STATE OF MICHIGAN

98TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2016

Introduced by Reps. Schor, Zemke, Pscholka, Lyons, Irwin, Lucido and LaGrand

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5618

AN ACT to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled “An act to provide a system of public instruction and elementary and secondary schools; to revise, consolidate, and clarify the laws relating to elementary and secondary education; to provide for the organization, regulation, and maintenance of schools, school districts, public school academies, intermediate school districts, and other public school entities; to prescribe rights, powers, duties, and privileges of schools, school districts, public school academies, intermediate school districts, and other public school entities; to provide for the regulation of school teachers and certain other school employees; to provide for school elections and to prescribe powers and duties with respect thereto; to provide for the levy and collection of taxes; to provide for the borrowing of money and issuance of bonds and other evidences of indebtedness; to establish a fund and provide for expenditures from that fund; to make appropriations for certain purposes; to provide for and prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments, the state board of education, and certain other boards and officials; to provide for licensure of boarding schools; to prescribe penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,” (MCL 380.1 to 380.1852) by adding section 1310d.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 1310d. (1) Before suspending or expelling a pupil under section 1310, 1311(1), 1311(2), or 1311a, the board of a school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of a public school academy, or a superintendent, school principal, or other designee under section 1311(1), shall consider each of the following factors:

(a) The pupil’s age.

(b) The pupil’s disciplinary history.

(c) Whether the pupil is a student with a disability.

(d) The seriousness of the violation or behavior committed by the pupil.

(e) Whether the violation or behavior committed by the pupil threatened the safety of any pupil or staff member.

(f) Whether restorative practices will be used to address the violation or behavior committed by the pupil.

(g) Whether a lesser intervention would properly address the violation or behavior committed by the pupil.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), this section applies to give the board of a school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of a public school academy, or its designee, discretion over whether or not to suspend or expel a pupil under section 1310, 1311(1), 1311(2), or 1311a. In exercising this discretion with regard to a suspension of more than 10 days or an expulsion, there is a rebuttable presumption that a suspension or expulsion is not justified unless the board or board of directors, or its designee, can demonstrate that it considered each of the factors listed under subsection (1). For a suspension of 10 or fewer days, there is no rebuttable presumption, but the board or board of directors, or its designee, shall consider each of the factors listed under subsection (1).

(3) This section does not apply to a pupil being expelled under section 1311(2) for possessing a firearm in a weapon free school zone.

(4) Except as provided in subsection (3), consideration of the factors listed in subsection (1) is mandatory before suspending or expelling a student under section 1310, 1311(1), 1311(2), or 1311a. The method used for consideration of the factors is at the sole discretion of the board of a school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of a public school academy, or its designee.

(5) As used in this section:

(a) “Expel” means to exclude a pupil from school for disciplinary reasons for a period of 60 or more school days.

(b) “Firearm” means that term as defined in section 1311.

(c) “Suspend” means to exclude a pupil from school for disciplinary reasons for a period of fewer than 60 school days.

(d) “Weapon free school zone” means that term as defined in section 1311.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect August 1, 2017.

Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect unless all of the following bills of the 98th Legislature are enacted into law:

(a) House Bill No. 5693.

(b) House Bill No. 5694.

(c) House Bill No. 5695.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor