STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT

The Student Code of Conduct is the district’s response to the requirements of Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code.

The Code provides methods and options for managing students in the classroom and on school grounds, disciplining students, and preventing and intervening in student discipline problems. The law requires the district to define misconduct that may – or must – result in a range of specific disciplinary consequences including removal from a regular classroom or campus, suspension, placement in a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP), or expulsion from school.

This Code of Conduct has been adopted by the Paradise ISD Board of Trustees and developed with the advice of the district – level committee. This Code provides information to parents and students regarding standards of conduct, consequences of misconduct, and procedures for administering discipline.

In accordance with state law, the Code will be posted at each school campus or will be available for review at the office of the campus principal. Parents will be notified of any conduct violation that may result in a student being suspended, placed in DAEP, or expelled.

Because the Student Code of Conduct is adopted by the district’s board of trustees, it has the force of policy; therefore, in case of conflict between the Code and the student handbook, the Code will prevail.

Please Note:

The discipline of students with disabilities who are eligible for services under federal law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) is subject to the provisions of those laws.

Table of Contents

SCHOOL DISTIRCT AUTHORITY AND JURISDICTION ……………....... 3 REMOVAL FROM THE REGULAR EDUCATION SETTING….............14

STANDARDS FOR STUDENT CONDUCT........................................... 4 Discretionary Removal…………………………………………….14

GENERAL MISCONDUCT VIOLATIONS............................................. 4 Formal Removal……………………………………………………14

DISCIPLINE MANGAGEMENT TECHNIQUES.................................... 6 Suspension…………………………………………………………15

Students with Disabilities........................................................... 7

In School Suspension (ISS)....................................................... 7 DISCIPLINARY ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM (DAEP)…. 15

Discipline Procedures................................................................ 8 Discretionary Placement ………………………………………….16

Minor Offenses......................................................................... 8 Mandatory Placement …………………………………………….16

Jurisdiction............................................................................... 8 Newly Enrolled Students………………………………………….19

Emergency Placement……………………………………………20

GENERAL INFORMATION................................................................ 9 Placements and/or Expulsion for Certain Serious Offenses….. 20

Alcohol and Drug Use................................................................ 9

Assaults.................................................................................. 10 EXPULSION……………………………………………………………….. 21

Care of School Property............................................................. 10 Discretionary Expulsion…………………………………………. 21

Cell Phones, Text Messaging Devises, Pagers, etc...................... 10 Mandatory Expulsion……………………………………………. 22

Penalty for Violation.................................................................. 10 Emergency Expulsion…………………………………………… 25

Disruptions............................................................................... 10

Dress Code.............................................................................. 11 GLOSSARY……………………………………………………………….. 26

Hazing..................................................................................... 12

Prior Review............................................................................. 12

Publications and Prior Review.................................................... 12

Sexual Harassment / Sexual Abuse........................................... 13

Tardiness................................................................................. 14

Weapons................................................................................. 14

SCHOOL DISTICT AUTHORITY AND JURISDICTION

School rules and the authority of the district to administer discipline apply whenever the interest of the district is involved, on or off school grounds, in conjunction with or independent of classes and school-sponsored activities.

The district has disciplinary authority over a student:

1. During the regular school day and while the student is going to and from school on district transportation

2. During lunch periods in which are restricted to on-campus dining.

3. While the student is in attendance at any school-related activity, regardless of time or location

4. For any school-related misconduct, regardless of time or location

5. When retaliation against a school employee or volunteer occurs or is threatened, regardless of time or location.

6. When criminal mischief is committed on or off school property or at a school-related event

7. For certain offenses committed within 300 feet of school property as measured from any point on the school’s real property boundary line.

8. For certain offenses committed while on school property or while attending a school-sponsored or school-related activity of another district in Texas.

9. When the student commits a felony, as provided by Education Code 37.006 or 37.0081 and

10. When the student is required to register as a sex offender

The district has the right to search a vehicle driven to school by a student and parked on school property whenever there is reasonable cause to believe it contains articles or materials prohibited by the district.

The district has the right to search a student’s locker when there is a reasonable cause to believe it contains articles or materials prohibited by the district.

School administrators will report crimes as required by law and will call local law enforcement when an administrator suspects that a crime has been committed on campus.

The school district has the right to revoke the transfer of a non-resident student for violating the district’s Code.

STANDARDS FOR STUDENT CONDUCT

Each student is expected to:

1. Demonstrate courtesy, even when others do not.

2. Behave in a responsible manner, always exercising self-discipline.

3. Attend all classes, regularly and on time.

4. Prepare for each class; take appropriate materials and assignments to class.

5. Meet district and campus standards of grooming and dress.

6. Obey all campus and classroom rules.

7. Respect the rights and privileges of students, teachers, and other district staff and volunteers.

8. Respect the property of others, including district property and facilities.

9. Cooperate with and assist the school staff in maintaining safety, order, and discipline.

10. Adhere to the requirements of the Student Code of Conduct.

GENERAL MISCONDUCT VIOLATIONS

The categories of conduct below are prohibited at school and all school-related activities, but the list does not include the most serious offenses. In the subsequent sections on Suspension, DAEP Placement, and Expulsion, severe offenses that require or permit specific consequences are listed. Any offense, however, may be serious enough to result in removal from the regular educational setting as detailed in that section.

