School board disciplines 2 additional Ames High students in second special session in less than a week

The Ames Community School District board of directors convened in a special session for the second time in less than five days Monday, approving consent expulsion agreements for two high school students.

The board deliberated with the students in a two-hour special closed session for reasons not disclosed to the Ames Tribune.

"A consent expulsion agreement is one in which the family of a student accepts and submits to whatever terms the district deems appropriate in the matter," Amy DeLashmutt, director of communications at Ames CSD, said. "It's an agreeing to the terms that are laid out by the district."

The students were referred to as "Student D" and "Student E" when the board returned to open session on Oct. 30.

The board would not confirm if the agreements meant the students were expelled from school or not.

"(A consent expulsion agreement) can have a variety of outcomes," School Board President Sabrina Shields-Cook said. "You can't assume the meaning based on the title."

The board expelled two students following a four-hour closed session on Oct. 26.

More: Ames school board expels students after four-hour special session

Board disciplined five students in five days

Monday night was the board's second closed-session meeting for student disciplinary action in less than a week. The board held a special meeting to discipline three Ames High School students Thursday, Oct. 26, a meeting which went well beyond the four-hour mark. Two of the students − referred to on record as "Student A" and "Student C" − were expelled for the remainder of the school year, and a consent expulsion agreement was approved for "Student B."

The board would not confirm if the recent expulsions or expulsion agreements were related to an incident at the high school two weeks ago.

The Ames Police Department filed an incident report for a physical assault at the high school on Oct. 17, of which videos of the altercation have circulated across social media. The police department has refused to release additional information for the altercation involving multiple juveniles, noting that the case also remains under investigation.

No criminal charges have been handed out, according to the Ames PD.

More: Multiple fights break out at Ames High School, videos circulate on social media

New reporting tool introduced in Ames school district

The Ames school district has launched an anonymous reporting tool, P3 Campus, to help curtail physical violence. The app allows users to submit concerns about safety within the school or student well-being.

"This (app) empowers anyone within our school community or the (Ames) community in general to report their concerns regarding safety in our schools," DeLashmutt, said. "If people see something, we want them to say something and report that."

The school district encourages community members to use the anonymous tool as well. Keeping the Ames' schools safe, DeLashmutt said, is a joint effort requiring help from the entire community.

"It's important for our students, our staff, our parents and our community to know that we take student disciplinary matters very seriously," DeLashmutt said. "We take safety in our schools very seriously as well.

She added, "It's getting back to having that atmosphere of a safe, educational environment. That's why our students are here, and we want to make sure they have an environment where they can thrive and learn and be prepared for their futures."

Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education report for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Two additional Ames High disciplined by school board