BSD Restorative Code of Conduct
Restorative Community Expectations
Overarching goals:
Please see Appendix A for more detailed information on the creation of the Code of Conduct.
Table of Contents
Part I: Responsibilities and Expectations of BSD Staff, Families, and Community Members 3
Part II: Classroom-Handled Behaviors 4
Part III: Behaviors that May Require Out-of-Class Support 6
Part IV: Non-suspendable Behaviors, Alternatives to Suspension, and Educational Opportunities 7
Part VI: Behaviors that May Warrant Suspension 11
Part VII: Staff to Staff Conflict- RP Guidelines 13
Part VIII. Staff-Student or Family Harm Accountability Guidelines 14
BSD Restorative Code of Conduct
Respectful Communication: All BSD community members will act respectfully toward students, staff members, and families at all times (in and out of school, online) with the goals of building relationships, repairing or preventing harm, and addressing root causes of conflicts. Our shared human dignity must be protected and honored even – and especially – in times of heightened stress or emotion. All of us will refrain from shouting at, insulting, threatening, or humiliating one another.
Engage in Good Faith With Restorative Conversations: Conflicts will sometimes result in invitations to facilitated restorative conversations; for restorative systems to work, all members of our BSD school community need to be willing to engage in restorative responses at the classroom and school level. While participation in a restorative process is voluntary, we are all encouraged to be open to repair and to provide a “road back” to our community. These processes are an investment of time for the good of our community. Facilitators of restorative conversations and harm repair processes serve as neutral parties charged with helping all participants to honestly explore their own responsibility in and for conflict and repair.
Expectations of BSD Staff, Families, School Board Members, and Superintendent
All members of our BSD community (including staff, students, building administrators, families, the superintendent, and the school board) are expected to
It is the responsibility of the school board to
It is the responsibility of the superintendent to
It is the responsibility of building administrators to
It is the responsibility of school staff to
It is the responsibility of students to
It is the responsibility of families and members of the school community to
Here are behaviors that should be handled in the classroom and suggestions and tools for addressing them. If the behavior becomes repeated, increases in frequency/duration, or becomes so disruptive that learning cannot take place for other students, teachers/staff should request support from the school’s administration or behavioral support staff and document it with a student referral. Student referrals are then entered into PowerSchool by a trained employee. School administration or behavioral student staff can check in with the student to help them re-enter ready to learn or escort the student to an alternative space.
How to Handle Classroom Behaviors:
After the Moment Responses in the Classroom:
Responses After Class Ends:
Responses Involving Families:
Note: When possible, the first call home should always be a positive and warm introduction before any calls made about behavior challenges; this is why it is critical that school staff begin developing relationships with families at the beginning of the year.
Behaviors to be Addressed In-Class |
theft that is borrowing without asking |
excessive talking or noise-making |
left class early with permission and were out for longer than 15 minutes |
checking phone and putting it away |
not completing work or work refusal |
bugging others |
minor emotional outbursts |
not following directions |
refusing to participate in class activities |
sleeping in class |
off task |
truancy and/or tardiness |
unprepared ( i.e. computer not charged, lack of pencil, etc.) |
minorly offensive language, comments, or gestures (such as “This is stupid/boring.”, etc.) |
swearing that is not directed toward any particular person |
talking out of turn/calling out/blurting out |
littering |
unkind words or gestures (not including protected categories) |
teasing or taunting a peer (not including protected categories) |
minor physical contact (i.e. play fighting, accidental bumps) |
brief physical outburst that does not put self/others in harm’s way |
misusing materials |
running between spaces |
minor damage of classroom materials/items |
not returning items to appropriate places |
If a student is sent out of class, exhibits these behaviors but remains in class, or exhibits these behaviors in a non-classroom setting such as the hallway, then a student referral must be written to document the behavior and the referral must be entered into PowerSchool by a trained employee. After a student is sent out of class, they should have access to missed work while they are away and have a restorative welcome back into the classroom when they return.
