DANVILLE — District 118 says their goal to is to use student intervention to reduce suspensions and expulsions by 15%.
District 118 board member, Chris Easton, addressed the board and public regarding student discipline before the board went into what Darlene Halloran, Board President, called a ‘lengthy meeting’ in closed session.
“I noticed that one of our students was suspended for 10 days, and the reason was horseplay,” Easton said. “Ten days seems a little excessive … but there’s no single explicit definition of horseplay in the Illinois School code.”
Easton said he then viewed the school code for student discipline and requested to remove the word ‘horseplay’ from the handbook.
“What I’m asking for is for us to consider getting rid of the word horseplay, because I think it’s not precise enough, and I hope our administrators will stop using it, because I think it’s not a good descriptor,” Easton said. “Horseplay is this fighting, roughhousing, or joking physical behavior, non-serious physical contact without intent to harm, or behavior that is inappropriate or disruptive, even if not malicious.”
Easton added he did not understand why a student was punished for over a week.
“I’d like to know more specifically what caused such a punishment,” Easton said. “Many of us, if you recall your childhood, were not punished for 10 days by your parents for very many things, and that’s all I’ll say about that.”
Halloran replied to Easton before going to executive session to discuss discipline matters.
“I think in your three suggestions you had to use instead of horseplay, the first two don’t cut it for me, because they don’t also seem to rise to the level of suspension,” Halloran said. “The first two, the last one, where there might be injury, that’s a different thing altogether. So I would, I would approve of that.”
“There will be no votes in closed session,” Halloran added. “There never is, but we have a lot of business that we have to talk about, and so at this time, we’ll adjourn to closed session… We do have a discipline case. We will come back to open session for discipline.”