Section 12.3. School rules

(a) The governing board has the authority to make reasonable and necessary rules governing the conduct of students in school. The rulemaking power, however, is not unlimited; it must operate within statutory and constitutional restraints. A governing board has only those powers that are enumerated in the statutes of the Commonwealth, or that may reasonably be implied or necessary for the orderly operation of the school.

(b) Governing boards may not make rules that are arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory or outside their grant of authority from the General Assembly. A rule is generally considered reasonable if it uses a rational means of accomplishing some legitimate school purpose.

(c) Each governing board shall adopt a code of student conduct that includes policies governing student discipline and a listing of students’ rights and responsibilities as outlined in this chapter. This conduct code shall be published and distributed to students and parents or guardians. Copies of the code shall also be available in each school library.

The provisions of this § 12.3 amended February 17, 1984, effective February 18, 1984, 14 Pa.B. 520; amended December 2, 2005, effective December 3, 2005, 35 Pa.B. 6510, 6658. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (293057).

Notation

Authority

The provisions of this § 12.3 amended under section 2603-B of the Public School Code of 1949 (24 P. S. § 26-2603-B).

Notes of Decisions

Scope of Authority

The board of school directors exceeded its authority in adopting its ‘‘zero tolerance policy,’’ where the policy failed to provide the superintendent with discretion to recommend a modification to the policy’s 1-year expulsion requirement for possession of a weapon. Lyons v. Penn Hills School District, 723 A.2d 1073 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1999); appeal denied 740 A.2d 235 (Pa. 1999).

Sufficient Notice

The District’s distribution of its drug and alcohol policy in the student handbook provided to all students—of which Appellant student acknowledged seeing—satisfied any legal requirement as to notice of the District’s policy. T. S. v. Penn Manor School District, 798 A.2d 837 (Pa Cmwlth. 2002); appeal denied 812 A.2d 1232 (Pa. 2002).