Examples of Student Incidents that Require a Student Referral Form |
constant continuous disruptions of learning |
repeated refusal to follow directions that causes a disruption |
running away or hiding from staff |
escalation after prompts or redirections |
chronic targeted, bully-like behavior toward peer |
repeated work refusal |
teasing/taunting of a protected category |
repeated or directed profanity/swearing at staff or peer |
threatening body language/posturing |
fighting |
threats |
harmful gossiping after being asked to stop |
possible bullying (including online) |
intentional humiliation of peer or staff |
violation of school’s cell phone rules |
cheating/plagiarism |
possible harassment or hazing |
hiding from staff/Running away off campus and unable to return safely (K-8)/Leaving campus when not permitted to do so (high school) |
tobacco use |
drug use |
misuse of classroom materials |
wandering halls |
vandalism |
Weapon or firearms possession |
Drug possession with intent to sell and/or distribute |
School Threat |
Tampering with safety equipment |
Physical Assault |
Sex-based harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking |
Refusal to allow a search |
HHB: Hazing, Harassment and Bullying |
Lewd and lascivious conduct |
any behavior results in a suspension |
No referral- tracked via attendance codes in PowerSchool |
skipping class (use code AU) |
leaving class every day for a prolonged period of time (use code LC) |
leaving class early with permission but not returning (use code LC) |
Non-suspendable: These are serious behaviors and while they are non-suspendable appropriate consequences will be implemented. These behaviors do not rise to the level of suspension because they do not represent a pressing and imminent threat to the physical safety of students, staff, or others at a school site. We want to keep students in the school community and must approach handling behavior differently to do so. This may mean having in-school alternative placements and/or a modified learning schedule/environment as an option while an alternative to suspension is put into place. These behaviors must be documented with a student referral form and entered into PowerSchool by a trained employee.
The following behaviors do not qualify as suspendable behaviors; instead, alternatives to suspension should be offered in place of exclusionary discipline. Alternatives to suspension still require students to be held accountable for their behavior. Examples of alternatives to suspension are provided. Parents/guardians will be notified of these behaviors and the planned response.
Undocumented Suspensions: Undocumented suspensions are prohibited and unlawful. Students cannot be removed from class for more than ¼ of a full school day or be sent home before the end of the school day without the administrator following the BSD suspension protocol, this includes a student leaving to take the rest of the day at home.
Behavior | Definition/Description | Possible Alternatives to Suspension (decided upon with student) |
Truancy, Tardiness or Absence | Unexcused missing all or part of a class or school day This is an exception and does not need to be documented with a student referral but is instead documented via attendance codes. |
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Dress Code Violation | Wearing an item that violates the school dress code, or not wearing an item(s) required by the dress code |
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Swearing | Use of profanities, vulgar phrases |
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Hiding from staff/Running away off campus (K-8)/Leaving campus when not permitted to do so (high school) | Not attending required class(es) |
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Tobacco use | Possession of tobacco products, being caught smoking or vaping on school grounds | Required: parent contact; meet with SAP, school nurse, or school counselor
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Marijuana and/or alcohol use or possession | Possession of marijuana or alcohol on school grounds | Required: parent contact; meet with SAP, school nurse, or school counselor
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Minor fight | Mutual combat (such as shoving) resulting in no or minor injuries (such as a scrape) or instigating a physical altercation. A fight where the impacted parties are willing to engage in repair and unlikely to repeat the behaviors. Consideration should be given to the impact the fight had on the school community. | Required: Parent contact, conflict resolution learning pathway, informal resolution between two students OR safety plan
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Defiance/Lack of cooperation | Refusal to comply with repeated adult requests or directions, which does not pose direct physical safety threat to students, staff, or the individual |
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Misuse of classroom materials | Using materials for a non-intended purpose (throwing paper, markers, etc.) |
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Verbal altercation | Getting into heated argument or shouting with student or staff member that may or may not involve profanities. Does not involve the use of slurs. |
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Wandering halls | Not going to assigned class or alternate space. Wandering that does not pose threat to themselves, other students, or staff. Chronic skipping classes should be documented as a student concern in the student referral form and as an attendance code, not a behavior incident to be entered in PowerSchool |
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Minor vandalism | Harming property in such a way that it can be repaired but causes inconvenience or disturbance |
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Behavior support staff, RP Specialists, the Office of Equity, afterschool staff, and building administrators can all help with brainstorming alternative options to challenging behaviors.
