Administrative Procedure 355
STUDENT DISCIPLINE Background The district is committed to providing a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment that respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging, wherein students feel physically, psychologically, socially and culturally secure. The district recognizes its responsibility to be consistent with the Alberta Education Ministerial Order indicating teachers “are bound by standards of conduct expected of a caring, knowledgeable and reasonable adult who is entrusted with the custody, care or education of students or children”. [Ministerial Order #016/97, section 1 (3) (b)]. The well-being and dignity of students and staff are paramount. On occasion, however, the district acknowledges that behavioural interventions may be necessary to correct student misconduct. There will be students who, for a variety of reasons, present behavioural challenges. In these situations staff will intervene at a level commensurate with the presenting behavior while taking into account the student’s age, maturity, individual circumstances and ensuring that support is provided to students who are impacted by inappropriate behavior, as well as, to students who engage in appropriate behavior. If presenting behaviours escalate to a point where the safety and security of the student, other students and/or staff is at risk, a crisis intervention procedure will be implemented. Definitions ●
Aggressive/Acting Out Behaviour: Any verbal or physical action taken which threatens or results in the inflicting of physical, emotional, or psychological harm.
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Code of Conduct: The Student Code of Conduct outlines expectations for student behavior while at school, at a school-related activity, or while engaging in an activity that may have impact on others in the school. Schools communicate Student Code of Conduct to parents/legal guardians, students and staff annually and review regularly. (Administrative Procedure 350 Appendix)
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Crisis Situation/Critical Incident: When an individual poses a danger to self or others and thus requiring restrictive procedures.
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Discipline: Any non-violent corrective action that attempts to curtail undesirable behaviour.
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Non-Violent Physical Crisis Intervention: A non-harmful restrictive procedure to safely manage a physically acting out student until personal control can be re-established.
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Proactive Non-Physical Interventions: A behaviour management plan designed to anticipate potential problems and defuse tension without the use of restrictive procedures.
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Restrictive Procedure/Physical Restraint: A crisis intervention procedure requiring the use of the least amount of physical involvement or self-protection necessary to contain an individual’s physical acting out behaviour. This approach is only to be used as a last resort when all other behaviour management strategies have been ineffective in de-escalating the individual and their risk to self or others.
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Time-Out: A strategy within a continuum of behavioural interventions used when less restrictive mediating techniques have not been successful. The exception to this would be when a student acts out unexpectedly and the safety of staff and/or students is in jeopardy. Time-out may take the following forms: ➢ Non-exclusion time-out whereby the student is removed from the activity but is still allowed to observe the activity. ➢ Exclusion time-out is when a student is excluded from the activity and is not allowed to observe the activity. The student is supervised during this exclusion time-out. ➢ Seclusion time-out is a situation whereby the student is removed from the activity area, placed in a separate and safe room and is supervised during the entire seclusion time-out. ➢ Suspension and Expulsion are recognized as forms of time-out. The Alberta School Act and Administrative Procedure 356 - Suspension/Expulsion of Students, must be adhered to completely.
Procedures 1. In maintaining responsible and respectful behaviours in students, a school wide progressive discipline plan must be established, documented and reviewed regularly with staff and parents/legal guardians. The principal or designate, in collaboration with staff, is required to develop a plan and review the strategies to ensure that all staff will be familiar with the conduct protocols, as they apply to progressive disciplinary procedures in their school. 2. Teachers and principals will maintain proper order and discipline, using methods that are in keeping with the dignity of students, good judgment and the district’s fundamental Catholic beliefs of acceptance, caring and forgiveness. Teachers must establish reasonable and achievable goals and determine appropriate supports for students. Teachers will have clearly defined procedures for responding to problem behaviours and they are to be developed collaboratively and communicated to students, staff and parents/legal guardians. In complex situations, teachers will consult with school administration and when appropriate, with district personnel, with regards to strategies, interventions and consequential actions that will ultimately provide positive outcomes for these unique cases. No form of corporal punishment is to be used.
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3. Principals and teachers must ensure that a school wide progressive discipline plan is consistent with and follows this Administrative Procedure 350 – Student Conduct within a Welcoming, Caring, Respectful and Safe Environment. 4. Identification of Students 4.1
In addition, staff must monitor the severity and frequency of aggressive acts and address the situations in accordance to school discipline protocols. After a serious acting out event takes place, anecdotal notes must be written in order to accurately and objectively document the behaviour. Parents/legal guardians of the student must be informed in a timely manner when their child compromises the safety of students, staff or themselves. Based on an understanding of the purpose and patterns of individual student behaviour, a Learner Support Plan (LSP) will be implemented for students who demonstrate a higher level of need for intervention. A referral is to be submitted to the school’s Instructional Services Behaviour Consultant for direction and support.
