Table of Contents
DEFINITIONS
4
page
STUDENT
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
STANDARDS
FOR STUDENT CONDUCT
PROHIBITED STUDENT CONDUCT
27 page
DISCIPLINE
CODE FOR STUDENT BEHAVIORS
from the Classroom
38 page
DISCIPLINE POINT
SYSTEM
..48 page
INTRODUCTION
The Board of Education
of The Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk School District is committed to providing a safe
and orderly school environment where students may receive and District
personnel may deliver quality educational services in a consistent and caring
school environment as described in our District Priorities and Core Values.
Responsible behavior by students, teachers, other District personnel, parents
and other visitors is essential to achieving this goal. The District has a
long-standing set of expectations for conduct on school property and at school
functions. These expectations are based on the principles of civility, mutual
respect, citizenship, character, tolerance, honesty and integrity.
The Board of
Education believes that each student can reasonably be expected to be
responsible for his/her own behavior. The school administration shall develop
and disseminate rules of conduct, focusing on personal safety and respect for
the rights and property of others, to be consistently applied in the classrooms
and throughout the school. Students who fail to meet this expected degree of
responsibility and violate school rules may be subject to appropriate
disciplinary action, counseling, and more regulated supervision.
Discipline is most
effective when it deals directly with the problem at the time and place it
occurs, and in a way that is viewed as fair and impartial by the student.
Therefore, before seeking outside assistance, the staff member will first
attempt to create a change of behavior. When the staff member has made every
reasonable effort to bring about positive behavioral change, and has been
unsuccessful, the staff member will bring the matter to the attention of the
administration. The staff member and an administrator will develop a strategy
for dealing with the problem.
The Board
recognizes the need to clearly define these expectations for acceptable conduct
on school property, to identify the possible consequences of unacceptable
conduct, and to ensure that discipline when necessary is administered promptly
and fairly. To this end, the Board adopts this Code of Conduct
("Code"). Unless otherwise indicated, this code applies to all
students, school personnel, parents, and other visitors when on school property
or attending a school function.
DEFINITIONS
For
purposes of this code, the following definitions apply:
Disruptive student - an elementary or secondary student under
the age of 21 who substantially interferes with the education of other students
and with the teachers authority over the classroom.
Parent parent/guardian/person in a parental
relationship to a student.
School property - in, on, or within any building,
structure, athletic playing field, playground, parking lot or land contained
within the real property boundary line of a public elementary or secondary
school, or in or on a school bus, as defined in Vehicle and Traffic Law §12.
School function - any school sponsored extra-curricular
event or activity.
Violent student - a student under the age of 21 who:
·
Commits
an act of violence, or attempts to do so, upon another student or any other
person lawfully on school property or at a school function.
·
Possesses,
while on school property or at a school function, a weapon.
·
Displays,
while on school property or at a school function, what appears to be a weapon.
·
Threatens,
while on school property or at a school function, to use a weapon.
·
Knowingly
and intentionally damages or destroys the personal property of any school
employee or any person lawfully on school property or at a school function.
·
Knowingly
and intentionally damages or destroys school District property.
·
Is
posing an imminent threat to himself or others.
Weapon - means a firearm as defined in 18 USC
§921 for purposes of the Gun-Free Schools Act. It also means any other gun, BB
gun, pistol, revolver, shotgun, rifle, machine gun, disguised gun, dagger,
dirk, razor, stiletto, switchblade knife, gravity knife, brass knuckles, sling
shot, metal knuckle knife, box cutter, cane sword, electronic dart gun, Kung Fu
Star, electronic stun gun, pepper spray or other noxious spray, explosive or
incendiary bomb, or other device, instrument, material or substance that can
cause physical injury or death when used to cause physical injury or death. This includes projectiles such as bullets.
STUDENT RIGHTS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
Student rights
The
·
Take
part in all District activities on an equal basis regardless of race, color,
creed, national origin, religion, gender or sexual orientation or disability.
·
Tell
their side of the story regarding relevant events to school personnel
authorized to impose a disciplinary penalty in connection with the imposition
of the penalty.
·
Access
school rules and, when necessary, receive an explanation of those rules from
school personnel.
Student responsibilities
All
district students have the responsibility to:
·
Contribute
to maintaining a safe and orderly school environment that is conducive to
learning and to show respect to other persons and to property.