The following list represents options for responses to challenging behaviors. These are not in sequential order. It is not mandatory to use the suggested options; they are offered as a resource. These should be tailored to the behavior and individual(s) involved.
Additional Possible Alternatives to Suspension:
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Educational Opportunities: When a student or staff member engages in harmful behavior, educational opportunities may be provided to learn from the behavior and prevent it from occurring again in the future. The educational opportunity will be tailored to the context of the harm and the desired learning outcomes. Two examples of these for students, learning pathways and impact panels, are described below. More information on staff educational opportunities can be found in section VIII. Please contact the Office of Equity with questions or to brainstorm more opportunities.
Learning Pathway: A Learning Pathway is an individual learning environment where the person who caused the harm is offered a series of educational opportunities centered around the topic of the harmful behavior. Learning pathways are intentional lessons designed for students or staff to reflect on their actions through learning about history and context and ultimately exploring accountability. As part of the learning process, participants are asked to discuss challenging topics, take in informational content with multimedia, and make decisions about how they would like to demonstrate evidence of their learning. The goal of the process is education and possible mindset shifts.
Students can be required to engage in a learning pathway to reflect on the harm done as an alternative or addition to a traditional RP process. Sometimes a learning pathway is required as part of reentry meetings.
Impact Panel or Video: Another educational option is an impact panel. This is where a group of individuals with experience around a certain harmful topic serve on an impact panel to share with the person who has done the harm the impact of their behavior. These need to be organized with extreme care for the individuals serving on the panel to ensure harm is not caused to them. (An alternative to an impact panel is an impact video in which individuals with experience of a harmful topic share in a video statement how this impacts them; the individual who engaged in the harmful behavior could watch the video as part of a Learning Pathway.)
Protocol: Suspension is a last resort. Suspensions exclude students from their learning and have historically been disproportionately used as a consequence for BSD students with disabilities, students of the global majority, and students living in poverty. As a result, we have a District policy requiring that we reduce these disparities. Therefore, suspension may only be considered when there is an egregious safety concern or when school staff have exhausted and documented all other forms of intervention/alternatives. BSD follows 16 V.S.A. § 1162 when considering a suspension or expulsion. Parents/guardians have the right to appeal a suspension with the superintendent (See BSD’s STUDENT CONDUCT AND DISCIPLINE POLICY). All suspendable behaviors must be documented with a student referral form and put into PowerSchool in a timely manner. For all suspensions, schools must follow a student’s IEP when applicable and consider manifestation and adjusting IEP. This must be documented and the case manager must be involved.
Restorative Exit and Re-Entry: For the few situations in which a suspension must be utilized, there should be a restorative exit for the individual to understand why they are being separated from the school community, how they’ll be supported while they are out, and a plan for a restorative reentry upon their return. When a student is suspended, they must still have access to educational opportunities and materials as part of a suspension plan. If a student has an IEP or 504 Plan, the case manager must be included in the suspension planning process. A student who has been suspended can re-enter school following a restorative re-entry meeting that must include the student, parents/guardians (or designated trusted adult), and school representatives. This meeting should be scheduled at a time/place that allows for parent/guardian participation.
