B. Managing Director or Lead Director (if no Managing Director):

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1 UPLIFT STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT 1. General Principles and Guidelines These rules of conduct and discipline are established to maintain order in the school and to encourage responsible behavior on the part of all students. The staff of the school has the responsibility to enforce the standards and policies of this Student Code of Conduct. Full cooperation of the students and parents/guardians is expected. Students are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner at all times. Any behavior that is detrimental to the learning environment of the student or other students and/or staff member s will not be tolerated. A student whose behavior shows disrespect toward others, including interference with another s access to public education and to a safe environment, will be subject to disciplinary action. A. Campus Director: The Campus Director has the authority to implement the Student Code of Conduct up to and including the suspension of a student from campus. If the school has a Dean of Students who handles student discipline, then the Dean of Students may recommend discipline consequences, including suspension or expulsion, to the Campus Director. B. Managing Director or Lead Director (if no Managing Director): Only the Managing Director or Lead Director (if no Managing Director) (referred to herein collectively as the School Director ) has the authority to expel a student. Expulsions shall be handled according to the procedures described below. C. Campus, Classroom, and Assembly Rules In addition to rules in this Student Code of Conduct, Campus Directors and School Directors may impose additional campus rules, and teachers and extracurricular sponsors may impose and communicate such additional campus rules or classroom rules, where such rules are not inconsistent with this Code. A student s conduct in assemblies and other out-of-classroom activity must comply with rules applicable to those of the classroom. D. Extracurricular Standards Sponsors and coaches may develop and communicate written extracurricular expected standards of behavior for induction in and continued participation in that activity. Such standards may be higher than those of the Student Code of Conduct. These standards must be communicated to the students involved in that activity and must be approved by the School Director. Students who violate communicated extracurricular standards of 1

2 behavior may be subject to disciplinary action under the Student Code of Conduct, and in addition, denied the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities. E. Students With Disabilities The discipline of students who have been identified with a disability as outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA 04) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and are currently receiving services under those statutes, will be conducted in accordance with current federal and state laws. School staff will determine if the student is eligible for such services and, upon making such determination, shall utilize and apply the appropriate disciplinary process under the current Code of Conduct. F. Expected Standards of Student Conduct: Each student is expected to behave in a responsible manner by: 1. Demonstrating courtesy and respect for others; 2. Attending all classes, regularly and on time; 3. Preparing for each class by taking the appropriate materials and assignments to class; 4. Being well-groomed and dressing appropriately as defined by the School s code for dress and grooming standards; 5. Obeying all campus, classroom and extracurricular rules; 6. Respecting the rights and privileges of other students, school staff, and other adults on campus or at school-related activities on or off campus; 7. Respecting the property of others, including school property and facilities; 8. Cooperating or assisting the school staff in maintaining safety, order, and discipline; 9. Adhering to the Academic Honesty Policy; and 10. Adhering to the Student Code of Conduct. G. Code of Conduct Violations Prohibited behaviors: Students who engage in any of the following behaviors are subject to disciplinary consequences, up to and including suspension or expulsion, if the behavior is persistent or serious enough, in the reasonable opinion of the School Director, to warrant such action. In addition, the first four listed behaviors are considered serious enough to warrant expulsion for a first offense, subject to the discretion of the School Director. However, nothing in this section should suggest that expulsion for any of the behaviors listed below could not result for a first time offense. 2

