School Discipline Laws & Regulations by Category

• Authority to Develop and Establish Codes of Conduct
• Scope
• Communication of Policy

• Discipline Frameworks
• Teacher Authority to Remove Students From Classrooms
• Alternatives to Suspension

• Corporal Punishment
• Search and Seizure
• Restraint and Seclusion¹

• Grounds for Suspension or Expulsion
• Limitations or Conditions on Exclusionary Discipline
• Due Process
• Return to school following removal
• Alternative placements

• Firearms and Other Weapons Violations ²
• Students with Chronic Disciplinary Issues
• Chronic Absenteeism and Truancy
• Substance Use
• Gang-related Activity
• Bullying, Harassment, or Hazing
• Dating and Relationship Violence

• State Model Policies and Implementation Support
• Multi-tiered Frameworks and Systems of Support
• Prevention
• Social-emotional Learning (SEL)
• Trauma-informed Practices
• Mental Health Literacy Training
• School-based Behavioral Health Programs

• Formal Incident Reporting of Conduct Violations
• Parental Notification
• Data Collection, Review, and Reporting of Discipline Policies and Actions

• Referrals to Law Enforcement
• School Resource Officer (SRO) or School Security Officer (SSO) Training or Certification
• Authorizations, Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), and/or Funding
• Threat Assessment Protocols

¹ 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.

² 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.