Suspendable Behavior | Definition/Description | Rationale for Suspension |
Major physical fight | Physical fight between at least two individuals that results in bodily injury. Students cannot be de-escalated to address fight. Fight can escalate into an assault depending on intent of harm and level of violence; may result in police contact. Fighting can lead to an assault charge, even when both parties agree to fight, depending on the circumstances. If unsure, reach out to the Office of Equity. | Board Policy F13 Student Conduct and Discipline |
Arson | A crime of maliciously and intentionally, or recklessly, starting a fire or causing an explosion. Police and fire departments will be contacted. This can be an expellable offense and must be referred to the Office of Equity. | Violation of Law: 13 V.S.A. § 502 |
Violation of safety plan | This could result in suspension but does not automatically do so; depends on the severity of the violation. Other options include a learning pathway, ISS, and conferencing with parents/guardians. | Safety concern |
Abetting a fight | Instigating a fight, encouraging further violence, assisting the fight taking place; depending on level of abetting, could be learning pathway, ISS, or OSS | Board Policy F13 Student Conduct and Discipline |
Videoing a fight or incident | Putting it on the internet to shame, humiliate, or cause further harm. May involve referral to law enforcement. | |
Egregious safety concern | Someone who poses an immediate danger to persons or property or significant threat of disrupting the academic process. School personnel must have documented and exhausted all other forms of intervention | Board Policy F13 Student Conduct and Discipline |
Weapon or firearms possession | Incident where a student knowingly possesses a firearm or an item intended to be perceived as a firearm (e.g. but not limited to: airsoft, BB, or pellet gun), or a weapon intended to cause major harm (e.g., but not limited to: large knife, pipe bomb). Devices confiscated that are against school policy (e.g. airsoft, slingshot, etc.) will be returned to a parent/guardian at the end of the school year. Expulsion hearing is mandatory for firearm possession at school. An expulsion hearing may take place for other weapons or potentially dangerous devices possession at school. See the board policy F4R for more details. | Violation of Law: Board Policy F4R Firearms and Dangerous Devices in School |
Drug possession with intent to sell and/or distribute | Student is found with a substantial quantity of illegal drugs and drug-selling paraphernalia (e.g., baggies, scales). Illegal confiscated devices or products shall not be returned. | Violation of Law: Title 18 VSA, could result in a variety of drug-related charges depending on the drug involved and quantity |
Repeated drug/alcohol use | Must have attempted parent contact, referral to SAP for evaluation to determine appropriate treatment. Must have documented safety concern, evidence of violations, and attempted interventions. | Board Policy |
School Threat | A report is made that a student has expressed intent to harm or act violently against someone or something, including school buildings, school property, etc. | Board Policy F13 Student Conduct and Discipline Policy |
False safety alarm, tampering with safety equipment | Causing a false safety alarm (such as yelling “shooter”, “bomb”, or “fire”; fake 911 call; swatting; pulling the fire alarm; tampering with a defibrillator or smoke detector; etc.). May result in long-term suspension or expulsion hearing. | Board Policy F13 Student Conduct and Discipline Policy |
Physical Assault | Assault is a violent crime that involves intentionally causing physical harm or offensive contact to another person. Police shall be contacted in the event of an assault. Students cannot reach de-escalation to address the fight and physical safety of school is therefore compromised. May require immediate intervention by medical or police personnel. | Violation of Law: |
Sex-based harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking | Unwanted physical contact that is sexual in nature between two or more individuals. May require immediate intervention by medical or police personnel. Must refer to the Office of Equity and may require DCF report. | Possibly Title IX depending on incident |
Refusal to allow a search | Refusing to allow an authorized school personnel to search an individual and/or their possessions (e.g. bag, backpack). | School safety concern |
HHB: Hazing, Harassment and Bullying | Any incident that may be harassment against a protected identity, hazing, and/or bullying needs to be investigated per HHB requirements. See F29R policy and procedure for more specific information. Note: Suspension as an option in HHB incidents should be done on a case-by-case basis. These cases should only warrant suspension when there is evidence that the student(s) do not feel safe at school. Alternatives could be switching classes, teams, shadowing student who caused the harm, etc. | Violation of Law: |
Lewd and lascivious conduct | Sexual activity that goes beyond kissing and/or light physical contact. Can be consensual. | Violation of Law: |
Police Contact: The Burlington Police Department may be contacted if one of the above offenses occurs.