3 1. Possessing a firearm, ammunition or explosives; 2. Possessing, using, or being under the influence of an alcoholic beverage; 3. Possessing, using, being under the influence, distributing, attempting to distribute, buying or attempting to buy illegal drugs, regardless of amount; 4. Possessing knives, bladed instruments, air guns, chemical dispensing devices, fireworks, replica firearms or bombs, electronic stunning devices, and other similarly dangerous items; 5. Leaving school grounds or school-sponsored events without permission of an appropriate school official; 6. Insubordination, i.e., failing to comply with lawful directives given by school personnel; 7. Engaging in inappropriate physical or sexual conduct; 8. Engaging in conduct that constitutes sexual harassment, whether the conduct is by word, gesture, or any other sexual conduct, including requests for sexual favors; 9. Possessing or using matches or a lighter except as part of an instructional program; 10. Starting or building a fire on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event except as part of an instructional program; 11. Possessing, using, or smoking tobacco products; 12. Possessing or selling items attempted to be passed off as drugs or contraband; 13. Possessing drug paraphernalia; 14. Possessing or distributing pornographic material; 15. Possessing, selling, using, or distributing medications are available without a prescription in a manner that is not consistent with the medicine s intended use as indicated on the manufacturer s label or with school rules concerning the handling of such medications; 16. Committing an assault which results in injury; 17. Making a threat to harm someone or to cause damage to the building or property of the school, including a false alarm or report, including but not limited to, bomb threats; 18. Using, in a manner inconsistent with the manufacturer s instructions, or being under the influence of, glue or aerosol paint; 19. Discharging a fire extinguisher, except in an emergency; 20. Violating dress or grooming standards; 21. Violating campus, classroom, extracurricular or other communicated standards of behavior; 22. Being in facilities designated for the opposite sex such as restrooms or locker rooms, or in facilities designated as faculty, janitorial only, or custodial only; 23. Cheating or copying the work of another; 24. Throwing objects that can cause bodily injury or property damage; 25. Using profanity, vulgar language, or obscene gestures; 26. Engaging in fighting, whether provoked or not, when such fighting results or may result in injury to a student, staff, or bystander; 27. Bullying, which may include repeated teasing, taunting, threatening, hitting, stealing, intentional exclusion, and rumors that create an ongoing pattern of harassment and abuse, including the use of social media or internet as a means of bullying; 28. Stealing, theft or robbery; 29. Damaging or vandalizing property belonging to others; 30. Name calling, ethnic or racial slurs, or derogatory statements that school officials reasonably anticipate will disrupt the school program or incite violence; 3

4 31. Inappropriate or illegal use of the school s electronic communication systems, including the Internet; 32. Falsification of records, passes, or other school-related documents; 33. Behaving in any way that substantially disrupts the school environment or educational process; 34. Being involved in gang activity, including participating as a pledge or member, or soliciting another person to become a pledge or member of a gang; 35. Violation of a final warning contract or similar behavioral contract or agreement issued in connection with a prior disciplinary action; or 36. Evidence confirming that a student has committed a felony level offense (under the Texas Penal Code) or other serious off-campus conduct which likely to have one or more of the following effects: a. Disrupts the learning environment; b. Provides a negative example to other students; or c. Creates a dangerous and unsafe environment for students or school personnel. The above list of prohibited behaviors is offered by way of example only. Disciplinary action, up to and including suspension or expulsion, may result for other types of school-related misconduct that violates the spirit or intent of this Code of Conduct. II. Discipline Management -Consequences: Discipline will be designed to improve conduct and to encourage students to adhere to their responsibilities as members of the school community. Disciplinary action will draw on the professional judgment of teachers and administrators and on a range of discipline management techniques. Discipline will be correlated to the seriousness of the offense, the student s age and grade level, the frequency of misbehavior, the student s attitude, the effect of the misconduct on the school environment, and any statutory requirements. Because of these factors, discipline for a particular offense may bring into consideration varying techniques and responses. Teachers initially handle all discipline issues within their classrooms and administer consequences ranging from a simple warning to removal from the classroom. For those Code infractions that can be handled by the teacher, the following discipline management techniques may be used alone or in combination. a. Verbal or oral correction; b. Cooling off or timeout; c. Phone calls to parents/guardians; d. Seating changes in the classroom or lunchroom; e. Counseling by teachers, counselors, or administrators; f. Parent-teacher conferences; g. Parent-administrator conferences; h. Temporary confiscation of items that disrupt the educational process; i. Grade reductions for academic violations such as cheating, copying, allowing others to copy work, or plagiarism; j. Rewards or demerits; 4