Students shall not:

· Cheat or copy the work of another

· Throw objects that can cause bodily injury or property damage.

· Fail to comply with directives given by school personnel (insubordination).

· Leave school grounds or school-sponsored events without permission.

· Disobey rules for conduct on school buses.

· Refuse to accept discipline management techniques assigned by a teacher or principal.

· Use profanity, vulgar language, or obscene gestures toward other students or district employees.

· Fight or scuffle. (For assault see DAEP Placement and Expulsion)

· Threaten a district student, employee, or volunteer, including off school property if the conduct causes a substantial disruption to the educational environment.

· Engage in bullying, harassment, or making hit list.

· Engage in conduct that constitutes sexual harassment or sexual abuse, whether by work, gesture, or any other conduct, directed toward another person, including a district student, employee, or volunteer.

· Engage in conduct that constitutes dating violence, including the intentional use of physical, sexual, verbal, or emotional abuse to harm, threaten, intimidate, or control another person with whom the student has or has had a dating relationship.

· Engage in inappropriate or indecent exposure of private body parts.

· Participate in hazing.

· Cause an individual to act through the use of or threat of force (coercion).

· Commit extortion or blackmail (obtaining money or an object of value from an unwilling person).

· Steal from students, staff, or the school.

· Damage or vandalize property owned by others.

· Deface or damage school property – including textbooks, lockers, furniture, and other equipment – with graffiti or by other means.

(Parents or guardians of the students guilty of damaging school property shall be liable for damages in accordance with the law. Students shall be responsible for the care and return of state-owned textbooks and library books and may be charged for the replacement of lost books.)

· Possess fireworks of any kind, smoke or stink bombs, or any other pyrotechnic device.

· Discharge a fire extinguisher.

· Possessing razors, switchblades, box cutters, chains, or any other object used in a way that threatens or inflicts bodily injury to another person.

· Possessing or selling “look-alike” weapons.

· Possess air guns or BB guns.

· Possess ammunition.

· Possess a stun gun.

· Possess a pocketknife.

· Possessing mace or pepper spray.

· Possessing or using articles not generally considered being weapons, including school supplies, when the principal or designee determines that a danger exists.

· Gamble.

· Make false threats, hoaxes, or accusations regarding school safety.

· Falsify records, passes, or other school-related documents.

· Engage in disruptive actions or demonstrations that substantially disrupt or materially interfere with school activities.

· Record the voice or image of another without the prior consent of the individuals being recorded or in any way that disrupts the educational environment or invades the privacy of others.

· Committing or assisting in a robbery or theft that does not constitute a felony according to the Texas Penal Code. (Felony robbery or theft offenses are addressed later in the student Code of Conduct.)

· Bully other students including intimidation by name-calling, using ethnic or racial slurs, or derogatory statements that could disrupt the school program or incite violence.

· Engage in threatening behavior toward another student or District employee on or off school property.

· Engage in harassment motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, disability, or age and directed toward another student or District employee.

· Engage in any misbehavior that gives school officials reasonable cause to believe that such conduct will substantially disrupt the school program or incite violence (see “Disruptions”, Code of Conduct).

· Engage in inappropriate verbal, physical, or sexual contact directed toward another student or District employee.

· Engage in conduct that constitutes sexual harassment or sexual abuse whether the conduct is by word, gesture, or any other sexual conduct, including requests for sexual favors directed toward another student or District employee. (See “Sexual Harassment/Sexual Abuse”, Handbook)

· Inappropriate or indecent exposure of a student’s private body parts to other students or district employees.

· Possess or use matches or a lighter.

· Possess, smoke, or use tobacco products.

· Possess or sell look-alike drugs or items attempted o be passes off as drugs and contraband.

· Possess or sell seeds or pieces of marijuana in less than a useable amount.

· Possess, use, give, or sell paraphernalia related to any prohibited substance.

· Abuse the student’s own prescription drug, give a prescription drug to another student, or be under the influence of another person’s prescription drug on school property or at a school-related event.

· Violate the District’s policy on taking prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs at school.

· Display, turn on, or using a cellular telephone or other telecommunications device on school property during the school day.

· Possess or use a laser pointer for other than an approved use.

· Violate computer use policies, rules, or agreements signed by the student, and/or agreements signed by the student’s parent or guardian.

· Attempt to access or circumvent passwords or other security-related information of the district, students, or employees or upload or create computer viruses, including off school property if the conduct causes a substantial disruption to the educational environment.

· Attempt to alter, destroy, or disable district computer equipment, district data, the data of others, or other networks connected to the district’s system including off school property if the conduct causes a substantial disruption to the educational environment.

· Use the Internet to threaten students, employees, or cause disruption to the education al program.

· Send or post a message that is abusive, obscene, sexually oriented, threatening, harassing, damaging to another’s reputation, or illegal.

