A safe and welcoming school environment allows all students to achieve academic growth and to develop appropriate behavior necessary for learning. The successes of school climate are based on addressing the social, emotional and behavioral needs of students. When positive and restorative interventions are consistently implemented throughout various settings in a school, there is a decrease in the use of suspensions and expulsions, then there are improvements in school climate and student outcomes. The Office of School and Student Supports provides links to relevant laws, data guidelines and sound resources to help schools support positive behavioral outcomes for all students.
With input from educators, administrators, parents, students and community members, school boards shall adopt a district-wide student code of conduct consistent with the statewide standards for behavior.
The student code of conduct must:
- Define unacceptable student behavior
- Establish standards of student responsibility for behavior
- Prescribe consequences for violation of the student code of conduct
- Describe appropriate procedures for referring students in need of special services to those services
- Establish criteria to determine further assessment of an IEP
- Establish policies and procedures to address the removal of students who are disruptive or violent or who are threatening death or bodily harm
- Establish guidelines and criteria when the school may provide information to law enforcement that involves violence committed by any person on school property
- Establish policies and procedures to address bullying, harassment and sexual harassment
In addition, the school board shall consider district-wide disciplinary policies that:
- Focus on positive interventions and expectations. Positive interventions are instructional and environmental supports that are designed to teach students prosocial alternatives to problem behaviors with high rates of positive feedback.
- Focus on positive and restorative interventions. Restorative interventions are school practices that are designed to strengthen relationships, improve the connection to school and promote a strong sense of accountability and that help students learn from their mistakes, understand the impact of their actions on others and find opportunities to repair the harm they have caused through their misbehavior.
- Allow administrators to adjust appropriate discipline that examines the student's circumstances
- Provide written notice to parents/guardians of a student when the student is suspended from school
Laws relating to Behavior for schools in the State of Maine
Statewide Standards for Behavior
Taking Responsibility: Standards for Ethical and Responsible Behavior in Maine Schools and Communities
Response to Intervention (RTI)