OFFICE REFERRAL PROCEDURES
1. Teachers and support staff are requested to handle and take action in the classroom/playground/cafeteria for minor offenses. Teachers and support staff are highly encouraged to resolve the situation at the lowest level and most informal process as possible.
2. If a formal office referral is initiated, referring personnel are required to complete the Office Referral Form. Teachers are asked to be as detailed as possible regarding the alleged violation, parties involved, and the remedy or relief sought. That is, general referrals such as “being disruptive in class” should be accompanied by a specific account of the disruptive behavior, and include a recommendation for how the matter should be resolved.
Even if a formal office referral is not made, staff members are encouraged to document any violation of school rules, which may be helpful in determining and justifying progressive discipline.
3. The administrator will determine the appropriate consequence: reprimand, restitution, restriction, referral to the School Counselor, in-school suspension (whereby the student is placed in an alternative setting on campus), out of school suspension (whereby the student is not permitted to attend school or participate in school-related activities and is considered absent), long-term suspension (an out-of-school suspension lasting longer than two weeks), and expulsion.
4. The following major infractions necessitate an office referral:
- Weapons Possession
- Possession of Alcohol, Drugs, or Controlled Substances
- Fighting
- Vandalism
- Threat of Self-Harm
5. Teachers who send students to the office as immediate or interim consequences for noncompliance with school rules, are required to ensure that students take assignments and materials (i.e. textbooks, pencil, paper). Again, relatively minor classroom management issues are not grounds for an office referral.