| Traverse City Area Public Schools |
| Bylaws & Policies |
5600 - STUDENT DISCIPLINE
The Board of Education acknowledges that conduct is closely related to learning and that an effective instructional program requires an orderly school environment, which is, in part, reflected in the behavior of students.
The Board believes that the best discipline is self-imposed and that students should learn to assume responsibility for their own behavior and the consequences of their actions.
The Board shall require each student of this District to adhere to the Code of Conduct promulgated by the administration and to submit to such disciplinary measures as are appropriately assigned for infraction of those rules. Such rules shall require that students:
| A. | conform to reasonable standards of socially-acceptable behavior; | |
| B. | respect the person and property of others; | |
| C. | preserve the degree of order necessary to the educational program in which they are engaged; | |
| D. | respect the rights of others; | |
| E. | obey constituted authority and respond to those who hold that authority. |
Data regarding disciplinary action(s) may be entered on a student's record when such notation can be used to assist staff members. All such information shall be removed from the student's permanent record after graduation.
The Superintendent shall promulgate administrative guidelines for student conduct which carry out the purposes of this policy and:
| A. | are not arbitrary but bear a reasonable relationship to the need to maintain a school environment conducive to learning; | |
| B. | do not discriminate among students; | |
| C. | do not demean students; | |
| D. | do not violate any individual rights constitutionally guaranteed to students. |
The Superintendent shall designate sanctions, excluding corporal punishment, for the infractions of rules which shall:
| A. | relate in kind and degree to the infraction; | |
| B. | help the student learn to take responsibility for his/her actions; | |
| C. | be directed, where possible, to reduce the effects of any harm which may have been caused by the student's misconduct; | |
| D. | include a provision that any student who brings a firearm to school is to be expelled for at least one (1) year unless the Superintendent reduces the punishment for reasons justified by the particular circumstances of the incident. |
The Superintendent shall publish to all students and their parents the rules of this District regarding student conduct, the sanctions which may be imposed for breach of those rules, and the due process procedures that will be followed in administering the Code of Conduct.
A student who has been disorderly on a school vehicle may be excluded from transportation services in accordance with Board policies on transportation.
The principal shall have the authority to assign discipline to students, subject to District administrative guidelines and the student's due process right to notice, hearing, and appeal.
Teachers and other employees of this Board having authority over students shall have the authority to take such means as may be necessary to control the disorderly conduct of students in all situations and in all places where such students are within the jurisdiction of this Board.
Revised 11/15/94