Following the January suicide of a 15 year old student at Woodson High, Fairfax County Public Schools’ discipline issues have been under review. At a news briefing on Mar. 30, Superintendent Jack Dale proposed ten major changes to the student discipline process. These include audio recording all disciplinary hearings and shortening the timeline between incidents and the decision.
“About four or five years ago, we put in place what we call positive behavior and intervention support, PBIS,” said Dale. “It’s basically a notion of teaching kids appropriate behavior in school.”
The School Board will meet to make changes and revise the Student Responsibilities and Rights handbook at its next conference on May 16. For more information on the recommended changes, the list of recommendations and two video interviews with Jack Dale are available on the FCPS website.