A bill that would require the state Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop rules and policies for students that are suspended and expelled from school has passed both chambers of the legislature and has been received for concurrence. That means one chamber agrees to a bill or proposal the other chamber has approved. It will eventually be submitted to the governor for action there.
The bill was sponsored by the Joint Education Interim Committee and passed the Senate on a 31-0 vote after three readings on Jan. 13 and the House on a 44-18 vote after three readings on Feb. 9.
“It gives the school board the directive to work with their superintendent to review these on a case-by-case basis because there's a difference between a kid having a hunting rifle who was out hunting antelope and forgot to take it out or a kid who's got a loaded handgun in his waist,” said Rep. Steve Harshman (R-Casper). “There's a difference and the school boards will deal with that.”
Harshman added two students who have brought loaded handguns to school in Casper this school year but there isn’t currently much leeway school districts can provide for students who bring weapons to school with the possible intent of doing harm or whether they left one in their vehicle unintentionally. Existing state statute includes several reasons that a student may be expelled. These include habitual defiance, destruction of school property, disruption, torturing other students, and bringing a deadly weapon to school, Harshman said.
The bill would also provide for students that are expelled to continue to receive educational services during their time out of school. Currently, there’s no state statute that mandates this, though the vast majority of districts that do hand down this disciplinary measure also provide these services, Harshman said. It also seeks to “maximize student retention and academic success” so students can continue their academic progress. Under one of the bill’s amendments, the board of trustees of a school board can require the district’s superintendent to expel a student for more than one year if alternative educational services are provided for them.
“I really like this bill [and] it doesn't happen very often we're talking about that,” said Rep. Ryan Berger (R-Evanston). “That one kid, or a couple kids or whatever, they forget to take their hunting rifle out of their vehicle on Sunday, and are like, ‘Oh,’ and the expulsion law says there's no gray line. And this just gives that superintendent and the board a little bit of leeway to help provide that education and help them with that mistake they made.”