·
Be
familiar with and abide by all District policies, rules and regulations dealing
with student conduct.
·
Attend
school every day unless they are legally excused, and be in class, on time, and
prepared to learn.
·
Work
to the best of their ability in all academic and extra-curricular pursuits and
strive toward their highest level of achievement possible.
·
React
to direction given by teachers, administrators and other school personnel in a
respectful, positive manner.
·
Work
to develop strategies to resolve problems, conflicts, and control anger.
·
Ask
questions when they do not understand.
·
Seek
help in solving problems that might lead to discipline.
·
Dress
appropriately for school and school functions.
·
Accept
responsibility for their actions.
· Conduct themselves as representatives of the District when participating in or attending school sponsored extra-curricular events and to hold themselves to the highest standards of conduct, demeanor, and sportsmanship.
Student Inquiry and Expression
Students are
entitled to express their personal opinions verbally or in writing. The
expression of such opinions, however, shall not interfere with the freedom of
others to express themselves. The author must sign written expressions of
opinions. Libel, slander, the use of obscenity, and personal attacks are
prohibited.
Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk
students may not distribute any printed or written materials on school property
or in the immediate vicinity without the prior permission of the school
principal. To obtain such permission, the person wishing to distribute the
material shall provide a copy to the building principal with a written request
that the principal gives permission for its distribution. This written request
shall contain a brief statement of when, where and how the material is to be
distributed.
Extra-Curricular Activities and Clubs
Harassment
The Board of Education affirms its
commitment to nondiscrimination and recognizes its responsibility to provide an
environment that is free of harassment and intimidation. Harassment is a violation of law and stands
in direct opposition of District policy.
Therefore, the Board prohibits and condemns all forms of harassment on
the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, political
affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military status,
veteran status, or disability by students.
(Reference Board of Education Policy #3420-Harassment).
Sexual Harassment
The
Board of Education affirms its commitment to non-discrimination and recognizes
its responsibility to provide all District students an environment that is free
of sexual harassment and intimidation. Sexual harassment is a violation of law
and stands in direct opposition to District policy. Therefore, the Board
prohibits all forms of sexual harassment by employees and students. Regulations
have been developed for resolving sexual harassment complaints by students. (Reference Board of Education Policy
#7551-Sexual Harassment).
STANDARDS FOR STUDENT CONDUCT
Attendance
In order to insure
the greatest opportunity for academic success, it is expected that students
will attend school daily during the required hours.
That said, the
adopted Board of Education Attendance Policy requires that students who are
absent from school must submit a written excuse, signed by a parent/legal
guardian, within three days of their return or their school attendance record
will permanently reflect an unexcused absence after this time (i.e., no
backdating of excuses will be allowed after three days). The excuse should
indicate both the reason and the date(s) of the absence. In grades 9-12,
students may no longer be awarded course credit in any class that is required
for graduation if unexcused absences are in excess of 14 days for half year
courses and in excess of 28 days for full year courses (Reference Board Policy
#7110).
Daily absences,
tardiness and early departures will be considered excused or unexcused
according to the following standards:
Tardiness to
School
All
students are expected to report to school and classes on time. If a student should be late to school,
regardless of the reason, the student must report to the main office and sign
in. A note signed by the parent or guardian explaining the reason for the
late arrival is required at the time the student signs in or no later
than the end of the next school day.
Medical excuses (doctor/dentist, etc.) must come from the
doctors office. Lateness, as
well as absences, is recorded in the attendance office. Each semester, the following will occur due
to excessive illegal lateness:
4 tardies = 1 extended detention
8 tardies = 2 extended detentions and may LOSE DRIVING
PRIVILEGES until detentions are served. Parent
notified.
12 tardies= 3 extended
detentions or 2 OCS. Excessive tardiness
may result in loss of driving privileges.
Every 3rd tardy after this will result in 2 extended detentions or
OCS. A parent conference will be
required for a student to regain driving privileges.
Illegal Absences
UNLAWFUL DETENTION.
Unlawful detention is defined
as parental consent for their child to stay home when there is no medical reason.
TRUANCY. Students are considered truant if they are
absent for any unlawful reason and without the knowledge of the parent or
guardian.
