Clarke County School District Board of Education members did not approve the new code of student conduct at the work session Thursday night. Some worried that a single word in the code would allow for discrimination against students.
District 2 board member Mary Bagby voiced concern about the use of the word “discretion” in the code of conduct.
“The word discretion opens the door for discrimination," Bagby said. "I want it out. The law should be the law. The rules should be the rules."
The current code allows for principals and other administrators to discipline students at their discretion. Bagby said discretion should not be used for deciding which students to punish, as it allows for bias.
Board member Mark Evans disagreed with Bagby.
“If we don’t have the word discretion in there, we don’t allow our principals to deal with the human being in front of them," Evans said.
The board pulled the student code of conduct from the consent agenda in order to review each of the six instances that the word “discretion” is used.
The board needs to approve the code by the end of spring in order to have it ready for the 2026-27 school year.
