8th Grade Code of Conduct
I. Discipline is necessary for the efficient administration of education and the safety of faculty, staff, and students.
A. The eighth grade will follow a uniform code of disciplinary action which acts in accordance with county and school policy as set forth in the Student Code of Conduct.
B. The Uniform Code of Discipline (UCD) comprises several steps:
1. Lunch Detention (3x) or Tardy to Any Class (3x)
a. After a student accumulates 3 tardy slips from any class they will receive a SLD (Silent Lunch Detention)
b. After a student accumulates 3 SLD slips from any class they will receive an ASD (After School Detention)
2. After School Detention: Parents notified via Disciplinary Notice
a. Disciplinary Notice should be signed and returned by date specified on slip
3. Parents notified after the second assignment to After School Detention that the next step will be a disciplinary referral to the administration. Student will also have a conference with administration to discuss behavior.
4. Referral to the Administration
C. The UCD is to be used for the correction of behavior that disrupts the educational process. It is not meant to be used to punish students for forgetting textbooks, pencils, not raising their hand etc.. Those incidents should be handled by the individual teacher.
II. Expanded explanation of the steps of the UCD
- Lunch Detention
1. Lunch detentions will be held in designated eighth grade teachers’ classrooms on a rotating basis. The teacher assigning a lunch detention will inform the student of the location of the detention at the time of the assignment.
2. Students assigned lunch detention will get their lunches from the cafeteria and report immediately to the detention room. Students should ask the cafeteria staff for a styrofoam tray as they will not be permitted to return to the cafeteria to return red trays.
3. Students who report to lunch detention late (more than seven minutes through the lunch period) are considered to have not served detention and will be assigned an additional day of detention. Students who are in school but fail to appear for an assigned lunch detention will be assigned an additional day of lunch detention.
4. Students who fail to appear for two detentions in a row will be assigned an after school detention.
5. Any questions about SLDs should be addressed with the assigning teacher.
B. Tardiness
1. Tardiness is one of the most frequent and disruptive of student behaviors.
2. A student is considered tardy to class when they arrive to class after the tardy bell has rung. If the student has a pass from the prior classroom teacher, school nurse, guidance counselor, or an administrator, the student will not be considered tardy.
3. If a student is going to be tardy because a teacher held him/her in class then they must have a pass signed by that teacher. Otherwise this situation is treated the same as any other case of tardiness.
4. When a student is tardy they will be given a tardy slip to fill out. Tardy slips will then be passed on to the 8th grade discipline coordinator. When a student has accumulated a total of three tardy slips, an SLD will be assigned.
5. Any questions about tardy infractions should be addressed with the assigning teacher.
C. After School Detention
1. The position of 8th grade discipline coordinator is held by Mr. Taylor.
2. When a student is assigned an ASD, he/she will be given a disciplinary notice to take home to the parents. The disciplinary notice will show the date the ASD is assigned, the reason for the assignment, the room in which detention is to take place (if known at the time), and the time of the detention.
3. ASD’s will last from 3:50-4:50 PM on Tuesday and Thursday.
- Referral to the Administration
After a student has been assigned two ASD’s parents will be contacted via phone, or disciplinary report, and informed that the next disciplinary step for future infractions will be an administrative referral.
2. Exceptions to the Above Policy
It is recognized that there will be times when it becomes necessary for reasons of safety and to minimize classroom disruption that a student will be removed from the classroom in an expedient fashion. These students will be accompanied to office by a staff member or an administrator.
F. Disciplinary Probation
Throughout the school year students may need to be placed on disciplinary probation. Students can be placed on disciplinary probation for repeated violations of school rules. As a result of being placed on disciplinary probation, students may not be able to attend school functions such as school sporting events, SCA sponsored activities, or grade level field trips. Depending on behavior, student probation can be lifted. Disciplinary probation will be administered by Mr. Nazigian.