Modifies provisions relating to corporal punishment in schools

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2827
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE DOLL.
6334H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 160.261, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to
corporal punishment in schools.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 160.261, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as section 160.261, to read as follows:
160.261. 1. The local board of education of each school district shall clearly establish
2 a written policy of discipline[ , including the district's determination on the use of corporal
3 punishment and the procedures in which punishment will be applied ]. Each school district's
4 discipline policy shall pr ohibit the use of corporal punishment and spanking. A written
5 copy of the district's discipline policy [ and corporal punishment procedures, if applicable, ]
6 shall be provided to the pupil and parent or legal guardian of every pupil enrolled in the
7 district at the beginning of each school year and also made available in the of fice of the
8 superintendent of such district, during normal business hours, for public inspection. [ No
9 pupil shall be subject to corporal punishment procedures outlined in the discipline and
10 corporal punishment policy without a parent or guardian being notified and providing written
11 permission for the corporal punishment. ] All employees of the district shall annually receive
12 instruction related to the specific contents of the policy of discipline and any interpretations
13 necessary to implement the provisions of the policy in the course of their duties, including but
14 not limited to approved methods of dealing with acts of school violence, disciplining students
15 with disabilities and instruction in the necessity and requirements for confidentiality .
16 2. The policy shall require school administrators to report acts of school violence to
17 all teachers at the attendance center and, in addition, to other school district employees with a
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 need to know . For the purposes of this chapter or chapter 167, "need to know" is defined as
19 school personnel who are directly responsible for the student's education or who otherwise
20 interact with the student on a professional basis while acting within the scope of their
21 assigned duties. As used in this section, the phrase "act of school violence" or "violent
22 behavior" means the exertion of physical force by a student with the intent to do serious
23 physical injury as defined in section 556.061 to another person while on school property ,
24 including a school bus in service on behalf of the district, or while involved in school
25 activities. The policy shall at a minimum require school administrators to report, as soon as
26 reasonably practical, to the appropriate law enforcement agency any of the following crimes,
27 or any act which if committed by an adult would be one of the following crimes:
28 (1) First degree murder under section 565.020;
29 (2) Second degree murder under section 565.021;
30 (3) Kidnapping under section 565.1 10 as it existed prior to January 1, 2017, or
31 kidnapping in the first degree under section 565.1 10;
32 (4) First degree assault under section 565.050;
33 (5) Rape in the first degree under section 566.030;
34 (6) Sodomy in the first degree under section 566.060;
35 (7) Burgl ary in the first degree under section 569.160;
36 (8) Burgl ary in the second degree under section 569.170;
37 (9) Robbery in the first degree under section 569.020 as it existed prior to January 1,
38 2017, or robbery in the first degree under section 570.023;
39 (10) Distribution of drugs under section 195.21 1 as it existed prior to January 1, 2017,
40 or manufacture of a controlled substance under section 579.055;
41 (1 1) Distribution of drugs to a minor under section 195.212 as it existed prior to
42 January 1, 2017, or delivery of a controlled substance under section 579.020;
43 (12) Arson in the first degree under section 569.040;
44 (13) V oluntary manslaughter under section 565.023;
45 (14) Involuntary manslaughter under section 565.024 as it existed prior to January 1,
46 2017, involuntary manslaughter in the first degree under section 565.024, or involuntary
47 manslaughter in the second degree under section 565.027;
48 (15) Second degree assault under section 565.060 as it existed prior to January 1,
49 2017, or second degree assault under section 565.052;
50 (16) Rape in the second degree under section 566.031;
51 (17) Felonious restraint under section 565.120 as it existed prior to January 1, 2017,
52 or kidnapping in the second degree under section 565.120;
53 (18) Property damage in the first degree under section 569.100;
54 (19) The possession of a weapon under chapter 571;
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55 (20) Child molestation in the first degree pursuant to section 566.067 as it existed
56 prior to January 1, 2017, or child molestation in the first, second, or third degree pursuant to
57 section 566.067, 566.068, or 566.069;
58 (21) Sodomy in the second degree pursuant to section 566.061;
59 (22) Sexual misconduct involving a child pursuant to section 566.083;
60 (23) Sexual abuse in the first degree pursuant to section 566.100;
61 (24) Harassment under section 565.090 as it existed prior to January 1, 2017, or
62 harassment in the first degree under section 565.090; or
63 (25) Stalking under section 565.225 as it existed prior to January 1, 2017, or stalking
64 in the first degree under section 565.225;
65
66 committed on school property , including but not limited to actions on any school bus in
67 service on behalf of the district or while involved in school activities. The policy shall require
68 that any portion of a student's individualized education program that is related to
69 demonstrated or potentially violent behavior shall be provided to any teacher and other
70 school district employees who are directly responsible for the student's education or who
71 otherwise interact with the student on an educational basis while acting within the scope of
72 their assigned duties. The policy shall also contain the consequences of failure to obey
73 standards of conduct set by the local board of education, and the importance of the standards
74 to the maintenance of an atmosphere where orderly learning is possible and encouraged.
