A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the school discipline law to Reduce and Prevent Disruptive Behaviors, Suspensions, and Expulsions.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑47(55) reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑47.  Powers and duties generally.
In addition to the powers and duties designated in G.S. 115C‑36, local boards of education shall have the power or duty:
…
(55)	To Reduce Suspension and Expulsion Rates and Provide for Academic Progress During Suspensions. – Local boards of education are encouraged to adopt policies and best practices to prevent disruptive behaviors that lead to suspension and expulsion and thereby to reduce suspension and expulsion rates and to provide alternative learning programs for continued academic progress for students who have been suspended. These policies and practices shall be included in safe school plans developed pursuant to G.S. 115C‑105.47.
Programs that prevent disruptive behaviors may include, but are not limited to, positive behavioral intervention and supports, an on‑campus intervention, program consistency management and cooperative discipline, and conflict resolution.
Programs that offer alternatives to suspension, include, but are not limited to, in‑school alternatives, community service programs, and graduated levels of disciplinary actions matched to the seriousness of the infraction."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑105.47 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑105.47.  Local safe school plans.
(a)	Each local board of education shall develop a local school administrative unit safe school plan designed to prevent to the greatest possible extent, disruptive behaviors, suspensions, and expulsions. The safe school plan shall be implemented to provide that every school in the local school administrative unit is safe, secure, and orderly, that there is a climate of respect in every school, and that appropriate personal conduct is a priority for all students and all public school personnel. The board shall include parents, the school community, representatives of the community, including, but not limited to, the local law enforcement and department of social services, and others in the development or review of this plan. The plan may be developed by or in conjunction with other committees.
(b)	Each plan shall include each of the following components:
…
(4)	Clear statements of the roles of other administrators, teachers, and other school personnel in preventing disruptive behaviors, violence, suspensions, and expulsions, and restoring, if necessary, and maintaining a safe, secure, and orderly school environment.
…
(6a)	Services meeting the needs of students who are at risk of academic failure or of engaging in disruptive or disorderly behavior or those engaging in disruptive or disorderly behaviors shall include, at minimum, through community collaboration and when appropriate the following:
a.	Family engagement, including parental involvement, parent leadership, family literacy, and parent education programs.
b.	Mentoring and other youth development programs.
c.	Community service and service learning programs.
d.	Job training and career counseling.
e.	Nutrition services, physical activities, and access to health and dental care.
f.	Financial literacy.
g.	Mental health and social health services.
h.	Adult education, including English as a second language.
(7)	Measurable objectives for improving school safety and order, including prevention of disruptive behaviors, violence, suspensions, and expulsions.
…
(9)	Professional development clearly matched to the goals and objectives of the plan. This professional development shall include a component to train appropriate school personnel in the prevention and management of disruptive or dangerous student behavior. Appropriate school personnel may include, but is not limited to, teachers, teacher assistants, school administrators, bus drivers, school resource officers, school psychologists, and school counselors, in collaboration with community providers to the greatest extent possible. The training shall include instruction in positive interventions, supports, and management of student behavior, effective communication for defusing and deescalating disruptive or dangerous behavior, and safe and appropriate use of seclusion and restraint. The appropriate personnel with priority for the training shall include those staff members who are most likely to be called upon to prevent or address disruptive or dangerous student behavior. Each local board of education shall include in this component of its safe school plan procedures to evaluate the effectiveness of this training in preventing or addressing disruptive or dangerous student behavior. Local boards of education are encouraged to use available sources of discretionary revenue to implement the plan to train personnel in the management of disruptive or dangerous student behavior. Local boards may only be required to implement the behavior management training component of the plan to the extent that funds have been appropriated for this purpose by the General Assembly or by local units of government. By January 1, 2006, local boards of education shall amend their safe school plans to include this training component.
…
(13)	Direction to school improvement teams within the local school administrative unit to consider the special conditions at their schools and to incorporate into their school improvement plans the appropriate components of the local plan for the following:
a.	Preventing disruptive behaviors, violence, suspensions, and expulsions.
b.	Maintaining safe and orderly schools.
c.	Addressing the needs of students who are at risk of academic failure or who are disruptive or both.
…
A local board may develop its plan under this section by conducting a comprehensive review of its existing policies, plans, statements, and procedures to determine whether they: (i) are effective; (ii) have been updated to address recent changes in the law; (iii) meet the current needs of each school in the local school administrative unit; and (iv) address the components required to be included in the local plan. The board then may consolidate and supplement any previously developed policies, plans, statements, and procedures that the board determines are effective and updated, meet the current needs of each school, and meet the requirements of this subsection.
Once developed, the board shall submit the local plan to the State Board of Education and shall ensure the plan is available and accessible to parents and the school community. The board shall provide annually to the State Board information that demonstrates how the At‑Risk Student Services/Alternative Schools Funding allotment has been used to (i) prevent academic failure and (ii) promote school safety.
(c)	A local board may amend the plan as often as it considers necessary or appropriate."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑391(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The principal of a school, or his or her delegate, shall have authority to suspend for a period of 10 days or less any student who willfully violates policies of conduct established by the local board of education. The principal may take into account specific conditions surrounding discipline cases, including, but not limited to, the individual needs of the student, the context in which the offense was committed, and family circumstances, when making this decision. When a student is suspended under this subsection for a period of 10 days or less, the principal, or his or her delegate, shall give notice to the student's parent or guardian of the student's suspension and the student's rights under this subsection. The notice shall be given by telephone, telefax, e‑mail, or any other method reasonably designed to achieve actual notice. A student suspended under this subsection shall be provided all of the following:
(1)	The opportunity to take textbooks home for the duration of the suspension.
(2)	The right to inquire about homework assignments for the duration of the suspension.
(3)	The opportunity to take any quarterly, semester, or grading period examinations missed during the suspension period."
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2011‑2012 school year.