The Board of Education recognizes that students possess not only the right to an education but the rights of citizenship as well.

In providing students the opportunity for an education to which they are entitled, the District shall attempt to offer nurture, counsel, and custodial care appropriate to their age and maturity. The District shall, at the same time, guarantee that no student is deprived of the basic right to equal treatment and equal access to the educational program, due process, a presumption of innocence, free expression and association, and the privacy of his/her own thoughts.

Attendant to the rights guaranteed to each student, however, are certain responsibilities, which include respect for the rights of others, obedience to properly constituted school authority, and compliance with the guidelines and rules of the District.

The Board realizes that as students differ in age and maturity, so they differ in ability to handle both the rights of citizens and the concomitant responsibilities. The exercise of each right shall be granted, therefore, with due regard for the degree of responsibility possessed by the student and the student's need for the continuing guidance and control of those responsible for his/her education.

Since a student who has reached the age of majority possesses the full rights of an adult, s/he may authorize those school matters previously handled by his/her parents, but s/he also assumes the responsibility for his/her performance in school, attendance, and compliance with school rules.

O.R.C. 3109.01

November, 1995