Iowa City schools to revise policy addressing student physical aggression

IOWA CITY — A policy revision in the Iowa City Community School District would better define physical aggression of students toward staff and clarify disciplinary action.

The proposed revisions — to the Iowa City district’s policy 503.8 — are expected to go to the policy and governance committee next month before being voted on by the school board.

The revision aims to ensure alignment with the district’s comprehensive behavior approach plan and include detailed examples of physical aggression to help administrators consistently determine whether an incident involves injury.

The proposed policy change was presented Tuesday at a board work session on the district’s “continuum of services,” which are supports, placements and settings available for students with disabilities from least restrictive to most restrictive, ensuring each student receives education in the least restrictive environment as required by law.

School officials have been reviewing the district’s continuum of services for the last couple of months to explore how special education students and the teachers who serve them can be better supported in the classroom.

In addition to revising the policy, school officials are reviewing data to identify trends and potential needs of students. The data includes office discipline referrals, specifically incidents of physical aggression with or without injury or serious bodily injury; employee accident reports involving intentional student contact; and seclusion and restraint reports.

Ongoing work includes:

Least restrictive environment ensures students with disabilities are educated alongside their nondisabled peers to the greatest extent appropriate and that students receive necessary services like paraeducators to help them be successful.

139 instances of students injuring staff last year

Evaluating district policies around physical aggression follows an Iowa City school board meeting in September where a dozen people spoke on behalf of Aspen Lohman, a teacher who says she was harmed by a student.

Lohman went on leave in February after she was repeatedly injured by a student, resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder, acute panic attacks and depression.

During the 2024-25 school year, there were 139 reported instances of students injuring staff members. Almost all of the staff injuries were by students with individualized education plans, or IEPs, which are legal documents for a students with disabilities that outline their educational goals and the services, support and accommodations they need to succeed in school.

The majority of these injuries happened at the elementary school level and 22 injuries happened at the secondary level. There were 106 staff members injured across those incidents.

Seventy-five percent of staff injured are in special education positions. About 18 of the events happened in second grade classrooms. More than 25 percent of major office referrals are for kindergartners.

Eleven of the injuries required outside medical attention and six biting incidents required outside medical attention.

How does the policy define physical aggression?

Draft language of the policy defines physical aggression toward staff without injury, with injury and with serious bodily injury.

“Without injury” is defined as a student engaging in serious physical contact with staff that does not result in the need for medical attention.

“With injury” is defined as a student engaging in serious physical contact with staff that requires the staff member to receive medical attention.

“With serious bodily injury” is defined as a student engaging in serious physical contact with staff that results in injuries requiring off-site professional medical treatment for one or more of the following:

Examples of serious physical contact included in the proposed policy include hitting, punching, kicking, hair pulling, scratching or striking with an object.

If a staff member is injured during any behavioral incidents:

The draft language of the policy could change before being reviewed by the policy and governance committee.

What disciplinary action is taken for physical aggression?

Proposed revisions to board policy 503.8 align with the district’s comprehensive behavior approach plan, which has three levels addressing physical aggression, with level one being the most egregious.

Disciplinary action for a level one violation includes up to five days out of school suspension and possibly online learning placement for middle and high school students.

A violation of level two results in up to three days of out of school suspension, depending on the severity, frequency and disruption to the school environment.

A level three violation could result in one day out of school suspension, detention or intervention depending on the severity, premeditation, frequency and disruption to the school environment.

Level one and level two violations could result in police involvement if help is needed to ensure the safety of the school environment or to restore order.

For any of the levels, a student with a specialized education plan who violates the policy requires a meeting to review their plan and ensure they are receiving the supports needed.

In the event of a threat or incident of violence resulting in injury, property damage or assault, an administrator must contact all involved families within 24 hours.

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