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Code of Conduct
The information in this section is reprinted from the student agenda that is distributed to all elementary students in the Simcoe County District School Board.
Code of Conduct
Code of Conduct (PDF)
Standards of Behaviour
Respect, Civility and Responsible Citizenship
All members of the school community must:
• Respect and comply with all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws;
• Demonstrate honesty and integrity;
• Respect differences in people, their ideas and opinions;
• Treat one another with dignity and respect at all times, and especially when there is
disagreement;
• Respect and treat others fairly, regardless of, for example, their race, ancestry,
place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, gender, sexual orientation,
age or disability;
• Respect the rights of others;
• Show proper care and regard for school property and the property of others;
• Take appropriate measures to help those in need;
• Seek assistance from a member of the school staff, if necessary, to resolve conflict
peacefully;
• Dress in a manner that is appropriate to school activities with regard to exposure,
cleanliness and/or message;
• Respect all members of the school community, especially persons in positions
of authority;
• Respect the need of others to work in an environment that is conducive to learning
and teaching;
• Not swear at a teacher or at another person in a position of authority.
Safety
All members of the school community must not:
• Possess any weapon, including firearms;
• Use any object to threaten or intimidate another person;
• Cause injury to any person with an object;
• Possess or be under the influence of alcohol and/or illegal drugs;
• Provide others with alcohol or illegal drugs;
• Be under the influence of a noxious substance, such as glue or gasoline;
• Contravene the Tobacco Control Act;
• Inflict or encourage others to inflict bodily harm on another person;
• Engage in bullying behaviours;
• Commit sexual assault;
• Traffic weapons or illegal drugs;
• Give alcohol to a minor;
• Commit robbery;
• Engage in hate propaganda and other forms of behaviour motivated by hate or bias;
• Commit an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property or to
property located on the premises of the school.
Student Discipline Procedures
Prevention and Early Intervention
Prevention and early intervention strategies help students achieve their potential and support a positive school environment. School programs and activities focus on building healthy relationships, character development, and civic responsibility and encourage positive participation of the school community in the life of the school.
Progressive Discipline
Progressive discipline is a non-punitive, whole-school approach that uses a continuum of corrective and supportive interventions, supports and consequences to address inappropriate behaviour and to build upon strategies that promote positive behaviours. Consequences include learning opportunities for reinforcing positive behaviour and assisting pupils to make good choices.
Factors Considered Before Addressing Inappropriate Behaviour through Progressive Discipline
The principal or designate:
• Considers the particular student and circumstances, including mitigating and other
factors;
• Considers the nature and severity of the behaviour;
• Considers the impact of the inappropriate behaviour on the school climate;
• Consults with the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) (unless the student is an adult).
Mitigating factors to be considered include the student’s:
• Ability to control his/her behaviour;
• Ability to understand the foreseeable consequences of his/her behaviour;
• Presence at the school and whether or not this presence would create an
unacceptable risk to the safety of any individuals at the school.
Other factors to be considered include:
• Academic, discipline and personal history;
• Previous progressive discipline approaches taken with the student;
• Whether the infraction for which the student might be disciplined was related to any
harassment of the student because of race, ethnic origin, place of origin, religion,
creed, disability, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation or harassment for any
other reason;
• Impact of the discipline on the student’s prospects for further education;
• The student’s age;
• Where the student has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or disability-related
needs:
- Whether the behaviour causing the incident was a manifestation of the
student’s disability;
- Whether appropriate individualized accommodation has been provided to the
point of undue hardship;
- Whether a suspension is likely to result in aggravating or worsening the pupil’s
behaviour or conduct or whether a suspension is likely to result in a greater
likelihood of further inappropriate conduct;
• Whether or not the pupil’s continuing presence at the school creates an
unacceptable risk to the safety of anyone in the school;
• If the pupil’s continuing presence in the school creates an unacceptable risk to the
safety of others in the school, then a progressive discipline approach may not be
appropriate.
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 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 pupil’s school or to property located on the premises of the pupil’s school;
• Bullying;
• Any act considered by the Principal to be injurious to the moral tone of the school
or the physical or mental well-being of 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 a maximum of twenty (20) school days.
Infractions for which an expulsion may be recommended to the Board:
• Possessing a weapon, including possessing a firearm or knife;
• 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, illegal or restricted drugs;
• Committing robbery;
• Giving alcohol to a minor;
• An 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 pupil’s continued presence
is injurious to the effective learning and/or working environment of others;
• Activities engaged in by the pupil on or off school property that cause the pupil’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 pupil on or off school property that have caused
extensive damage to the property of the Board or to goods that are/were on
Board property;
• The pupil has demonstrated through a pattern of behaviour that he/she has not
prospered by the instruction available to him or her and that he/she is persistently
resistant to making changes in behaviour which would enable him or her to prosper;
• Any act considered by the principal to be a serious violation of the Board or
school Code of Conduct;
• Where a pupil has no history of discipline or behaviour intervention, or no relevant
history, a single act, incident or infraction considered by the principal to be a serious
violation of the expectations of pupil behaviour and/or a serious breach of the Board
or school Code of Conduct.
References (available at www.scdsb.on.ca or from your school): Policy 4240: Safe & Caring School Cultures; Policy 4250: Student Discipline; Policy 4255: Bullying Prevention & Intervention; Administrative Procedures Memorandum A7630: Code of Conduct; Administrative Procedures Memorandum A7635: Student Discipline Procedures.