Students’ Responsibilities

STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Lesson goal To improve participants’ understanding of their responsibilities as students.

STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Students will learn: What Virginia law says about the responsibilities of students Compulsory school attendance and student conduct requirements How both laws and school rules apply to student conduct How school safety and student discipline policies are connected Responsibilities of parents related to attendance and conduct

Expectations for behavior at school STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Expectations for behavior at school Attend school and get to class on time. Follow school conduct expectations and rules set forth in the school division’s Student Code of Conduct. Follow individual school and classroom rules that are typically in school handbooks and posted in classrooms. Show respect to other students and school staff.

Expectations for behavior, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Expectations for behavior, cont. Not bring to school, use, or possess drugs, alcohol, or tobacco products. Not bring to school, use, or possess any weapon or other banned object. Not participate in any gang or gang-related activity. Not participate in fights or other forms of violence.

STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Attendance at school Several laws address school attendance. These laws: Require parents to send children to school. Require students to attend school. Require schools to take specific action when children are not enrolled or students fail to attend. Authorize law enforcement officers to pick up students who are skipping school. Authorize juvenile courts to take action against parents and/or children for failure to attend.

Virginia’s attendance requirements STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Virginia’s attendance requirements Virginia law requires every child between the ages of 5 and 17 to attend school. Parents may choose to send their children to a public, private, denominational, or parochial school. If certain requirements are met, parents may also teach their children at home. Schools are required to closely monitor and keep accurate records of student attendance.

STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Absences from school When there are questionable absences or a pattern of unexcused absences, the school is required to investigate the situation and work with the parent and the student to improve attendance. Every school division has one or more attendance officers who are responsible for enforcing attendance laws. If efforts to resolve the non-attendance problem are not successful, the attendance officer may file complaints in the juvenile court. Depending on the circumstances, complaints may be filed against the parent for failure to send the child to school and/or against the student for failure to attend.

STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Truancy Law enforcement officers and attendance officers are authorized to pick up any student who is reported to be truant from school and deliver the child to school. (Code of Virginia § 22.1-266)

Conduct at school At school, you are expected to follow: STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Conduct at school At school, you are expected to follow: Your school division’s code of student conduct Rules that apply at your particular school Classroom rules that apply in particular classrooms Other rules about parking or that apply if you participate in sports or clubs Code of student conduct applies not only when you are on school grounds, but also when you are on the bus going to and from school and at school-sponsored activities, even when the activity is away from school or at another school.

Other laws that apply Both laws and school rules apply at school. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Other laws that apply Both laws and school rules apply at school. In addition to the school rules, you are required to obey: Federal laws that apply throughout the United States and its territories State laws that apply throughout Virginia City, county, or town ordinances that apply in the city, county, or town in which the school is located

Breaking school rules & the law STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Breaking school rules & the law Schools may report any act that they think breaks the law to local law enforement. But they are required by Virginia law to report these offenses: Assault or assault and battery Sexual assault, death, shooting, stabbing, cutting, or wounding of any person Stalking of any person Any conduct involving alcohol, marijuana, a controlled substance, an imitation controlled substance, or an anabolic steroid, including theft of prescription medications

Breaking school rules & the law, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Breaking school rules & the law, cont. Any threats against school personnel Illegal carrying of a firearm onto school property Illegal conduct involving firebombs, explosive materials or devices, hoax explosive devices, explosive or incendiary devices, or chemical bombs Any threats or false threats to bomb Any incident that would be a felony if committed by an adult.

When students break the law STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES When students break the law A student who commits a crime is not only subject to the school’s disciplinary process, but also may be charged with a crime and be required to go through the criminal process.

Notification about rules STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Notification about rules Virginia law requires schools to notify students and their parents of student conduct policies. Each school year, students and their parents are given a copy of the code of student conduct approved by the local school board. (If students enroll after the school year begins, they are given the code as part of their enrollment process.) School rules are in the school handbook that students receive. Students sign agreements to abide by other rules as part of joining clubs or participating in sports.

STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Know the rules It is extremely important for students to understand all rules. “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Disciplinary actions School boards are required by Virginia law to establish discipline policies “designed to provide that public education be conducted in an atmosphere free of disruption and threat to persons or property and supportive of individual rights.”

Disciplinary actions, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Disciplinary actions, cont. The specific consequences for misbehavior will depend on the student conduct policy. In general, the more serious the offense, the more serious the consequences. Disciplinary actions in school are intended to correct behavior. Disciplinary action may range from a verbal warning to expulsion from school. What kinds of disciplinary action do you know about?

Disciplinary actions, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Disciplinary actions, cont. Schools have a legal responsibility to establish policies that make schools safe and orderly. School disciplinary decisions may be appealed in accordance with school policy.

Suspension and expulsion STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Suspension and expulsion Virginia law defines long- and short-term suspension and expulsion. Suspension: Short-term suspension is disciplinary action which mandates that a student is not permitted to attend school for up to 10 days. Long-term suspension mandates that a student is not permitted to attend school for more than 10 school days but fewer than 365 calendar days.

