Code of Conduct

Students will be subject to searches by metal detectors and/or by hand on a random basis or with reasonable suspicion by district administrators or security personnel. The district may search the following:

• a student’s outer clothing, pockets, book bags or other property
• a student’s locker
• a vehicle driven to school by a student

Students have no expectation of privacy in cell phones or other electronic devices brought to school.  If there is reasonable suspicion that a search will reveal a violation of school rules, cell phones and other electronic devices may be confiscated and searched by administration or designee, including searching calls, emails, contacts, texts, and other communications or Internet access.

Restorative  Practices are designed to increase students’ belonging in school communities and explicitly teach strategies to build empathy and make amends when necessary. When schools are engaged in restorative practices, student selection of interventions to repair harm to the relationship, property or person will be considered as part of the consequence of behavior.

If a student is unwilling to repair the harm through restorative practices, appropriate consequences for their behavior will be provided. The team may also consider interventions for the student to increase their sense of community and their development of social awareness. If the student is unwilling to repair harm, the student’s willingness will not be judged as an inherent fault of the student but instead as an avenue to continue to increase the sense of community for the student.

The language and categories within the Student Support Guide are predicated on the belief that schools should be supportive environments that will engage our children in the process of learning while maintaining open, collaborative and inclusive communication practices with students and families.

What Families Can Expect

Steps Following Student Misbehavior

If the principal finds that a student has engaged in a behavioral infraction, the principal or another school administrator will:

1. Investigate the incident, including meeting with the student, teacher(s) and others involved to seek an explanation for the situation.
2. Notify the family if a corrective strategy is used.
3. Send a letter to the family if the corrective strategy is an assignment to the Promise Center. (See CPS’s Promise Center below.)

Actions Families Can Take
Caregivers and families serve as integral partners in the school’s response to student misconduct. CPS educators will collaborate with parents/caregivers proactively to establish strong relationships and positive behavior supports. If school discipline becomes necessary, parents/ caregivers are welcome and encouraged to participate in the disciplinary process and may: 

1. Ask for a meeting with the principal to discuss the decision and to request information about the investigation or the appeal process.
2. Appeal an assignment to the Promise Center in less than 10 days by writing a letter or email to the district’s Hearing Officer stating the reason for the appeal.
3. Appeal an assignment to the Promise Center for more than 10 days/expulsion by writing a letter or email to the district’s Hearing Officer stating the reason for the appeal. The letter or email will be forwarded to the Superintendent or designee, who will make final decisions.
   on removals.

When writing an appeal, include the name of the student, name of parent or guardian, name of the student’s school, and phone number(s) where caregiver or guardian  can be reached.

Appeals may be sent by email to the Hearing Officer: HearingAppeal@cps-k12.org

Or, mail or deliver an appeal letter to the Hearing Officer at the CPS Jacobs Center, (site of the Promise Center Program), 5425 Winton Ridge Lane, Cincinnati, OH 45232 (Winton Terrace).

A response will be sent via letter or email within 72 hours.

Cincinnati Public Schools provides alternative programs in lieu of out-of-school suspension and out-of-school expulsion. The alternative program is called the Promise Center.

The Promise Center provides an academic and social setting for students who engage in behavior or choices that warrant their removal from their home school. The program focus is designed to ensure that students continue their academic instruction while they are assisted in examining the behaviors that resulted in their placement at the Promise Center and building functionally equivalent replacement behaviors. In addition to meeting academic standards, students are expected to participate in activities that will help them to modify negative behaviors by demonstrating the following:

• Positive Decision Making
• Problem Solving
• Anger Management
• Positive Peer/Adult Relationships

Despite being removed from their home school, students will have the opportunity to continue their education while they examine the causes of their misconduct. The Promise Center’s ultimate mission is to assist students to return to their home schools and become productive, positive members of their school communities. Finally, students will be coached to understand the connection and impact of their behavior to the learning community and community at large, and work on strategies to address any harm caused. The Promise Center is CPS’ commitment to all students.

Promise Center Assignments for Students with Disabilities

All federal and state laws, Board policies and administrative procedures must be followed in recommending assignments to the Promise Center for students with disabilities on Individual Education Plans (IEPs) or Section 504 Plans.

