Rights and Responsibilities of Entire JCPS Community

Student Support and Behavior Intervention Handbook

Supporting appropriate student behavior requires a high level of commitment from students, parents/guardians, staff, administrators, and members of the JCBE. These stakeholder groups have rights and responsibilities that are designed to reflect both the mutual respect and accountability required of all people involved in supporting student behavior. The rights and responsibilities for each group are outlined in this section.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

All students have the right to:

  • Be treated with courtesy, respect, and dignity.

  • Attend school and be valued members of the school community.

  • Learn in a safe environment that is free of bullying, harassment, and discrimination.

  • Receive instruction in order to learn school behavior expectations and social and emotional skills.

  • Access appropriate supports and services to succeed in school.

  • Receive a written copy and clear explanation of the SSBIH, including the process to appeal disciplinary decisions.

  • Tell their side of the story and/or report unfair treatment to a person in authority.

  • Participate in decision making to determine which interventions and consequences will be used in response to disciplinary issues.

  • Maintain personal privacy. Personal belongings may be searched only if the principal has a reasonable suspicion that the student possesses evidence of a crime, stolen goods, drugs, weapons, or other illegal or prohibited items (JCBE policy).

  • Have a parent/guardian or advocate present at conferences on readmission from out-of-school suspension.

All students have the responsibility to:

  • Show respect and courtesy to all students, staff, families, and school visitors. This includes respecting individual differences, cultural diversity, and the property of others.

  • Attend school daily, be prepared for class, engage in classroom activities, and complete all assignments.

  • Contribute to a safe classroom environment by managing their own behavior and reporting harmful or dangerous situations to an adult.

  • Understand and follow all school rules and instructions given by school staff.

  • Bring to school only those materials that are allowed.

  • Inform parents/guardians of school-related issues and give them any materials sent home by the school or district.

Parent/Guardian Rights and Responsibilities

All parents/guardians have the right to:

  • Be treated with courtesy, respect, and dignity.

  • Feel welcomed, valued, and connected to school staff and the school community.

  • Access opportunities to learn school behavior expectations.

  • Receive a written copy and clear explanation of the SSBIH, including the process to appeal disciplinary decisions.

  • Work in partnership with school staff to support their child’s learning and healthy development at home and at school.

  • Engage in regular, two-way, meaningful communication with school staff regarding their child’s academic and behavioral progress. This includes the right to be notified in a timely manner when their child is removed from the instructional environment for a substantial amount of time due to their behavior.

  • Monitor student academic progress (e.g., through Parent Portal).

  • Actively participate with school staff in solving problems related to the child’s behavior.

  • Advocate for their child and report any unfair treatment to a person in authority.

All parents/guardians have the responsibility to:

  • Show respect and courtesy to all students, staff, families, and school visitors. This includes respecting individual differences, cultural diversity, and the property of others.

  • Provide a working phone number in order for schools to effectively communicate with families.

  • Review the content of the SSBIH with their child.

  • Understand the school’s behavior expectations.

  • Work with the school as a collaborative partner. This includes working with staff to maximize their child’s strengths and to support the child to make changes in their behavior as needed.

  • Inform school officials about concerns in a timely and respectful manner.

  • Support their child to resolve problems peacefully while at school in order to contribute to a safe and positive school climate. This includes helping the child express anger without verbal attacks or physical violence.

Teacher/Staff Rights and Responsibilities

All teachers/staff have the right to:

  • Be treated with courtesy, respect, and dignity.

  • Work in a safe environment that maximizes staff performance and student learning.

  • Access opportunities for professional development and training to assist in creating and maintaining a thriving classroom environment that is respectful, engaging, vibrant, and culturally relevant.

  • Access support for addressing student behavior when such conduct cannot be handled within the classroom environment.

All teachers/staff have the responsibility to:

  • Show respect and courtesy to all students, staff, families, and school visitors. This includes respecting individual differences, cultural diversity, and the property of others.

  • Intentionally implement race-conscious interventions in an effort to reduce disproportional behavior outcomes for students and have plans for monitoring and evaluation.

  • Foster ongoing, positive relationships with all students and families.

  • Welcome families to be engaged in the learning process both in the classroom and at home.

  • Create a positive classroom and school climate for all students, using effective classroom management strategies that extend to all classroom environments.

  • Explicitly teach, acknowledge, and reinforce behavior expectations.

  • Provide social and emotional skill instruction.

  • Intervene promptly when inappropriate behavior occurs. This includes providing corrective feedback, reteaching behavioral expectations, following the Individual Education Programs (IEPs) and Behavior Support Plans of students, and adhering to procedures for student removals from the classroom environment when needed.

  • Work with students and their parents/guardians to develop, implement, and monitor behavior interventions that support students in changing their behavior, using a progressive system of support.

