Student Discipline

The General Principles of the Code of Conduct are:

  • Accept responsibility for your education, decisions, words, and actions.

  • Act in a way that best represents your school, parents, community, and self to promote a safe, healthy environment in which to learn.

  • Be active in the school and community.

  • Maintain a balance between academics and co-curricular activities continually giving your best effort to each.

  • Support your fellow students and their activities.

  • Respect cultural diversity, individuality, and the choices and rights of others.

This information can be clarified by a listing of specific rules and the consequences that will result if you choose not to observe those rules.  However, no listing of rules can be all inclusive. You will be subject to disciplinary action any time your behavior is disruptive, illegal, or inconsiderate of others.  

The school’s primary goal is to educate, not to discipline.  However, education includes establishing norms of social behavior and assisting students in understanding and attaining those norms.  Occasionally, corrective actions are necessary for the benefit of the individual and the school.  [The teacher in a public school has the same rights as a parent or guardian to control and discipline a child while the child is in attendance, in transit to or from the school, or participating in any authorized school function.  

 

Further, it is the policy of the district that students may be disciplined for any misconduct related to the programs or activities of the district.]  No teacher or administrator will administer formal discipline to his or her own child on behalf of the school except in cases of disruption in the classroom or common areas.  Disciplinary matters concerning children of school employees will be handled by the appropriate principal or the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee.  The superintendent’s child will be disciplined by someone other than the superintendent.

Each student shall be treated in a fair and equitable manner.  Disciplinary action will be based on careful assessment of the circumstances surrounding each infraction.  The following are some examples of these circumstances:

  • The seriousness of the offense;

  • The effect of the offense on other students;

  • Whether the offense is physically or mentally injurious to other people;

  • Whether the incident is isolated or habitual behavior;

  • The manifestation of a disability;

  • Any other circumstances which may be appropriately considered.

Student Conduct Code

All students shall observe the Student Conduct Code and shall adhere to all rules and regulations formulated by the school administration in fulfillment of Board of Education policies.

The following code sets forth school guidelines prohibiting certain types of student conduct that constitute major offenses.

A student found to be in violation of the code will be given the right to due process and is subject to suspension from school.

A student shall not cause or attempt to cause damage to private property or steal or attempt to steal private property either on the school grounds or during a school activity, function, or event off school grounds.

Out of School Suspensions

The authority to suspend a student from a school in the school district is delegated to the respective building principals.

Any student may be suspended for:

  • Violations of policy or regulations

  • Possession of an intoxicating beverage, low-point beer (37 O.S. §163.2)

  • Possession of missing or stolen property if the property is reasonably suspected to have been taken from a student, a school employee, or the school during school activities

  • Possession of a dangerous weapon or a controlled dangerous substance while or within two thousand (2,000) feet of public school property, or at a school event (Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act

  • Possession of a firearm may result in out-of-school suspension of not less than one year

  • Any act which disrupts the academic atmosphere of the school, endangers or threatens fellow students, teachers, or officials or damages property

  • Students in grades six through twelve found to have assaulted, attempted to cause physical bodily injury, or acted in a manner that could reasonably cause bodily injury to a school employee or person volunteering for a school shall be suspended for the remainder of the current semester and the next consecutive semester.  The term of the suspension may be modified by the school district superintendent on a case-by-case basis.

A full suspension shall not extend beyond the present semester and the succeeding semester except for violations of the Gun-Free Schools Act which provides suspensions for up to one calendar year or longer.  (See Board Policy FD-C)

Except under circumstances that require the immediate removal of a student or students, the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) shall be informed before a student is released from school.

Any student who has been adjudicated as a delinquent and has been removed from a public or private school in this state or any other state for such act, will not be enrolled in a regular classroom setting in the district but may be provided an alternative education solution until such time as that student no longer poses a threat to self, other students, or faculty.  (See Board Policy FD-AA)

Students suspended out-of-school who are on individualized education plan pursuant to IDEA, I.L. No. 101-476, shall be provided the education and related services in accordance with the student’s IEP.

A student who has been suspended for a violent offense that is directed towards a classroom teacher shall not be allowed to return to that teacher’s classroom without the approval of that teacher.

Procedural Steps to Suspension

Before a student is suspended from school, the principal of that school shall consider and apply, if appropriate, alternative in-school placement options that are not to be considered suspensions.  Such placements can include an alternative school setting, reassignment to another classroom, or in-school detention.  If such alternate placement is rejected, written justification must be placed in the student’s permanent record.