Students
who fail to attend regularly assigned classes and study halls, or who are
truant from school, will be subject to disciplinary action. No student may leave the school unless
permission is granted. Any student who
is found to be truant may not return to school unless parent contact has been
made with an administrator. ONCE A
STUDENT HAS BOARDED THE SCHOOL BUS OR COMES ON TO SCHOOL GROUNDS, THE STUDENT
MAY NOT LEAVE UNLESS PERMISSION IS GRANTED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR. FAILURE TO COMPLY MAY RESULT IN EXTENDED
DETENTION AND LOSS OF DRIVING PRIVILEGES.
Any student who is truant from school WILL lose makeup privileges. Teachers may develop an approved class
participation policy which, when properly applied, can affect the students
daily classroom grade. Unauthorized
absence from school or class where a test was administered will result in a
grade of zero. The following also
applies to cutting a class.
Truancy: The following penalties
shall apply to truancy:
1st offense = 2-4 days extended
detention/1-3 days OCS.
2nd offense = 4-6 days extended
detention/3-5 days OCS and parent conference.
Repeated offenses may result in a PINS Petition being
filed in Family Court. (Article 65 of
the Education Law).
Any
student absent from classes is required to make up all work missed. It is the responsibility of the student to
see his or her teachers to obtain the work and help, if needed, to make up the
work.
Classroom Behavior
In order to insure
the greatest opportunity for academic success, it is expected that students
will:
Academic Expectations
In order to achieve
academic expectations, students will:
General Behavior
In order to promote
an environment conducive to learning, students will:
Dress Code
The
Board of Education (Policy #7312- Dress Code) feels that it is the familys and
schools responsibility to teach good manners, proper dress, cleanliness, and
moral habits as well as academic skills and knowledge. In view of this, it shall be the responsibility
of the building Principals/ Deans of Students to ensure that students under
their charge, maintain an appearance which conforms reasonably to that of the
student body in general and adhere to the following:
All
students are expected to give proper attention to personal cleanliness and to
dress appropriately for school and school functions. Students and their parents have the primary
responsibility for acceptable student dress and appearance.
Teachers
and all other District personnel should exemplify and reinforce acceptable
student dress and help students develop an understanding of appropriate
appearance in the school setting. A students dress, grooming and appearance,
(including hair style/color,) jewelry, make-up and nails, shall:
1.
Be safe, appropriate and not disrupt or interfere with the education
process.
2. Recognize that
extremely brief garments such as sleeveless undershirts, tube tops, net tops,
halter-tops, spaghetti straps, plunging
necklines (front and/or back), open backs and open shoulders, see-through
garments (tops and bottoms), and short shorts/skirts above mid-thigh are not
appropriate. Midriff area must be
covered. Shoulder straps should be at least
two to three inches wide.
3. Ensure that
underwear is completely covered (not visible).
4. Include footwear at all
times. Footwear that is a safety hazard
will not be allowed.
5. Not include the wearing of
hats in the building except for a medical or religious purpose. Any head gear must be removed upon entering
and is to be put away. It is not to be
seen again until the student has exited the building.
6.
Not include items that are vulgar, obscene, libelous, or denigrate others
on account of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, gender, sexual
orientation or disability.
7. Not promote and/or endorse
the use of alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs and/or encourage other illegal or
violent activities.
8. Not include the wearing of
vests and outerwear.
9. Not include the wearing of wallet/pocket
chains.
10. Not include sunglasses
11. Not include the wearing of
pajamas
Students
who violate the Student Dress Code shall be referred to the Dean of
Students/Principal and will be required to modify their appearance by covering
or removing the offending item and, if necessary or practical, replacing it
with an acceptable item. Any student who
refuses to do so shall be subject to discipline, up to and including being sent
to the daily modification room for the day.
Any
student who repeatedly fails to comply with the Dress Code shall be subject to
further discipline, up to, and including off campus suspension.
Student Parking Privileges
Senior and Junior students may be extended the
privilege of driving to
Driving and Parking Regulations:
Academic
Regulations:
Violations and Consequences:
|
VIOLATIONS |
MINIMUM CONSEQUENCES |
|
1.
