Manatee County School District to veil identity of expulsions, reveal reasons
BRADENTON -- A new document will be created to let the public know why the Manatee County School Board is expelling a student but will also keep the student's identity private.
During a board meeting Tuesday, staff attorney Mitchell Teitelbaum announced a new method of handling expulsions in Manatee County School District. The change was made after a Bradenton Herald article raised questions about the district's method.
"Student privacy is first and foremost," Teitelbaum said.
Prior to January, the district included final orders explaining what a student did to be expelled from the school district. The final order included details of the incident and what the discipline would be. Final orders can be considered part of a student's educational record. Since January, the final orders have not been included in the agenda.
Since August, the district has expelled six students for various reasons, which is rare. Prior to August, the district had expelled one student in a six-year period, according to state data.
For three students, final orders were available to the public. Two students expelled from Palmetto High for attacking the principal and assistant principal and a student from Manatee High was alternatively placed for the rest of the year after bringing a BB gun to school.
After that, the district stopped including final orders on the agenda. Two girls expelled in January did not have final orders attached and a final order explaining what a sixth-grade male student did to be expelled Tuesday was not included.
The change was made to protect student privacy under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, Teitelbaum said.
After an article in the Bradenton Herald detailed the policy change, school board member Dave Miner questioned the expulsion policy.
Teitelbaum outlined how the district would proceed in the future: A document attached to the public agenda will not include the student's name or school, but will include what part of the district code of conduct was violated and what type of expulsion a student will receive.
This way, the public will know what is going on but won't be able to figure out who the student is, Teitelbaum said.
The board also heard from concerned parents over upcoming state tests, who want the district to change what it does with students who opt out of state tests.
Two Manatee County parents, speaking on behalf of a larger group, petitioned the school board to change its policy for students who chose to minimally participate or "opt out."
In Manatee County, students opting out of the state math or English language arts tests are still required to sit in the testing room and asked to "sit and stare." The students may not leave the room and are not allowed to do other work either.
"I believe asking a child to sit still for an hour and a half of tests for the ELA and math is a form of child abuse, especially for 8 and 9 years old," parent Stacey Cline said.
Cline and parent Amy Lee asked the school district to at least allow students opting out to read a book. Lee said she understands if the district doesn't want to let students leave the room, but reiterated state guidelines allow students to read.
"It's left up to a local decision," Lee said.
Student who minimally participate and opt out of the test receive a score of "NR2" or "no response" from the state, which doesn't negatively affect the student, the teacher's evaluation or the school's grade. If students stay home and skip the test, they receive a "NT" or "not tested" score from the state and that does negatively affect the school's grade and the teacher evaluation.
The "sit and stare" policy has been in place in Manatee County for a long time, Superintendent Diana Greene said. Greene said even having a student read a book may disrupt other students who have not yet finished their test.
"It possibly leads them to hurry through the test so they can read a book, too," Greene said.
The first state exams, the writing exam, begins March 1. Students in grades four through seven will take a paper-based exam and students in grades eighth through 10 take the tests online.
In other business, the board:
Approved transportation agreements with Just for Girls and the State College of Florida Collegiate School for 2016-17. They will pay a portion of the cost it takes to transport the student to charter schools. An agreement to donate 20 buses to Manatee School for The Arts so the school can start its own transportation system was not ready for Tuesday's meeting.
Heard updates to the district's new teacher training and new assistant principal and principal training programs.
Honored two Martin Luther King Jr. Essay and Speech contest winners and also honored two students from Horizons Academy who earned recognition from the state for a literacy project.
Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter@MeghinDelaney.
This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Manatee County School District to veil identity of expulsions, reveal reasons ."