Be a Hearing Officer

EA7780
Barry Feldman

FYI - I tried to do less “cutting and pasting” from the Revised School Code/related statutes and
more narrative from me but I also wanted to make sure I supported my stances.

According to the Michigan Revised School Code the sections contained in the Michigan
Compiled Laws under MCL 380.11a, 380.1309, 380.1310, 380.1311, 380.1311a,
380.1312, 388.1606 and 388.1707 regarding “suspensions and expulsions in general”
Johnny is clearly in violation of Verbal Assault and Bomb Threats criteria and subject to
a suspension of at least 10 days or more.

WIth that stated it is expected that Johnny will be given a more formal due process
procedure involving reasonable time to prepare for the hearing and the specifics spelled
out in the law as it relates to “A student in grade 6 or above who commits verbal assault,
as defined by school board policy, against an employee or volunteer of a school district
or makes a bomb threat or similar threat at a school building, other school property, or a
school-related event, shall be suspended or expelled for a period of time as determined
by the school board or its designee”.

From my take on Johnny’s history it appears that the findings of grades that are a little
below average, purposeful social distancing of others at the school and little to no past
discipline will not be a determining factor in my final decision. The investigation did not
yield any major safety concerns and I presume a formal Threat Assessment was
completed by the psychologist, administrators and appropriate personnel. I am also
presuming that the Threat Assessment did not find any concerning causes for action. I
will also be kept up to date on the police investigation and how that may or not impact
my final decision.
My Decision
Adolescents, due to the biological fact that they are not yet fully developed, are prone to
making impulsive choices. Often, these choices come with unreasonably harsh
consequences that can irreparably impact their future potential. However, it is crucial
that I weigh not only how this will impact Johnny but also how his actions will impact the
school community as a whole. There needs to be a healthy balance between the
punishment I hand down to Johnny and what is best for the greater good of the school.

Using accepted research that states suspensions have minimal effect on future
behaviors of students I would look to a combination of interventions to help Johnny get
back on track and also put the school stakeholders at ease upon Johnny’s return.
I am using the following information from School Policy as the basis and support for my
decision: “A school board may require an individual and, if the petition was filed by a
parent or legal guardian, his or her parent or legal guardian to agree in writing to
specific conditions before reinstating the individual in a conditional reinstatement. The
conditions may include, but are not limited to, agreement to a behavior contract, which
may involve the individual, parent or legal guardian, and an outside agency;
participation in or completion of an anger management program or other appropriate
counseling; periodic progress reviews”

The 45 day suspension will stand. Johnny will not be allowed back into the school until I
receive a written evaluation and endorsement from a psychologist or psychiatrist that
declares he is not a threat to himself or others. While I have yet to ever find a
professional that will make a declaration a patient will never hurt anyone, I will feel
comfortable with a similar document that is both thorough and thoughtfully completed. I
will require other stipulations for his return. Some of these include the use of Restorative
Practices.

Restorative Practices holds that schools are educational institutions, the school’s
response to children’s behavior should be consistent with education’s goals of
supporting teaching and learning—not punishment, retribution, and exclusion. There are
specific methodologies within this school of thought that will be utilized to get Johnny
back on track socially and emotionally. Namely, upon return Johnny will be slowly
integrated back into the school community with a goal of accepting responsibility for his
actions and a gentle push or expectation that he gets more socially involved in either
the school or community extra-curricular activities. This is connected to the longer term
goal of getting him reconnected and feeling important/valued.

Within this comprehensive reintegration plan will be the appointment of an adult mentor,
preferably a staff member of Sutton High School. The specific role and responsibility of
this mentor will be spelled out in the plan and scheduled evaluations of Johnny’s
progress will take place on a formal and regular basis. Criteria for what “progress”
means will be drawn up by the school counseling and administrative team. A full report
of those meetings will be forwarded to me each and every time.

This is also an opportunity to request a full review of the Sutton High School
administrator’s process of how all students are informed about the Code of Conduct.

The Revised School Code speaks to “Fairness dictates that students be given notice of
the types of conduct which are prohibited and the potential consequences of the
misconduct. A school’s rules and procedures for suspending or expelling a student
should be outlinedin the handbook adopted by the local board of education.”

How often and in what capacity are the students reminded of how Sutton High students
are expected to act and what are the consequences of their actions? Are there actual
contracts or acknowledgements through signatures that they understand the Code of
Conduct? Are there lockdown/evacuation procedures and crisis teams fully in place. Are
general staff and trained counseling department members vigilant about checking in
with students prior to these types of situations? Is there a robust Social Emotional
Learning component school wide? Etc.
In conclusion, while our society is on high alert for the next school tragedy it is important
to not lose sight of being rational when delivering consequences. Always adhere to the
parameters of the law but be mindful of our public schools’ ultimate goal of producing
citizens that among many other things can accept responsibility for their actions, learn
from them and ultimately choose a path that enables them to help themselves and help
others in our society.