Sec. 1310c.

(1) A school board or its designee shall consider using restorative practices as an alternative or in addition to suspension or expulsion under this act. If a school board or its designee suspends or expels a pupil under this act, the school board or its designee shall consider using restorative practices in addition to suspension or expulsion. If a school board or its designee decides not to suspend or expel a pupil for a disciplinary issue, the school board or its designee shall consider using restorative practices to address the disciplinary issue.

(2) Restorative practices may include victim-offender conferences that are initiated by the victim; that are approved by the victim's parent or legal guardian or, if the victim is at least age 15, by the victim; that are attended voluntarily by the victim, a victim advocate, the offender, members or the school community, and supporters of the victim and the offender; and that provide an opportunity for the offender to accept responsibility for the harm caused to those affected by the misconduct and to participate in setting consequences to repair the harm. The attendees, known as a restorative practices team, may require the pupil to do 1 or more of the following: apologize; participate in community service, restoration, or counseling; or pay restitution. The selected consequences shall be incorporated into an agreement that sets time limits for completion of the consequences and is signed by all participants. Restorative practices should be the first consideration to remediate offenses such as interpersonal conflicts, bullying, verbal and physical conflicts, theft, damage to property, class disruption, and harassment and cyberbullying.

(3) As used in this section:

(a) "Bullying" and "cyberbullying" mean those terms as defined in section 1310b.

(b) "Restorative practices" means practices that emphasize repairing the harm to the victim and the school community caused by a pupil's misconduct.

(c) "School board" means a school board, intermediate school board, or the board of directors of a public school academy.

(d) "School district" means a school district, an intermediate school district, or a public school academy.

History: Add. 2016, Act 361, Eff. Aug. 1, 2017 Popular Name: Act 451