Student Handbook Index

Behavior Expectations

Students are expected to conform to the customary rules of conduct and the normal modes of operation of the facility in which the Learning Center is located. They will also act in accordance with the following behavior expectations:

1. Follow all written and verbal agreements.
2. Be courteous and respectful to others.
3. Respect the property of others.
4. Be prepared to learn at all times.

The teachers and staff of the Learning Center will be on hand at all times to monitor student behavior. If a problem arises, the teacher will contact the student's family and may request a parent-teacher conference to discuss the matter.

Dress Standard

Students are expected to dress in accordance with the "business-like" learning environment of the Charter School. The standards are not intended to take away individual styles, but to remove those clothing items that are taken to extremes or present ideals which the Charter School does not wish to promote. The Charter School considers the following items inappropriate for students to wear at school:

1. Any clothing or jewelry item that depicts drugs, sex, alcohol, profanity or racism.
2. Sheer or revealing garments that are sexually inappropriate.
3. Any clothing that has a disruptive influence on the learning environment.

The teachers and staff of the Learning Center will monitor student dress. Discretion will be used by the administration and will prevail in all instances. If a problem arises, the teacher or administrator may ask the student to leave the center and return with appropriate dress, contact the student's family and/or request a parent-teacher conference to discuss the matter. Continued violations may result in suspension.

Student Discipline Policy

OFY has established policies and standards of behavior in order to promote learning and protect the safety and well being of all students. When these policies and standards are violated, it may be necessary to suspend or expel a student from regular classroom instruction.

Suspended or expelled students shall be excluded from all school-related extracurricular activities during the suspension or expulsion.

Definitions

Suspension shall be defined as a temporary leave of absence from the Charter School that may occur at the recommendation of the individual Charter School teacher, supervisor, or school employee and must be approved by the Chief Operating Officer or designee(s).

Expulsion shall be defined as a permanent dismissal from the Charter School without re-enrollment privileges and must be approved by the Chief Operating Officer or designee(s).

Grounds for Expulsion and Suspension

A student may be subject to suspension and/or expulsion when it is determined that he/she while on or within view of the learning center or at a school sponsored activity:

1. Caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to cause physical injury to another person or willfully used force or violence upon the person of another, except in self-defense.

2. Possessed, sold, or otherwise furnished any firearm, knife, explosive, or other dangerous object.

3. Unlawfully possessed, used, sold, or otherwise furnished, or was under the influence of, any controlled substance as defined in Health and Safety Code 11053-11058, alcoholic beverage, or intoxicant of any kind.

4. Unlawfully offered, arranged, or negotiated to sell any controlled substance as defined in Health and Safety Code 11053-11058, alcoholic beverage or intoxicant of any kind, and then sold, delivered or otherwise furnished to any person another liquid, substance or material and represented same as controlled substance, alcohol beverage or intoxicant.

5. Committed or attempted to commit robbery or extortion.

6. Caused or attempted to cause damage to school property or private property.

7. Stole or attempted to steal school property or private property.

8. Possessed or used tobacco or any products containing tobacco or nicotine products, including but not limited to cigars, cigarettes, miniature cigars, clove cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, chew, packets and betel. This restriction shall not prohibit a student from using or possessing his/her own prescription products.

9. Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual profanity or vulgarity.

10. Unlawfully possessed or unlawfully offered, arranged, or negotiated to sell any drug paraphernalia, as defined in Health and Safety Code 11014.5.

11. Disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, other school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties.

12. Knowingly received stolen school property or private property.

13. Possessed an imitation firearm, i.e., a replica of a firearm that is so substantially similar in physical properties to an existing firearm as to lead a reasonable person to conclude that the replica is a firearm unless, in the case of possession of any object of this type, the student had obtained written permission to possess the item from a certificated school employee, Charter School's Chief Operating Officer or designee(s)'s concurrence.

14. Committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault as defined in Penal Code 261, 266c, 286, 288, 288a or 289, or committed a sexual battery as defined in Penal Code 243.4.

15. Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a student who is a complaining witness or witness in a school disciplinary proceeding for the purpose of preventing that student from being a witness and/or retaliating against that student for being a witness.

16. Made terrorist threats against school officials and/or school property.

    ***Note: Pursuant to Education Code 48900.7, the making of a terrorist threat includes any written or oral statement by a person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which will result in death, great bodily injury to another person or property damage in excess of $1,000, with the specific intent that the statement is to be taken as a threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it out***

    A student in grades 4 through 12 may also be subject to suspension or recommendation for expulsion when it is determined that he/she while on or within view of the campus or at a school sponsored activity:

17. Committed sexual harassment as defined in Education Code 212.5.

18. Caused, attempted to cause, threatened to cause, or participated in an act of hate violence as defined in Education Code 33032.5.

19. Intentionally harassed, threatened or intimidated a student or group of students to the extent of having the actual and reasonably expected effect of materially disrupting class work, creating substantial disorder, and invading student rights by creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment.

A student shall be subject to immediate suspension if the Chief Operating Officer or designee(s) determines that an emergency situation exists. An "emergency situation" involves a clear and present danger to the lives, safety or health of students or school personnel. The Chief Operating Officer or designee(s) shall immediately suspend any student found at the school or at a school activity to have committed any of the actions identified as items #2, 3, 4, or 14 under "Grounds for Suspension and Expulsion".

Mandatory Expulsion

Unless the Chief Operating Officer or designee(s) finds that expulsion is inappropriate due to particular circumstances, the Chief Operating Officer or designee(s) shall expel a student for any of the actions identified as items #1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 under "Grounds for Suspension and Expulsion" or for assault or battery, as defined in Penal Code 240 and 242, upon any school employee.

Student Due Process

OFY shall provide for the fair treatment of students facing suspension and expulsion by affording them due process rights. Administrative regulations regarding suspension and expulsion shall be revised periodically as required by any changes in the Charter School policy or state and federal law.

In all cases the Charter School disciplinary policies shall afford students due process under the law. To this end, the Chief Operating Officer or designee(s) shall develop rules and regulations governing the procedures by which students may be suspended or expelled. The Charter School's Chief Operating Officer or designee(s) shall notify staff, students and parents/guardians about the Charter School disciplinary policy, including policies governing student suspensions and expulsions. Students and their parents or guardians will be notified in writing at the time of enrollment.

In the event of a suspension, students recommended for suspension will be afforded due process in the following manner:

1. Student will be told of the charge against him or her and will be provided an opportunity to respond to that charge in an informal conference, before the suspension is imposed, unless the administrator in charge finds that there is clear and present danger to the life, safety or health of students or staff.

2. Written notice of the suspension will be sent to parents or guardians within a reasonable time after the suspension advising of the facts of such suspension, its duration and justification and further stating that, if desired, a prompt meeting or hearing will be held at which the suspension may be discussed with school officials. All written documentation must be approved by the Chief Operating Officer or designee(s). This is to ensure all due process has been afforded to students and their families and to ensure all written documents comply with state and federal law.

3. If requested, a meeting or hearing will be held within a reasonable time period, at which the suspended student may also be present, and the student will be given the opportunity to present informal proof of his or her side of the case.

In the event of an expulsion, students recommended for expulsion will be entitled to written notice of the grounds for their proposed removal and will be given a full due process hearing in regard to the proposed expulsion. Parents or guardians of non-adult students will also be given written notice in advance of such hearing so that they may attend. The Charter School will maintain a record of the notice and of the hearing. The student will also be entitled to appeal a decision to expel such student, pursuant to the complaint procedures established by the Charter Board and defined in Section 1 of the Charter School Complaint Procedure document.

Students with Disabilities

A student identified as an individual with disabilities pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is subject to the same grounds for suspension and expulsion which apply to regular education students. All the procedural safeguards established by Charter School policies and regulations shall be observed in considering the suspension or expulsion of students with disabilities. In the case of a suspension or an expulsion of a student identified as having special education needs, the Charter School shall comply with federal and state law.

Student Handbook Index