conduct. Such compliance will enhance the school district’s ability to maintain discipline and ensure that there is no interference with the educational process. The school district will take appropriate disciplinary action when students fail to adhere to the Code of Student Conduct established by this policy.
II. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
The school board recognizes that individual responsibility and mutual respect are essential components of the educational process. The school board further recognizes that nurturing the maturity of each student is of primary importance and is closely linked with the balance that must be maintained between authority and self-discipline as the individual progresses from a child’s dependence on authority to the more mature behavior of self-control.
All students are entitled to learn and develop in a setting which promotes respect of self, others and property. Proper positive discipline can only result from an environment which provides options and stresses student self-direction, decision-making and responsibility. Schools can function effectively only with internal discipline based on mutual understanding of rights and responsibilities.
Students must conduct themselves in an appropriate manner that maintains a climate in which learning can take place. Overall decorum affects student attitudes and influences student behavior. Proper student conduct is necessary to facilitate the education process and to create an atmosphere conducive to high student achievement.
Although this policy emphasizes the development of self-discipline, it is recognized that there are instances when it will be necessary to administer disciplinary measures. It is the position of the school district that a fair and equitable district-wide student discipline policy will contribute to the quality of the student's educational experience. This discipline policy is adopted in accordance with and subject to the Minnesota Pupil Fair Dismissal Act, Minnesota Statutes sections 121A.40 through 121A.56.
In view of the foregoing and in accordance with Minnesota Statutes section 121A.55, the school board, with the participation of school district administrators, teachers, employees, students, parents, community members and such other individuals and organizations as appropriate, has developed this policy which governs student conduct and applies to all students of the school district.
III. DEFINITIONS
A. "Nonexclusionary disciplinary policies and practices" means policies and practices that are alternatives to dismissing a pupil from school, including but not limited to evidence-based positive behavior interventions and supports, social and emotional services, school-linked mental health services, counseling services, social work services, academic screening for Title 1 services or reading interventions, and alternative education services. Nonexclusionary disciplinary policies and practices include but are not limited to the policies and practices under Minnesota Statutes sections 120B.12; 121A.575, clauses (1) and (2); 121A.031, subdivision 4, paragraph (a), clause (1); 121A.61, subdivision 3, paragraph (r); and 122A.627, clause (3).
B. "Pupil withdrawal agreement" means a verbal or written agreement between a school administrator or district administrator and a pupil's parent to withdraw a student from the school district to avoid expulsion or exclusion dismissal proceedings. The duration of the withdrawal agreement cannot be for more than a 12-month period.
IV. POLICY
A. The school board must establish uniform criteria for dismissal and adopt written policies and rules to effectuate the purposes of the Minnesota Pupil Fair Dismissal Act. The policies must include nonexclusionary disciplinary policies and practices consistent with Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.41, subdivision 12, and must emphasize preventing dismissals through early detection of problems. The policies must be designed to address students' inappropriate behavior from recurring.
B. The policies must recognize the continuing responsibility of the school for the education of the pupil during the dismissal period.
C. The school is responsible for ensuring that alternative educational services, if the pupil wishes to take advantage of them, must be adequate to allow the pupil to make progress toward meeting the graduation standards adopted under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.02 and help prepare the pupil for readmission in accordance with section Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.46, subdivision 5.
D. For expulsion and exclusion dismissals and pupil withdrawal agreements as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.41, subdivision 13:
1. for a pupil who remains enrolled in the school district or is awaiting enrollment in a new district, the school district's continuing responsibility includes reviewing the pupil's schoolwork and grades on a quarterly basis to ensure the pupil is on track for readmission with the pupil's peers. The school district must communicate on a regular basis with the pupil's parent or guardian to ensure that the pupil is completing the work assigned through the alternative educational services as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.41, subdivision 11. These services are required until the pupil enrolls in another school or returns to the same school;
2. a pupil receiving school-based or school-linked mental health services in the school district under Minnesota Statutes, section 245.4889 continues to be eligible for those services until the pupil is enrolled in a new district; and
3. the school district must provide to the pupil's parent or guardian information on accessing mental health services, including any free or sliding fee providers in the community. The information must also be posted on the school district website.
V. AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
A. The School Board: The school board holds all school personnel responsible for the maintenance of order within the school district and supports all personnel acting within the framework of this discipline policy.
B. Superintendent: The superintendent shall establish guidelines and directives to carry out this policy, hold all school personnel, students and parents responsible for conforming to this policy, and support all school personnel performing their duties within the framework of this policy. The superintendent shall also establish guidelines and directives for using the services of appropriate agencies for assisting students and parents. Any guidelines or directives established to implement this policy shall be submitted to the school board for approval and shall be attached as an addendum to this policy.
