All schools need disciplinary processes appropriate to the student population to regulate student actions and behavior and document when disciplinary actions are taken. While many minor infractions in the classroom can be handled instantly by a teacher and don't require documentation, most schools prefer to document instances where more significant disciplinary actions are needed.
By outlining rules and consequences for breaking them in a student handbook, and having students and parents sign that they have read and understood them, the stage is set for fairer, more effective discipline. Documenting infractions and disciplinary actions provide an account of events that can be reviewed by teachers, students, administrators, and parents. Without processes for documenting infractions and discipline, confusion, misunderstanding, and even legal conflicts can result. Progressive Disciplinary Actions and Accompanying Processes The typical K-12 school system has a "ladder" or hierarchy of support and disciplinary actions when students break rules. Though student misbehavior should be handled on a case-by-case basis, having consistent processes in place helps ensure that discipline meted out is done so with consistency and fairness. When an infraction occurs, the disciplinary process should begin with documentation of the event and the circumstances surrounding it. Some infractions may only merit guidance interventions, while others must involve contacting parents or escalating the disciplinary response in some other way. When this is necessary, documenting the entire process is fairest to all parties involved. Documenting Guidance and Disciplinary Actions When a student engages in sufficiently inappropriate behavior, the teacher or an administrator typically contacts the parent and then takes some other disciplinary step like having a conference one on one with the student, sending the student to the school counselor, or referring the student to the dean or principal's office. Documenting these incidents makes it easier for teachers, administrators, and parents to recognize patterns of misbehavior and be better informed should further disciplinary action become necessary later. Documenting Detention and Suspension Detention is one of the most common school punishments in many countries. Detention requires a student to be in a designated classroom at a specific time during the school day, like recess, lunch, or after school, or to attend school on a non-school day - typically a Saturday. When students are assigned detention on non-school days, there may be laws that parents must be given a certain amount of advanced notice, and this step can be built into the disciplinary process. Documenting the assignment of detention and that a student served the assigned detention period can be valuable should questions about it.
