Corporal Punishment, Suspensions, Expulsions

All area, county, and independent boards of education shall be authorized to determine and adopt policies and regulations relating to the use of corporal punishment by school principals and teachers employed by such boards (O.C.G.A. 20-2-730).  Bulloch County Board of Education's policy on corporal punishment.

• Temporary removal of a student from his or her regular classroom,
• In-school suspension is a short-term alternative to out-of-school suspension.
• Students will not be counted absent.
• Students will be assigned work from their classes.
• Students will not receive zeroes unless they fail to make up work missed in their classes.
• Students have the responsibility to complete missed make up work, consistent with the provisions outlined earlier in this handbook.
• Students may not participate in or attend any school-sponsored or extracurricular activities during the school day when the student is assigned in-school suspension.
• Students may participate in activities which occur entirely outside of the official school day when the student is assigned to in-school suspension.

Out-of-school suspension is an exclusion from all school facilities and activities. It is used as a disciplinary action to deter inappropriate student behavior. This includes the violation of school rules, policies, and procedures. 

• If an offense occurs, the principal or designee will investigate the circumstances surrounding the offense. 
• Before being suspended, a student has a right to a conference with the principal or his designee where the following takes place:
  • The charges against the student are explained to him or her;
  • If the student denies guilt, the evidence against the student is outlined for him or her; and
  • The student is given the opportunity to tel his or her side of the story.
• Parents and guardians will be notified of the consequence. Every reasonable effort shall be made to notify parents when a student is suspended.
• The days of suspension shall be specified by the principal or designee and such days shall begin as soon as reasonably prudent.  
• Make-up work and/or alternative assignments will be permitted.
• A student who has been assigned to out-of-school suspension for any disciplinary reasons shall not be present on any school property for any reason, at any time during the term of the suspension except to attend student disciplinary hearings.
• A student who has been assigned to out of school suspension shall not participate in or attend any school sponsored, extra-curricular activities (on or off campus) beginning with the specific time the out-of-school suspension is assigned (which may not be the time suspension actually begins) until the beginning of the calendar day following the last day of out-of-school suspension.
• A student who has been assigned to out-of-school suspension for any disciplinary reasons will not be allowed to attend or participate in field learning trips due to safety concerns.
• Out-of-school suspension-short term is suspension for 10 days or less (O.C.G.A. 20-2-751).
• Out-of-school suspension-long term is suspension for more than 10 school days but not beyond the current school quarter or semester (O.C.G.A. 20-2-751). Long term suspension is an alternative that may be imposed by the student disciplinary hearing officer/panel when determining punishment for a disciplinary infraction, which resulted in the student being brought to a disciplinary hearing.

Expulsion is the removal of a student, by the school district, from Bulloch County Schools for a period longer than the remainder of the current semester.

• If a recommendation for expulsion is submitted to the Board of Education, written charges for the expulsion recommendation shall be provided to the student and his or her parent(s) or guardian(s) along with the expulsion proceedings information.
• The Board of Education may refer any disciplinary action to the student disciplinary hearing officer/panel, which shall conduct a hearing of the matter consistent with the Board policy. The issues to be determined at the hearing shall be whether or not the student is guilty of the alleged violation of student regulations and, if so, what appropriate punishment shall be imposed.
• In determining the appropriate punishment to impose upon the student, the student disciplinary hearing officer/panel shall review the specific circumstances of the incident that gave rise to the hearing, the student’s disciplinary record.
• The maximum punishment that may be imposed is permanent expulsion from the school and from the Bulloch County School System.
• Students who are expelled, with or without the opportunity to attend the Transitions Learning Center, shall not participate in school activities, on or off campus.