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WESTERN SCHOOL CORPORATION

To Educate and Inspire Today's Students for Tomorrow's Opportunities

Corporation Policies

CORPORATION POLICIES

For all Western School Corporation policies, please visit our BoardDocs website.

 

Bullying

The School Board is committed to providing a safe, positive, productive, and nurturing educational environment for all of its students. The Board encourages the promotion of positive interpersonal relations between members of the school community. Bullying behavior toward a student, whether by other students, staff, or third parties, is strictly prohibited and shall not be tolerated. At all times, the safety of the victim of bullying shall be a priority. This prohibition includes physical, verbal, and psychological abuse as provided herein. The Board shall not tolerate any gestures, comments, threats, or actions which cause or threaten to cause bodily harm or personal degradation. Engaging in "cyberbullying," which is bullying that occurs through the use of data or computer software that is accessed through a computer, computer system, computer network, or cellular telephone or other wireless or cellular communications device also is prohibited. This policy applies when a student is on school grounds immediately before or during school hours, immediately after school hours, or at any other time when the school is being used by a school group; off school grounds at a school activity, function, or event; traveling to or from school or a school activity, function, or event; or, using property or equipment provided by the school. Additionally, this policy applies regardless of the physical location when:

  1. the individual committing the bullying behavior and any of the intended targets of the bullying behavior are students attending a school within the School Corporation; and

  2. the bullying behavior results in a substantial interference with school discipline or an unreasonable threat to the rights of others to a safe and peaceful learning environment.

Bullying as defined in State law means overt, unwanted, repeated acts or gestures, including verbal or written communications or images transmitted in any manner (including digitally or electronically), physical acts committed, aggression, or any other behaviors committed by a student or group of students against another student with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate, or harm the other student and create for the targeted student an objectively hostile school environment that:

  1. places the targeted student in reasonable fear of harm to the targeted student's person or property;

  2. has a substantially detrimental effect on the targeted student's physical or mental health;

  3. has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted student's academic performance; or

  4. has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted student's ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, and privileges provided by the school.
     

READ FULL BULLYING POLICY

BULLYING RESOURCES

 

Criminal Organization Policy

The School Corporation adopts this policy pursuant to State law in order to address the detrimental effects of criminal organizations and criminal organization activity on its students, demonstrate its commitment to preventing and reducing criminal organization membership and eliminating criminal organization activity, educate Corporation students, employees, and parents about criminal organizations and criminal organization activity, and comply with State and Federal laws and regulations.

The Corporation prohibits criminal organization activity and similar destructive or illegal group behavior on Corporation property, on buses owned by the Corporation or used to transport Corporation students, and at school-sponsored functions. The Corporation prohibits reprisal or retaliation against individuals who report criminal organization activity and similar destructive or illegal group behavior or who are victims, witnesses, bystanders, or others with reliable information about an act of criminal organization activity and similar destructive or illegal group behavior.

 

READ FULL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION POLICY

 

Internet Use Policy

Technology has fundamentally altered the ways in which information is accessed, communicated, and transferred in society. As a result, educators are continually adapting their means and methods of instruction, and the way they approach student learning, to incorporate the vast, diverse, and unique resources available through the Internet. The School Board provides Technology Resources (as defined in Bylaw 0100 - Definitions) to support the educational and professional needs of its students and staff. With respect to students, School Corporation Technology Resources afford them the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge to learn effectively and live productively in a digital world. The Board provides students with access to the Internet for limited educational purposes only and utilizes online educational apps and services to enhance the instruction delivered to its students. The Corporation's computer network and Internet system do not serve as a public access service or a public forum, and the Board imposes reasonable restrictions on its use consistent with its limited educational purpose.

The Board regulates the use of Corporation Technology Resources by principles consistent with applicable local, State, and Federal laws, the Corporation's educational mission, and articulated expectations of student conduct as delineated in the Student Code of Conduct. This policy, its related administrative guidelines and the Student Code of Conduct govern students’ use of Corporation Technology Resources and students' personal communication devices when they are connected to the Corporation computer network, Internet connection, and/or online educational apps and services, or when used while the student is on Corporation-owned property or at a Corporation-sponsored activity (see Board Policy 5136 - Personal Communication Devices).

 

READ FULL INTERNET USE POLICY

 

Wireless Communication Device Policy

Wireless communication devices ("WCDs") (i.e. cellular and wireless telephones, pager/beepers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), Blackberries/Smartphones, WiFi-enabled or broadband access devices, etc.) enable communication whenever a situation arises necessitating immediate contact, regardless of the person's location at the time. Therefore, the Superintendent and administrators who meet one or more of the following criteria are required as a condition of employment to own a WCD and obtain an appropriate service plan so that the WCD is available for use for business-related communications:

  1. their jobs require them to spend a considerable amount of time outside of their assigned office or work area during normal working hours and have regular access to telephone and/or Internet connections while outside their office or assigned work area;

  2. their jobs require them to be accessible outside of scheduled or normal working hours or to be contacted and respond in the event of an emergency; or

  3. their jobs consistently require timely and business critical two (2) way communication for which there is no reasonable alternative technology; (This is not intended to include occasional, incidental access or purely voluntary access such as checking e-mail from home).

  4. safety requirements indicate having a WCD is an integral part of meeting the requirements of the employee's job description;

  5. more than fifty percent (50%) of the employee's work is conducted outside the employee's assigned office or work area;

  6. the employee is required to be on-call 24/7.

 

READ FULL WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE POLICY