Discipline Code

The faculty, administration, and staff of Westhampton Beach Middle School recognize the need to specifically define appropriate expectations for student conduct. The rules of conduct listed below are intended to foster a positive learning environment and focus on safety and respect for the rights and property of others. Parents are asked to review the rules of conduct with their child. Please note that students and parents should refer to the Westhampton Beach School District Code of Conduct for more specific information.

Students may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension from school, when they:

A. Engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, including but not limited to:

• Failure to comply with classroom rules and regulations.
• Running in the hallways.
• Making unreasonable noise.
• Using language or gestures that are profane, lewd, vulgar, or abusive.
• Engaging in any willful act, which disrupts the normal operation of the school community.
• Roughhousing or dangerous play.

B. Engage in conduct that is insubordinate, including but not limited to:

• Failing to comply with the reasonable directive of a teacher, school administrator, or other school employee in charge of students.
• Being late for, missing, or leaving school without permission.
• Violating any of the provisions of the District Code of Conduct.

C. Engage in conduct that is violent, including but not limited to:

• Committing an act of violence (such as hitting, kicking, punching, etc.) upon a teacher, administrator, school employee, or another student (or attempting to do so).
• Possessing a weapon. (See dangerous weapons policy for additional information.)
• Threatening to use a weapon.
• Intentionally damaging, destroying, or otherwise vandalizing the personal property of a student, teacher, school administrator, or other district employee.
• Intentionally damaging, destroying, or otherwise vandalizing school district property.

D. Engage in conduct that endangers the safety, morals, health, or welfare of others, including but not limited to:

• Lying to school personnel.
• Stealing.
• Defamation, which includes making false or unprivileged statements or representations about an individual or identifiable group of individuals that harm the reputation of the individual or group.
• Discrimination, which includes the use of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability as a basis for treating another in a negative manner.
• Harassment, which includes a sufficiently severe action or persistent pervasive pattern of actions or statements directed at an identifiable individual or group that are intended to be, or which a reasonable person would perceive to be, ridiculing or demeaning.
• Sexual Harassment (see District Sexual Harassment Policy).
• Intimidation, which includes engaging in actions or making statements that put an individual in fear of bodily harm.
• Hazing (see District Hazing Policy)
• Possessing, using, or selling obscene materials.
• Using vulgar or abusive language.
• Smoking or being in possession of cigarettes, cigars, or chewing tobacco.
• Possessing, consuming, selling, or distributing alcoholic beverages or illegal substances.
• Inappropriately using or sharing prescription or over the counter drugs.
• Gambling.
• Indecent exposure.
• Initiating a false alarm, misuse of 911, or discharging a fire extinguisher.

E. Engage in misconduct on a school bus.

• Students must behave appropriately while riding on school buses to ensure their safety and that of other passengers, and to avoid distracting the bus driver. Students are to conduct themselves on the bus in a manner consistent with established standards for classroom behavior. Excessive noise, pushing, shoving, and fighting will not be tolerated.

F. Engage in any form of academic misconduct, including but not limited to:

• Plagiarism.
• Cheating or copying.
• Altering records.
• Assisting another student in any of the above actions.

Discipline Code - Range of Penalties

Students who are found to have violated the Middle School Discipline Code or the District Code of Conduct may be subject to the following penalties, either alone or in combination. These penalties will be imposed consistent with the student’s due process rights.

1. Oral warning.
2. Written warning.
3. Written notification to parent.
4. Lunch Detention.
5. After School Detention.
6. Suspension from transportation.
7. Suspension from athletic participation.
8. Suspension from extracurricular activities or social events (dances, etc.)
9. Suspension from other privileges or exclusion from school field trips.
10. In-School Suspension.
11. Short-term Suspension from school (up to five days).
12. Hearing before the Superintendent of Schools.
13. 13. Referral to Local Law Enforcement Officials.