Promise Center Assignments for Ten Days or Less

Cincinnati Public Schools’ Promise Center program addresses the needs of students who exhibit chronic disruptive behavior that interferes with classroom instruction. These students are not a danger to themselves or others; however, their actions violate the district’s Code of Conduct resulting in their removal from their home school for a brief time to focus on building their necessary skills to make better choices in the future as well as create a plan for repairing any harm caused by their behavior.

If a student is assigned to the Promise Center program for ten days or less, the following steps will occur:

1. The family will be contacted in person or by telephone before the student is sent home to explain why the student is being assigned to the Promise Center.
2. The student will be given a letter explaining the assignment to the Promise Center that will include a description of the offense committed.
3. Within 24 hours, a copy of the letter given to the student will be sent to the parent or guardian explaining the reason for the assignment to the Promise Center, the offense(s) the student committed and providing information about the appeal process.
4. The student will begin at the Promise Center on the date assigned and is expected to attend daily. 
5. An adult family member is required to attend an orientation session with the Promise Center.

Promise Center Assignments for More than Ten Days

If a student is involved in a Category II or Category Ill offense with a recommendation to the Promise Center for more than ten days, the following will occur:

1. The student will be placed in the Promise Center program while awaiting a hearing with the District’s due process hearing officer.
2. The student will be given a letter explaining the offense and the assignment to the Promise Center. The letter will include the date a Hearing Officer will hold the hearing. The student may bring a representative or representatives to this hearing. The representative(s) need not be an attorney.
3. During the hearing, the Hearing Officer will review the investigation to determine if an assignment to the Promise Center is warranted. The student, the parent and representative(s) will be given an opportunity to explain.
4. At the end of the hearing, the Hearing Officer will decide the corrective strategy to be taken.
5. If the student is assigned to the Promise Center program, the student and the family will be given information about the student’s assignment.
6. If an adult family member does not attend the hearing, the family will be notified of the Hearing Officer’s decision by telephone and by letter.
7. An adult family member is required to attend an orientation session with the Promise Center.

Emergency Removal from School

Emergency removal can occur only for the following reasons:

• If the student’s presence in school poses a danger to people or property
• If the student is an ongoing threat of disruption

Emergency removal requires communication between school officials and the student’s family (caregiver or, if necessary, other adult family members). At the time of the removal, the family will be contacted in person or by telephone to explain the reason for the removal and to request a meeting to collaborate on a plan for preventing the behavior from occurring in the future as well as repairing any harm that was caused.

In addition, a letter with the explanation and meeting request will be sent to the family and a copy will be given to the student. To maintain consistency in communication, a districtwide letter will be used.

• A student in grades Preschool – 3 may be removed for the remainder of the school day.
• A student in grades 4 – 12 may be removed for the remainder of the school day and the next school day, and the student may be referred for assignment to the Promise Center.

Permanent Exclusion

The Board may seek the permanent exclusion of a student 16 years of age or older who is convicted in criminal court, found delinquent, or found to have assisted, in connection with any of the following offenses:

1. Illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordinance; carrying a concealed weapon; trafficking in drugs, including possession or sale of a bulk amount of a controlled substance.
2. Aggravated murder, murder, voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, assault, rape, gross sexual imposition or felonious sexual penetration involving a district employee on school grounds or at a school function.

The Superintendent may consider permanent exclusion based on the severity or number of offenses.

Per Ohio law, a student will not be removed from school if the only misbehavior is truancy (not attending school).

CPS Board Policy No. 5610 prohibits out-of-school suspension or expulsion of students in preschool to third grade, except when required by law. Students in kindergarten to third grade must follow the Code of Conduct. Discipline for misbehavior will follow the Code’s Corrective Strategies.

Mitigating Factors

To maintain a safe, productive environment inside our schools and for all students, administrators will consider a student’s age, disability status, developmental level, and other mitigating factors when issuing consequences. This is in alignment with CPS’ equitable and antiracist practices.

Academic Considerations

While serving an out-of-school suspension, students shall be provided the opportunity to earn equivalent grades and academic credits as other students. They must also be provided the opportunity to make up tests, final examinations, and complete class and homework assignments without penalty while on suspension or within a reasonable time following the completion of the suspension. The intent of this provision is to not doubly punish students with suspensions and academic sanctions, while also providing an opportunity for the student to reintegrate into the educational program of the district following the suspension period.