Burlington Community Justice Center (BCJC) Involvement: When an incident rises to the level of suspension, it may be pertinent to involve our partners at the BCJC to help either with the repair process, re-entry, and/or accountability measures. The BCJC can support through offering co-facilitation of repair, restorative reentry co-facilitation for a case in which BCJC has been involved, and accountability through educational workshops tailored to the incident.
The Office of Equity should be notified when a building administrator is filling out a referral request with the BCJC. The Office of Equity can help building administrators determine if/when a BCJC referral would be appropriate.
Hazing, Harassment, and Bullying (HHB): The state of Vermont and District policy guides our work around any incident that may be hazing, harassment, and/or bullying. Every school has a designated employee tasked with the intake of every report suspected of being HHB and following through with the life of a case. The goal of our HHB work is to keep students safe and able to access their education. In cases of HHB, a restorative option can be utilized following an investigation in conjunction with supportive measures identified through the investigation. A suspension may be necessary in an HHB case if the behavior is so severe that the safety of the student(s) and/or staff are compromised. Please see the BSD HHB website for more information.
Equity Request Ticket and See Something, Say Something Line: An Equity Request Ticket is one method to report inequities, injustices, and unfair issues that are happening to you and others. All Equity Tickets are reviewed by the Office of Equity Team. A response is guaranteed within three days. Equity Tickets can be submitted anonymously. The See Something, Say Something Anonymous Reporting Line (802-540-3710) allows individuals to anonymously report an issue 24/7/365 when they see a community member who is at risk of harming themselves or others. All reports are reviewed by the Office of Equity Team. A response is guaranteed within 24 hours. Reports can be submitted anonymously.
If a staff member causes harm to or is involved in conflict with a colleague or another adult member of the BSD community, they will be given the option first to address and repair the harm through a restorative process in lieu of a disciplinary process taking place. This will be the default option for harm situations that involve staff unless the Superintendent determines the situation to not be appropriate for a restorative response (including but not limited to racial harm or harassment, failure to report abuse, improper use or reporting of restraint or seclusion, sexual harassment, and substance use).
Restorative processes are always voluntary and staff should only enter into a restorative repair process if they authentically and genuinely accept accountability for their role in the harm and are prepared to address and repair the harm. A restorative option will only be pursued if the individual(s) harmed are willing and interested in engaging in the process, as well as the party that caused the harm. A trained neutral restorative practitioner will oversee and facilitate the restorative repair process. This practitioner may be a trained BSD staff member or an RP consultant contracted by the District.
Readiness for participation in a restorative harm repair process involves:
If at a later date, the issue that the restorative process attempted to address arises again, then disciplinary action can be taken as RP was unsuccessful in changing the harmful behavior.
Confidentiality in RP: All restorative processes are strictly confidential. The repair process circle conversation and the agreements or outcomes are only known to the individuals involved in the repair process and the facilitator. No information can be shared outside of the circle unless clear guidelines for sharing are explicitly agreed to by all members of the circle including the facilitator.
If agreements or outcomes involve sharing information with other people about the situation any individuals who are involved following a repair process will be given solely the information they need to provide a service or support. (For example, if a staff member agrees to ongoing implicit bias coaching as the result of a reparative process, those who need to know about or be involved with the training will be provided with the appropriate amount of information needed) This information will be provided by the facilitator and the agreed parties.
RP and Staff Discipline, Improvement Plans, and Grievances: Staff and supervisors experiencing conflict are encouraged to seek a restorative process to help resolve their conflict. All RP confidentiality guidelines still apply in these types of situations. The restorative circle conversation, agreements, and outcomes are all confidential to the circle participants and facilitator. No other individuals will be given information about what was discussed or agreed to as part of the repair process.
If the issue arises again at a later date and a staff member wishes to pursue a grievance or a supervisor wishes to take other actions, neither of these parties can reference what was discussed or agreed to during the restorative process. Therefore, if the issue that the restorative process attempted to resolve arises again at a later date and a grievance and/or other supervisor actions are pursued by any of the parties, they can only document the issue from what took place following the restorative process. A restorative process will not be used repeatedly for the same harmful behavior.
