                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DISCIPLINARY AUTHORITY OF SCHOOL BOARDS UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; ALTERNATIVE
EDUCATION PROGRAM (§ 22.1-277.2:1)

A. A school board may, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this
article, require any student who has been (i) charged with an offense relating
to the Commonwealth&#8217;s laws, or with a violation of school board policies,
on weapons, alcohol or drugs, or intentional injury to another person, or with
an offense that is required to be disclosed to the superintendent of the school
division pursuant to subsection G of &#xA7; 16.1-260; (ii) found guilty or not
innocent of an offense relating to the Commonwealth&#8217;s laws on weapons,
alcohol, or drugs, or of a crime that resulted in or could have resulted in
injury to others, or of an offense that is required to be disclosed to the
superintendent of the school division pursuant to subsection G of &#xA7;
16.1-260; (iii) found to have committed a serious offense or repeated offenses
in violation of school board policies; (iv) suspended pursuant to &#xA7;
22.1-277.05; or (v) expelled pursuant to &#xA7; 22.1-277.06, 22.1-277.07, or
22.1-277.08, or subsection C of &#xA7; 22.1-277, to attend an alternative
education program. A school board may require such student to attend such
programs regardless of where the crime occurred. School boards may require any
student who has been found, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this
article, to have been in possession of, or under the influence of, drugs or
alcohol on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity
in violation of school board policies, to undergo evaluation for drug or alcohol
abuse, or both, and, if recommended by the evaluator and with the consent of the
student&#8217;s parent, to participate in a treatment program.
			As used in this section, the term &#8220;charged&#8221; means that a petition
or warrant has been filed or is pending against a pupil.

B. A school board may adopt regulations authorizing the division superintendent
or his designee to require students to attend an alternative education program
consistent with the provisions of subsection A after (i) written notice to the
student and his parent that the student will be required to attend an
alternative education program and (ii) notice of the opportunity for the student
or his parent to participate in a hearing to be conducted by the division
superintendent or his designee regarding such placement. The decision of the
superintendent or his designee regarding such alternative education placement
shall be final unless altered by the school board, upon timely written petition,
as established in regulation, by the student or his parent, for a review of the
record by the school board.

C. A school board may adopt regulations authorizing the principal or his
designee to impose a short-term suspension, pursuant to &#xA7; 22.1-277.04, upon
a student who has been charged with an offense involving intentional injury
enumerated in subsection G of &#xA7; 16.1-260, to another student in the same
school pending a decision as to whether to require that such student attend an
alternative education program.

HISTORY: 1990, c. 835; 1995, cc. 724, 755, 801; 1998, c. 355; 1999, c. 457;
2000, c. 577, § 22.1-277.1; 2001, cc. 688, 820; 2003, c. 119; 2009, c. 208;
2018, c. 585.