Code of Conduct
AMHERSTBURG PUBLIC SCHOOL
CODE OF CONDUCT
Amherstburg Public School adopts as its Code of Conduct, the Code of Conduct for the Greater Essex County District School Board . All participants involved in the Greater Essex County District School Board - students, parents or guardians, volunteers, visitors, teachers and other staff members - are included in this Code of Conduct whether they are on school property, on school buses, at bus transfer points, at school-authorized events or activities, or in other circumstances where engaging in the activity will have an impact on the school climate. All persons are responsible to the school principal or his/her designate, with regard to conduct, on or off school property, which has a harmful effect on the school, its participants or on the school climate.
The staff, student and community of Amherstburg Public School believe that schools and school board organizations should promote responsibility, respect, civility and academic excellence in a safe learning and teaching environment. A positive school climate exists when all members of the school community feel safe, comfortable, and accepted.
The staff, students and community of Amherstburg Public School adopt as its Code of Conduct, the Code of Conduct for the Greater Essex County District School Board and the Provincial Code of Conduct. The following guiding principles of the Code as described in Section 301 (2) of the Education Amendment Act (Progressive Discipline and School Safety), 2007 are:
To ensure that all members of the school community, especially people in positions of authority, are treated with respect and dignity.
To promote responsible citizenship by encouraging appropriate participation in the civic life of the school community.
To maintain an environment where conflict and difference can be addressed in a manner characterized by respect and civility.
To encourage the use of non-violent means to resolve conflict.
To promote the safety of people in the schools.
To prohibit the use of alcohol, illegal drugs and restricted drugs.
AMHERSTBURG PUBLIC SCHOOL
PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE POLICY
Amherstburg Public School adopts at its Progressive Discipline Policy the Progressive Discipline Policy of the Greater Essex County District School Board . The Progressive Discipline Policy is in place to support a safe learning and teaching environment.
Progressive discipline is an approach that makes use of a continuum of interventions, supports, and consequences, building upon strategies that promote positive behaviours. When inappropriate behaviour occurs, disciplinary measures should be applied within a framework that is both corrective and supportive. The range of interventions, supports, and consequences used by Amherstburg Public School must be clear and developmentally appropriate, and must include learning opportunities for students in order to reinforce positive behaviours and help students make good choices. For students with special education and/or disability related needs, interventions, supports and consequences must be consistent with the expectations in the student’s Individual Education Plan and/or his/her demonstrated abilities.
Students, teachers, school staff, principals and parents are encouraged to disclose necessary information regarding inappropriate behaviour and/or acts of aggression to facilitate timely responses that meet the needs of both the victim and perpetrator. Failure to disclose inappropriate behaviour to facilitate a timely and appropriate student centered response can create a perception that inappropriate behaviour is condoned, or accepted practice in schools.
Early and Ongoing Intervention Strategies
The teacher, in collaboration with administration, as appropriate, may utilize early and/or ongoing intervention strategies to address unsafe or inappropriate behaviours. These may include:
Contact with student’s parent(s)/guardian(s);
Verbal reminders;
Review of expectations;
Written work assignments addressing the behaviour, that have a learning component;
Assigning the student to volunteer services in the school community;
Conflict mediation and resolution;
Peer mentoring;
Referral to counseling, as applicable;
Referral to community agencies;
Positive Behaviour Management Plans; and/or
Consultation.
Addressing Inappropriate Behaviour
If a student has displayed inappropriate behaviour the principal or designate may utilize a range of interventions, supports, and consequences that are (1) developmentally appropriate, and (2) include opportunities for students to focus on improving their behaviour.
Inappropriate behaviour includes any behaviour that disrupts the positive school climate and/or has a negative impact on the school community. Inappropriate behaviour may also include, but is not limited to, one of the following infractions for which a suspension may be imposed:
Any act considered by the principal to be injurious to the moral tone of the school;
Any act considered by the principal to be injurious to the physical or mental well-being of any member of the school community; and
Any act considered by the principal to be contrary to the Board or school Code of Conduct.
If a student has engaged in inappropriate behaviour, the principal or designate may choose to use a progressive discipline strategy to address the infraction.
Interventions may include, but are not limited to:
Meeting with the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s), student and principal;
Referral to a community agency;
Detentions;
Behaviour Plans;
Withdrawal of privileges;
Supervised withdrawal from class;
Restitution for damages;
Consultation;
Suspension (subject to mitigating circumstances); or
Recommend Expulsion (subject to mitigating circumstances).
