To repeal section 160.261, RSMo Supp. 1995, relating to the discipline policy established by local boards of education, and to enact one new section relating to the same subject.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI,

AS FOLLOWS:

Section A. Section 160.261, RSMo Supp. 1995, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 160.261, to read as follows:

160.261. 1. The local board of education of each school district shall establish a policy of discipline, a written copy of which shall be made available in the office of the superintendent of such district, during normal business hours, for public inspection. The school board shall establish and maintain a parent-teacher advisory committee which shall develop proposed policy guidelines on pupil discipline and submit such guidelines to the school board. The school board shall require each school in the district, at the beginning of each school year, to inform all pupils attending the school of the contents of the policy on discipline. The advisory committee shall consult with all local law enforcement agencies in the district, develop proposed policy guidelines to establish and maintain a reciprocal reporting system between the school district and local law enforcement agencies regarding criminal offenses committed by students or others on school-controlled property and submit such guidelines to the school board. The policy on discipline shall provide for a reporting system regarding criminal offenses committed by students or others on school-controlled property.

2. The policy shall contain the consequences of failure to obey standards of conduct set by the local board of education, and the importance of the standards to the maintenance of an atmosphere where orderly learning is possible and encouraged.

3. The policy shall provide for a suspension for a period of not less than one year for a student who is determined to have brought a weapon to school in violation of district policy, except that:

(1) The superintendent, or in a school district with no high school, the principal of the school which such child attends may modify such suspension on a case-by-case basis; and

(2) This section shall not prevent the school district from providing educational services in an alternative setting to a student suspended under the provisions of this section.

4. For the purpose of this section, the term "weapon" shall mean a "firearm" as defined under 18 U.S.C. 921.

5. All school district personnel responsible for the care and supervision of students are authorized to hold every pupil strictly accountable for any disorderly conduct in school or on any property of the school, on any school bus going to or returning from school, during school-sponsored activities, or during intermission or recess periods.

6. Teachers and other authorized district personnel in public schools responsible for the care, supervision, and discipline of school children, including volunteers selected with reasonable care by the school district, shall not be civilly liable when acting in conformity with the established policy of discipline developed by each board under this section.

7. Spanking, when administered by certificated personnel of a school district in a reasonable manner in accordance with the local board of education's written policy of discipline, is not abuse within the meaning of chapter 210, RSMo. The provisions of sections 210.110 to 210.165, RSMo, notwithstanding, the division of family services shall not have jurisdiction over or investigate any report of alleged child abuse arising out of or related to any spanking administered in a reasonable manner by any certificated school personnel pursuant to a written policy of discipline established by the board of education of the school district. Upon receipt of any reports of child abuse by the division of family services pursuant to sections 210.110 to 210.165, RSMo, which allegedly involves personnel of a school district, the division of family services shall notify the superintendent of schools of the district or, if the person named in the alleged incident is the superintendent of schools, the president of the school board of the school district where the alleged incident occurred. If, after an initial investigation, the superintendent of schools or the president of the school board finds that the report involves an alleged incident of child abuse other than the administration of a spanking by certificated school personnel pursuant to a written policy of discipline or a report made for the sole purpose of harassing a public school employee, the superintendent of schools or the president of the school board shall immediately refer the matter back to the division of family services and take no further action. In all matters referred back to the division of family services, the division of family services shall treat the report in the same manner as other reports of alleged child abuse received by the division. If the report pertains to an alleged incident which arose out of or is related to a spanking administered by certificated personnel of a school district pursuant to a written policy of discipline or a report made for the sole purpose of harassing a public school employee, a notification of the reported child abuse shall be sent by the superintendent of schools or the president of the school board to the juvenile officer of the county in which the alleged incident occurred and the report shall be jointly investigated by the juvenile officer and the superintendent of schools or, if the subject of the report is the superintendent of schools, by the juvenile officer and the president of the school board or his designee. The investigation shall begin no later than forty-eight hours after notification from the division of family services is received, and shall consist of, but need not be limited to, interviewing and recording statements of the child and his or her parents or guardian within forty-eight hours after the start of the investigation, of the school district personnel allegedly involved in the report, and of any witnesses to the alleged incident. The juvenile officer and the investigating school district personnel shall issue separate reports of their findings and recommendations after the conclusion of the investigation to the school board of the school district within seven days after receiving notice from the division of family services. The reports shall contain a statement of conclusion as to whether the report of alleged child abuse is substantiated or is unsubstantiated. The school board shall consider the separate reports and shall issue its findings and conclusions and the action to be taken, if any, within seven days after receiving the last of the two reports. The findings and conclusions shall be made in substantially the following form:

(1) The report of the alleged child abuse is unsubstantiated. The juvenile officer and the investigating school board personnel agree that the evidence shows that no abuse occurred;

(2) The report of the alleged child abuse is substantiated. The juvenile officer and the investigating school district personnel agree that the evidence is sufficient to support a finding that the alleged incident of child abuse did occur;

(3) The issue involved in the alleged incident of child abuse is unresolved. The juvenile officer and the investigating school personnel are unable to agree on their findings and conclusions on the alleged incident.

8. The findings and conclusions of the school board shall be sent to the division of family services. If the findings and conclusions of the school board are that the report of the alleged child abuse is unsubstantiated, the investigation shall be terminated, the case closed, and no record shall be entered in the division of family services central registry. If the findings and conclusions of the school board are that the report of the alleged child abuse is substantiated, the division of family services shall report the incident to the prosecuting attorney of the appropriate county along with the findings and conclusions of the school district and shall include the information in the division's central registry. If the findings and conclusions of the school board are that the issue involved in the alleged incident of child abuse is unresolved, the division of family services shall report the incident to the prosecuting attorney of the appropriate county along with the findings and conclusions of the school board, however, the incident and the names of the parties allegedly involved shall not be entered into the central registry of the division of family services unless and until the alleged child abuse is substantiated by a court of competent jurisdiction.

9. Any superintendent of schools, president of a school board or his designee, or juvenile officer who knowingly falsifies any report of any matter pursuant to this section or who knowingly withholds any information relative to any investigation or report pursuant to this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.