75 3. The policy shall provide that any student who is on suspension for any of the
76 of fenses listed in subsection 2 of this section or any act of violence or drug-related activity
77 defined by school district policy as a serious violation of school discipline pursuant to
78 subsection 9 of this section shall have as a condition of his or her suspension the requirement
79 that such student is not allowed, while on such suspension, to be within one thousand feet of
80 any school property in the school district where such student attended school or any activity
81 of that district, regardless of whether or not the activity takes place on district property unless:
82 (1) Such student is under the direct supervision of the student's parent, legal guardian,
83 or custodian and the superintendent or the superintendent's designee has authorized the
84 student to be on school property;
85 (2) Such student is under the direct supervision of another adult designated by the
86 student's parent, legal guardian, or custodian, in advance, in writing, to the principal of the
87 school which suspended the student and the superintendent or the superintendent's designee
88 has authorized the student to be on school property;
89 (3) Such student is enrolled in and attending an alternative school that is located
90 within one thousand feet of a public school in the school district where such student attended
91 school; or
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92 (4) Such student resides within one thousand feet of any public school in the school
93 district where such student attended school in which case such student may be on the property
94 of his or her residence without direct adult supervision.
95 4. Any student who violates the condition of suspension required pursuant to
96 subsection 3 of this section may be subject to expulsion or further suspension pursuant to the
97 provisions of sections 167.161, 167.164, and 167.171. In making this determination
98 consideration shall be given to whether the student poses a threat to the safety of any child or
99 school employee and whether such student's unsupervised presence within one thousand feet
100 of the school is disruptive to the educational process or undermines the ef fectiveness of the
101 school's disciplinary policy . Removal of any pupil who is a student with a disability is subject
102 to state and federal procedural rights. This section shall not limit a school district's ability to:
103 (1) Prohibit all students who are suspended from being on school property or
104 attending an activity while on suspension;
105 (2) Discipline students for of f-campus conduct that negatively af fects the educational
106 environment to the extent allowed by law .
107 5. The policy shall provide for a suspension for a period of not less than one year , or
108 expulsion, for a student who is determined to have brought a weapon to school, including but
109 not limited to the school playground or the school parking lot, brought a weapon on a school
110 bus or brought a weapon to a school activity whether on or off of the school property in
111 violation of district policy , except that:
112 (1) The superintendent or , in a school district with no high school, the principal of the
113 school which such child attends may modify such suspension on a case-by-case basis; and
114 (2) This section shall not prevent the school district from providing educational
115 services in an alternative setting to a student suspended under the provisions of this section.
116 6. For the purpose of this section, the term "weapon" shall mean a firearm as defined
117 under 18 U.S.C. Section 921 and the following items, as defined in section 571.010: a
118 blackjack, a concealable firearm, an explosive weapon, a firearm, a firearm silencer , a gas
119 gun, a knife, knuckles, a machine gun, a projectile weapon, a rifle, a shotgun, a spring gun or
120 a switchblade knife; except that this section shall not be construed to prohibit a school board
121 from adopting a policy to allow a Civil W ar reenactor to carry a Civil W ar era weapon on
122 school property for educational purposes so long as the firearm is unloaded. The local board
123 of education shall define weapon in the discipline policy . Such definition shall include the
124 weapons defined in this subsection but may also include other weapons.
125 7. All school district personnel responsible for the care and supervision of students
126 are authorized to hold every pupil strictly accountable for any disorderly conduct in school or
127 on any property of the school, on any school bus going to or returning from school, during
128 school-sponsored activities, or during intermission or recess periods.
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129 8. T eachers and other authorized district personnel in public schools responsible for
130 the care, supervision, and discipline of schoolchildren, including volunteers selected with
131 reasonable care by the school district, shall not be civilly liable when acting in conformity
132 with the established policies developed by each board, including but not limited to policies of
133 student discipline or when reporting to his or her supervisor or other person as mandated by
134 state law acts of school violence or threatened acts of school violence, within the course and
135 scope of the duties of the teacher , authorized district personnel or volunteer , when such
136 individual is acting in conformity with the established policies developed by the board.
137 Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a new cause of action against such school
138 district, or to relieve the school district from liability for the negligent acts of such persons.
139 9. Each school board shall define in its discipline policy acts of violence and any
140 other acts that constitute a serious violation of that policy . "Acts of violence" as defined by
141 school boards shall include but not be limited to exertion of physical force by a student with
142 the intent to do serious bodily harm to another person while on school property , including a
143 school bus in service on behalf of the district, or while involved in school activities. School
144 districts shall for each student enrolled in the school district compile and maintain records of
145 any serious violation of the district's discipline policy . Such records shall be made available
146 to teachers and other school district employees with a need to know while acting within the
147 scope of their assigned duties, and shall be provided as required in section 167.020 to any
148 school district in which the student subsequently attempts to enroll.
149 10. [ Spanking, when administered by certificated personnel and in the presence of a
150 witness who is an employee of the school district, or ] No school district or charter school
151 shall use corporal punishment or spanking to discipline a student. The use of reasonable
152 force to protect persons or property , when administered by personnel of a school district in a
153 reasonable manner in accordance with the local board of education's written policy of
154 discipline, is not abuse within the meaning of chapter 210.
155 1 1. Upon receipt of any reports of child abuse by the children's division pursuant to
156 sections 210.1 10 to 210.165 which allegedly involve personnel of a school district, the
157 children's division shall notify the superintendent of schools of the district or , if the person
158 named in the alleged incident is the superintendent of schools, the president of the school
159 board of the school district where the alleged incident occurred.
160 12. In order to ensure the safety of all students, should a student be expelled for
161 bringing a weapon to school, violent behavior , or for an act of school violence, that student
162 shall not, for the purposes of the accreditation process of the Missouri school improvement
163 plan, be considered a dropout or be included in the calculation of that district's educational
164 persistence ratio.
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165 13. As used in this section, "corporal punishment" means the infliction of pain
166 by an adult upon the body of a child as penalty for doing something that has been
167 disappr oved of by the adult.
✔
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