Responding to Behaviour Guidelines and Fair Notice

• Provide a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment that respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging for all.
• Maintain order and discipline in the school, on the school bus, on the school grounds and during activities sponsored or approved by the board through positive behaviour interventions and supports, progressive discipline and restorative practices approaches. These approaches will be consistent with AP350 – Student Code of Conduct.
• Promote co-operation between the school and community they serve.
• Notify parents/guardians as soon as reasonably possible when it is believed a student has been involved in an event of unacceptable, inappropriate or unsafe behaviour.

• Provide relevant, meaningful learning experiences designed to meet the diverse needs of students.
• Nurture and maintain welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environments that respect diversity and nurture a sense belonging and a positive sense of self for all students.
• Actively participate in creating a positive school culture.
• Communicate information about student progress, attendance and behaviour to students, parents/guardians, and administration.
• Respect confidential information about students and staff.
• Support and implement consistently proactive, responsive, and restorative intervention strategies through positive behaviour interventions and supports.

• Conduct themselves in ways that contribute to welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environments.
• Understand and respect the rights of others in schools.
• Refrain from, report and not tolerate bullying or bullying behaviour directed toward others in the school, whether it occurs within the school building, during the school day or by electronic means.
• Resolve conflicts and difficulties through discussions or by seeking support and help from school staff.
• Respect that all students have a right to school environments free from violence.
• Respect school property and personal property of others.
• Attend school regularly and punctually.
• Comply with the rules of the school and policies of the board.
• Be accountable for their conduct.

• Recognize the authority of school staff to provide welcoming, caring, respectful and safe inclusive learning environments.
• Ensure their behaviour and the behaviour of their child/children contributes to welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environments.
• Communicate proactively, respectfully and regularly with school staff to advocate for their child’s success.
• Ensure regular, punctual attendance, informing school staff when child is absent or is struggling to attend.
• Support and work collaboratively with school staff to ensure child’s success.
• Encourage peaceful resolutions to conflict.
• Take an active role in the child’s educational success, including assisting the child in complying with their responsibilities.
• Encourage, foster and advance collaborative, positive and respectful relationships with teachers, principals, other school staff and professionals providing supports and services in the school.

School staff will speak with the student(s) to gather information, understand what occurred, and explore the reasons behind it. Staff and student will discuss appropriate consequences for the student’s behavior; parents or guardians will be informed of the conversation and outcome.

Staff reach out to parents or guardians by telephone to discuss behaviours of concern or to request an in-person meeting. The purpose of this conversation or meeting is for parent/guardians and school to engage in collaborative problem-solving. Conversations will explore potential underlying causes of behaviour, possible next steps, strategies, interventions, or consequences that could help encourage positive changes in behavior. Whenever possible and appropriate, students will be included in these discussions.

Students who are 18 years of age or older must give consent before parents/guardians are informed or contacted regarding concerning behaviour.

The student is temporarily removed from a classroom/learning space to an alternate, supervised location to complete schoolwork when inappropriate behaviour is deemed to have a negative impact on the classroom environment; parents or guardians will be notified.

Student’s privileges are removed under certain circumstances and can include restriction of access to specific classroom or hallway spaces, playgrounds, learning commons, lunch spaces, extracurricular activities or technology; parents or guardians will be notified.

Classroom teachers may engage school-based learning supports staff to provide additional support to the teacher, classroom, or student. School-based learning support teams may consult with divisional learning support staff when developing a continuum of responses or a positive behaviour support plan for a student identified with more intensive behaviour needs. Parents/guardians and student will be involved in the collaborative problem-solving, planning, and implementation process.

In some instances, a student may require targeted and intensive interventions and supports to be able to meet specific behavioural goals and outcomes identified in a Positive Behaviour Support Plan. These plans are developed in consultation with parents/guardians, the student, school team, and where appropriate, divisional learning support team members and/or outside supports and services. Positive behaviour support plans are developed with appropriate proactive and reactive approaches to responding to behaviours and require ongoing monitoring, review, and assessment of goals.

In some circumstances, a student’s behaviour may be in violation of the law (e.g., drugs, theft, assault) and RCMP involvement is required; parents/guardians will be informed immediately of such action, unless RCMP/law enforcement direct otherwise. Some circumstances may require a referral to Alberta Children’s Services, Luna Child Advocacy Center, Albert Health Services, or other community-based programs/agencies. In all circumstances, the safety of the student and others will be the key factor for determining such action(s).

Suspension may be used when interventions or other positive behavior supports have not been successful or where the student’s behaviour is of an extreme nature.  The principal may exclude a student, through suspension from a class, one or more courses or programs, school, school sponsored functions, or riding a school bus. A teacher may suspend a student from one class. When a student’s conduct is deemed injurious to the welfare of the school or the school’s educational purpose, the use of suspension may be necessary to ensure the safety of other students in the school.

A school administrator might impose a student to an in-school suspension. A teacher may suspend a student from one class period. School administrators might assign a student to an in-school suspension. Teachers will provide the student with appropriate work typically done in an identified, supervised setting, outside of the classroom, with clear expectations identified. Parents/guardians will be contacted when such action is taken.

The principal may suspend a student for up to five days from school, from one or more class periods, courses or education programs, or from riding a school bus. A student suspended out of school is prohibited from being on the school grounds, in the school building, riding the school bus and from participation in school sponsored activities or events for the duration of the suspension. The principal shall promptly inform parents/guardians of a suspension by telephone call and a follow up letter (emailed to parent) detailing the circumstances of the suspension.

A principal may recommend to the Board that a student be considered for expulsion. Recommendation for expulsion happens in the case of:

• A student’s unacceptable behaviour is excessive, persistent and/or chronic and resistant to positive behaviour approaches, targeted and intensive interventions.
• A student engages in actions that endanger the safety of students and/or staff members and/or members of the school community.
• Offenses in connection with the use of prohibited substances.
• Conduct which is injurious to the physical or mental well-being of the members of the school.

To appeal an expulsion, a parent/guardian of a student, and a student sixteen years of age or over, have the right to seek a review by the Minister of Education.

Parents/guardians, community stakeholders have the right to make inquiries or bring forward concerns regarding student matters, and to appeal administrative decisions that significantly affect the education of a student. Concerns must first be directed to the staff member(s) most directly involved e.g., classroom teacher, principal and adhere to the process as outlined in Administrative Procedure 152 – Dispute Resolution.

All high-risk behaviors will be addressed with utmost seriousness. Students exhibiting high-risk, violent, or threatening behaviors may require an Assessment of Risk to Others (ARTO) by trained personnel, and when necessary, in collaboration with external agencies, such as the RCMP, mental health practitioners, and community partners. In instances of potential harm to others, RVS adheres to the guidelines set forth by the Canadian Trauma Informed Practices response protocols, specifically the Assessment of Risk to Others (ARTO) and the Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA).

In high-risk situations, prompt action is critical to evaluate immediate risks and ensure safety, gather necessary data and information, and determine suitable interventions. RVS, along with the Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane, and Strathmore RCMP, is dedicated to collaborative training and responses to assess risks to others and conduct violence threat risk assessments.

Parents and guardians will be informed as soon as possible if their student is involved in a situation that necessitates an assessment of risk to others or a comprehensive violence threat risk assessment. In addressing serious violent incidents or threats, RVS is not required to obtain parental or guardian consent to conduct risk assessments or to contact law enforcement. Parents and guardians of students involved in such behaviors will be notified promptly once safety has been established and initial data has been collected.