5 k. Behavioral contracts or agreements; l. Sending the student to the office or other assigned areas, or in-school suspension; m. Detention, either during the school day or outside the school day; n. Assigned school duties, other than class tasks, such as cleaning desks; or o. Withdrawal of privileges, such as participation in extracurricular activities and eligibility for seeking and holding honorary offices. III. Suspension or Expulsion: Students, who violate this Code of Conduct, as noted above, are subject to disciplinary consequences, up to and including suspension or expulsion, if the behavior is persistent or serious enough, in the reasonable opinion of the School Director, to warrant such action. Firearm Violations Federal law mandates that a student be expelled from the regular classroom for a period of at least one calendar year for bringing a firearm (as defined by 20 U.S.C. Section 7151) to school, subject, however, to the discretion of the School Director to modify the length of the expulsion or assess another comparable penalty that results in the student s exclusion from the regular school program on a case-by-case basis. A. Suspension Due Process: The Campus Director (or Dean of Students if authorized by the School Director) has the authority to suspend a student for a period of up to three school days for any of the following reasons: 1. The severity or persistence of the Code of Conduct violation alleged; 2. The need to further investigate an incident or allegation; or 3. That a recommendation to expel the student has been considered. Prior to suspending a student, the Campus Director (or Dean) must notify and consult with the School Director, and in addition, the Campus Director (or Dean) must hold an informal conference with the student to: 1. Notify the student of the accusations against him/her; 2. Allow the student to relate his/her version of the incident; 3. Determine whether the student s conduct warrants suspension. Notification to Parents (or legal guardian, if applicable): If the Campus Director determines the student s conduct warrants suspension, the Campus Director will notify the student s parents that the student has been suspended before the student is sent home. At this time, the Campus Director will also notify the student s parents of 5

6 the period of suspension, the grounds for suspension, and the time and place for conference with the Campus Director. Emergency Actions The Campus Director may order the immediate suspension of a student for up to three days if the Campus Director believes that the student s presence threatens the health, safety, or welfare of himself/herself or other students or faculty. If a student is suspended in an emergency situation without the opportunity for notice of the allegations against him/her, the Campus Director must notify the student of the allegations and provide the student with an opportunity to present his/her version of the incident within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed three (3) days from the date of the suspension. While suspended, students are not allowed to be on campus, including at afterschool activities. The suspended days will be counted as unexcused absences. Students may receive credit for work missed during the period of suspension if the student makes up work missed during the period of suspension within the same number of days the student was absent. B. Expulsion Due Process: If the Campus Director believes a student has committed an expellable offense, the Campus Director may make the recommendation to the School Director. Prior to taking any expulsion action, the Campus Director or other appropriate administrator will schedule a hearing before the School Director and provide written notice to the student and his parents of: 1. The reasons for the recommended expulsion; and 2. The date, time, and location of a hearing before the School Director, within three days after the date of the notice, unless the parents and School Director agree in writing to an alternate time. The notice shall further state that the student is entitled to: a. be present at the hearing; b. have an opportunity to present evidence; c. have an opportunity to examine/question the school s evidence and adult witnesses; d. be accompanied by his/her parents or another adult who can provide guidance to the student and who is not an employee of the district; and e. be represented by an attorney. The notice shall also state that if the parent declines to attend the hearing, such failure will constitute a waiver of further rights to a hearing or appeal of the matter. 6