5. Time-Out 5.1
Behavioural interventions may include a period of time-out in a quiet space for a student. Time-out shall always be used in conjunction with an array of positive reinforcement, and time-out may be implemented on several levels, with the most restrictive version being seclusion time-out. The use of time-out is an effective method of reducing a wide variety of disruptive behaviours in students. The use of time-out requires well-defined procedures, routines and interventions to prevent and modify serious problem behaviours before incidents occur. Procedures shall be designed to teach students how to appropriately take a time-out, through role playing and modeling, with a clear understanding of what behaviours can lead to seclusion time-out and how the student can avoid this procedure. Supervised seclusion time-out shall only be used when other less restrictive interventions have been attempted.
5.2
Parents/legal guardians, as well as, the student must be informed that time-out will be utilized as a behaviour management procedure. This is to be clearly articulated in the student’s Learner Support Plan (LSP) that has been discussed and signed off by parents/legal guardians. The exception to this is a situation that arises unexpectedly and compromises the safety of others. If time-out is used for safety reasons, the incident must be documented and the parents/legal guardians must be informed as soon as possible afterwards. If parents/legal guardians do not support the use of time-out, they must be involved in determining alternative strategies for dealing with the future inappropriate behaviour of their child.
5.3
Once the decision to implement the use of time-out as a strategy has been made, it is imperative that the use of this strategy be structured so as to insure its success. In order to be effective, Time-out must fulfil the following conditions: 5.3.1
Safe: A student placed in time-out is likely to escalate prior to deescalating. Under no circumstances should a student who is in time-out be out of sight of staff who are working with the student. This presumes a time-out room has visibility, or that the staff member is in the room with the student.
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5.4
5.3.2
Predictable: A student is to know in advance what behaviors are likely to result in the implementation of time-out, and what is expected once they are in time-out
5.3.3
Fair: Time-out approaches the end of the continuum of interventions that seclude or exclude students and as such, is only to be used to reduce behaviors that are extreme in nature and threaten the safety and security of the student or others.
5.3.4
Consistent: If time-out is the consequence for a behavior, it must always be the consequence for the behavior. When used inconsistently, predictability is lost, and the use of time-out will likely exacerbate the maladaptive behavior.
5.3.5
Therapeutic: The therapeutic dimension of time-out is the most critical element. Once a student who has been placed in time-out has deescalated, there is a need to both repair the relationship between the student and the adult and to debrief the incident that led to the time-out in the first place. Failure to do so is likely to result in an increase in resentment on the part of the child and there can be no certainty that the child has understood the behavior that resulted in time-out in the first place.
5.3.6
Collaborative: Alberta Education specifies that parent/legal guardian approval must be obtained if time-out is to be used as a behavior management strategy. Administrative involvement in the development of procedures, as well as, the implementation and monitoring of these procedures is also required. Given the extreme nature of time-out as a strategy, it is to be approached with the same diligence with which schools approach suspension.
5.3.7
Documented: In addition to identifying time-out as a strategy in the student’s LSP, each incidence of time-out is to be documented anecdotally. The documentation of the use of time-out allows for the on-going review of its use as a strategy. In reviewing documentation, staff are to watch for emerging patterns such as time of day, student involved, staff involved and repeat occurrences. If time-out as a strategy is not reducing the maladaptive behavior, alternate strategies are to be considered.
Time-out rooms must be safe and effective in reducing dangerous and inappropriate behaviours. The following conditions must apply: 5.4.1
Time-out rooms must be supervised at all times and they must provide the means by which adults can monitor the student.
5.4.2
Time-out rooms must be conducive to self quieting behaviours.
5.4.3
Time-out rooms must not be locked from either side.
5.4.4
Students must be able to leave the time-out room should an emergency arise.
5.4.5
Time-out space must meet fire and all safety standards.
5.4.6
Time-out rooms must be properly lit, well ventilated and clean.
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5.4.7 5.5
Time-out rooms will contain no items and fixtures that could be harmful to the student.
When time-out is used as a strategy, principals or their designates must provide opportunities for regular collaboration and feedback with students, parents/legal guardians and staff with regards to discipline expectations and whether or not time-out has been an effective strategy for dealing with acting out behaviours.
