Teachers, secretaries, support staff, custodians, commissionaires, cafeteria staff and school bus drivers provide a variety of valuable services for students.   Students are expected to be courteous to and respectful of all staff and to follow their directions.

Progressive Discipline

Progressive discipline is an approach that makes use of a continuum of interventions, supports, and consequences when inappropriate behaviours have occurred. The focus of the Progressive Discipline model builds upon strategies that promote positive behaviours for all students. For students with special education and/or disability related needs, interventions, supports and consequences are consistent with the expectations in the student’s IEP and/or his/her demonstrated abilities. Progressive discipline includes early and/or ongoing intervention strategies.

Suspension of Students

The Board also supports the use of suspension and expulsion as outlined in Part XIII of the Education Act where a student has committed one or more of the 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 infractions for which a suspension may be imposed by the principal include:

• uttering a threat to inflict serious bodily harm on another person;
• possessing alcohol, illegal and/or restricted drugs;
• being under the influence of alcohol;
• swearing at a teacher or at another person in a position of authority;
• 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;
• bullying;
• any act considered by the principal to be injurious to the moral tone of the school;
• any act considered by the principal to be injurious to the physical or mental well-being of the members of the school community;
• any act considered by the principal to be contrary to the Board or school Code of Conduct.

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

Expulsion of Students

The infractions for which the principal shall suspend and may consider recommending to the Board that a student be expelled from the student’s school or from all schools of the Board include:

• possessing a weapon, including possessing a firearm;
• using a weapon to cause or to threaten bodily harm to another person;
• committing physical assault on another person that causes  bodily harm requiring treatment by a medical practitioner;
• committing sexual assault;
• trafficking in weapons or in illegal and/or restricted drugs;
• committing robbery;
• giving alcohol to a minor;
• any act considered by the principal to be significantly injurious to the moral tone of the school and/or to the physical or mental well-being of others;
• 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;
• 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;
• 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 the Board’s property;
• the student has demonstrated through a pattern of behaviour that she/he has not prospered by the instruction available to him or her and that she/he is persistently  resistant to making changes in behaviour which would enable him or her to prosper; or
• any act considered by the principal to be a serious violation of the Board or School Code of Conduct. 

Note: In accordance with the Police and School Response Protocol, Police will be contacted for, but not limited to the above noted infractions. Consequences resulting from criminal charges related to school incidents are independent of those imposed under the Education Act.

A student who is subject to a suspension of five (5) or fewer school days will be provided with school work to complete at home while serving the suspension. A Student Action Plan (SAP) will be developed for every student subject to a suspension of six (6) or more school days. A student subject to suspension for eleven (11) or more school days will be provided with both academic and non-academic supports, which will be identified in the student’s SAP. Students subject to a suspension of fewer than eleven school days may be offered non-academic supports where such supports are appropriate and available. Suspended students are not allowed on school property, on school buses or at school-authorized events or activities throughout the suspension period.