Hoover school officials are proposing changes to their code of conduct that include a prohibition against racist or sexist conduct or language, whether it occurs on or off campus or at school events.
This comes after a video was released online in March showing Hoover and Spain Park high school students making racist and anti-Semitic comments in someone’s home.
In the video, one student said that without the Holocaust, Jews would be running the world. Other students used racial slurs against black people, saying that they needed them gone and that they should be placed in concentration camps. The video was shared broadly across the country and sparked outrage.
Schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy said then that she was sad and disappointed that young people would have such attitudes but said she had no control over things people choose to do outside of the school system’s jurisdiction.
A proposed change in the code of conduct would make it a class 3 infraction for a student to engage in any conduct or language “that has the purpose or effect (or that could be reasonably perceived as having the purpose or effect) or disparaging, insulting, degrading, or demeaning any person or class of persons based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or any other trait or characteristic that enjoys protection from discrimination or harassment as a matter of law or board policy — including but not limited to emails, social media postings and other forms of communication that creates or substantially contributes to disruption in the school setting, whether or not it takes place on school property or at a school-related event, and whether or not it was intended as a private communication or for a limited audience.”
School officials also propose to spell out in the code of conduct a disciplinary option for class 3 infractions that has been in practice but not in the code: prohibiting students from attending extra-curricular activities or a graduation ceremony.
Other options for class 3 infractions already in place include placement in alternative school, expulsion, permanent removal from a school bus and revocation of technology privileges.
Assistant Superintendent Tera Simmons shared these and other proposed changes in the code of conduct with the Hoover school board Tuesday night. Murphy said she plans to ask the school board to approve the changes at its meeting on June 4 but is open to any questions or discussions school board members want to have regarding the proposed changes.
The school board’s attorney helped draft the language for the proposed changes, and the changes have been forwarded to the U.S. Department of Justice and NAACP Legal Defense Fund for their review as well, Murphy said.
There were many other changes recommended in the code of conduct, including:
- Altering the school system’s policy against bullying to include conduct or threats that occur off school property if it substantially disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school.
- Altering the dress code to prohibit visors and halter or spaghetti straps unless worn underneath clothing that complies with the dress code, and to require that undergarments such as bras, bra straps and camis be covered.
- Altering the dress code to prohibit pajamas and leisure pants and to require that all yoga pants, tights and leggings cover students' hips, bottom and undergarments and be covered by shorts, skirts, shirts or dresses that completely cover the student's hips and bottom. Also, legs could not be exposed any higher than the tip of the student's fingers while their arms are resting at their side.
- Amending the prohibition against unauthorized use or sale of alcoholic beverages to include any substance with alcohol content.
- Adding CBD (cannabidiol) products, counterfeit money, mace and other tactical sprays/weapons to the list of prohibited substances or items. Possession of CBD products or counterfeit money would be a class 2 offense, and possession of mace or other tactical sprays/weapons would be a class 3 offense.
- Decreasing the amount of time that must pass before elementary student’s slate of class 1 violations is wiped clean. Currently, students in grades K-5 have their record reset every 25 days. The proposal is to wipe the slate clean every 10 days for K-2 students and every 20 days for students in grades 3-5. Seven class 1 offenses within those timeframes would result in a class 2 infraction.
- Resetting discipline records every two years regarding the length of time students are placed in the Second Chance alternative school. Now, students can be placed in the Second Chance program for 45 days for their first class 3 offense, 90 days for their second class 3 offense and 180 days for their third class 3 offense. The proposal would restart that count if two years pass without a class 3 offense.
- Adding “restorative justice” as a possible disciplinary consequence for class 2 offenses. Restorative justice can include projects or “restorative circles” for students to talk about issues, Simmons said.
- Allowing parents to have an attorney present during an appeal regarding placement in the Second Chance program, but only if the parent provides notice that an attorney will be present 48 hours in advance.
- Allowing the superintendent or his/her designee to skip a due process hearing regarding a principal’s recommendation for expulsion and send the issue directly to the school board for a hearing.
- Defining defiance as a “confrontational or derogatory response or non-compliant response to the directive given by an adult” or “refusing to follow a reasonable request of a HCS (Hoover City Schools) employee.”
- Making any theft a class 2 offense for K-5 students and raising the threshold for making theft a class 3 offense for students in grades 6-12 from $100 to $250.
- Adding out-of-school suspension as an optional discipline for class 3 offenses for K-5 students.
- Making a parking violation a class 2 offense for students in grades 6-12.
- Limiting the number of excused check-ins or check-outs with a parent note to nine per semester.
- Requiring students to begin attending the Second Chance alternative school even if appealing that placement.
- Allowing students who are on senior release or in a co-op program and on track to graduate with their cohorts the same release time if in the Second Chance alternative school.
- Making students who commit class 3 offenses ineligible to attend the Riverchase Career Connection Center for the remainder of that school year, but allowing them to reapply the following year.
This article was updated to add additional proposed changes to the dress code and to clarify several other proposed changes to the code of conduct.
