Standards of Behaviour

All members of the school community must:

• Respect and comply with all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws;
• Demonstrate honesty and integrity;
• Respect differences in people, their ideas and opinions;
• Treat one another with dignity and respect at all times, and especially when there is disagreement;
• Respect and treat others fairly, regardless of, for example, race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability;
• Respect the rights of others;
• Show proper care and regard for school property and the property of others;
• Take appropriate measures to help those in need;
• Respect all members of the school community, especially persons in positions of authority;
• Respect the need of others to work in an environment that is conducive to learning and teaching;
• Seek assistance from a member of the school staff, if necessary, to resolve conflict peacefully;
• Not swear at a teacher or at another person in a position of authority.

Safety

All members of the school community must not:

• Be in possession of any weapon, including firearms
• Cause injury to any person with an object
• Use any object to threaten or intimidate another person; not be in possession of, or under the influence of, or provide others with, alcohol or illegal drugs
• Inflict or encourage others to inflict bodily harm on another person
• Engage in bullying behaviours
• Commit sexual assault
• Traffic weapons or illegal drugs
• Give alcohol to a minor
• Commit robbery
• Engage in hate propaganda and other forms of behaviour motivated by hate or bias;
• Commit an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property or to property located on the premises of the school.

Suspension Infractions

When a principal’s investigation of an incident, which should include consultation with the adult student or the student’s parent/guardian and student, determines that a student has committed one or more infractions outlined below on school property, during a school-related activity or event, and/or in circumstances where the infraction has an impact on the school climate, a principal will consider whether that student should be suspended, taking into account any mitigating and other factors that might be applicable in the circumstances. The Principal will also contact the police, consistent with the Police and School Response Protocol, if the student is suspected of committing an infraction requiring such contact.

The infractions for which a suspension may be imposed by the principal include:

1. Uttering a threat to inflict serious bodily harm on another person
2. Possessing alcohol, illegal and/or restricted drugs
3. Being under the influence of alcohol, illegal and/or restricted drugs
4. Swearing at a teacher or at another person in a position of authority
5. Committing an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property at the student’s school or to property located on the premises of the student’s school
6. Persistent truancy
7. Habitual neglect of duty
8. Use of profane vulgar, or improper language
9. Bullying
10. Conduct injurious to the moral tone of the school
11. Persistent opposition to authority
12. Conduct injurious to the physical or mental well-being of any member of the school community
13. Any act considered by the principal to be contrary to the Board or school Code of Conduct.

A student may be suspended for a minimum of one (1) school day and a maximum of twenty (20) school days.

Expulsion Infractions:

Expulsion is the removal of a student by the Board from the regular services of the Board for reasons as set out in the Education Act and by the Expulsion Policy of the Niagara Catholic District School Board. Principals may recommend to the Committee of the Board expulsions of students from their schools. When a principal has reasonable grounds to believe that a student has committed one or more infractions outlined below on school property, during a school-related activity or event, and/or in circumstances where the infraction has an impact on the school climate, the principal will suspend the student. The principal will also contact the police consistent with the Police and School Response Protocol if the infraction the student is suspected of committing requires such contact. When in doubt, the principal will consult with his or her Superintendent.

The enumerated activities are:

1. Possessing a weapon, including possessing a firearm
2. Using a weapon to cause or to threaten bodily harm to another person
3. Committing physical assault on another person that causes bodily harm requiring treatment by a medical practitioner
4. Committing sexual assault
5. Trafficking in weapons, illegal and/or restricted drugs
6. Committing robbery
7. Giving alcohol to a minor
8. A pattern of behaviour that is so inappropriate that the student's continued presence is injurious to the effective learning and/or working environment of others
9. Activities engaged in by the student on or off school property that cause the student's continuing presence in the school to create an unacceptable risk to the physical or mental well-being of other person(s) in the school or Board
10. Activities engaged in by the student on or off school property that have caused extensive damage to the property of the Board or to goods that are/were on Board property
11. The student has demonstrated through a pattern of behaviour that s/he has not prospered by the instruction available to him or her and that s/he is persistently resistant to making changes in behaviour which would enable him or her to prosper
12. Any act considered by the principal to be a serious violation of the Board or school Code of Conduct.

Safe School Teams

Each school must have in place a safe school team responsible for school safety that is composed of at least one student (where appropriate), parent, teacher, support staff member, a community partner, and the principal. The team must have a staff chair.

Through the development of school level plans, which address prevention and intervention strategies, schools will implement a bullying prevention and intervention plan.

Schools must also establish a monitoring and review process to determine the effectiveness of their bullying prevention and intervention plans (i.e. school improvement plans).

All safe school policies and guidelines can also be accessed on the Board website.