Table of Contents

	Introduction

	Definitions
	Student’s Bill of Rights
	Essential Partners
	Student Dress Code
	Prohibited Student Conduct
	Reporting Violations
	Disciplinary Procedures
	Student Searches
	Corporal Punishment
	Public Conduct on School Property
	Visitors to School
	Dissemination and Review

School Hours:
Breakfast Program:

Main Office Phone:


Main Office Fax:

Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Monday - Friday 8:15 AM - 8:30 AM

845-446-5898, ext 221
845 446-5898, ext 221

845-446-6603

Highland Falls Elementary School
Code of Conduct

Discrimination Statement

The Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation or disability in the admission of students and in any of its programs or activities and in its employment practices.

Inquiries concerning the application of this policy on non-discrimination, or complaints of discrimination, under any of the above referenced basis may be directed to Mrs. Joanne DiBlasi, Personnel Coordinator, PO Box 287, Highland Falls, New York 10928 or at 845-446-9575 X227, the individual designated to coordinate the district’s efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX Section 504/ the ADA and the Age Discrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, disability and age respectively.

Introduction

The Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery School District is committed to providing a safe and orderly school environment where quality educational services are delivered to students without disruption or interference. Responsible behavior by students, teachers, staff, parents, and visitors is essential to achieving this goal.

District guidelines provide a 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. All provisions included on this Student Code of Conduct are aligned with the Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery District Student Code of Conduct. Please refer to the District Student Code of Conduct for specific details, available at each building in the District.

Definitions

“Parent” means parent, guardian, or person in parental relation to student.

“School property” means in or within any building, structure, athletic playing field, playground, parking lot, or land within the real property boundary line of a public school.

“Supervision” means appropriately monitoring and controlling the actions of any minor child who is in your. This will include correcting inappropriate behaviors, setting limits as needed (ex., “You must stay next to me” etc.), and anticipating situations that may be dangerous (ex., a small child laying in an aisle might get stepped on or trip someone, etc.).

“Disruption” means any action or activity that may interfere with the educational process or that might interfere with the teacher’s authority over the classroom.

“Weapon” means a device, instrument, material, or substance that can cause physical injury or death, including guns, knives, pepper spray, or any common materials used to hurt another person.

STUDENTS’ BILL OF RIGHTS

Student Rights

The District is committed to safeguarding the rights given to all students under state and federal law. In addition, to promote a safe, healthy, orderly and civil school environment, all students have the right

• To learn.
• To be free of endangerment, harassment, intimidation or fear.
• To take part in all activities on an equal basis regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
• To know the school rules and receive an explanation of those rules from school personnel.
• To due process by superiors and peers.
• To self-expression within appropriate limits.
• Of representation in policy making and concerning grievances and appeal.

Student Responsibilities

All District students have the responsibility to:

• Contribute to maintaining a safe and orderly school environment.
• Show respect to other persons and to property.
• Follow the rules set down by the district, school, teachers and students.
• Attend school every day, on time, unless legally excused.
• Be prepared with homework and be ready to learn.
• Work to the best of their ability in all academic and extracurricular pursuits.
• Dress in an appropriate manner.
• Ask questions when they do not understand.
• Accept responsibility for their actions.
• Conduct themselves as representatives of the school and district and to hold themselves to the highest standards of conduct, demeanor and sportsmanship, in and out of the building.

Essential Partners

A. Parents

All parents are expected to:

• Recognize that the education of their child(ren) is a joint responsibility of the parents and the school community.
• Send their children to school ready to participate and learn:
• Well-rested and properly nourished.
• Dressed properly for the weather and according to the school dress code.
• With library books on library day, sneakers or rubber soled shoes on gym day, etc. (Students may not be able to participate fully in their school program if not provided with the above)
• Ensure their children attend school regularly and on time. A written excuse is required for each absence. Excused absences include sickness, death in the family, etc. (not additional vacation).
• Help children understand that in a democratic society appropriate rules are required to maintain a safe, orderly environment.
• Know school rules and help their children understand them.
• Convey to their children a supportive attitude toward education and the district.
• Build good relationships with teachers, other parents and their children’s friends.
• Assume responsibility for their children’s behavior. In the case of severe misbehavior, repeated incidents, or concerns expressed by school staff, collaborate with the appropriate professionals and follow through with agreed upon recommendations.
• Inform school officials of changes in the home situation that may affect student conduct or performance.
• Provide a place for study and ensure homework assignments are completed.

Parents should talk to their children about their day when they come home from school. Communication among parent, child, and school is very important. Being involved in your child’s school life will send a positive message to your child.

