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JICIA-R
The following procedures and definitions apply to the implementation of the District's policy on acts or threats of violence.
1. "Acts of violence" shall include any actions that present a risk of serious bodily injury to any member of the school community, including to the person taking the action. An "act of violence" shall also include possession on school grounds, in school vehicles, or during school activities of a firearm or dangerous weapon.
2. "Dangerous weapon" shall have the same meaning as is found in Title 17-A, section 2, subsection 9 of the Maine statutes as amended, and shall include any article commonly used or designed to inflict serious bodily injury and/or to intimidate other persons, and shall also include any object that actually is used to inflict or threaten serious bodily injury and/or to intimidate, coerce or harass, whether designed as a weapon or not.
3. "Firearm" shall have the same meaning as is found either in Title 17-A, section 2, subsection 12-A of the Maine statutes as amended, or as is found in Title 18, section 921(3) of the United States Code, as amended.
4. "Threat" shall mean any statement or gesture in any form that a reasonable person would interpret as communicating a serious intent to cause serious bodily injury.
5. "Serious bodily injury" means a bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement or loss or substantial impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, or extended convalescence necessary for recovery of physical health.
1. Any school employee who observes or is informed about an act or threat of violence covered by this policy shall attempt as soon as possible in the circumstances to bring it to the attention of the building Principal where the employee works, or to that Principal's designee if he or she is not currently available. The building Principal or designee shall have a call placed with local law enforcement and shall take those steps that appear likely to bring the immediate situation under control and minimize the danger that may exist.
2. If the school employee observes an act or threat of violence, the employee shall take those steps that appear likely to bring the immediate situation under control and minimize the danger that may exist. Those steps should include notification of the building Principal or designee so that law enforcement can be contacted, an assessment of whether the employee him or herself can safely intervene in the situation without assistance, and should include an effort to separate other students from the setting where the act or threat occurs. At an appropriate point after the situation has been resolved, the staff member shall submit a written incident report to the building Principal, detailing his or her involvement in the incident.
3. Once the situation has been evaluated and brought under control, the Principal or designee shall interview the involved parties to determine the specific facts relating to the incident. The person who committed the act or threat of violence shall also be interviewed if he or she remains at the school. If that person is not available to the Principal or designee, he or she may attempt to interview that person by telephone.
1. If the Principal or designee concludes that the act or threat of violence is covered by this policy, he or she shall notify the Superintendent of Schools and the local police department (if not already notified).
2. The Principal may notify staff within the school building of any act or threat of violence covered by this policy when, in the judgment of the Principal, the act or threat of violence may impact upon the school generally or on the area of the school served by that staff member.
3. The Principal or designee shall notify the parents of any student who commits an act or threat of violence, and the parents of any student(s) threatened or harmed. If at all possible, that notification should occur on the same day as the incident itself.
4. The Principal and the Superintendent may choose to provide a broader notification to the parents of children in the classroom or school building if in the judgement of the Principal and Superintendent, the facts present a specific risk to the safety of that broader community. This notification shall occur in a way that protects the confidentiality rights of the student who has committed the act or threat of violence.
1. In the event that the building Principal or designee concludes that a student within M.S.A.D. No. 71 committed an act or threat of violence that is covered by this
policy, the building Principal or designee shall immediately suspend that student from school grounds and all school activities for a period of time not to exceed 10 school days.
2. Once notified, the Superintendent of Schools shall review the facts surrounding the incident and decide whether the circumstances warrant proceeding to the School Board to request an expulsion of the student. If the student who committed the act or threat of violence is a student with an identified disability, the Superintendent shall ensure that appropriate procedures are followed in obtaining an extended removal of the student from school grounds and activities.
3. Any student who is removed from school grounds and activities because of an act or threat of violence shall not be permitted to return until the Superintendent or his/her designee determines that the student does not present a risk of serious bodily injury to the school community. This determination may depend in part on an assessment of the student by an appropriate health care provider showing that the student does not present a risk of serious bodily injury to the school community.
4. If the Superintendent chooses to proceed to the School Board for possible expulsion, the School Board may expel the student if the Board finds that the student has committed an act or threat of violence addressed by this policy, or for any other reason warranted by the circumstances and permissible under state law. A student expelled by the School Board may apply to the Board for readmission as provided in State Law.
The student and student’s parents shall have the right of appeal as provided in the High School Discipline Code (Article II, Section 27), applicable to grades K-12.
Each time that the Principal or designee determines that an act or threat of violence has occurred that is covered by this policy, he or she shall notify the local police of that act or threat, and shall cooperate fully with the police in their own independent investigation of the incident. School staff and students have a right to press charges with the police for any conduct that may be criminal in nature, including acts or threats of violence.
1. The District shall annually instruct school personnel and the student body
in the existence and requirements of this policy. That instruction shall be tailored to the specific group being addressed. This policy shall be printed in student handbooks.
2. The District shall ensure that school administrators within each school building have received training in intervention techniques for violent incidents, with a focus on how to diffuse the situation without use of force. Such training shall also be made available to other designated school staff.
3. Designated school officials shall work with the local police to develop an appropriate response plan for large-scale acts or threats of violence which may require evacuation of a school building or an area of a school building. On at least one occasion each school year, each school building shall conduct a building-wide drill on the appropriate emergency procedures for responding to large-scale act or threats of violence that may require evacuation of the school building.
4. The Superintendent or Principal may call upon the District's Crisis Team to make assistance available to the affected student body, in the event of violence that causes serious bodily injury or death, and is likely to impact on the emotional well being of the student body in that school building.
1. Student conduct in violation of this policy may also be covered by other District policies, such as, for example, the District's policy on Weapons in the Schools (adopted 1/22/96). This policy in no way restricts the District from taking further action as may be mandated by those other policies, in addition to the actions required above.
2. This policy shall be interpreted so as to promote the overall safety and well being of the school community. Ambiguities in the policy shall be resolved in favor of promoting the safety and well being of the school community.