1 - Probation.
A student may be placed on probation with or without additional disciplinary action.  If probation is elected by the principal as a suitable alternative to suspension, both the student and the parent(s) shall be notified of the probation and the reasons therefore.

2 - In-school placement.
In-school placement is an alternative to out-of-school suspension.  In-school placement will be imposed by the student’s administrator/principal and the student will be placed in a supervised, structured environment.  This placement will not be considered suspension and may include an alternative school setting, reassignment to another classroom, or in-school detention.  Both the student and the parent(s) shall be notified of the placement, the reasons therefore, and the right to appeal the placement to the principal.

3 - Out-of-school suspension.

There are three categories of out-of-school suspensions as shown below:

CATEGORY I:  SUSPENSION OF FIVE (5) DAYS OR LESS

  • Both the student and the parent(s) shall be notified of the suspension, the grounds therefore, and the appeal procedures.  A student suspended out-of-school will be placed in a supervised, structured environment in either a home-based school work assignment setting or another appropriate setting.

  • If a student is suspended out-of-school for five (5) days or less the district may provide an education plan.

  • Students who are suspended for 5 days or less may have their appeal reviewed by the principal.  The decision of the principal is final.

CATEGORY II:  SUSPENSION OF 6-10 DAYS

  • Both the student and the parent(s) shall be notified of the suspension, the grounds therefore, and the appeal procedures.  A student suspended out-of-school will be placed in a supervised, structured environment in either a home-based school work assignment setting or another appropriate setting.

  • If a student is suspended out-of-school for six to ten days, the district may provide an education plan.  If a student is suspended for six to ten days and is found guilty of acts as described above, the school administration shall provide the student with an educational plan designed for the eventual reintegration of the student into school which provides for the core units in which the student is enrolled.  The minimum core units shall consist of English, mathematics, science, social studies, and art.  The plan shall set out the procedure for education and shall address academic credit for work satisfactorily completed.  A copy of the plan shall be provided to the student’s parents or guardian, and the parents or guardian shall be responsible for the provision of a supervised, structured environment in which the parent or guardian shall place the student and bear responsibility for monitoring the student’s educational progress until the student is readmitted to school.

  • For suspensions of six to ten days, students and/or parents may have their appeal reviewed by a Suspension Appeals Committee.  The decision of the Suspension Appeals Committee shall be final.

CATEGORY III: SUSPENSION OF MORE THAN 10 DAYS

  • Both the student and the parent(s) shall be notified of the suspension, the grounds therefore, and the appeal procedures.  A student suspended out-of-school will be placed in a supervised, structured environment in either a home-based school work assignment setting or another appropriate setting.

  • If a student is suspended out-of-school for more than ten days the district may provide an education plan.  If a student is suspended for more than ten days and is found guilty of acts as described above, the school administration shall provide the student with an educational plan designed for the eventual reintegration of the student into school which provides for the core units in which the student is enrolled.  The minimum core units shall consist of English, mathematics, science, social studies, and art.  The plan shall set out the procedure for education and shall address academic credit for work satisfactorily completed.  A copy of the plan shall be provided to the student’s parents or guardian, and the parents or guardian shall be responsible for the provision of a supervised, structured environment in which the parent or guardian shall place the student and bear responsibility for monitoring the student’s educational progress until the student is readmitted to school.

  • For suspensions over 10 days, students and/or parents may have their appeal reviewed by the Suspension Appeals Committee.  Decisions of the Suspension Appeals Committee may be appealed to the Board of Education.  The Decision of the Board of Education shall be final.

Suspension Appeals Committee

A Suspension Appeals Committee is hereby established which will consist of a combination of administrators and teachers.  The members of the committee shall be appointed by the district’s hearing officer or the superintendent and may include the superintendent. However, any member of the committee who initiated a suspension in a case shall be excused from the committee during any appeal of that particular case.

My child has been suspended and I want to appeal.  What do I do?

Note:   70 O.S. Section 24-101.3(E) states that a student who has been suspended from a public or private school in the state of Oklahoma or another state for a violent act or an act showing deliberate or reckless disregard for the health or safety of faculty or other students shall not be entitled to enroll in a public school of this state, and no public school shall be required to enroll such student, until the terms of the suspension have been met or the time of suspension has expired.