C. Principal/Building Supervisor: The school principal/building supervisor is given the responsibility and authority to formulate building rules and regulations necessary to enforce this policy, subject to final school board approval. The principal/building supervisor shall give direction and support to all school personnel performing their duties within the framework of this policy. The principal/building supervisor shall consult with parents of students conducting themselves in a manner contrary to the policy. The principal/building supervisor shall also involve other professional employees in the disposition of behavior referrals and shall make use of those agencies appropriate for assisting students and parents. A principal/building supervisor, in exercising the person’s lawful authority, may use reasonable force when it is necessary under the circumstances to correct or restrain a student to prevent bodily harm or death to the student or another. A principal shall not use prone restraint and shall not inflict any form of physical holding that restricts or impairs a student's ability to breathe; restricts or impairs a student's ability to communicate distress; places pressure or weight on a student's head, throat, neck, chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back, or abdomen; or results in straddling a student's torso.
D. Teachers: All teachers shall be responsible for providing a well-planned teaching/learning environment and shall have primary responsibility for student conduct, with appropriate assistance from the administration. All teachers shall enforce the applicable building handbooks and the Code of Student Conduct/Student Behavior Expectations pursuant to his/her designated building. A teacher, in exercising the person’s lawful authority, may use reasonable force when it is necessary under the circumstances to correct or restrain a student to prevent bodily harm or death to the student or another. A teacher shall not use prone restraint and shall not inflict any form of physical holding that restricts or impairs a student's ability to breathe; restricts or impairs a student's ability to communicate distress; places pressure or weight on a student's head, throat, neck, chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back, or abdomen; or results in straddling a student's torso.
E. Other School District Personnel: All school district personnel shall be responsible for contributing to the atmosphere of mutual respect within the school. Their responsibilities relating to student behavior shall be as authorized and directed by the superintendent. A school employee, school bus driver, or other agent of a school district, in exercising the person’s lawful authority, may use reasonable force when it is necessary under the circumstances to restrain a student to prevent bodily harm or death to the student or another. A school employee, which does not include a school resource officer, shall not use prone restraint and shall not inflict any form of physical holding that restricts or impairs a student's ability to breathe; restricts or impairs a student's ability to communicate distress; places pressure or weight on a student's head, throat, neck, chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back, or abdomen; or results in straddling a student's torso.
For the purpose of Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.582 (Student Discipline; Reasonable Force), a school resource officer, as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 626.8482, subdivision 1, paragraph (c) is not a school employee or agent of the district.
F. Parents or Legal Guardians: Parents and guardians shall be held responsible for the behavior of their children as determined by law and community expectations. They are expected to cooperate with school authorities and to participate regarding the behavior of their children.
G. Students: All students shall be held individually responsible for their behavior and for knowing and obeying the applicable building handbooks, the Code of Student Conduct/Student Behavior Expectations and this policy.
H. Community Members: Members of the community are important partners in contributing to the atmosphere of mutual respect and student adherence to applicable building handbooks and the Code of Student Conduct/Student Behavior Expectations.
I. Reasonable Force Reports
1. The school district must report data on its use of any reasonable force used on a student with a disability to correct or restrain the student to prevent bodily harm or death to the student or another that is consistent with the definition of physical holding under Minnesota Statutes, section 125A.0941, paragraph (c), as outlined in section 125A.0942, subdivision 3, paragraph (b).
2. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, the school district must report annually by July 15, in a form and manner determined by the MDE Commissioner, data from the prior school year about any reasonable force used on a general education student to correct or restrain the student to prevent bodily harm or death to the student or another that is consistent with the definition of physical holding under Minnesota Statutes, section 125A.0941, paragraph (c).
3. Any reasonable force used under Minnesota Statutes, sections 121A.582; 609.06, subdivision 1; and 609.379 which intends to hold a child immobile or limit a child's movement where body contact is the only source of physical restraint or confines a child alone in a room from which egress is barred shall be reported to the Minnesota Department of Education as a restrictive procedure, including physical holding or seclusion used by an unauthorized or untrained staff person.
VI. STUDENT RIGHTS
All students have the right to an education and the right to learn.
VII. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
All students have the responsibility:
A. To know and obey all school rules, regulations, policies and procedures and to conduct themselves in accord with them;
B. To attend school daily, except when excused, and to be on time to all classes and other school functions;
C. To pursue and attempt to complete the courses of study prescribed by the state and local school authorities;
D. To make necessary arrangements for making up work when absent from school;
E. To assist the school staff in maintaining a safe school for all students;
F. To assume that until a rule or policy is waived, altered or repealed, it is in full force and effect;
G. To be aware of and comply with federal, state, and local laws;
H. To volunteer information in disciplinary cases should they have any knowledge relating to such cases and to cooperate with school staff as appropriate;
I. To respect and maintain the school’s property and the property of others;
J. To dress and groom in a manner which meets standards of safety and health and common standards of decency and which is consistent with applicable school district policy;
K. To avoid inaccuracies in student newspapers or publications and refrain from indecent or obscene language;
L. To conduct themselves in an appropriate physical or verbal manner; and
M. To recognize and respect the rights of others.