· Engage in verbal or written exchanges that threaten the safety of another student, a school employee, or school property.

· Possess published or electronic material that is designed to promote or encourage illegal behavior or could threaten school safety, using e-mail or Web sites at school to encourage illegal behavior, or threatening school safety.

· Possess material that is pornographic.

· Violate dress and grooming standards as communicated in the student handbook.

· Violate extracurricular standards of behavior.

· Repeatedly violate other communicated campus or classroom standards of behavior.

· Bringing materials to school that are not used in the educational process and are a distraction to the process such as: playing cards, baseball cards, tape players, cassettes, video games, and videos.

The district may impose campus or classroom rules in addition to those found in the Code. These rules may be posted in classrooms or given to the student an may or may not constitute violations of the Code.

General Misconduct identified in the Student Code of Conduct will result in application of one or more discipline management techniques consistent with law and the Student Code of Conduct.

The principal or appropriate administrator will notify a student’s parent by phone or in writing of any violation of the Student Code of Conduct that may result in a suspension, removal to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP), or expulsion. Notification will be made within three school days after the administrator becomes aware of the violation.

Students with disabilities are subject applicable state and federal law in addition to the Student Code of Conduct. To the extent any conflict exists, state and/or federal law will prevail.

DISCIPLINE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

The following discipline management techniques may be used – alone or in combination – for misbehavior violating the Student Code of Conduct of campus or classroom rules:

· Verbal or written correction

· Cooling-off time of “time-out”

· Seating changes within the classroom.

· Counseling by teachers, counselors, or administrative personnel

· Parent-teacher conferences

· Temporary confiscation of items that disrupt the educational process

· Rewards or demerits

· Behavioral contracts

· Detention

· After school community service

· In school suspension/community service

· Recommendation for expulsion

· Sending the student to the office or other assigned area, or to in-school suspension

· Out-of-school suspension

· Placement in a disciplinary Alternative Education Program

· Assigned school duties such as scrubbing desks or picking up litter, etc….

· Withdrawal of privileges, such as participation in extracurricular activities and eligibility for seeking and holding honorary offices, and/or membership in school-sponsored clubs of organizations

· Techniques or penalties identified in individual student organizations’ extracurricular standards of behavior.

· Withdrawal or restriction of bus privileges

· School-assessed and school-administered probation

· Corporal punishment

· Grade reduction for cheating, plagiarism, and as otherwise permitted by policy.

· Referral to outside agency and/or legal authority for criminal prosecution in addition to disciplinary measures imposed by the District

· Other strategies and consequences as specified by the Student Code of Conduct

Students with Disabilities

The discipline of students with disabilities is subject to applicable state and federal law in addition to the Student Code of Conduct. To the extent any conflict exists, state and/or federal law will prevail.

In accordance with the Education Code, a student who is enrolled in a special education program may not be disciplined for conduct meeting the definition of bullying, harassment, or making hit lists (see glossary) until an ARD committee meeting has been held to review the conduct.

In deciding whether to order suspension, DAEP placement, or expulsion, the district will take into consideration a disability that substantially impairs the student’s capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the student’s conduct.

In School Suspension (ISS)

The disciplinary measure of In School Suspension is an intermediate measure by which the student is isolated from the remainder of the class. The student is under the supervision of an administrator or his designee. ISS is normally for a minimum period of three days for the first assignment or longer periods of time for successive assignments.

The objective of ISS is to provide an appropriate educational setting for a student who has been a disruptive element in his normal setting. Isolation from peers and teachers allows the student time to reevaluate his past behavior and determine goals for his future behavior. Failure to respond in a positive manner to the ISS program may lead to more severe consequences.

The rationale for using ISS as opposed to home suspension or expulsion is that enables the home campus personnel to continue working with the student.

The student serving ISS is given all of his regular assignments. Upon completion of assignments, and a conference with the principal, the student may be reassigned to regular classes and there will be no academic penalties.

While serving ISS, students may practice for extra-curricular activities before and/or after school, provided they receive permission from the coach/teacher. Students are not allowed to participate in games or other activities until the ISS sentence is completed.

Each handicapped student’s IEP shall indicate if this program can appropriately be used. The IEP shall specify what disciplinary measures can be used for offenses that would normally warrant as assignment to an alternative education program.

Parental questions or complaints regarding disciplinary measures should be addressed to the teacher or campus administration, as appropriate and in accordance with policy FNG(LOCAL). A copy of this policy may be obtained from the principal’s office or the central administration office. Consequences will not be deferred pending the outcome of a grievance.

DISCIPLINE PROCEDURES

When imposing discipline, district personnel shall adhere to the following general guidelines:

· Students shall be treated fairly and equitably. Discipline shall be based on a careful assessment of the circumstances of each case. Factors to consider shall include:

A. Seriousness of the offense

B. Student’s age

C. Frequency of misconduct

D. Students’ attitude

E. Potential effect of the misconduct on the school environment

F. Statutory requirements

Minor offenses: Any violation of the Code of Conduct that is not lis