To amend section 3313.534 of the Revised Code with respect to school district policies for violent, disruptive, or inappropriate behavior.

Section 1. That section 3313.534 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3313.534.  No later than July 1, 1998, the (A) The board of education of each city, exempted village, and local school district shall adopt a eliminate any policy of zero tolerance for violent, disruptive, or inappropriate behavior, including excessive truancy, and establish strategies to address such behavior that range from prevention to intervention adopted under this section as it existed prior to the effective date of this amendment. Thereafter, no board shall adopt or readopt any policy of zero tolerance for such behavior. Each board shall instead adopt a policy that allows for many factors to be considered prior to the suspension or expulsion of a student. The policy shall establish alternative strategies, including prevention, intervention, restorative justice, peer mediation, and counseling, to address both of the following:

(1) Discipline for student behavioral problems;

(2) Harassment, intimidation, and bullying, as defined by section 3313.666 of the Revised Code.

(B) No later than July 1, 1999, each of the big eight school districts, as defined in section 3314.02 of the Revised Code, shall establish under section 3313.533 of the Revised Code at least one alternative school to meet the educational needs of students with severe discipline problems, including, but not limited to, excessive truancy, excessive disruption in the classroom, and multiple suspensions or expulsions. Any other school district that attains after that date a significantly substandard graduation rate, as defined by the department of education, shall also establish such an alternative school under that section.

Section 2. That existing section 3313.534 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Section 3. Zero tolerance policies often punish a student with a behavioral problem twice by both expelling that student and preventing that student's education during the expulsion. Therefore, in passing this act, it is the intent of the General Assembly to provide support for students with behavioral problems and to ensure that such students remain in school.