Iowa School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Parental Notification

Discipline Compendium

Iowa School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Parental Notification

Category: Monitoring and Accountability
Subcategory: Parental Notification
State: Iowa

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LAWS

279.51A. Classroom environment–behavioral challenges–reports of violence or assault.

2. If a classroom teacher clears all other students from the classroom in accordance with subsection 1, the school principal shall, by the end of the school day if possible but at least within twenty-four hours after the incident giving rise to the classroom clearance, notify the parents or guardians of all students assigned to the classroom that was cleared. The notification shall not identify, directly or indirectly, any students involved in the incident giving rise to the classroom clearance. The principal of the school shall request that the parent or guardian of the student whose behavior caused the classroom clearance meet with the principal, the classroom teacher, and other staff as appropriate.

4. A classroom teacher employed by a school district shall report any threat of violence or incident of violence that results in injury or property damage or assault by a student enrolled in the school to the principal or the lead administrator of the school within twenty-four hours after the threat of violence or incident of violence occurs, and the classroom teacher may notify the parent or guardian of the student who made the threat of violence or caused the incident of violence, and the parent or guardian of the student to whom the threat of violence was made or the incident of violence occurred, of the threat of violence or incident of violence.

b. The principal or lead administrator of the school shall notify the parent or guardian of the student enrolled in the school who made the threat of violence or caused the incident of violence that resulted in injury or property damage or assault, and the parent or guardian of the student to whom the threat of violence was made or the incident of violence occurred, of the threat of violence or incident of violence within twenty-four hours after the classroom teacher reports the threat of violence or incident of violence to the principal or lead administrator pursuant to paragraph “a”.

299.11. Duties of truancy officer.

1. The truancy officer may take into custody without warrant any apparently truant child and place the child in the charge of the school principal, or the principal's designee, designated by the board of directors of the school district in which the child resides, or in the charge of any nonpublic school or any authority providing competent private instruction or independent private instruction as defined in section 299A.1, designated by the parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian; but if it is other than a public school, the instruction and maintenance of the child shall be without expense to the school district. If a child is taken into custody under this section, the truancy officer shall make every reasonable attempt to immediately notify the parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian of the child's location.

2. The truancy officer shall promptly institute proceedings against any person violating any of the provisions of sections 299.1 through 299.5A.

299.12. Violation of attendance policy–attendance cooperation meeting–agreement.

2. This section is not applicable to a child who is receiving competent private instruction or independent private instruction in accordance with the requirements of chapter 299A. If a child is not in compliance with the attendance requirements established under section 299.1, and has not completed educational requirements through the sixth grade, and the school has used every means available to assure the child does attend, the school truancy officer shall contact the child's parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian to participate in an attendance cooperation meeting. The parties to the attendance cooperation meeting may include the child and shall include the child's parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian and the school truancy officer. The school truancy officer contacting the participants in the attendance cooperation meeting may invite other school officials, a designee of the juvenile court, the county attorney or the county attorney's designee, or other persons deemed appropriate to participate in the attendance cooperation meeting.

808A.2. Searches of students, protected student areas, lockers, desks, and other facilities or spaces.

2. School officials may conduct periodic inspections of all, or a randomly selected number of, school lockers, desks, and other facilities or spaces owned by the school and provided as a courtesy to a student. The furnishing of a school locker, desk, or other facility or space owned by the school and provided as a courtesy to a student shall not create a protected student area, and shall not give rise to an expectation of privacy on a student's part with respect to that locker, desk, facility, or space. Allowing students to use a separate lock on a locker, desk, or other facility or space owned by the school and provided to the student shall also not give rise to an expectation of privacy on a student's part with respect to that locker, desk, facility, or space. However, each year when school begins, the school district shall provide written notice to all students and the students' parents, guardians, or legal custodians, that school officials may conduct periodic inspections of school lockers, desks, and other facilities or spaces owned by the school and provided as a courtesy to a student without prior notice. An inspection under this subsection shall either occur in the presence of the students whose lockers are being inspected or the inspection shall be conducted in the presence of at least one other person.

279.83. Notice to parents or guardians related to physical injuries, harassment, or bullying. 

After following the policy adopted by the school district pursuant to section 280.28, subsection 3, an employee of a school district may notify the parents or guardians of a student enrolled in the school district in writing or by electronic mail within twenty-four hours after the employee witnesses, either directly or indirectly by viewing a recording created by a video surveillance system, any student enrolled in the school district harassing or bullying the student. For purposes of this section, “harassment” and “bullying” mean the same as defined in section 280.28. 

REGULATIONS

281-103.7(256B,280). Reasonable and necessary force–use of physical restraint or seclusion.

103.7(2) If seclusion or physical restraint is utilized, the following provisions shall apply:

b. A school must attempt to notify the student's parent using the school's emergency contact system as soon as practicable after the situation is under control, but no later than one hour or the end of the school day, whichever occurs first.

281-103.8(256B,280). Training, documentation, debriefing, and reporting requirements.

103.8(3) Debriefing.

a. Schools must hold a debriefing meeting as soon as practicable whenever required by paragraph 103.8(3)"f," but within five school days of the day the report and letter are mailed or provided to the parent, unless a parent who wants to participate personally or through a representative asks for an extension of time, or the parent and school agree to an alternate date and time. The student may attend the meeting with the parent's consent. The parent may elect to be accompanied by other individuals or representatives. The meeting must include employees who administered the physical restraint or seclusion, an administrator or employee who was not involved in the occurrence, the individual or administrator who approved continuation of the physical restraint or seclusion, other relevant personnel designated by the school (such as principal, counselor, classroom teacher, special education teacher), and, if indicated by the student's behavior in the instances prompting the debriefing, an expert in behavioral health, mental health, or another appropriate discipline. The meeting, and the debriefing report that is to be provided to the parent after the meeting, must include the following information and subjects:

(1) The date and location of the meeting, and the names and titles of the participants;

(2) The documentation and report completed in compliance with subrule 103.8(2);

(3) A review of the student's BIP, IHP, safety plan, and IEP as applicable;

(4) Identification of patterns of behavior and proportionate response, if any, in the student and the employees involved;

(5) Determination of possible alternative responses to the incident/less restrictive means, if any;

(6) Identification of additional resources that could facilitate those alternative responses in the future;

(7) Planning for follow-up actions, such as behavior assessments, revisions of school intervention plans, medical consultations, and reintroduction plans.

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