THE GREATER ESSEX COUNTY DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
CODE OF CONDUCT
The Greater Essex County District School Board adopts as its own code, the Provincial Code of Conduct. Following are the purposes of the Provincial Code of Conduct as described in Section 301 (2) of the Education Amendment Act (Progressive Discipline and School Safety), 2007
Purposes of the Code
Subsection 301(1) of Part XIII of the Education Act states that “the Minister may establish a code of conduct governing the behaviour of all persons in schools”. Subsection 301(2) sets out the purposes of this provincial code of conduct, as follows:
1. To ensure that all members of the school community, especially people in positions of authority, are treated with respect and dignity.
2. To promote responsible citizenship by encouraging appropriate participation in the civic life of the school community.
3. To maintain an environment where conflict and difference can be addressed in a
manner characterized by respect and civility.
4. To encourage the use of non-violent means to resolve conflict.
5. To promote the safety of people in the schools.
6. To discourage the use of alcohol and illegal drugs.
Standards of Behaviour
Respect, Civility, and Responsible Citizenship
All members of the school community must:
• respect and comply with all applicable federal, provincial, and municipal laws;
• demonstrate honesty and integrity;
• respect differences in people, their ideas, and their opinions;
• treat one another with dignity and respect at all times, and especially when there is disagreement;
• respect and treat others fairly, regardless of, for example, race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability;
• respect the rights of others;
• show proper care and regard for school property and the property of others;
• take appropriate measures to help those in need;
• seek assistance from a member of the school staff, if necessary, to resolve conflict peacefully;
• respect all members of the school community, especially persons in positions of authority;
• respect the need of others to work in an environment that is conducive to learning and teaching;
• not swear at a teacher or at another person in a position of authority.
Safety
All members of the school community must not:
• engage in bullying behaviours;
• commit sexual assault;
• traffic weapons or illegal drugs;
• give alcohol to a minor;
• commit robbery;
• be in possession of any weapon, including firearms;
• use any object to threaten or intimidate another person;
• cause injury to any person with an object;
• be in possession of, or be under the influence of, or provide others with alcohol or
illegal drugs;
• inflict or encourage others to inflict bodily harm on another person;
• engage in hate propaganda and other forms of behaviour motivated by hate or bias;
• commit an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property or to
property located on the premises of the school.
Roles and Responsibilities
School Boards
School boards provide direction to their schools to ensure opportunity, academic excellence, and accountability in the education system. It is the responsibility of school boards to:
• develop policies that set out how their schools will implement and enforce the provincial Code of Conduct and all other rules that they develop that are related to the provincial standards that promote and support respect, civility, responsible citizenship, and safety;
• review these policies regularly with students, staff, parents, volunteers, and the community;
• seek input from school councils, their Parent Involvement Committee, their Special Education Advisory Committee, parents, students, staff members, and the school community;
• establish a process that clearly communicates the provincial Code of Conduct and school board codes of conduct to all parents, students, staff members, and members of the school community in order to obtain their commitment and support;
• develop effective intervention strategies and respond to all infractions related to the standards for respect, civility, responsible citizenship, and safety;
• provide opportunities for all of the staff to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to develop and maintain academic excellence in a safe learning and teaching environment.
Wherever possible, boards should collaborate to provide coordinated prevention and intervention programs and services, and should endeavour to share effective practices.
Principals
Under the direction of their school boards, principals take a leadership role in the daily operation of a school. They provide this leadership by:
• demonstrating care for the school community and a commitment to academic excellence in a safe teaching and learning environment;
• holding everyone under their authority accountable for his or her behaviour and actions;
• empowering students to be positive leaders in their school and community;
• communicating regularly and meaningfully with all members of their school community.
Teachers and Other School Staff Members
Under the leadership of their principals, teachers and other school staff members maintain order in the school and are expected to hold everyone to the highest standard of respectful and responsible behaviour. As role models, teachers and school staff uphold these high standards when they:
• help students work to their full potential and develop their sense of self-worth;
• empower students to be positive leaders in their classroom, school, and community;
• communicate regularly and meaningfully with parents;
• maintain consistent standards of behaviour for all students;
• demonstrate respect for all students, staff, parents, volunteers, and the members of the school community;
• prepare students for the full responsibilities of citizenship.
Students
Students are to be treated with respect and dignity. In return, they must demonstrate respect for themselves, for others, and for the responsibilities of citizenship through acceptable behaviour. Respect and responsibility are demonstrated when a student:
• comes to school prepared, on time, and ready to learn;
• shows respect for himself or herself, for others, and for those in authority;
• refrains from bringing anything to school that may compromise the safety of others;
• follows the established rules and takes responsibility for his or her own actions.
