Nanuet Senior High School
103 Church Street
Nanuet, New York  10954

Phone:   845-627-9800     Fax:  845-624-5520

Dr. V. Carella, Principal
Mr. J. Enright, Assistant Principal
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| District | G.W. Miller Elementary School | Highview Elementary School | A. MacArthur Barr Middle School | Nanuet Senior High School |

Student rights and responsibilities are presented so that the focus is on positive student behavior.

Student Rights

The district is committed to safeguarding the rights given to all students under state and federal law. In addition, to promote a safe, healthy, orderly, and civil school environment, all students have the right to:

1. Take part in all district activities on an equal basis regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, gender, or sexual orientation or disability.
2. Present their version of the relevant events to school personnel authorized to impose a disciplinary penalty in connection with the imposition of the penalty.
3. Access school rules and the code of conduct and, when necessary, receive an explanation of those rules from school personnel.
4. To be treated with fairness and respected by all students and adults in the school.
5. To receive a quality education in a safe environment which encourages learning and study and is free of distraction.

Student Responsibilities

All students have the responsibility to:

1. Contribute to maintaining a safe and orderly school environment that is conducive to learning and to show respect to other persons and to property.
2. Be familiar with and abide by all district policies, rules and regulations dealing with student conduct.
3. Attend school every day unless they are legally excused and be in class, on time, and prepared to learn.
4. Work to the best of their ability in all academic and extracurricular pursuits and strive toward their highest level of achievement possible.
5. React to direction given by teachers, administrators, and other school personnel in a respectful, positive manner.
6. Work to develop mechanisms to control their anger.
7. Ask questions when they do not understand.
8. Seek help in solving problems that might lead to discipline.
9. Dress appropriately for school and school functions.
10. Accept responsibility for their actions.
11. Conduct themselves as representatives of the district when participating in or attending school-sponsored extracurricular events and to hold themselves to the highest standard of conduct, demeanor, and sportsmanship.

Student Dress Code

All students are expected to give proper attention to personal cleanliness and to dress appropriately for school and school functions. Students and their parents have the primary responsibility for acceptable student dress and appearance. Teachers and all other district personnel should exemplify and reinforce acceptable student dress and help students develop an understanding of appropriate appearance in the school setting.

A student’s dress, grooming, and appearance, shall:

1. Be safe, appropriate and not disrupt or interfere with the educational process.
2. Recognize that extremely brief garments, such as tube tops, net tops, tops with spaghetti straps, halter tops, plunging necklines (front and/or back), bare midriffs, and see-through garments are not appropriate.
3. Ensure that underwear is completely covered with outer clothing. Pajama style pants are not allowed.
4. Include footwear at all times. Footwear that is a safety hazard will not be allowed.
5. Not include the wearing of hats in the school except for a medical or religious purpose.
6. Not include items that are vulgar, obscene, libelous, or denigrate others on account of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
7. Not promote and/or endorse the use of alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs and/or encourage other illegal or violent activities.

Each Building Principal or his/her designee shall be responsible for informing all students and their parents of the student dress code at the beginning of the school year and any revisions to the dress code made during the school year.

Students who violate the student dress code shall be required to modify their appearance by covering or removing the offending item, and if necessary or practical, replacing it with an acceptable item. Any student who refuses to do so shall be subject to discipline, up to and including in-school suspension for the day. Any student who repeatedly fails to comply with the dress code shall be subject to further discipline, up to and including out of school suspension.

The Board recognizes the need to make its expectations for student conduct while on school property or engaged in a school function specific and clear. The rules of conduct listed below are intended to do that and focus on safety and respect for the rights and property of others. Students who will not accept responsibility for their own behavior and who violate these school rules will be required to accept the penalties for their conduct.

Students may be subject to disciplinary action when they:

Engage in conduct that is disorderly. Examples of disorderly conduct include:

1. Running in hallways.
2. Making unreasonable noise.
3. Using language or gestures that are profane, lewd, vulgar, or abusive.
4. Obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
5. Engaging in any willful act which disrupts the normal operation of the school community.
6. Trespassing. Students are not permitted in any school building, other than the one they regularly attend, without permission from the administrator in charge of the building.
7. Computer/electronic communications misuse, including any unauthorized use of computers, software, or internet/intranet account; accessing inappropriate web sites; or any other violation of the district’s acceptable use policy and/or building procedures.

Engage in conduct that is insubordinate. Examples of insubordinate conduct include:

1. Failing to comply with the reasonable directions of teachers, school administrators or other school employees in charge of students or otherwise demonstrating disrespect.
2. Lateness for, missing, or leaving school without permission.
3. Skipping detention.

Engage in conduct that is disruptive. Examples of disruptive conduct include:

1. Failing to comply with the reasonable directions of teachers, school administrators or other school personnel in charge of students.