B. Teachers

All district teachers are expected to:

• Maintain a climate of mutual respect and dignity, which will strengthen students’ self-concept and promote confidence to learn.
• Be prepared to teach in alignment with NYS Standards.
• Demonstrate interest in teaching and concern for student achievement.
• Know school policies and rules, and enforce them in a fair and consistent manner.
• Communicate to students and parents:
• Expectations for students
• Classroom discipline plan
• Assignment deadlines
• Marking/grading procedures
• Curriculum objectives within a developmentally appropriate process.
• Communicate regularly with students, parents, other teachers and building administration as appropriate concerning growth and achievement. When there are academic concerns, parents should be notified in a timely manner.

C. District Social Worker

• Be available to all parents to discuss any concerns regarding their child.
• Assist student in coping with peer pressure and emerging personal, social and emotional problems.
• Initiate teacher/student/counselor conferences and parent/teacher/student/ counselor conferences as necessary to resolve problems.
• Encourage students to benefit from the curriculum and extracurricular programs.
• Provide support programs to the school community to address significant social/emotional issues.

D. Principal

• Promote a safe, orderly and stimulating school environment, supporting active teaching and learning.
• Ensure that students and staff have the opportunity to communicate regularly with the principal and approach the principal for redress of grievances.
• Evaluate on a regular basis all instructional programs.
• Support the development of and student participation in appropriate learning activities.
• Be responsible for enforcing the code of conduct and ensuring that all cases are resolved promptly and fairly.

Student Dress Code

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 student’s dress, grooming and appearance, including hair style/color, jewelry, make-up and nails, shall: Be safe, appropriate and not disrupt or interfere with the educational process.

• Recognize that extremely brief garments such as tube tops, short shorts, net tops, halter tops, spaghetti straps, plunging necklines (front and/or back) and see-through garments are not appropriate. Clothing should also fit appropriately, neither excessively too big or too small.
• Ensure that underwear is completely covered with outer clothing and that midriffs are covered.
• Appropriate footwear should be worn everyday for gym and outside play (i.e., sneakers or rubber soled shoes). Footwear that is a safety hazard will not be allowed.
• Not include the wearing of hats in the classroom except for medical or religious purposes.
• 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.
• Not promote and/or endorse the use of alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs and encourage other illegal or violent activities.

Students who violate the student dress code shall 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 in-school suspension for the day. Any student who repeatedly fails to comply with the dress code shall be subject to further discipline, up to and including out of school suspension.

Prohibited Student Conduct

The Board of Education expects all students to conduct themselves in an appropriate and civil manner, with proper regard for the rights and welfare of other students, district personnel and other members of the school community, and for the care of school facilities and equipment.

The best discipline is self-imposed, and students must learn to assume and accept responsibility for their own behavior, as well as the consequences of their misbehavior. Positive behavior management strategies used by district personnel are expected to place emphasis on the students’ ability to grow in self-discipline.

Discipline is most effective when it deals directly with the problem at the time and place it occurs, and in a way that supports students’ social skills development. It must also be fair and impartial. School personnel are expected to use disciplinary action only when necessary and to place emphasis on the students’ ability to grow in self-discipline. If a discipline issue is ongoing, district personnel should explore collaborative process to review positive behavior plans to build appropriate social skills.

In the event that appropriate disciplinary action is indicated, school personnel will consider the following:

• the student’s age
• the nature of the offense and the circumstances which led to the offense
• the student’s prior disciplinary record
• the effectiveness of other forms of discipline
• information from parents, teachers, and/or others as appropriate
• other extenuating circumstances.

As a general rule, discipline will be progressive. This means that a student’s first violation will usually merit a lighter penalty than subsequent violations, depending upon the nature of the event.

If the conduct of a student is related to a disability or suspected disability the student shall be referred to the Committee on Special Education. Discipline, if warranted, shall be administered consistent with the District Code of Conduct for disciplining students with a disability or presumed to have a disability. A student identified as having a disability shall not be disciplined for behavior related to his/her disability.

Prohibited Student Conduct

Disorderly Conduct: Running in hallways Making unreasonable noise. Using language or gestures that are profane, lewd, vulgar or abusive. Disrupting the normal operation of the school community. Trespassing, i.e., unauthorized entering any other school building other than that which the student attends. Misusing computer/electronic communications, in violation of district acceptable use policy.

Insubordinate Conduct: Failing to comply with reasonable direction or otherwise demonstrating disrespect. Repeatedly failing to comply with reasonable limits set within a classroom or other part of the school community.