Parents
Parents play an important role in the education of their children, and can support the efforts of school staff in maintaining a safe and respectful learning environment for all students. Parents fulfill their role when they:
• show an active interest in their child’s school work and progress;
• communicate regularly with the school;
• help their child be neat, appropriately dressed, and prepared for school;
• ensure that their child attends school regularly and on time;
• promptly report to the school their child’s absence or late arrival;
• show that they are familiar with the provincial Code of Conduct, the board’s code of conduct, and school rules;
• encourage and assist their child in following the rules of behaviour;
• assist school staff in dealing with disciplinary issues involving their child.
Community Partners and the Police
Through outreach, partnerships already in place may be enhanced and new partnerships with community agencies and members of the community (e.g., Aboriginal Elders) may also be created. Community agencies are resources that boards can use to deliver prevention or intervention programs. Protocols are effective ways of establishing linkages between boards and community agencies and of formalizing the relationship between them. These partnerships must respect all applicable collective agreements.
The police play an essential role in making our schools and communities safer. The police investigate incidents in accordance with the protocol developed with the local school board. These protocols are based on a provincial model that was developed by the Ministry of the Solicitor General and the Ministry of Education.
SUSPENSIONS AND EXPULSIONS
Suspension of Students
Suspension Infractions
When a principal’s investigation of an incident, which should include consultation with the adult student or the student’s parent/guardian and student, determines that a student has committed one or more infractions outlined below on school property, during a school-related activity or event, and/or in circumstances where the infraction has an impact on the school climate, a principal will consider whether that student should be suspended, taking into account any mitigating and other factors that might be applicable in the circumstances.
The principal will also contact the police consistent with the Police-School Board Protocol if the infraction the student is suspected of committing requires such contact.
The infractions for which a suspension may be imposed by the principal include:
Uttering a threat to inflict serious bodily harm on another person;
Possessing alcohol, illegal and/ or restricted drugs;
Being under the influence of alcohol;
Swearing at a teacher or at another person in a position of authority;
Committing an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property at the student’s school or to property located on the premises of the student’s school;
Bullying;
Any act considered by the principal to be injurious to the moral tone of the school;
Any act considered by the principal to be injurious to the physical or mental well-being of any member of the school community; or
Any act considered by the principal to be contrary to the Board or school Code of Conduct.
A student may be suspended only once for any one instance of an infraction and may be suspended for a minimum of one (1) school day and a maximum of twenty (20) school days.
Factors to be Considered Before Deciding to Impose a Suspension
Before deciding whether to impose a suspension, or some other form of discipline, a principal will make every effort to consult with the student, where appropriate, and the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) (if the student is not an adult student) to identify whether any mitigating and/or other factors might apply in the circumstances.
Expulsion of Students
Subject to the “Factors to Consider Before Deciding to Impose a Suspension” below, reasonable grounds to believe that a student has committed one or more infractions outlined below on school property, during a school related activity or event, and/or in circumstances where the infraction has an impact on the school climate, the principal will suspend a student.
The principal will also contact the police consistent with the Police-School Board Protocol if the infraction the student is suspected of committing requires such contact. When in doubt, the principal will consult with the School Superintendent.
The enumerated activities are:
Possessing a weapon, including possessing a firearm;
Using a weapon to cause or to threaten bodily harm to another person;
Committing physical assault on another person that causes bodily harm requiring treatment by a medical practitioner;
Committing sexual assault;
Trafficking in weapons, illegal and/or restricted drugs;
Committing robbery;
Giving alcohol to a minor;
An act considered by the principal to be significantly injurious to the moral tone of the school and/or to the physical or mental well-being of others;
A pattern of behaviour that is so inappropriate that the student's continued presence is injurious to the effective learning and/or working environment of others;
Activities engaged in by the student on or off school property that cause the student's continuing presence in the school to create an unacceptable risk to the physical or mental well-being of other person(s) in the school or Board;
Activities engaged in by the student on or off school property that have caused extensive damage to the property of the Board or to goods that are/were on Board property;
The student has demonstrated through a pattern of behaviour that s/he has not prospered by the instruction available to him or her and that s/he is persistently resistant to making changes in behaviour which would enable him or her to prosper; or
Any act considered by the principal to be a serious violation of the Board or school Code of Conduct.
Factors to Consider Before Deciding to Impose a Suspension
When deciding whether or not to impose a suspension pending a possible recommendation for expulsion, the principal will make every effort to consult with the student, where appropriate, and the student’s parent/guardian, if the student is not an adult student, to identify whether any mitigating factors might apply in the circumstances.
Principal’s Investigation Pending Expulsion:
The Principal will conduct an investigation promptly following the suspension of the student to determine whether to recommend to the Tribunal that the student be expelled.