Suspension and expulsion, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Suspension and expulsion, cont. Expulsion: Expulsion mandates that a student is not permitted to attend school within the school division and is ineligible for readmission for 365 calendar days after the date of the expulsion. Virginia law also says that after expulsion, a student may apply or reapply for readmission.

Suspension and expulsion, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Suspension and expulsion, cont. School boards can consider expulsion for students who: Bring firearms or other destructive devices to school Bring drugs, imitation drugs, or marijuana onto school property Other offenses can result in expulsion. Virginia law says that the school board must consider the following: the nature and seriousness of the violation the degree of danger to the school community the student’s disciplinary history, including the seriousness and number of past incidents the appropriateness and availability of an alternative education placement or program

Suspension and expulsion, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Suspension and expulsion, cont. the student’s age and grade level the results of any mental health, substance abuse, or special education assessments the student’s attendance and academic records such other matters as deemed to be appropriate. A school board may find that special circumstances exist and that disciplinary action other than expulsion is appropriate. A student can also be suspended or expelled for acts that don’t have anything to do with school. This can happen when someone is charged with a felony or commits a very serious crime.

Teacher authority to remove students STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Teacher authority to remove students Virginia law grants authority to teachers to remove a student from a classroom for disruptive behavior in accordance with local school board policy. Disruptive behavior is defined as “conduct that interrupts or obstructs the learning environment.”

STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES School searches Locker searches are usually permitted if the local school board has a policy that allows it, and publicizes that policy to the students and their parents. (“Virginia School Search Resource Guide,” Appendix B, Section 4.3) Generally, school officials may search automobiles when they have reasonable suspicion that the search will yield evidence that the student broke the law. Searches must be carried out in such a way as to discover the forbidden item or other evidence using reasonable strategies. (“Guide,” Appendix B, Section 4.5)

STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES School searches, cont. The law also permits schools to use metal detectors and detection dogs. If the search produces an illegal weapon or drug or evidence of criminal activity, the school administrator will then contact local law enforcement.

Corporal punishment One thing a school cannot do is spank you. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Corporal punishment One thing a school cannot do is spank you. “No teacher, principal or other person employed by a school board or employed in a school operated by the Commonwealth shall subject a student to corporal punishment.” Corporal punishment means inflicting physical pain on a student as a means of discipline.

Corporal punishment, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Corporal punishment, cont. But, laws against corporate punishment do NOT forbid: The use of incidental, minor, or reasonable physical contact or other actions designed to maintain order and control. The use of reasonable and necessary force: to quell a disturbance or remove a student from the scene of a disturbance which threatens physical injury to persons or damage to property. to prevent a student from inflicting physical harm on himself or herself. for self-defense or the defense of others. to obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects or controlled substances or paraphernalia which are upon the person of the student or within his or her control.

Corporal punishment, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Corporal punishment, cont. Other corporal punishment exceptions: The definition of corporal punishment also does not include physical pain, injury, or discomfort caused by participation in practice or competition in an interscholastic sport, or participation in physical education or an extracurricular activity.

Responsibility for safe schools STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Responsibility for safe schools Virginia laws require school boards to: Establish policies “designed to provide that public education be conducted in an atmosphere free of disruption and threat to persons or property and supportive of individual rights.” Adopt codes of student conduct and procedures for suspension and expulsion. Develop programs to prevent violence and crime on school property and at school-sponsored events.

Responsibility for safe schools, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Responsibility for safe schools, cont. State regulations say school principals are responsible for effective school management that promotes “a safe and secure environment in which to teach and learn.” School administrators must also ensure “a written procedure … for responding to violent, disruptive or illegal activities by students on school property or during school sponsored activity.”

School resource officers STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES School resource officers A School Resource Officer is: A certified law enforcement officer hired by the local law enforcement agency to provide law enforcement and security services to Virginia public elementary and secondary schools.

School security officers STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES School security officers A School Security Officer is: An individual employed by the local school board who maintains order and discipline, prevents crime, investigates violations of school board policies, and detains students violating the law or school board policies on school property or at school-sponsored events. He or she is responsible for ensuring the safety, security, and welfare of all students, faculty, staff, and visitors in the assigned school.

Responsibilities of parents STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Responsibilities of parents Parents are required to “assist the school in enforcing the standards of student conduct and compulsory school attendance.” At the beginning of each school year, your school will send your parents a notice of their responsibilities, a copy of the school’s code of student conduct, and a copy of the compulsory attendance law. Parents are required to sign and return a form acknowledging they received the materials.

Responsibilities of parents, cont. STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Responsibilities of parents, cont. Parents are also required to inform the school if you have any criminal convictions or have been found by a juvenile court to be delinquent for serious crimes such as firearms offenses, assaults, drug-related offenses, burglary, robbery, or gang activity.

STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Review activity Refer students to the Activity Handout Student Responsibilities Review.

Review and recap You have learned: STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES Review and recap You have learned: What Virginia law says about the responsibilities of students. About requirements that you attend school and abide by your school’s code of student conduct. About how both laws and school rules apply to student conduct. About how student discipline policies are directly related to your school’s responsibility for safe schools. That parents have certain legal responsibilities related to sending you to school and cooperating with schools related to your conduct.