AN ACT to amend and reenact section 15.1-19-09 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the suspension and expulsion of kindergarten through grade twelve students.
HB 1223 amends North Dakota law governing school discipline for kindergarten through grade 12 students. The bill requires each school district board to maintain rules on suspension and expulsion, and it preserves the requirement that expulsion hearings include procedural due process and allow a parent or representative to participate. It also keeps existing authority for districts to suspend students for insubordination, habitual indolence, disorderly conduct, or weapons-policy violations.
The bill clarifies and restates the maximum discipline periods: up to 10 days for standard suspensions, up to 20 days for students in certain alternative education programs, and up to 12 months for expulsions. For expulsions, districts must consider the severity of the infraction, the student’s age, and disciplinary history when deciding the length of the expulsion, and they may reduce the term if reinstatement conditions are met. Weapons-policy violations remain a separate basis for expulsion under the referenced due process statute.
HB 1223 updates section 15.1-19-09 of the North Dakota Century Code, affecting school district disciplinary policies statewide. It does not create a new disciplinary framework so much as it refines and reorganizes existing authority over suspension and expulsion, while preserving due process protections and district discretion in determining discipline length. The bill primarily affects school boards, administrators, students, and parents by confirming the standards and limits for exclusion from school.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House unanimously and the Senate with only one dissenting vote, indicating strong legislative agreement on the need to clarify school discipline rules. The absence of committee transcripts or recorded debate suggests there was little visible opposition or extended controversy during consideration.
No major points of contention are evident in the available record. The only sign of disagreement is a single no vote in the Senate, but no explanation is provided. If any concerns existed, they likely centered on the balance between school safety and disciplinary discretion on one hand, and student due process and fairness on the other, especially regarding expulsion length and weapons-policy enforcement.