6. Learner Support Plan A written LSP must be developed and implemented when a student with severe emotional/behavioural behaviour has been identified. Part of the LSP is the response plan for behavior which must be completed for students with violent behaviours. The essential elements of the Response Plan include: 6.1
Triggers;
6.2
Warning signs;
6.3
Action plan (in response to unsafe and/or aggressive behaviour – including Restrictive Procedures if necessary- refer to item six in Administrative Procedures 355).
7. Restrictive Procedures within the Response Plan of the LSP 7.1
There will be students who, for a variety of reasons, are prone to act out physically and escalate to the point where the safety and security of the student, other students, and/or staff is at risk. In these cases, Restrictive Procedures may be necessary. District staff and parents/legal guardians involved with the student must agree to the following as indicated in Form 355-2 Restrictive Procedures Plan. 7.1.1
Prior to using Restrictive Procedures, proactive non-physical interventions must have been implemented and documented in the LSP.
7.1.2
Designated Instructional Services personnel must be consulted when restrictive procedures are being considered and used.
7.1.3
Approval for Restrictive Procedures must occur between the principal or designate, the teacher and parent/legal guardian who has signed the LSP before it can be implemented. In cases when the parent/legal guardian has not approved the plan and the use of restrictive procedures are still deemed necessary, it is imperative that staff use their professional judgment to act appropriately and decisively when there is risk of harm; even if consent has not been given. In these instances, full disclosure of the incident must be communicated to the parent/legal guardian as soon as possible and documented accordingly.
8. School Resource Team 8.1
Each principal must have organized a school resource team of selected school staff, in addition to other district/community supports to address concerns and explore options regarding students’ aggressive behaviours.
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9. Instructional Support Team 9.1
If it appears that little progress is being made to reduce aggressive behaviour, despite the interventions of the school staff, a request for support is to be initiated and sent to the Instructional Support Team to assess the situation and make recommendations.
9.2
Documentation in the form of anecdotal notes, SRT notes, previous assessments reports and current behaviour support plan (if available) are to accompany the request for support.
10. Professional Development in Nonviolent Crisis Intervention 10.1
All staff are encouraged to take advantage of any professional development opportunities and resources offered in nonviolent crisis intervention. It is highly recommended, for those staff working with more volatile students that they certify in a nonviolent crisis intervention course offered throughout the school year by the district.
11. Non-violent Physical Crisis Intervention 11.1
When a student poses a danger to self or others, it may be necessary for staff to physically restrain the individual. To ensure that the situation is managed safely and efficiently, it is preferable that those involved be certified in nonviolent crisis intervention. If this is a regular occurrence, all staff working with the student must be familiar with the Restrictive Procedures Plan and implement it according.
12. Follow Up Debriefing 12.1
The use of restrictive procedures can be highly emotional and exhausting for both the acting out individual and staff. In order to bring closure to the incident, staff are to address the encounter with the student when the opportunity seems appropriate. Additionally, staff are also to take the necessary time to release any emotional tension associated with the incident, evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, and re-establish group equilibrium.
13. Documentation 13.1
Any use of physical intervention must be documented immediately afterwards using the Restrictive Procedures Critical Incident Report (Form 355-1). A copy of this report is to be kept on file with an administrator for the current school year plus three years. Do not put in students CUM file.
13.2
Occupational Health & Safety documentation may also be required depending on the circumstances and outcomes of the restrictive procedure. In the case of an injury to a student, complete a Student Accident Report & First Aid Record (EARS report). In the case of an injury to the supervising adult, complete an Employee Accident Report & First Aid Record (EARS report). In addition, an Incident Report Form (EARS report) must also be completed.
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14. Notification 14.1
Principals and parents/legal guardians must be notified as soon as possible unless otherwise specified in the Restrictive Procedures Plan.
15. Review Restrictive Procedures Plan 15.1
The plan must be regularly reviewed to accommodate changes in circumstances (i.e. the student is more receptive to less intrusive interventions, staff members have left and been replaced, etc.). When a Restrictive Procedures Plan is being implemented, staff involved with the respective student must be certified in Nonviolent Crisis Intervention and keep their certification updated.
Approval Date:
April12, 2016
Reference:
School Act Section 12, 14, 16.2, 18, 20, 24, 25, 45, 45.1, 60, 61, 113, 123, 124, 125 Guidelines for Using Time-Out in Schools (2002)
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