WICHITA, Kansas — The Wichita school district has rolled out a proposed student code of conduct that would guide how discipline measures are handled across the district.
The 16-page draft document is in response to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, which found that Wichita schools discriminated against students based on race and disability.
Under the terms of a settlement agreement announced in July, the Wichita district agreed to develop a new code of conduct to ensure that school leaders handle discipline more consistently and equitably. The new code would replace the district’s current, much simpler code of conduct, which has been in place for decades.
District officials plan to submit the new code of conduct to the Justice Department for review by Oct. 15. If it’s accepted, they will roll it out districtwide in January.
In the meantime, they plan to gather feedback from parents, teachers, students and community members.
“The goal for the document is to provide equity, consistency and clarity,” said Vince Evans, assistant superintendent of student support services. “This is more of a step-by-step guide that’s going to give us a common set of rules and guidance across the district for how to handle these types of situations.”
The proposed code of conduct categorizes student violations into three levels: a Level 1 offense, which does not threaten safety or significantly disrupt a school activity; Level 2, which significantly disrupts an activity; and Level 3, which poses a threat to safety. The document also lists possible consequences.
For example, disruptive behavior that does not involve violence, property damage or obscenity is a Level 1 violation and could be met with one of several consequences, including a “calm down walk” or loss of privileges.
A Level 3 violation, for offenses like assault or taking a weapon to school, could result in an out-of-school suspension, expulsion or school reassignment.
Evans said the goal is to provide guidance to teachers and administrators but still allow some leeway when dealing with students.
“What this will allow us to do is to become more consistent, but not where it’s just robotic in nature and everybody does exactly the same thing,” Evans said. “Because we know situations are unique, and we know we need to rely on the professional judgment of our staff.”
In a report released in July, the Justice Department said Black students in Wichita schools were disciplined more frequently and more severely than white students. Black girls were particularly singled out for offenses such as insubordination.
The department said the district also inappropriately secluded and restrained students with disabilities.
Along with implementing a new code of conduct, the district agreed to end the use of seclusion and to standardize a new dress code for district schools.
Evans said the proposed code of conduct is based on one developed by the Wicomico County school district in Maryland, which was the subject of a similar Justice Department investigation and settlement agreement in 2017.
“We thought that would be a good starting place for us,” Evans said. “So, we have borrowed a lot of the material in our drafts. And that’s all it is at this point, ... a draft.”
People wanting to weigh in on the proposed code of conduct can use the district’s online feedback form. Or they can attend one of two scheduled public input sessions: 6 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the Alvin Morris Administrative Center, 203 S. Edgemoor; and 6 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the School Service Center, 3850 N. Hydraulic.
Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.
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