Definitions The definitions hereunder apply to any student who either directly engages in an act of bullying and / or harassment or who, by their behavior, actions and / or conduct, supports another student’ s act of bullying and / or harassment.
Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying results in physical hurt or psychological distress of an individual. Bullying is unwanted purposeful written, verbal, nonverbal, or physical behavior and / or actions, including but not limited to, teasing, name-calling, slurs, rumors, jokes, false accusations, intimidation, threatening, stalking, innuendos, demeaning comments, pranks, social isolation, gestures, public humiliation, theft, destruction of personal property, physical violence, cyber-bullying and cyber-stalking.
Harassment means to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific student, which causes emotional distress to that student and serves no legitimate purpose.
Cyber-stalking means to engage in a course of conduct to communicate or to cause to be communicated, words, images, or language by or through the use of electronic mail or electronic communication, directed at a specific student, causing emotional distress to that student and serving no legitimate purpose.
Cyber-bullying is the willful and repeated harassment and intimidation of a student through the use of digital technologies, including but not limited to, texting on cell phones or devices, social websites and apps( e. g. Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, kik, Vine, TikTok, etc.), email, and blogs. Cyberbullying includes the misuse of digital and / or electronic technology to tease, intimidate, or make false accusations about another student by way of any technological tool.
Course of conduct means a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, which evidences a continuity of purpose.
Scope / Expectations Brother Rice expects students to conduct themselves in keeping with their levels of development, maturity and demonstrated capabilities with proper regard for the rights and welfare of other students and the educational purpose underlying all school activities. As such, the school prohibits bullying and / or harassment of any student that occurs:
• on school premises at any time;
• during any educational program or activity conducted by the school;
• during any school-related or school-sponsored program or activity;
• on any bus or vehicle as part of any school activity;
• through threats and / or other communications made outside of school hours, which are intended to be carried out during any school-related or school-sponsored activity or program.
Though an incident of alleged bullying and / or harassment occurs off Brother Rice’ s campus and may not entail threats of acts to occur during school hours, disciplinary action may be issued if a student’ s ability to receive an education or a school’ s ability to provide an education is significantly impaired as determined by the school’ s administration.
Reporting Complaints Each student, parent / guardian and / or any other member of Brother Rice’ s community has a duty to immediately report any incident of bullying and / or harassment to the Dean of Student Formation, or through SPRIGEO. The Dean will provide a link to SPRIGEO with the Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting Form which must be completed, dated, and signed by the reporting party so that the school may initiate further inquiry and investigate when appropriate.
Disciplinary Action Concluding whether a student’ s action, conduct, behavior, or a particular incident constitutes a violation of this policy requires a determination based on the facts and circumstances of each complaint, followed by the determination of disciplinary sanctions. Any student found to have violated this anti-bullying policy will be subject to the appropriate disciplinary action, which may include but is not limited to, temporary removal from the classroom, loss of privileges, Disciplinary Probation, detention, counseling, parent / guardian meeting, suspension, expulsion and / or notification to appropriate authorities. The disciplinary action may be unique to the individual incident and may vary in method and severity based on the school’ s sole discretion.
False reports or accusations of bullying and / or harassment also constitute a violation of this anti-bullying policy and will subject the offending party to appropriate disciplinary action.
Retaliation against anyone who, in good faith, reports perceived harassment or discrimination, or participates in an investigation of a complaint is not permitted and will subject the offending party to the appropriate disciplinary action.
H. DISCIPLINARY POLICIES
The discipline system at Brother Rice High School follows directly from the school philosophy with its emphasis on Christian communication, community, and commitment. Discipline is the very basis for learning. Students at Brother Rice are expected to conduct themselves as Christian men within and outside of the school.
A Disciplinary Committee composed of the Vice Principal, the Dean of Student Formation, the Director of Guidance, and a Guidance Counselor reviews major infractions of school policy and regulations and makes recommendations to the Principal. The final action taken is determined by the Principal.
Teachers address discipline issues within their classrooms and students are expected to follow the directions of the teacher. In the event a student is instructed to report to the Dean of Student Formation’ s office, they must do so immediately. Failure to do so will be considered a deliberate act of defiance and disrespect and will not be tolerated, resulting in further disciplinary action.
Group / Team / Band / Class Responsibility Everyone shares the responsibility for the good order of a class, activity, assembly, etc. Due to this, on some occasions, an entire group, team, band, or class can be held responsible for disturbing the peace of the school or the community. The teacher, coach or moderator may impose a penalty for all members of the group, team, or class.
Detention For minor violations against either the spirit or the letter of school rules, students may receive a detention. Detention will be supervised by the Dean of Student Formation or the Dean’ s designee. Detention is held every weekday from 7:05-7:45AM in the Dean’ s Office.
• Students must report to the detention on time and in dress code on the designated day or they will not be able to serve the detention, resulting in further consequence( s).
• Failure to serve a detention will result in a second detention issued and / or a Saturday detention. Consistent
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