  • Apply the SSBIH in a fair, equitable, and consistent manner and accurately record inappropriate student behavior following the established protocol.

  • Respect the right of students to maintain personal privacy. Personal belongings may be searched only if the principal has a reasonable suspicion that the student possesses evidence of a crime, stolen goods, drugs, weapons, or other illegal or prohibited items (JCBE policy).

  • Follow up promptly on reports of bullying as required by JCBE policy.

School Administrator Rights and Responsibilities

All school administrators have the right to:

  • Be treated with courtesy, respect, and dignity.

  • Work in a safe environment that maximizes staff performance and student learning.

  • Access support from district central office to create and maintain a thriving classroom environment that is respectful, engaging, vibrant, and culturally relevant.

All school administrators have the responsibility to:

  • Show respect and courtesy to all students, staff, families, and school visitors. This includes respecting individual differences, cultural diversity, and the property of others.

  • Intentionally implement race-conscious interventions in an effort to reduce disproportional behavior outcomes for students.

  • Foster ongoing, positive relationships with all students and families.

  • Create a safe and caring school climate that maximizes learning.

  • Welcome families to be engaged in the learning process both in the classroom and at home.

  • Create, monitor, and assess a schoolwide management system.

  • Welcome parents/guardians as valued partners in their child’s learning. This includes creating opportunities for regular, two-way communication and active participation at problem-solving meetings by accommodating schedules and meeting language needs.

  • Review the SSBIH with students, staff, and parents at the beginning of each school year and revisit it as necessary throughout the year.

  • Guide the School-Based Leadership Team and Student Support and Intervention Team in using and reviewing schoolwide behavior data and evaluating the effectiveness of behavioral interventions. This includes monitoring data to identify and address disparities.

  • Ensure that all school staff meet the expectations outlined in the section entitled “Teacher/Staff Rights and Responsibilities.”

  • Support staff in implementing appropriate behavior interventions.

  • Apply the SSBIH in a fair, equitable, and consistent manner and accurately record inappropriate student behavior and interventions and consequences following the established protocol.

  • Follow procedures for student removals from the classroom environment. Notify parents immediately if a student’s inappropriate behavior results in an out-of-school suspension.

  • Notify parents, in a timely manner, of an inappropriate behavior and the consequence, if there is not an out-of-school suspension.

  • Respect the right of students to maintain personal privacy. Personal belongings may be searched only if the principal has a reasonable suspicion that the student possesses evidence of a crime, stolen goods, drugs, weapons, or other illegal or prohibited items (JCBE policy).

  • Respond promptly on reports of bullying as required by JCBE policy.

  • Ensure that accurate and complete data-entry procedures are being followed and ensure that collection, monitoring, and evaluation systems are utilized at the school level. This includes using disaggregated data to allocate resources to support student behavior as well as evaluating program and staff effectiveness.

Central Office Rights and Responsibilities

All central office staff have the right to:

  • Be treated with courtesy, respect, and dignity.

  • Work in a safe environment that maximizes staff performance

All central office staff have the responsibility to:

  • Show respect and courtesy to all students, staff, families, and school/district visitors. This includes respecting individual differences, cultural diversity, and the property of others.

  • Intentionally implement race-conscious interventions in an effort to reduce disproportional behavior outcomes for students and have plans for monitoring and evaluation.

  • Provide schools with the necessary resources, professional development, and technical assistance to implement the SSBIH.

  • Communicate to all district staff that creating a positive school culture, supporting positive student behavior, and developing appropriate interventions and consequences are critical district priorities.

  • Ensure that accurate data collection, monitoring, and evaluation systems are available and utilized at the school and district levels. This includes using disaggregated data to allocate resources to support student behavior as well as evaluating program and staff effectiveness.

  • Create a safe and caring climate for all district stakeholders.

  • Engage in ongoing monitoring of the implementation of the SSBIH and intervene as needed to ensure that it is enforced in a fair and equitable manner.

Board of Education Rights and Responsibilities

All Board of Education members have the right to:

  • Be treated with courtesy, respect, and dignity.

All Board of Education members have the responsibility to:

  • Show respect and courtesy to all students, staff, families, and school visitors. This includes respecting individual differences, cultural diversity, and the property of others.

  • Use qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate, approve, or reject policies that promote thriving classroom environments that are respectful, engaging, vibrant, and culturally relevant.

  • Ensure that district administrators utilize appropriate data collection, monitoring, and evaluation systems.

  • Receive regular data reports.

  • Expect schools to develop and implement research-based, data-driven plans to reduce lost learning time and disproportionality in student consequences.

Protections for Students With a Disability

Nothing in this handbook replaces or substitutes any student rights as guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or state law. Students with a disability will always be entitled to the rights and protections afforded to them by state and federal law and shall not be removed from the classroom environment unless doing so is in accordance with the law.