School board rules and regulations
Section 5-510 of the School Code, empowers the board of school directors to adopt and enforce reasonable rules and regulations regarding the management of school affairs and the conduct and deportment of all employes and students. The rules may apply to employes during the time they are engaged in their duties to the district and to pupils during the time they are under the supervision of the board and teachers, which includes the time coming and returning from school. Section 12.3 of the Regulations of the State Board of Education grants the board authority to make rules governing student conduct in school and requires that the board adopt a code of student conduct.
Rules and regulations for both employes and students must meet these requirements: (a) they must be within constitutional restraints, especially those of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution; (b) they must be within the boundaries imposed by the statutes of the General Assembly and the regulations of the State Board of Education; (c) they must not be arbitrary, capricious or outside the discretion of the board; and (d) they must be fair and reasonable. Reasonableness in regards to rules concerning students is discussed in 22 PA Code § 12.3(b).
School boards must be very careful in drafting and adopting rules and regulations because they may be the basis for the suspension or expulsion of students or the discipline or dismissal of employes, which may result in legal action.
School Code 24 PS § 5-510, §13-1317, and §11-1122
Regulations of the State Board of Education 22 PA Code § 12.3