When a restorative process is offered and a staff member chooses not to participate, the staff member will still be held accountable in a traditional manner for the harm or conflict that occurred. For the discipline process, please review the Collective Bargaining Agreement and/or Personnel Manual which pertains to your position. A restorative response will always be the first option offered but if it is declined, staff members can expect they will still be held accountable for their actions through BSD Human Resources personnel guidelines.
In a situation in which a BSD staff member causes harm to another community member (e.g. a staff causes harm to a student or family), the parties involved will be provided with an opportunity to repair the harm and take accountability for the situation in a restorative manner. Staff members are held to the same standards of expectation as students and families.
These harm repair opportunities will first offer a restorative approach. It is voluntary for everyone involved to participate in any restorative process. The impact of opting-in to the restorative process is that a stronger relationship is built out of the process and conflict is addressed to make things right.
Staff members can expect that should they cause harm to a student or family, they will be invited to participate in a restorative process but should they decline or refuse to participate in this process, disciplinary measures will be taken. These measures are confidential. Burlington School District will use progressive discipline procedures. These procedures are designed to provide a structured process to improve and prevent a recurrence of undesirable employee behavior and performance issues, but can be altered based on the severity of the infraction: step 1- formal verbal reprimand, step 2- formal written reprimand, without Suspension, step 3: final written reprimand (may or may not include suspension with or without pay), and step 4- termination.
Voluntary Teaching Observation: Teaching staff can opt-in to having a voluntary teaching observation following harm they may have caused students or colleagues. When a staff member opts into this educational opportunity, an Office of Equity staff member will utilize the Restorative Culturally Responsive and Anti-Racist Teaching Tool (credit to the EMS YPAR for School Equity students for creating this tool) to provide comprehensive feedback to the teacher about their instructional practices as one way to repair harm and prevent any further harm from occurring.
Learning Pathways: Staff can also have learning pathways as a way to repair harm they may have caused students or colleagues. Staff learning pathways are opt-in. For more information about staff learning pathways, please see BSD’s Teacher Learning Pathways FAQ.
Would you like to provide feedback, suggestions, or a question about the Code of Conduct? Please use this form to submit your thoughts. The Code of Conduct will be revised on an annual basis.
Appendix A: History and Context of Code of Conduct Creation
The BSD Restorative Code of Conduct began in 2017, with multiple BSD staff members, students, and union leaders picking up the work during the 2022-2023 school year to create a comprehensive community guide that applies to all students, staff, employees, and parents and family members. Cabinet members gave feedback on the first draft of the Code of Conduct during a summer in-service in 2022. Students from the Summer Racial Justice Academy 2 were given an opportunity to provide comments and suggestions as well. Staff focus groups were held to solicit feedback on the Code of Conduct in the winter of 2023. The Superintendent’s Family and Student Advisory Groups both provided their insight and suggestions on the Code of Conduct. Finally, a revision team was responsible for making final edits and changes to the Code as well as designing a rollout plan for Fall 2023.
The Code of Conduct is purposefully designed to not solely apply to students but instead to all community members as we believe in BSD that we all must be accountable for our actions and behavior.
We are working to transform our district into being truly restorative in nature. The State of Vermont has recommended that suspensions and expulsions in Vermont Schools should only be used in the most extreme circumstances, as outlined by the Act 35 Task Force Report on Equitable and Inclusive School Environments from the State of Vermont (March 2022). The annual BSD Equity and Inclusion Data report consistently shows disparities in suspensions and disciplinary data that adversely affect students of the global majority, students on IEPs, students who are English language learners, male-identifying students, and students who qualify for free and/or reduced lunch. Students who are suspended are at increased risk of academic failure, of dropping out of school, and of entering the criminal penal system.
The Code of Conduct directly aligns to Priority Area 5 of BSD’s Strategic Plan; Priority Area 5 is focused on developing relationship-based communities through Restorative Practices.
Revised 8/8/2024