7 Hearing before School Director: After providing notice to the student and parent of the hearing, the School Director shall hold the hearing regardless of whether the student, the student s parents or another adult representing the student attends. The School Director may audio record the hearing. At the hearing, the school administration shall be allowed to present its evidence of the alleged violation and the student and/or his parents or attorney may present evidence and cross examine the administration witnesses in defense of the allegations. Within 24 hours of the hearing, the School Director will notify the student and the student s parents in writing of his/her decision. The decision shall specify: Board Review of Expulsion 1. The length of the expulsion, if any; 2. The procedures for re-admittance at the end of the expulsion period; and 3. The right to appeal the School Director s decision to the governing school board (or its designee). After the due process hearing, the expelled student or parent/guardian may request that the board review the expulsion decision. The student or parent must submit a written request to the School Director within three days after receipt of the written decision. Appeal to the Local Advisory Board The student or his/her parent/guardian may elect to appeal the School Director s decision to the local advisory board for the school. If such request is made, the local advisory board may designate a committee of the board members to hear the appeal, however, the final authority on any appeal rests with the charter holder board (the Uplift Education Board). The School Director will provide the student or parent with written notice of the date, time, and place of the meeting at which the local advisory board (or its designated committee) will review the decision. If the student or parent/guardian elects to appeal to the local advisory board, the time limit for appeal to the charter holder board will be extended and will not run until the local advisory board (or designated committee) issues its decision. The local advisory board (or its designated committee) will review the record of the expulsion hearing in a closed meeting unless the parent requests in writing that the matter be heard in an open meeting. The local advisory board (or its designated committee) may hear statements made by the parties at the review and will base its 7

8 decision on evidence reflected in the record and any statements made by the parties at the review. Consequences will not be deferred pending the outcome of the hearing. The board (or its designated committee) may deliberate in private, but will communicate its decision orally after deliberation, and if not prior to the close of the meeting, within 24 hours after the meeting is adjourned. Appeal to the Charter Holder Board. The student or his/her parents may appeal the decision of the School Director or the local advisory board to the Uplift Education board by notifying the School Director in writing within seven days of the date of receipt of the School Director s decision (or within seven days of the receipt of the local advisory board s decision). The School Director will provide the student or parent with written notice of the date, time, and place of the meeting at which the Uplift board (or its designated committee) will review the decision. The Uplift Board may designate a committee to hear the appeal. The board (or its designated committee) will review the audio or transcribed record from the hearing before the School Director and the local advisory board, if applicable, and will hear statements made by the parties at the review and will base its decision on evidence reflected in the record and any statements made by the parties at the review. Consequences will not be deferred pending the outcome of the hearing. The board (or its designated committee) may deliberate in private, but will communicate its decision orally after deliberation, or if not prior to the close of the open meeting, then in writing within 24 hours after the open meeting is adjourned. The decision of the Uplift board (or its designated committee) is final. During the appeal process, the student will be allowed to complete homework and submit for credit, however, the student will not be allowed to be on campus, including at afterschool activities. If the expulsion is upheld, the student will not be allowed on the campus unless approved in writing by the School Director and only for a sibling related activity. Readmission after Withdrawal or Expulsion: If a student has been expelled or has withdrawn prior to a final expulsion or disciplinary hearing, the student is not eligible for readmission to the school, or to any other school operated under the charter of the school the student was attending at the time of the expulsion or withdrawal, unless the following terms are met: 1. The student must have a clean discipline record at the current school he/she is attending for at least one full semester; and 2. The student must meet with the Readmission Committee to present a request for readmission. 8

9 The Readmission Committee ( Committee ) will be comprised of two teachers and an administrator (appointed by the School Director), all of whom were not directly involved in the original expulsion or withdrawal. The Committee may request current teacher recommendations for the student, relevant commentary from any counselor with whom the student may have consulted, as well as any other documentation pertinent to the application. The student or his/her parent will be allowed to make a statement to support the student s request and may submit additional documentation to the Committee for consideration. A parent or other adult representative may also be present for the presentation to the Committee. Upon conclusion of the presentation and after review of all relevant documentation, the Committee will make a recommendation on whether the student should be allowed to apply for readmission. Such recommendation will be made within two business days of the date of the presentation and will be communicated in writing to the student and his/her parent. The decision of the Committee may only be appealed to the School Director, whose decision will be final. If the student is determined to be eligible for readmission, the student must reapply and follow the same process for admission as if he or she were a new applicant. However, if admitted, any subsequent violation of the Student Code of Conduct may result in expulsion without the possibility of readmission. 9