School Discipline Laws & Regulations by State & Category

• Authority to develop and establish rules of conduct
• Scope
• Communication of Policy

• Use of multi-tiered discipline approaches
• Teacher authority to remove students from classrooms
• Alternatives to suspension
• Use of corporal punishment
• Use of student and locker searches
• Other in-school disciplinary approaches

• Grounds for possible suspension or expulsion
• Grounds for mandatory suspension or expulsion
• Limitations, conditions, or exclusions for use of suspension and expulsion
• Administrative procedures related to suspension and expulsion ¹
• In-school suspension
• Return to school following removal
• Use of restraint and seclusion ²
• Alternative placements

• Firearms (as required by the Gun-Free Schools Act) ³
• Other weapons
• Students with chronic disciplinary issues
• Attendance and truancy ⁴
• Substance use
• Bullying, harassment, or hazing ⁵
• Other special infractions or conditions

• Prevention
• Behavioral interventions and student support services
• Professional development

• Formal incident reporting of conduct violations
• Parental notification
• Reporting and referrals between schools and law enforcement
• Disclosure of school records
• Data collection, review, and reporting of disciplinary policies and actions

• Authority and power to implement school arrest
• Certification or training
• MOUs, authorization, and/or funding

• State model policies and implementation support
• Funding appropriations

• Professional immunity or liability
• Community input or involvement
• Other or Uncategorized

¹ See also subcategory "In-school suspension" for additional information about the provision of academic work during periods of exclusion.

² The U.S. Department of Education has provided a Resource Document on the use of seclusion and restraint in schools. This document is available at: www.ed.gov/policy/restraintseclusion.

³ The Federal Gun-Free Schools Act requires that each State receiving Federal education funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. § 7151) must have in place a law that requires local school districts to expel, for at least one year, any student who brings a firearm to, or possesses a firearm at, a school, unless the local school district’s chief administering officer modifies that sanction in writing, on a case-by-case basis. See ESEA § 4141(b)(1) (20 U.S.C. § 7151(b)(1)); see also Guidance Concerning State and Local Responsibilities Under the Gun-Free Schools Act, U.S. Dep’t of Educ., Jan. 2004 available at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/gfsa.html.

⁴ See also subcategory “Reporting & referrals between schools and law enforcement” and major category “School Resource and Safety Officers (SROs/SSOs) and Truant/ Attendance Officers” for additional information regarding truant officers’ responsibilities and authority.

⁵ See also the “Prevention” and “State model policies and implementation support” sections for additional information about non-punitive policies related to bullying, harassment, and hazing.