Using more than one space/ Lined stall 2. Loitering/ Littering in parking lot 3. Parking in other than assigned space 4. Improper permit display 5. Student in a lot without pass 6. Inaccurate vehicle display |
1st Violation: Written warning to student 2nd Violation: Five school days parking suspension 3rd Violation: Revocation of permit |
|
7. Reckless driving/ Reckless
behavior 8. Leaving campus unexcused 9. Transporting another student
off campus 10. Forging a pass, note; using another students pass to
leave; a person other than parent/
guardian calling in
permission to leave 11. Insubordination to Teacher/ Staff; failure to stop for
Teacher/ Staff 12. Smoking in any vehicle/ parking lot |
1st Violation: Ten days parking suspension 2nd Violation: Revocation of permit/ 1-3 days extended
detention (#12 Also referral to Principal and/ or Superintendent) (Each infraction is an individual violation. Therefore, if a student violates
#8 and #9 simultaneously, the permit may
be revoked) |
|
13. Parking under suspended or revoked permit 14. Possession of a weapon, controlled substance, paraphernalia 15. Vandalism 16. Transferring permit to another
student 17. Stealing permit/ Forging permit |
1st Violation: Revocation of permit / 1-5 days OCS (#14, #15, #17 Also referral to Principal and/or Superintendent. Police notified) |
Computer
Use and Internet Access
The Board of Education
recognizes that the computer has become an important tool used, in one form or
another, throughout American society for business, educational, household and
entertainment purposes. The Board further recognizes that the ability to link
and network computers is a significant aspect of their functionality, and that
the Internetwhich can be accessed through such linkagesis an increasingly
significant source of information, while direct electronic communications such
as e-mail and chat rooms are now a standard form of interpersonal
communication.
The Board, therefore, as
part of the Districts educational program, makes computers available to staff
and students and provides access to and training in the use of the Internet,
both as tools to enhance their work and their learning, and in order to prepare
students to use these tools as adults.
Like any tool, the computer can be misused. Misuse of a District computer
can interfere with or damage the hardware and software components of the
computer itself, the Districts networked system, or remote sites accessible
through the Internet. Additionally, not all sites and resources on the
Internet are appropriate for access and use by students or under the auspices
of a public school system. The Board, therefore, restricts the use of
District computer resources, including Internet access and the use of direct
electronic communications, to protect the Districts computer system and its
security and to limit Internet access and electronic communication to what is
appropriate and necessary as part of the Districts educational programs.
It is the policy of the Board to make available the best computer resources
possible within the constraints of the Districts financial resources and
personnel and plant capacities; to make access to the Internet and
electronic communications available through the District computer system,
subject to appropriate limitations; to take such measures, including
monitoring of the use of District Computer Resources and investigation and
review of all files maintained on District computers, as are necessary to
ensure that District Computer Resources are being used appropriately, in
accordance with District policy and regulations; to monitor on-line
activity of minors using District computer resources, in order to limit such
activity to what is appropriate and necessary as part of the Districts
educational programs; to operate a technology protection measure, with
respect to every District computer with Internet access, which protects against
access, through such computer, to visual depictions that are obscene;
child pornography; harmful to minors and to prohibit unauthorized disclosure,
use or dissemination of personally identifiable information concerning students
through the use of District computer resources.
The Board directs the
Superintendent to adopt administrative regulations containing procedures and
rules for access and use of District computer resources, including Internet
access and direct electronic communications, in order to
Such administrative
regulations shall include procedures to inform students and staff concerning
As used in this policy, the
terms technology protection measure, obscene, child pornography, and
harmful to minors shall be defined as they are defined in the Childrens
Internet Protection Act, 47 USC §254(h), and the term personally identifiable
information shall be defined as it is defined for purposes of the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act, in 34 CFR §99.3 (Reference Board Policy
#6470, #3320)
Adopted 1/5/2001
Revised 8/4/2003
Copyrighted Material
All Copyrighted Digital Music or Video will
follow the Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia. Most, if not
all, of the major
·
Copyrighted Digital Music or Video files should only loaded on RCS
computer stations for educational, curriculum-based purposes. I.e., the digital
multimedia is directly related to your class work and will be used in class or in a student presentation.
·
RCS Computer equipment will not be used to download, rip, copy or
duplicate copyrighted multimedia in any way. This includes copyrighted CDs and
DVDs.