79-267. Student conduct constituting grounds for long-term suspension, expulsion, or mandatory reassignment; enumerated; alternatives for truant or tardy students.

The following student conduct shall constitute grounds for long-term suspension, expulsion, or mandatory reassignment, subject to the procedural provisions of the Student Discipline Act, when such activity occurs on school grounds, in a vehicle owned, leased, or contracted by a school being used for a school purpose or in a vehicle being driven for a school purpose by a school employee or by his or her designee, or at a school-sponsored activity or athletic event:

(1) Use of violence, force, coercion, threat, intimidation, or similar conduct in a manner that constitutes a substantial interference with school purposes;

(2) Willfully causing or attempting to cause substantial damage to property, stealing or attempting to steal property of substantial value, or repeated damage or theft involving property;

(3) Causing or attempting to cause personal injury to a school employee, to a school volunteer, or to any student. Personal injury caused by accident, self-defense, or other action undertaken on the reasonable belief that it was necessary to protect some other person shall not constitute a violation of this subdivision;

(4) Threatening or intimidating any student for the purpose of or with the intent of obtaining money or anything of value from such student;

(5) Knowingly possessing, handling, or transmitting any object or material that is ordinarily or generally considered a weapon;

(6) Engaging in the unlawful possession, selling, dispensing, or use of a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance, as defined in section 28-401, a substance represented to be a controlled substance, or alcoholic liquor as defined in section 53-103.02 or being under the influence of a controlled substance or alcoholic liquor;

(7) Public indecency as defined in section 28-806, except that this subdivision shall apply only to students at least twelve years of age but less than nineteen years of age;

(8) Engaging in bullying as defined in section 79-2,137;

(9) Sexually assaulting or attempting to sexually assault any person if a complaint has been filed by a prosecutor in a court of competent jurisdiction alleging that the student has sexually assaulted or attempted to sexually assault any person, including sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults which occur off school grounds not at a school function, activity, or event. For purposes of this subdivision, sexual assault means sexual assault in the first degree as defined in section 28-319, sexual assault in the second degree as defined in section 28-320, sexual assault of a child in the second or third degree as defined in section 28-320.01, or sexual assault of a child in the first degree as defined in section 28-319.01, as such sections now provide or may hereafter from time to time be amended;

(10) Engaging in any other activity forbidden by the laws of the State of Nebraska which activity constitutes a danger to other students or interferes with school purposes; or

(11) A repeated violation of any rules and standards validly established pursuant to section 79-262 if such violations constitute a substantial interference with school purposes.

It is the intent of the Legislature that alternatives to suspension or expulsion be imposed against a student who is truant, tardy, or otherwise absent from required school activities.

Source

Cross References

Annotations

This section limits a school district's jurisdiction to discipline students for possession of a controlled substance to conduct occurring on school property, at a school-sponsored activity or athletic event, or in a vehicle owned or used by the school for a school purpose. Driving to school was not a school-sponsored event and was not associated with a school-sponsored event, and a high school did not have implied authority to search a student's vehicle parked off campus. J.P. v. Millard Public Schools, 285 Neb. 890, 830 N.W.2d 453 (2013).

This section makes a clear distinction between conduct that occurs on school grounds and conduct that occurs off school grounds. J.P. v. Millard Public Schools, 285 Neb. 890, 830 N.W.2d 453 (2013).

This section sets the limits of a school's authority to discipline students for unlawfully possessing a controlled substance. J.P. v. Millard Public Schools, 285 Neb. 890, 830 N.W.2d 453 (2013).

The subsections of this section are coextensive and a particular instance of student conduct may constitute grounds for discipline under more than one subsection of the statute. A particular instance of student conduct may be punishable under a subsection of this section despite being excepted from the scope of another subsection, so long as the conduct meets the requirements of the subsection under which the school district seeks to discipline the student. Busch ex rel. Knave v. Omaha Pub. Sch. Dist., 261 Neb. 484, 623 N.W.2d 672 (2001).

Under subsection (1) of this section, the term "school purposes" includes the maintenance of an orderly and effective educational system. The use of violence or force to cause personal injury to a school employee who is attempting to prevent or break up a physical confrontation is a substantial interference with school purposes within the meaning of subsection (1) of this section. Busch ex rel. Knave v. Omaha Pub. Sch. Dist., 261 Neb. 484, 623 N.W.2d 672 (2001).

Pursuant to subsection (3) of this section (formerly section 79-4,180), under its usual meaning, an injury caused by accident is one caused accidentally, unintentionally, or unexpectedly. Spencer v. Omaha Pub. Sch. Dist., 252 Neb. 750, 566 N.W.2d 757 (1997).

This section (formerly section 79-4,180) lists the conduct which constitutes grounds for the use of long-term suspension, expulsion, or mandatory reassignment; it does not mandate the use of any one of these forms of punishment. Kolesnick v. Omaha Pub. Sch. Dist., 251 Neb. 575, 558 N.W.2d 807 (1997).