JFC: Student Conduct

The School Act, Sec. 85(2)(a), requires a board to determine local policy for the effective and efficient operation of schools in this school district. A board may make rules establishing a code of conduct for students attending educational programs operated by or on behalf of the board [Section 85(2)(c)(i)].

The School Regulations, Sec. 4(1)(c) stipulate that teachers' duties include: "...ensuring that students understand and comply with the codes of conduct governing their behaviour and with the rules and policies governing the operation of the school." 

Within this legal framework, the Board of School Trustees (the “Board”) recognizes that proper behaviour is essential to the development of responsible and self-disciplined citizens and essential to the operation of effective schools.  "Proper behaviour," although it may be governed by many specific laws, policies, regulations, and school-level rules, must always and simply be based on three principles: respect for oneself, respect for the worth and dignity of others, and respect for one's own and others' property. Principals, in setting student conduct rules for their schools, will keep these principles in mind and will seek to make it clear to students that good conduct is not only a matter of observing a list of rules but also a matter of care, sensitivity, good example, and involvement in the school as a community.

Each principal sets specific school-level rules to be observed by students at that school. These rules are distributed annually to parents and students, in keeping with their right to be clearly informed of expected standards of behaviour (see JF). Students are held responsible for knowing and observing school rules.

DMT Responsibility: AS-F