Arizona Laws 15-153. Crime reporting; policies and procedures; notification; discipline
A. Each school district governing board and charter school governing body shall prescribe and enforce policies and procedures for school personnel to report any suspected crime against a person or property that is a serious offense as defined in section 13-706 or that involves a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument or serious physical injury and any conduct that poses a threat of death or serious physical injury to an employee, student or other person on the school property. The policies shall dictate a process for employees to document and report the conduct, including specifying the employees responsible for making a report to the local law enforcement agency pursuant to section 15-341, subsection A, paragraph 30. Conduct that is considered to be bullying, harassment or intimidation shall be addressed according to policies adopted pursuant to section 15-341, subsection A, paragraph 36.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 15-153
- Charter school: means a public school established by contract with the state board of education, the state board for charter schools, a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, a community college district or a group of community college districts pursuant to article 8 of this chapter to provide learning that will improve pupil achievement. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
- Governing board: means a body organized for the government and management of the schools within a school district or a county school superintendent in the conduct of an accommodation school. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Parent: means the natural or adoptive parent of a child or a person who has custody of a child. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association or public or private organization of any kind. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- public school: means any public institution established for the purposes of offering instruction to pupils in programs for preschool children with disabilities, kindergarten programs or any combination of elementary grades or secondary grades one through twelve. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- School district: means a political subdivision of this state with geographic boundaries organized for the purpose of the administration, support and maintenance of the public schools or an accommodation school. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Subject: means a division or field of organized knowledge, such as English or mathematics, or a selection from an organized body of knowledge for a course or teaching unit, such as the English novel or elementary algebra. See Arizona Laws 15-101
B. Each school district governing board and charter school governing body shall prescribe and enforce policies and procedures that require the school district or charter school to notify the parent or guardian of each student who is involved in a suspected crime or any conduct that is described in subsection A of this section, subject to the requirements of federal law.
C. On or before January 1, 2020, each school district or charter school shall post the policies and procedures prescribed by this section on its website. If the school district or charter school maintains an online manual of policies and procedures, the school district or charter school may post a link to that manual with a reference to the appropriate policies and procedures.
D. A person who violates subsection A of this section may be disciplined for violating the policies of the school district governing board or charter school governing body pursuant to section 15-341, subsection A, paragraphs 21 and 22, and, notwithstanding section 15-341, subsection A, paragraphs 21 and 22, may be subject to dismissal. Each school district governing board and charter school governing body shall prescribe and enforce policies and procedures that require the school district or charter school to maintain a record on any person who is disciplined pursuant to this subsection and, on request, shall make that record available to any public school, school district governing board or charter school governing body that is considering hiring that person.
E. By July 1, 2020, the department of education shall develop a process to verify that each school district and charter school has adopted the policies and procedures required by this section.
F. Beginning January 21, 2020, a school district or charter school that has not adopted the policies and procedures required by this section is not eligible to apply for school safety program grants pursuant to section 15-154.