§ 2801 — Codes of conduct on school property

§ 2801. Codes of conduct on school property. 1. For purposes of this\nsection, school property means in or within any building, structure,\nathletic playing field, playground, parking lot or land contained within\nthe real property boundary line of a public elementary or secondary\nschool; or in or on a school bus, as defined in section one hundred\nforty-two of the vehicle and traffic law; and a school function shall\nmean a school-sponsored or school-authorized extra-curricular event or\nactivity regardless of where such event or activity takes place,\nincluding any event or activity that may take place in another state.\n 2. The board of education or the trustees, as defined in section two\nof this chapter, of every school district within the state, however\ncreated, and every board of cooperative educational services and county\nvocational extension board, shall adopt and amend, as appropriate, a\ncode of conduct for the maintenance of order on school property,\nincluding a school function, which shall govern the conduct of students,\nteachers and other school personnel as well as visitors and shall\nprovide for the enforcement thereof. Such policy may be adopted by the\nschool board or trustees only after at least one public hearing that\nprovides for the participation of school personnel, parents, students\nand any other interested parties. Such code of conduct shall include, at\na minimum:\n a. provisions regarding conduct, dress and language deemed appropriate\nand acceptable on school property, including a school function, and\nconduct, dress and language deemed unacceptable and inappropriate on\nschool property, including a school function, and provisions regarding\nacceptable civil and respectful treatment of teachers, school\nadministrators, other school personnel, students and visitors on school\nproperty, including a school function, including the appropriate range\nof disciplinary measures which may be imposed for violation of such\ncode, and the roles of teachers, administrators, other school personnel,\nthe board of education and parents;\n b. standards and procedures to assure security and safety of students\nand school personnel;\n c. provisions for the removal from the classroom and from school\nproperty, including a school function, of students and other persons who\nviolate the code;\n d. disciplinary measures to be taken in incidents involving the\npossession or use of illegal substances or weapons, the use of physical\nforce, vandalism, violation of another student's civil rights and\nthreats of violence;\n e. provisions for detention, suspension and removal from the classroom\nof students, consistent with section thirty-two hundred fourteen of this\nchapter and other applicable federal, state and local laws including\nprovisions for the school authorities to establish policies and\nprocedures to ensure the provision of continued educational programming\nand activities for students removed from the classroom, placed in\ndetention, or suspended from school;\n f. procedures by which violations are reported, determined, discipline\nmeasures imposed and discipline measures carried out;\n g. provisions ensuring such code and the enforcement thereof are in\ncompliance with state and federal laws relating to students with\ndisabilities;\n h. provisions setting forth the procedures by which local law\nenforcement agencies shall be notified of code violations which\nconstitute a crime;\n i. provisions setting forth the circumstances under and procedures by\nwhich persons in parental relation to the student shall be notified of\ncode violations;\n j. provisions setting forth the circumstances under and procedures by\nwhich a complaint in criminal court, a juvenile delinquency petition or\nperson in need of supervision petition as defined in articles three and\nseven of the family court act will be filed;\n k. circumstances under and procedures by which referral to appropriate\nhuman service agencies shall be made;\n l. a minimum suspension period, for students who repeatedly are\nsubstantially disruptive of the educational process or substantially\ninterfere with the teacher's authority over the classroom, provided that\nthe suspending authority may reduce such period on a case by case basis\nto be consistent with any other state and federal law. For purposes of\nthis section, the definition of "repeatedly are substantially\ndisruptive" shall be determined in accordance with the regulations of\nthe commissioner;\n m. a minimum suspension period for acts that would qualify the pupil\nto be defined as a violent pupil pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision\ntwo-a of section thirty-two hundred fourteen of this chapter, provided\nthat the suspending authority may reduce such period on a case by case\nbasis to be consistent with any other state and federal law; and\n n. provisions to comply with article two of this chapter.\n * 3. The district code of conduct shall be developed in collaboration\nwith student, teacher, administrator, and parent organizations, school\nsafety personnel and other school personnel and shall be approved by the\nboard of education, or other governing body, or by the chancellor of the\ncity school district in the case of the city school district of the city\nof New York. In the city school district of the city of New York, each\ncommunity district education council shall be authorized to adopt and\nimplement additional policies, which are consistent with the city\ndistrict's district-wide code of conduct, to reflect the individual\nneeds of each community school district provided that such additional\npolicies shall require the approval of the chancellor.\n * NB Effective until June 30, 2026\n * 3. The district code of conduct shall be developed in collaboration\nwith student, teacher, administrator, and parent organizations, school\nsafety personnel and other school personnel and shall be approved by the\nboard of education, or other governing body, or by the chancellor of the\ncity school district in the case of the city school district of the city\nof New York. In the city school district of the city of New York, each\ncommunity school district board shall be authorized to adopt and\nimplement additional policies, which are consistent with the city\ndistrict's district-wide code of conduct, to reflect the individual\nneeds of each community school district provided that such additional\npolicies shall require the approval of the chancellor.\n * NB Effective June 30, 2026\n 4. The board of education, chancellor or other governing body shall\nprovide copies of a summary of the code of conduct to all students at a\ngeneral assembly held at the beginning of the school year and shall make\ncopies of the code available to persons in parental relation to students\nat the beginning of each school year, and shall mail a plain language\nsummary of such code to all persons in parental relation to students\nbefore the beginning of each school year, and make it available\nthereafter upon request. The board of education, chancellor or other\ngoverning body shall take reasonable steps to ensure community awareness\nof the code provisions.\n 5. a. The board of education, chancellor or other governing body shall\nannually review and update the district's codes of conduct if necessary,\ntaking into consideration the effectiveness of code provisions and the\nfairness and consistency of its administration. Each school district is\nauthorized to establish a committee and to facilitate the review of the\ncode of conduct and the district's response to code of conduct\nviolations. Any such committee shall be comprised of similar individuals\ndescribed in subdivision three of this section. The school board,\nchancellor, or other governing body shall reapprove any such updated\ncode only after at least one public hearing that provides for the\nparticipation of school personnel, parents, students and any other\ninterested parties.\n b. Each district shall file a copy of its codes of conduct with the\ncommissioner and all amendments to such code shall be filed with the\ncommissioner no later than thirty days after their adoption.\n