A local task force is out with a draft report recommending changes in the Rochester School District's Code of Conduct. One reason the Rochester Community Task Force on School Climate took on this task, is because of what some people have felt has been an over-reliance on school suspensions, even for minor infractions.
Hank Rubin is Vice President of Community Programs for the Community Foundation and was involved in putting the report together. He says the task force is recommending that suspensions only be used as a last resort.
“There certainly are times when suspensions and discipline are going to be necessary, but we want to create an environment and provide resources as much as possible for teachers and kids that make it so that the issues can be dealt with in ways that lead to learning, and don’t disrupt the learning.”
Another aim of the task force is to address and eliminate racial disparities in suspensions and expulsions.
“The current Code of Conduct is punitive, criminalizing student behavior across the board,” says Chris Dandino, a member of the task force who is a youth program quality consultant and co-chair of the Greater Rochester After-School Alliance. “The new draft is prevention- and intervention-based. We want and welcome discipline that teaches, not punitive measures that contribute to problems like low graduation rates.”
You can also find the entire draft Code on the district website at: www.rcsdk12.org/CodeofConduct.
Also on that page are the existing Code and a link to a survey and an email address for the community to provide feedback. You can give feedback online until August 31st.
It may be months before a final determination on changes to the Code of Conduct is made by the school board, but Rubin says some of the recommendations could be implemented as soon as this fall.
