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District Hearing Officer

The Ï㽶ӰÊÓ Hearing Officer is responsible for ensuring that the Code of Conduct is being upheld by students. The Hearing Officer oversees the processes for all students recommended for expulsion and alternative placement.

Student Conduct

Aiken County Public Schools School Board Policy JIC – Student Conduct

The board expects students to conduct themselves in an orderly, courteous, dignified and respectful manner. This requirement refers to their actions toward other students and teachers, their language, their dress and their manners. The board believes self discipline is an interpersonal goal of public education.

Students have a responsibility to know, respect and abide by the policies, rules and regulations of the school and district. Violations of such policies, rules and regulations will result in disciplinary actions. The board directs the administration to establish rules and regulations necessary to create and preserve conditions essential to orderly operation of the schools.  

The board reserves the right to bar from schools those students whose personal appearance is disruptive to the educational process and/or the orderly operation of the schools. The board authorizes its school authorities to employ probation and suspension and to recommend expulsion, if necessary, to enforce this policy.

Procedures, Hearings, and Appeals of Suspensions:

A parent or guardian has a right to one level of appeal above the administrator giving the suspension. The student is entitled to remain in school while the appeal of a suspension recommendation is pending, unless the exclusion of the student for his safety or the safety of others is indicated. For violations in which the assistant principal’s recommendation is suspension, the principal can uphold the recommendation or provide consequences in lieu of suspension. For violations in which the principal’s recommendation is expulsion the hearing officer can uphold the recommendation or provide consequences in lieu of expulsion.

If suspension is necessary, it should be in accordance with the matrix. (If so warranted, in the judgment of the principal, longer suspensions for first offenses of a serious nature may be utilized.) At the discretion of the school administrator, a student who has been suspended may not be allowed to return to school until a conference has occurred between the principal and parent, or guardian. Following a suspension, other consequences may be in order before another suspension is administered.

A student cannot attend any school-related function within or outside the School District while under suspension. Alternative sanctions may be used by the school administrator such as in-school suspension or Saturday school instead of out-of-school suspension if such programs are available. A parent or guardian may be required to come to school and take the student home. In addition to the discipline procedures listed within this code, schools are permitted to impose other restrictions which may impact athletic and/or other extracurricular activities as described in the written school procedures.

Procedures for Administrative Placement at The Center for Innovative Learning (CIL):

In certain circumstances, a student may be placed in the alternative setting after an accumulation of level II infractions with a conference and agreement by both the administration and the parent/guardian. This agreement must be in place prior to the student committing an expellable offense.

Procedures, Hearings, and Appeals of Expulsions:

A recommendation for expulsion will be confirmed by the school level Assistant Superintendent. The Assistant Superintendent may require an additional conference with the parent or guardian before confirming a recommendation for expulsion.

A parent or guardian will be advised of the date and time for a hearing before the Hearing Officer, as provided below. The student and his/her parent or guardian will attend the hearing before the Hearing Officer. Such initial hearing shall take place within fifteen (15) days of the date of the written notification of expulsion, unless waived in writing by the parent or student, either completely or for a later date. If the parent or guardian fails to attend the hearing designated, the expulsion recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Education for ratification. In any hearing, the Hearing Officer, after reviewing the student’s previous record, and in light of extenuating circumstances, may consider consequences other than expulsion and impose various conditions.

Written notice of the Hearing Officer’s decision shall be given to the parent or guardian. All requests for appeal of an expulsion recommendation that has been upheld by the Hearing Officer must be in writing. If no written request for appeal to the Board is made within ten (10) days of the date of the Hearing Officer’s written decision notice to the parent or guardian, the action of the Hearing Officer upholding the recommendation for expulsion will be presented to the Board for ratification. In any expulsion case which is appealed by, or on behalf of, the student to the Board of Education and in which the recommendation for expulsion is upheld by the Board of Education, the parent or guardian has the right to appeal to the courts.

The School Board supplies legal services to school employees who may be required to appear in court as a result of carrying out the policies of the School Board. The Board is not responsible for a parent’s legal expenses.

The hearing will be conducted in an informal manner, but full opportunity will be afforded to the student to be heard and to present such relevant matters as he/she may wish. Such hearings will be private

and not open to the public, unless a public hearing is requested in writing by the parent or guardian. At any hearing, the parents or legal guardian have the right to legal counsel and to all other regular rights, including the right to question all witnesses who appear. However, the cost of such counsel will not be paid by the School District. The parent or guardian shall have the right to appeal the decision of the Hearing Officer upholding an expulsion to the Board of Education. The student and his/her parent or guardian will attend the appeal before the Board. An appeal shall take place at the next Board meeting immediately following receipt of written request to appeal at a time and place designated by the Board, and a decision shall be rendered within ten (10) days of the appeal. The student may be suspended from school and all school activities while the expulsion procedures are pending. An expelled student is not allowed upon any school property (except for appeal procedures, or by prior permission) and may attend any school-related function or athletic events involving Aiken School District students, whether occurring within the School District or at another location.

Any student recommended for expulsion who, as a result of the Hearing Officer’s decision or as a result of an appeal of the Hearing Officer’s decision to the Board of Education, is allowed to return to school on probation will receive a decision letter in which the consequences of the status of probation or strict probation are set forth. In either case, such student will be considered to have violated that probationary status on the occasion of a subsequent suspension or expulsion level offense, or a less than suspension offense if the same violates the terms of the imposed strict probation. Such violation of probation will result in immediate suspension from school and reinstatement of the expulsion recommendation. An appeal of this action may be made to the Hearing Officer or Board of Education, whichever imposed the probation.

Petition for Readmission for School Year Following Expulsion:

Any student expelled for the remainder of a school year, except for one who has been permanently expelled, has to petition for readmission the following school year. The parent or legal guardian of any student seeking to be re-enrolled will schedule a conference with the Hearing Officer for readmission (assuming the readmission itself is not an issue). The Hearing Officer may, where he/she deems it necessary impose certain conditions or restrictions to the student applying for readmission.

Referral to School District Approved Counseling Programs:

At the discretion of the Hearing Officer or the Board of Education, a student may be referred to an approved counseling program in addition to, or as an alternative to, other disciplinary action. The student must complete such program successfully and provide documentation to the principal. Such referrals impose no funding liability upon the School District.

Partnership with The Aiken Center

We value the health and safety of our students in Aiken County Public Schools. Therefore, we take drug and alcohol offenses very seriously. Recent trends show that disciplinary infractions involving drug and alcohol offenses have risen. While we acknowledge that some students may make a choice to try an illegal drug or alcohol, there are consequences for the possession and/or use of these substances on any of our campuses.

An important part of growing up is learning from the mistakes we made. In an effort to help students learn from mistakes involving drugs and/or alcohol, a part of their consequence may be mandatory drug and alcohol counseling. If a student is recommended for expulsion or to an alternative placement at The Center for Innovative Learning at Pinecrest, that student may be assigned to complete counseling and pass a drug screen prior to returning to school. The counseling will be provided at no cost to the district via a partnership with The Aiken Center for Drug and Alcohol Abuse, located at 1105 Gregg Highway, Aiken, SC 29801. The Aiken Center will be billing your insurance for services rendered with the assessment and intervention(s).

Parents, if you suspect that your student has a problem with drugs and/or alcohol, you may contact us at any time at hearing@acpsd.net or 803-641-2428 and we will work with you to gain help for your child.