HB 1139 Summary: Student Discipline Reform

• Replaces "code of student conduct" with "standards for intervention" that emphasize understanding causes of misbehavior, restorative justice practices, and keeping students in school rather than exclusionary discipline for minor infractions.

• Prohibits exclusionary discipline for petty acts of misconduct (tardiness, dress code violations, minor disruptions) and requires documented interventions before suspension/expulsion, with exceptions only when student safety is threatened.

• Requires school resource officers and safety officers to arrest students only for serious threats to school safety after consulting with principals and attempting interventions; prohibits arrests for petty misconduct unless necessary to protect physical safety.

• Mandates law enforcement cooperative agreements with schools that distinguish between serious offenses requiring reporting and petty misdemeanors that should be handled within school discipline systems; requires training on child development, cultural differences, and restorative justice.

• Requires districts to provide funding for restorative justice practices, hire support staff (counselors, social workers), meaningfully involve communities in discipline policy creation, and use alternatives to expulsion unless school safety is threatened.