First Substitute S.B. 115

Senator Bill Wright proposes to substitute the following bill:

1 SAFE SCHOOLS AMENDMENTS
2 2001 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: Bill Wright
5 This act modifies provisions related to the State System of Public Education by requiring any
6 student who has been expelled from school for a firearm, explosive, or flammable material
7 violation to meet with the school district superintendent to determine if the expulsion should
8 be modified. This act takes effect upon approval.
9 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
10 AMENDS:
11 53A-11-904, as last amended by Chapter 336, Laws of Utah 2000
12 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
13 Section 1. Section 53A-11-904 is amended to read:
14 53A-11-904. Grounds for suspension or expulsion from a public school.
15 (1) A student may be suspended or expelled from a public school for any of the following
16 reasons:
17 (a) frequent or flagrant willful disobedience, defiance of proper authority, or disruptive
18 behavior, including the use of foul, profane, vulgar, or abusive language;
19 (b) willful destruction or defacing of school property;
20 (c) behavior or threatened behavior which poses an immediate and significant threat to the
21 welfare, safety, or morals of other students or school personnel or to the operation of the school;
22 (d) possession, control, or use of an alcoholic beverage as defined in Section 32A-1-105 ;
23 or
24 (e) behavior proscribed under Subsection (2) which threatens harm or does harm to the
25 school or school property, to a person associated with the school, or property associated with any

26 such person, regardless of where it occurs.
27 (2) (a) A student shall be suspended or expelled from a public school for any of the
28 following reasons:
29 (i) any serious violation affecting another student or a staff member, or any serious
30 violation occurring in a school building, in or on school property, or in conjunction with any
31 school activity, including the possession, control, or actual or threatened use of a real[, look alike,
32 or pretend] weapon, explosive, or noxious or flammable material under Section 53A-3-502 , the
33 actual or threatened use of a look alike weapon with intent to intimidate another person or to
34 disrupt normal school activities, or the sale, control, or distribution of a drug or controlled
35 substance as defined in Section 58-37-2 , an imitation controlled substance defined in Section
36 58-37b-2 , or drug paraphernalia as defined in Section 58-37a-3 ; or
37 (ii) the commission of an act involving the use of force or the threatened use of force
38 which if committed by an adult would be a felony or class A misdemeanor.
39 (b) A [secondary school] student who commits a violation of Subsection (2)(a) involving
40 a real [firearm] or look alike weapon, explosive, or flammable material shall be expelled from
41 school for a period of not less than one year [.] subject to the following:
42 [(c) If an elementary school student commits a violation of Subsection (2)(a) involving a
43 real or look alike firearm, explosive, or flammable material or if a secondary school student
44 commits a violation of Subsection (2)(a) involving a look alike or pretend firearm, explosive, or
45 flammable material, the student shall be expelled from school for a period of not less than one year
46 subject to the following:]
47 (i) within 45 days after the expulsion the student shall appear before the student's local
48 school board superintendent or [his] the superintendent's designee, accompanied by a parent or
49 legal guardian; and
50 (ii) the superintendent shall determine:
51 (A) what conditions must be met by the student and the student's parent for the student to
52 return to school;
53 (B) if the student should be placed on probation in a regular or alternative school setting
54 consistent with Section 53A-11-907 , and what conditions must be met by the student in order to
55 ensure the safety of students and faculty at the school the student is placed in; and
56 (C) if it would be in the best interest of both the school district and the student to modify

57 the expulsion term to less than a year, conditioned on approval by the local school board and
58 giving highest priority to providing a safe school environment for all students.
59 (3) A student may be denied admission to a public school on the basis of having been
60 expelled from that or any other school during the preceding 12 months.
61 (4) A suspension or expulsion under this section is not subject to the age limitations under
62 Subsection 53A-11-102 (1).
63 (5) (a) Each local school board shall prepare an annual report for the State Board of
64 Education on:
65 (i) each violation committed under this section; and
66 (ii) each action taken by the school district against a student who committed the violation.
67 (b) The State Board of Education shall make an annual report by November 30 to the
68 Legislature's Education Interim Committee on the information compiled under Subsection (5)(a).
69 Section 2. Effective date.
70 If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this act takes effect
71 upon approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah
72 Constitution Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto, the
73 date of veto override.