Discipline Policies


Probation, Suspension, and Expulsion

Whenever a student's conduct is such that it demonstrates repeated refusal to obey school rules, endangers the property, health, or safety of others, or consistently disrupts the learning environment, action may be taken to restrict his/her privileges and rights of school attendance.

Such action may be of three kinds:

  1. Probation
  2. Suspension
  3. Expulsion

(See Regulations)
Action taken to suspend or expel students must be preceded by internal school procedures, and supported by defensible records. Final decision to expel a student rests with the secondary school principal or elementary school pastor.

Probation
A student may be placed on probation for a trial period by the school principal. After conferences are held with the student's parents or guardian and relevant school personnel, the principal sets conditions for release from the probation. The principal's decisions are final.

Suspension

  1. Suspension is justified only in unusual circumstances and is normally an in-school suspension.
  2. Prior to any suspension, the student must be advised of the reason for the proposed suspension. The parent or guardian of a suspended student is given prompt notice of the suspension and the reasons for the action.
  3. In-school suspension can be directed for varying lengths of time as decided by the principal but should not exceed five days. In-school suspension conditions are to be determined by the building principal. In-school suspension students remain the responsibility of the school.
  4. Out-of-school suspension is considered a rarity and is the responsibility of the principal. A maximum of five days can be imposed unless a written notice of an expulsion hearing is scheduled. Such notice shall allow not more than a total of fifteen consecutive school days to be served in suspension until the expulsion hearing is held. Out-of-school suspension may be given by the principal immediately following a serious disciplinary offense. Such a suspension is for investigative purposes.

Expulsion
As a definition, expulsion is considered a termination of enrollment, permanently or for an extended period of time.

Expulsion shall be considered as a rarity and used only as a very last measure. Expulsion results from repeated refusal to obey school rules or from conduct which endangers property, health, or safety of others, and is deemed to be in the best interest of the school. An extremely serious single offense may also be cause for expulsion.

Students asked not to return the following year for behavior reasons are considered to be expelled. Students not allowed to return due to failure to meet required academic standards are not considered to be expelled. These academic requirements are well-articulated in the student handbook. The Archdiocesan Superintendent of Schools/designee is to be informed before any action leading to expulsion is taken.

Expulsion Procedures

  1. The actions and procedures for probations, suspension or expulsion shall be published in the school handbook.
  2. Actions taken to suspend or expel students shall be preceded by internal school procedures and supported by
    defensible records.
  3. Expulsion can take place only after an expulsion hearing has been held. Parents/legal guardians shall be notified
    in writing at least five days before the hearing is to take place; this notification period can be waived by mutual
    consent of the parents and the school if an expedited hearing date is advisable. The hearing committee composition
    should be such as to insure objectivity and procedures should be clearly identified in the school handbook.
  4. The hearing committee makes a recommendation to the secondary school principal/elementary school pastor. The recommendation will be to:
    • expel
    • suggest other disciplinary actions in lieu of expulsion
    • exonerate the student of any wrong doing
  5. Before the hearing is held the parents and student are informed that the student may be voluntarily withdrawn up until the time that the final disciplinary action that is approved takes effect.
  6. If the decision to expel the student is made, parents are notified, in writing, of the action. The right to appeal is made known to the parents.

Appeal
The student, or his/her parent or guardian, may within five school days following notification of the expulsion, appeal to the Superintendent of Schools in writing with rationale for an appeal. The Superintendent will investigate that correct procedures were followed as defined by Archdiocesan policy. If they were not followed, the Superintendent will refer the issue back to the parish/secondary school with a recommendation about at which step of the procedure needs to be further processed.
Archdiocese Policy 5144 Adopted 11-05

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