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HB 589 - Schools; in-school suspension; parental notification

Hammontree, James A (4th)

Status Summary	HC:	Ed	SC:		FR:	02/12/99	LA:	02/15/99	H - Read 2nd Time

First Reader Summary

A BILL to amend Code Section 20-2-155 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the school climate management and in-school suspension programs, so as to require notice to a student's parent or guardian of the student's assignment to in-school suspension; and for other purposes.

HB 589                                             LC 19 4173 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                        A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 
                               AN ACT 
 
 
  1- 1  To amend Code Section 20-2-155 of the Official Code of 
  1- 2  Georgia Annotated, relating to the school climate management 
  1- 3  and in-school suspension programs, so as to require notice 
  1- 4  to a student's parent or guardian of the student's 
  1- 5  assignment to in-school suspension; to provide an effective 
  1- 6  date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. 
 
  1- 7       BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: 
 
  1- 8                           SECTION 1. 
 
  1- 9  Code Section 20-2-155 of the Official Code of Georgia 
  1-10  Annotated, relating to the school climate management and 
  1-11  in-school suspension programs, is amended by striking in its 
  1-12  entirety subsection (b) and inserting in lieu thereof a new 
  1-13  subsection (b) to read as follows: 
 
  1-14    "(b) The State Board of Education is authorized to create 
  1-15    an in-school suspension program.  As the vast majority of 
  1-16    the students who disrupt public school classrooms are also 
  1-17    experiencing problems in mastering classroom assignments 
  1-18    and are below expectation in their academic achievement, 
  1-19    it is the policy of this state that it is preferable to 
  1-20    reassign disruptive students to isolated, individually 
  1-21    oriented in-school suspension programs rather than to 
  1-22    suspend or expel such students from school.  Therefore, 
  1-23    the primary purposes of the in-school suspension program 
  1-24    are to isolate the offending students from the regularly 
  1-25    assigned classrooms and activities of the school, to 
  1-26    continue progress relative to classroom assignments, and 
  1-27    to provide individually oriented instruction in essential 
  1-28    skills and knowledge areas for which low achievement 
  1-29    levels are contributing to the students' adjustment 
  1-30    problems.  The in-school suspension programs may be housed 
  1-31    in the regularly assigned schools, special schools 
  1-32    specifically organized for such programs, or alternative 
  1-33    schools, provided the suspended students are isolated from 
  1-34    typical school activities until they demonstrate 
  1-35    sufficient adjustment to warrant their returning to their 
 
 
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  2- 1    previously assigned classes. The principal or the teacher 
  2- 2    who assigns a student to in-school suspension shall 
  2- 3    provide notice of such assignment to the student's parent 
  2- 4    or guardian no later than one school day after such 
  2- 5    assignment. The state board shall adopt regulations, 
  2- 6    standards, and eligibility criteria necessary to guide the 
  2- 7    effective operation of state supported in-school 
  2- 8    suspension programs.  For the first year of implementation 
  2- 9    of this program state wide, the state board shall request 
  2-10    an amount for grants to local school systems based upon 
  2-11    documentation of the number of eligible students estimated 
  2-12    to be served; provided, however, that funds appropriated 
  2-13    for this program in the initial year of operation shall be 
  2-14    allocated only on the basis of the documented actual 
  2-15    number of students being served during the initial year. 
  2-16    For the second year of operation and thereafter, the 
  2-17    amount of funds appropriated and allocated for this 
  2-18    program shall be based on the actual count of students 
  2-19    served during the preceding year." 
 
  2-20                           SECTION 2. 
 
  2-21  This Act shall become effective on July 1, 1999. 
 
  2-22                           SECTION 3. 
 
  2-23  All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are 
  2-24  repealed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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