Guidance Document Change: In 2020 and 2021, the General Assembly passed several pieces of legislation that necessitate revisions to Model Guidance for Positive and Preventative Code of Student Conduct policy and Alternatives to Suspension to align with the Code of Virginia. A stakeholder group comprised of school and school division leaders, students, parents, and advocacy groups was convened to create and revise the Standards for Dress and Grooming and the Standards for Reducing Bias in the Enforcement of Student Code of Conduct Policy as part of the Model Guidance. The Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports Research and Implementation Center (VTSS-RIC), the Virginia School Board Association, and the Virginia Student Support and Conduct Committee also, suggested revisions to organization and language, as did the Office of Data Services and the Office of Equity and Communications within the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).
The 2021 revision of this document includes multiple legislative changes and some reorganization of the content. The following are changes resulting from legislation from the 2020 and 2021 General Assembly and the requirements outlined in the Code. There are nine distinct topic areas, identified below, which are embedded throughout the proposed, revised guidelines:
1. New language added to address access to graded work;
2. New language added to provide standards for dress and grooming policy;
3. New language added to provide standards for reducing bias and harassment in the enforcement of student code of conduct policy;
4. New reference to restraint and seclusion regulations;
5. Revised language requested by the Virginia School Board Association;
6. Revised language for student behavior descriptors;
7. Revised language regarding reports to law enforcement;
8. Reorganized behavior descriptors and categories, behavioral interventions, and discipline sanctions; and
9. Added requirements for cultural competency professional learning.
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