NEPN/NSBA Code:JK  

STUDENT DISCIPLINE 

It is essential for schools to maintain a safe and orderly environment which supports student learning and achievement. Effective discipline enables the schools to discharge their primary responsibilities to educate students and promote citizenship and ethical behavior. All students are expected to conduct themselves with respect for others and in accordance with School Committee policies, school rules, and applicable state and federal laws. Disciplinary action may be taken against students who violate policies, rules, or laws, and/or whose conduct directly interferes with the operations, discipline, or general welfare of the school. 

The School Committee expects the following principles to guide the development and implementation of school rules and disciplinary procedures: 

A.  Discipline should emphasize positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior, as well as appropriate consequences for misconduct.The focus should be on instructional and environmental supports that are designed to teach students prosocial alternatives to problem behaviors, with high rates of feedback. 

B.  Expectations for student behavior should be clear and communicated to school staff, students, and parents. 

C.  Positive and restorative interventions should be used to the extent feasible. Consequences for misbehavior should be in proportion to the offense, fair, and consistently enforced. Administrators shall have the discretion to tailor discipline to the facts and circumstances of the particular case.

D.  Parents should be actively involved in the process of preventing and resolving disciplinary problems at school. 

Any restraint or seclusion of students shall comply with applicable regulations and School Committee policy.

Recess may not be withheld as a consequence for a violation of the Student Code of Conduct for any student in grade five or below, except when there is no alternative time available, recess time may be used for restorative interventions related to the student’s conduct.

Physical force and corporal punishment shall not be used as disciplinary methods. Maine law provides that “a teacher or other person entrusted with the care or supervision of a person for special or limited purposes may not be held civilly liable for the use of a reasonable degree of force against the person who creates a disturbance if the teacher or other person reasonably believes it is necessary to a) control the disturbing behavior, or b) remove the person from the scene of the disturbance.” 

Teachers are authorized to make and enforce rules for effective classroom management and to foster appropriate student behavior, subject to the direction and approval by the building administrator/designee. 

School-wide rules shall be developed by the building administrator with appropriate input from school staff, students and parents and subject to approval by the Superintendent. Building administrators shall provide for the suspension or other serious disciplinary action against students in accordance with School Committee policies, administrative procedures, and Maine law. 

Students with disabilities shall be disciplined in accordance with applicable federal and state law/regulations.

To reduce disciplinary problems and the potential for violence in the schools, the Superintendent may develop procedures for conflict resolution which may be accomplished through peer mediation, counseling, parent involvement, services of community agencies, or other activities suitable to the school district.

Legal Reference: 17-A MRSA § 106 

20-A MRSA §§ 1001(15A); 4009 

Cross Reference:       AC - Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action  

 ACAA – Student Harassment and Sexual Harassment 

EBCA - Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan

JIC - Student Code of Conduct

JICIA Weapons, Violence, and School Safety 

JKB - Student Detention 

JKD - Suspension of Students 

JKE - Expulsion of Students 

JKF - Disciplinary Removal of Students with Disabilities 

Adopted: June 7, 2000 

Reviewed: September 24, 2012 

Revised: June 5, 2023