NHCS

Student
Discipline

May 2, 2023
BOE Meeting
#NHCSLeadingTheWay
● What do we know about our own
data?
● What are the regulations and policies
in place?
○ IDEA Regulations
○ OCR Rulings
○ NHCS Policies
● What is our obligation to respond?
○ Root Cause Analysis
○ Policy and Process Reform
● What sanctions exist for NHCS?
 African American
students with disabilities
are suspended out of
school at a rate almost
4.5 times greater than
their peers.

NHCS is the only district in NC (among

115) that is significantly disproportionate
in total OSS.
● What do we know about our own data?
● What are the regulations and policies
in place?
○ IDEA Regulations
○ OCR Rulings
○ NHCS Policies
● What is our obligation to respond?
○ Root Cause Analysis
○ Policy and Process Reform
● What sanctions exist for NHCS?
Implementing Regulations to “Promote Equity in IDEA”
(Determination of Significant Disproportionality)

• Published in Federal Register – December 19, 2016

https://www.federalregister.gov
Docket ID ED–2015–OSERS–0132

• Became effective – January 18, 2017

• States must comply by July 1, 2018 to implement during the

2018-19 school year

• States must include 3-5 year olds July 1, 2020

 What is Disproportionate Representation/Significant
Disproportionality?

● Over-representation of certain students by race/ethnicity for special

education services; in more restrictive placement options; and/or
removed from their educational placements due to disciplinary
removals

● Within the parameters of Federal regulations, each state has

established its procedures/processes to determine when a Local
Education Agency (LEA) is identified as having significant
disproportionality in identification, placement, and/or discipline
 Sanction – Reservation of Funds
IDEA Regulation further requires the PSU/LEA determined to have significant
disproportionality as described to reserve the maximum amount of federal funds
(15 percent) under this section of the Act to provide comprehensive early
intervening services. This reserve/set-aside/sanction of funds must address
the factors contributing to the disproportionality and may not be used
toward the overall services of the EC program.

The amount of sanction over the past 5 years totals more than $4.5M that needs
to be returned to the EC program by way of reducing the disproportionality.
Implementing Regulations to “Promote Equity in IDEA”
(Determination of Significant Disproportionality)

In implementing comprehensive coordinated early intervening

services an LEA must –

• identify and address the factors contributing to the significant

disproportionality

• address a policy, practice, or procedure it identifies as

contributing to the significant disproportionality

• report publicly any changes to policy, practice or procedure

 Implementing Rulings of OCR
August 2022
To determine if a recipient engaged in different treatment of students
based on race, color, or national origin, OCR considers both direct and
circumstantial evidence of racially discriminatory intent. Direct evidence
includes remarks, statements, testimony, or other admissions that
reflect racially discriminatory motives by school officials. Circumstantial
evidence is evidence that creates an inference of discriminatory intent
from the facts of the investigation as a whole or from the totality of the
circumstances. Circumstantial evidence may include, but is not limited
to, the following: (1) different treatment of similarly situated students;
(2) statistical evidence demonstrating a pattern of discriminatory
effect (i.e., whether the impact of the discipline policy or practice
weighs more heavily on students of a particular race);....
 Implementing Rulings of OCR
August 2022
African American students were substantially overrepresented
compared to their white peers at every level of District discipline:
referrals, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and Clean Sweep
citations. Consistent with the witness statements, OCR found that the
District used Clean Sweep disproportionately with African American
students and that racial disparities in the discipline data corresponded
with the District’s application of discretionary and subjective
infractions such as “defiance,” “disruption,” and “inappropriate
behavior” – infractions that are more susceptible to racial bias
than are objective infractions.
● What do we know about our own
data?
● What are the regulations and policies
in place?
○ IDEA Regulations
○ OCR Rulings
○ NHCS Policies
● What is our obligation to respond?
○ Root Cause Analysis
○ Policy and Process Reform
● What sanctions exist for NHCS?
Research consistently indicates that the most influential factor
in establishing a positive, proactive learning environment is
leadership. The principal sets the tone.

Safe and Civil Schools: Leadership in Behavior Support

 Principals’ Root Cause/Response Analysis Work
● mental health/trauma of students
● Lack of de-escalation in adult responses
● implicit bias, cultural bias
● “old school” supervision attitudes
● lack of student success, coping mechanisms
● lack of classroom engagement
● hunger, basic needs deficiencies
● high concentration of needs in certain
schools
● lack of adequate supervision in high traffic
areas
● social deficits
● lack of connection/relationships
● social media
● lack of communication skills
● pressure from stakeholders for “easy out”
● punitive mindset in schools
● lack of use of restorative practices
● trauma informed teaching PD
● counselor lessons in social emotional
learning
● modeling de-escalation for staff
● reteaching replacement behaviors
● staff PD for responding to student
behaviors…changing lens from punitive to
teaching/restorative practices
● relationships with students and families
● increase PD for adults in conflict resolution
and power struggles
● district restorative practices plan vs individual
schools
● proactive communication and celebration of
successes
● effective academic interventions
 NHCS Policies – 4300 Student Behavior

Policies were revised for 21-22 school year including the requirement for
a range of consequences for each behavior standard.
Principals and district leaders created the Range of Consequences, a
graduated response including instructive, restorative approaches to
violations of the student code of conduct.
Again, NHCS is the only district in NC currently under sanction (15% of federal
funding) for significant disproportionality in out of school suspensions.

The only way to reinstate those funds for the sole use of students with
disabilities, thus increasing their academic growth, is to continue to
reduce overall disciplinary removals (OSS) from school by each school
implementing Policy 4302 School Plan for the Management of Student
Behavior.
Every student, regardless of race
or disability, needs to be part of
the growth for which NHCS
strives to be known.