SB 1459
Initials CH/RP Page 1 House Engrossed
ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Fifty-sixth Legislature
Second Regular Session
Senate: ED DPA 4-3-1-0 | 3rd Read 16-13-1-0
House: ED DPA 6-4-0-0
SB 1459: school letter grades; student discipline
Sponsor: Senator Kavanagh, LD 3
House Engrossed
Overview
Requires school districts and charter schools to annually report student discipline referral
data to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). Reduces a school's letter grade if the
school does not implement disciplinary action in at least 75% of student discipline referrals
in two consecutive school years.
History
Statute declares a student must submit to the authority of teachers, administrators and the
school district governing board (governing board). A teacher may, under statutorily specified
conditions, remove a student from the classroom and a school district may expel a student as
the school district deems appropriate (A.R.S. § 15-841).
A governing board, in consultation with teachers and parents, must prescribe rules for the
discipline, suspension and expulsion of students that are consistent with a student's
constitutional rights. These rules must include: 1) penalties for excessive absenteeism; 2)
procedures for using corporal punishment, if allowed; 3) procedures for the reasonable use of
physical force by personnel in situations of defense; 4) procedures for dealing with students
who have committed or who are believed to have committed a crime; and 5) disciplinary
policies for confining students who are left alone in an enclosed space. A governing board
must support teachers in implementing and enforcing these rules and develop procedures
that allow teachers and principals to: 1) recommend the suspension or expulsion of students;
and 2) temporarily remove disruptive students from a class (A.R.S. § 15-843).
ADE, subject to final adoption by the State Board of Education (SBE), must develop an
annual achievement profile for every public school and local education agency (LEA) based
on an A-F letter grade system. The annual achievement profile reflects the public school's or
LEA's achievement on the prescribed academic and educational performance indicators. SBE
must assign an overall letter grade for a public school or LEA (A.R.S. § 15-241).
Provisions
1. Mandates each school district and charter school include in every student handbook a
student discipline rubric that:
a) includes only objective student discipline criteria; and
b) does not consider specified student characteristics.
2. Instructs each school district and charter school to annually report to ADE:
a) the total number of student discipline referrals submitted by teachers in each school;
☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note SB 1459
Initials CH/RP Page 2 House Engrossed
b) the number of reported referrals for which school administration implemented the
teacher's recommended disciplinary action or another disciplinary action; and
c) the percentage of reported referrals for which school administration did not
implement the teacher's recommended disciplinary action or any other action.
3. Excludes social emotional learning or restorative discipline from disciplinary action.
4. Asserts a school district, charter school or school administrator may not discourage a
teacher from submitting student discipline referrals consistent with the student
discipline rubric and the teacher's authority.
5. Allows a teacher, if the teacher alleges they were discouraged from submitting a student
discipline referral, to report the violation to ADE and ADE to investigate the report.
6. Details how ADE is to adjust the prescribed annual student discipline referral
calculations for a school district or charter school if ADE determines that a student
discipline referral was warranted but was not submitted because a teacher was
discouraged from doing so.
7. Instructs ADE to notify a school that the school has failed to adequately discipline
students in the current school year and may be subject to penalties if the school fails to
adequately discipline students in the following school year and the school:
a) does not implement disciplinary actions in at least 75% of the total number of student
discipline referrals submitted by teachers in the current school year;
b) has no reasonable justification, as determined by ADE, for implementing disciplinary
action in fewer than 75% of student disciplinary referrals in the current school year;
and
c) did not receive a notice in the immediately preceding school year.
8. Reduces a school's letter grade by one letter grade if the school:
a) fails to adequately discipline students as prescribed in the notice from ADE; and
b) received the specified notice from ADE in the immediately preceding school year.
9. Directs ADE to administer an annual survey of school district and charter school teachers
to assess whether, during the previous school year, any school district, charter school,
administrator or teacher considered specified student characteristics when determining:
a) whether to submit a student discipline referral; or
b) what student disciplinary action was appropriate.
10. Defines discourage.