The School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) approved the second reading of an update to the student code of conduct with a 3-1 vote on Tuesday, adopting the first of staff’s options for a disciplinary guide. 

The board was originally set to vote on the conduct code at its last meeting, but tabled it and asked staff to bring back options after board members voiced concerns over the need for consistency in discipline, while accounting for students’ personal situations. 

The code is split between elementary and secondary grades, so Board Member Tina Certain made two separate motions to approve the changes with the addition of a disciplinary guide, which was the main topic of discussion. 

The board’s first option for the disciplinary guide splits student behaviors into five tiers: from the classroom management level, through Level 1, which consists of the most serious offenses, including anything from cheating, to alcohol, to drug distribution, homicide and kidnapping. 

Some offenses, such as cheating, computer misuse and “other violations minor” are listed on more than one level in both the elementary and secondary guides. 

Each level of behavior then has a corresponding list of possible consequences that could be administered. For the classroom management level, this ranges from a private conversation with the student, to a seat change, to a conference or phone call with a parent. For Level 1 offenses, the consequence could be anything from an administrator/student/parent conference, to out-of-school suspension, to reporting to law enforcement, to restitution and restorative discipline. 

This first option is what the board approved on Tuesday in a 3-1 vote, with Board Member Leanetta McNealy absent and Board Member Kay Abbitt in dissent. 

Board Chair Diyonne McGraw and Board Members Sarah Rockwell and Certain both said they liked the first option for its flexibility and positivity, as it is resistant to being “weaponized” against students. 

“I’m really glad that we’re adding this, because I think Option 1 provides the flexibility staff was concerned about, but also provides the transparency, especially for secondary students, so that they know what the potential consequences of behaviors are,” Rockwell said. 

Abbitt said that having a range of options for every behavior would not help with stability or uniform administration of discipline, saying “our consistency has gone down the tube.” 

“You’re talking about consistency among schools,” Abbitt said. “If someone can curse the teacher out in a classroom, and they get a timeout in one, and then they have a teacher/student/parent conference in another, there is no consistency. You can choose from any of these. We’ve got issues with behaviors in school, and I don’t think this is going to solve it.” 

Abbitt said she would have preferred the second option for a disciplinary guide, which provides a matrix that lays out consequences for the first, second, third, fourth or fifth-plus instance of each behavior. 

Abbitt also said she did not think the board should be making any decisions on a disciplinary plan without Progress Monitoring 3 (PM3) results, showing student performance from the whole year. Though staff said the PM3 data is available and was used as part of the creation of discipline guide options, it was not ready to present on Tuesday. 

Rockwell was first to take issue with the student conduct code, when the proposed amendment came before the board in June. She said she was worried about a lack of clear guidelines in dealing with students who use a bathroom that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. 

Though Florida’s 2023 “Safety in Private 40 Spaces Act” requires that educational institutions establish disciplinary procedures for students who enter a bathroom designated for the opposite sex, Rockwell said she wanted clear language that would not leave too much room for school administrators to make decisions based on their personal feelings toward particular minority groups. 

The new code for elementary school students, finalized on Tuesday, states that students who willfully enter a restroom or changing facility that is designated for the opposite sex, then refuse to leave when asked by district employees, are in violation of the code. 

There is still no specific consequence attached to the offense, as the code only says the student “may be subject to a behavior referral and subsequent interventions or disciplinary action,” and the approved appendix makes no mention of bathrooms or changing facilities. 

radKIDS 

McGraw also introduced a guest at the meeting: Stephen Daley, CEO and executive director of radKIDS, an educational program to help children “avoid and/or escape violence or harm in their daily lives.” 

The national program has already partnered with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office for 20 years and has been involved in a few elementary schools with success, but Daley said he wants to see that partnership on a higher level. He said though the summer outreach program is good, more can be done. 

“[The summer program] is such a nice community initiative, but where the kids are is at school,” Daley told the board. 

RadKIDS is in the second phase of a grant for a national research study where the program is used in fourth grade classrooms. Daley said with the support of the sheriff, the Children’s Trust of Alachua County and the county’s opioid task force, he is prepared to offer the program to as many ACPS elementary schools as possible. 

Each school would receive $1,000, though only half would actually use the programming, as it is a blind study. The program itself consists of 20 lessons, 30 minutes each, which Daley said are often administered in gym class, but it is up to the school’s administration to determine what class time to use. 

Superintendent Shane Andrew said ACPS has already been working on this project, and because of the existing memorandum of understanding (MOU) with radKIDS, all that is left is for the principal of each school to indicate whether or not they would like to participate. 

Daley said he would work on setting up a time for the two-day training for whatever elementary school teachers are chosen to lead the program at their schools. 

The radKIDS program is meant to enhance children’s personal boundaries to help them respect themselves and others, improve critical thinking to help them resolve their own problems, and teach them to understand when it is not their fault someone has hurt them. 

The program works to create “zero victimization” schools, where bullying is reduced, and attendance improves because students feel safe at school. 

“My dream has always been, as a former police officer for 21 years and now an educator for the last 25, is that every kid should go to a school every day, and be safe so they can grow,” Daley said.