Disruptive Conduct: Failing to comply with the reasonable directions of teachers, school administrators, or other school personnel in charge of students., Engaging in behavior that interferes with the normal functioning of the classroom or school community

Violent Conduct: Committing an act of violence (such as hitting, kicking, punching, scratching, spitting) Intentionally damaging or destroying personal property. Intentionally damaging or destroying school district property, including on school buses. Possessing a weapon, displaying what appears to be a weapon, or threatening to use any weapon. Other examples of such conduct include: a) Lying to school personnel. b) Stealing. c) Discrimination, which includes the use of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability as a basis for treating another in a negative manner. d) Harassment, which includes a sufficiently severe action or a persistent, pervasive pattern of actions or statements directed at an identifiable individual or group which are intended to be or which a reasonable person would perceive as ridiculing or demeaning. e) Intimidation, which includes engaging in actions or statements that put an individual in fear of bodily harm. f) Possessing, using, or distributing alcoholic beverages or illegal substances. g) Inappropriately using or sharing prescription and over-the-counter drugs. h) Using vulgar or abusive language, cursing or swearing or possessing vulgar or obscene materials. i) Indecent exposure, that is, exposure to sight of the private parts of the body in a lewd or indecent manner. j) Initiating a report warning of fire or other catastrophe without valid cause, misuse of 911, or discharging a fire extinguisher. Misconduct on a school bus: It is crucial for student to behave appropriately while riding on district buses to ensure their safety and that of other passengers and to avoid distracting the bus driver. Students are required to conduct themselves on the bus in a manner consistent with established standards for classroom behavior. Excessive noise, pushing, shoving and fighting will not be tolerated. Academic misconduct: Examples of academic misconduct include: a) Plagiarism (copying from another inappropriately) b) Cheating c) Assisting another student in any of the above d) Interfering with home/school communications such as destroying notes intended for parents. Conferencing regarding any of the above penalties shall be available upon request. Parents will be informed of all penalties as appropriate(excluding verbal warnings). Please refer to the Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery Central School District Code of Conduct for additional or more detailed information

Reporting Violations

All students are expected to promptly report violations of the code of conduct to a teacher, counselor, building principal, or other school staff. Any student observing a student possessing a weapon, alcohol or illegal substance on school property or at a school function shall report this information immediately to a teacher, building principal, or other appropriate staff. District staff are expected to promptly report violations of the code of conduct to their supervisor, who shall impose an appropriate disciplinary sanction if so authorized, and refer the matter to the building principal or principal designee. Any weapon, alcohol, or illegal substance found shall be confiscated immediately, if doing so will not endanger any person including the district staff member. Parents of the student will be notified and the appropriate disciplinary sanction imposed if warranted, which may include suspension and referral to law enforcement. The building principal must notify the appropriate local law enforcement agency of those code violations that constitute a crime and substantially affect the order or security of a school as soon as practical but in no event later that the close of business the day the principal or his/her designee learns of the violation. The notification may be made by telephone, followed by a letter mailed on same day as the telephone call is made. The notification must identify the individual and explain the conduct that violated the code of conduct and constituted a crime.

Disciplinary Procedures

The student will be informed of the alleged misconduct, facts will be investigated, and the parents contacted as appropriate. All students will have an opportunity to present their version of the facts to the school personnel imposing the disciplinary penalty in connection with the imposition of the penalty.

A student’s behavior can affect a teacher’s ability to teach and can make it difficult for other students in the classroom to learn. In most instances the classroom teacher can control a student’s behavior and maintain or restore control over the classroom by using good classroom management techniques. These techniques may include practices that involve the teacher imposing a time-out to give the student an opportunity to regain his/her composure and self-control in an alternate setting. Such practices may include, but are not limited to:

• Short-term time out in an elementary classroom or in an administrator’s office
• Sending a student to the principal’s office for the remainder of the class time only
• Sending a student to support personnel (social worker, etc.) for counseling

Time-honored classroom management techniques such as these do not constitute disciplinary removals for purposes of this code.

On occasion, a student’s behavior may become disruptive. A classroom teacher may remove a disruptive student from class for up to two days. The removal from class applies to the class of the removing teacher only. The teacher must provide the student with an explanation for why he/she is being removed and an opportunity to explain his/her version of the relevant events before the student is removed. Students posing a danger or ongoing threat may be removed immediately with an explanation from the teacher, with opportunity to discuss, occurring within 24 hours. All appropriate forms must be completed by the teacher and meeting with the building principal will take place as soon as possible but no later that the end of the school day. Parents will be notified in writing within 24 hours (express mail or personal delivery) and have the right to meet informally with the principal or principal’s designee to discuss the reasons for the removal within 48 hours.

The principal may overturn the removal of the student from class if the principal finds any one of the following:

• The charges against the student are not supported by substantial evidence.
• The student’s removal is otherwise in violation of law, including the district’s code of conduct.
• The conduct warrants suspension from school.