Engage in conduct that is threatening. Examples of threatening conduct include:

1. Threatening to commit an act of violence (such as hitting, kicking, punching, and scratching) upon a teacher, administrator, or other school employee or attempting to do so.
2. Threatening to commit an act of violence (such as hitting, kicking, punching, and scratching) upon another student or any other person lawfully on school property or attempting to do so.

Engage in conduct that is violent. Examples of violent conduct include:

1. Committing an act of violence (such as hitting, kicking, punching, and scratching) upon a teacher, administrator or other school employee or attempting to do so.
2. Committing an act of violence (such as hitting, kicking, punching, and scratching) upon another student or any other person lawfully on school property or attempting to do so.
3. Possessing a weapon. Authorized law enforcement officials are the only persons permitted to have a weapon in their possession while on school property or at a school function.
4. Displaying what appears to be a weapon.
5. Threatening to use any weapon.
6. Intentionally damaging or destroying the personal property of a student, teacher, administrator, or other district employee or any person lawfully on school property, including graffiti or arson.
7. Intentionally damaging or destroying school district property.

Engage in any conduct that endangers the safety, morals, health, or welfare of others. Examples of such conduct include:

1. Lying to school personnel.
2. Stealing the property of other students, school personnel, or any other person lawfully on school property or attending a school function.
3. Defamation, which includes making false or unprivileged statements or representations about an individual or identifiable group of individuals that harm the reputation of the person or the identifiable group by demeaning them.
4. 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.
5. Harassment, which includes a sufficiently severe action or persistent pervasive pattern of actions or statements directed at an identifiable individual or group which are intended to be, or which a reasonable person would perceive as, ridiculing or demeaning.
6. Threats or intimidation, which include engaging in actions or statements that put an individual in fear of bodily harm.
7. Hazing, which includes any intentional or reckless act directed against another for the purpose of initiation into, affiliating with, or maintaining membership in any school sponsored activity, organization, club, or team.
8. Selling, using, or possessing obscene material.
9. Using vulgar or abusive language, cursing, or swearing.
10. Smoking a cigarette, cigar, pipe, or using chewing or smokeless tobacco.
11. Possessing, consuming, selling, distributing, or exchanging alcoholic beverages or illegal substances, or being under the influence of either. "Illegal substances" include, but are not limited to, inhalants, marijuana, cocaine, LSD, PCP, amphetamines, heroin, steroids, look-alike drugs, and any substances commonly referred to as "designer drugs."
12. Inappropriately using or sharing prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
13. Gambling.
14. Indecent exposure, that is, exposure to sight of the private parts of the body in a lewd or indecent manner.
15. Initiating a report warning of fire or other catastrophe without valid cause, misuse of 911, or discharging a fire extinguisher.

Engage in misconduct while on a school bus. It is crucial for students to behave appropriately while riding on district buses, to ensure their safety and that of other passengers and to avoid distracting the bus driver. Students are required 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.

Engage in any form of academic misconduct. Examples of academic misconduct include:

1. Plagiarism.
2. Cheating.
3. Copying.
4. Altering records.
5. Assisting another student in any of the above actions.
6. Forgery

Disciplinary Actions

Disciplinary action, when necessary, will be firm, fair, and consistent so as to be the most effective in changing student behavior. In determining the appropriate disciplinary action, school personnel authorized to impose disciplinary penalties will consider the following:

1. The student’s age.
2. The nature of the offense and the circumstances which led to the offense.
3. The student’s prior disciplinary record.
4. The effectiveness of other forms of discipline.
5. Information from parents, teachers and/or others, as appropriate.
6. Other extenuating circumstances.

As a general rule, discipline will be progressive. This means that a student’s first violation will usually merit a lighter penalty than subsequent violations.

This chart is a guide for disciplinary consequences. It is understood that the high school administrators have the right to exceed any of these steps depending on the severity of the offense.

Suspension from transportation

If a student does not conduct himself/herself properly on a bus, the bus driver is expected to bring such misconduct to the Principal’s attention. Students who become a serious disciplinary problem may have their riding privileges suspended by the Principal or the Superintendent or their designees.

In such cases, the student’s parent will become responsible for seeing that his or her child gets to and from school safely. Should the suspension from transportation amount to a suspension from attendance, the district will make appropriate arrangements to provide for the student’s education.

Corporal Punishment

Corporal punishment is any act of physical force upon a student for the purpose of punishing the student. Corporal punishment of any student by any district employee is strictly forbidden.

ADDENDA

1. Only seniors are permitted to drive to school.
2. Seniors may park between the white lines only in the lower parking lot and in any space in the upper lot. Parking spots outlined in yellow are for faculty and staff only.
3. All automobiles must be registered at the main office. Unregistered automobiles are subject to ticketing or towing.
4. Seniors are not permitted to sit in, work on, etc. their cars during the school day.
5. Members of the senior class are permitted to leave school property when they do not have classes. No other students may leave campus without permission.
6. Cell phones, beepers, radios, walkmans, etc., are not permitted to be used during the school day.
7. All school rules and regulations are applicable at all school functions (i.e.; dances, proms, athletic events, concerts.)