Overturn of a removal can occur anytime within the 48 hour period. The student will be permitted to return to class with the principal’s final determination or the period of removal expires, whichever is less.

Student Searches and Interrogations

Our school staff is committed to ensuring an atmosphere on school property and at school functions that is safe and orderly. In order to provide for an environment that is safe and orderly, authorized school officials may act upon reasonable suspicion in questioning and searching students. Students may be asked to empty pockets or contents of book bags or desks if a reasonable suspicion warrants such action. Refusal to comply with the above request may warrant further search. Procedure and documentation requirements are outlined in the District Code of Conduct. There may occur situations in which police officials or other law enforcement authorities may need to be contacted in order maintain a safe school environment. Parents will be notified if police are contacted and further search or interrogation is needed. See District Code for complete outline of procedures, including protection of students’ legal rights.

All school personnel are required to report to appropriate building resource personnel, school nurse, school social worker, and/or building principal, any reasonable suspicion of child abuse or maltreatment. Child Protective Services must be notified of any reasonable suspicion. School officials will cooperate with the local protective services workers who wish to conduct interviews of students on school property.

Corporal Punishment

Corporal punishment is any act of physical force upon a student for the purpose of punishing that student. Corporal punishment of any student by any district employee is strictly forbidden.

However, in situations where alternative procedures and methods that do not involve the use of physical force cannot reasonable be used, reasonable physical force may be used to:

• Protect oneself, another student, teacher or any person from physical injury.
• Protect the property of the school or others
• Restrain or remove a student whose behavior substantially interferes with the orderly functioning of school.

Public Conduct on School Property

All persons on school property or attending a school function shall conduct themselves in a respectful and orderly manner. This includes all visitors, parents, students, staff, and district personnel. Parents are responsible for the supervision of their young children. Students are expected to maintain appropriate behaviors when on school property even when regular school is not in session.

Prohibited Conduct:

• To intentionally injure or threaten to injure another person.
• To damage or destroy school district property, including personal property of students, teachers, staff, or district employees.
• To disrupt classes, school programs, or activities at the school.
• To distribute or wear materials that are obscene, advocate illegal activities, obstruct the rights of others, or are disruptive to the school program.
• To intimidate, harass, or discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
• To violate traffic laws, parking regulations or other restrictions on vehicles.
• To possess, consume, sell, distribute, or exchange alcoholic beverages, controlled substances, or be under the influence either on school property or at school functions. Smoking is prohibited on school property.
• To possess or use weapons in or on school property, except as specially authorized by the school district or in the case of law enforcement.
• To loiter on or about school property.
• To gamble on school property.
• To refuse to comply with any reasonable order of identifiable school district officials performing their duties.
• To willfully incite others to commit any of the above.

To violate any federal, state, or local ordinance or school board policy while on school property.

Visitors to School

Visitors are welcome at our school. However, since the school setting is a place of work and learning, certain limits must be set for such visits.

• Anyone who is not a regular staff member or student of the school is considered a visitor.
• All visitors must report to the Main Office upon arrival. It is required that all visitors sign in where they will then be issued a visitor’s pass which must be worn at all times during the visit. This pass must be returned before leaving the building.
• Visitors who wish to visit or observe a classroom are required to make arrangements in advance with the classroom teacher so that class disruption is kept to a minimum.
• When attending school functions that are open to the public, such as PTF meetings or special programs, it is not necessary to sign-in at the Main Office. It is important to remember that access to the school is confined to the school function areas only.
• All visitors are expected to abide by the rules for public conduct on school property and to supervise minor children accordingly.
• Any unauthorized person on school property will be reported to the principal and/or the Main Office.

Any person found violating this code may be asked to leave the premises by the building principal or his/her designee. If they refuse to leave, they shall be subject to ejection. If necessary, law enforcement will be called. Students shall be subject to disciplinary action as the facts warrant, in accordance with the due process requirements. Staff members shall be subject to warning, reprimand, suspension or dismissal according to any contract provisions in place at the time of incident and in accordance with legal rights.

Dissemination and Review

The board will work to ensure that the community is aware of this code of conduct by:

• Providing copies to all students in the beginning of the year.
• Providing all current teachers and other staff members with a copy of the code.
• Providing all new employees with a copy of the current code.
• Making copies of the comprehensive District Code available for review by students, parents, and other community members.

An in-service education program for all district staff members will be held to ensure effective implementation of this code. This code of conduct will be reviewed by the board of education who will also determine whether the code has been applied fairly and consistently.

Signature sheets have been provided with each individual student code of conduct. These must be signed and returned by the third Friday in September.