APPENDIX : I. Getting Started • II. Classroom Management • III. Lesson Planning and Curriculum • IV. Safety and Disciipline •
V. How Special Education Students Receive Services • VI.Certification Nuts and Bolts • VII. Tuition Help •
VIII. Your Money • IX. How the School System is Organized

Section Contents

• Discipline Code
• Special Education Students
• School Safety Plan
• Violence Prevention Training
• What if I'm Injured?

IV. Safety and Discipline

Discipline Code

It’s the principal’s responsibility to maintain security, safety and discipline, and you have a right to insist that misbehaving students are disciplined.

The guidelines the school must follow are established by the Department of Education’s systemwide Discipline Code, which:

• Establishes a ladder of consequences with specific mandatory punishments to match the severity of various student infractions.
• Sets minimum and maximum penalties for each degree of severity.
• Varies penalties by grade level, either K-5 or 6-12, so that the age and general maturity of the student are considered. Some infractions may not apply to students in grades K-3.
• Specifies that whenever possible, interventions should begin with the lowest level of disciplinary response.
• Provides graduated penalties for students who engage in repeated misbehaviors despite the prior imposition of appropriate disciplinary measures.

Examples of Discipline Code

Action	Grade Level	Severity Level	Range of Responses
Engaging in scholastic dishonesty (e.g., cheating, plagiarism)	K-5	2	7 responses, ranging from teacher admonishment to parent-teacher conference to principal’s suspension.
Insubordinate behavior	K-5	3	9 responses, the above plus in-school suspension, removal from classroom by teacher.
Disruptive behavior in the classroom or falsely activating a fire alarm	6-12	3	11 responses, ranging from admonishment by staff to superintendent’s suspension for 30-90 days.
Assault/using force against school personnel	K-5 and 6-12	5	Mandatory superintendent’s suspension of at least 6-30 days. 5 responses, including removal to a special setting or school, or, for students 17 and older, expulsion.

What the principal must do:

• While in most cases the principal has some discretion about what action to take, he or she must impose minimal or mandated disciplinary actions.
• If you believe the principal has failed to follow the school Safety Plan or that there has been a violation of the discipline code discuss this with your chapter leader. You may be able to file a grievance.
• If a principal has not followed the steps required by the code— for example, if he or she has allowed a student back in your classroom who should have been suspended— you should speak to your chapter leader for advice about how best to file a grievance.
• The use of force against a staff member requires a superintendent’s suspension.

Special Education Students

It is a common misperception that disciplinary consequences cannot be imposed on students with disabilities who commit disciplinary infractions. Students with disabilities are subject to the Discipline Code, but they are entitled to additional procedural protections. The procedures for disciplining students with disabilities are fully explained in Chancellor’s Regulation A-443. Both the UFT Safety Department and the office of the vice president from special education are able to assist members with questions about safety and discipline issues involving students with disabilities.

School Safety Plan

The contract requires that every school have an individually tailored school Safety Plan. It’s a blueprint for handling all sorts of potentially dangerous situations, from routine activities like screening visitors to crises that require an emergency response.

• Every fall, the Safety Plan must be reviewed and, if necessary, revised.
• The principal is required to collaborate with your union chapter on reviewing and updating the plan, not just consult it.
• If you believe your school needs to change or add procedures to address potentially threatening situations or changed circumstances, contact your chapter leader.
• If you see that provisions of the Safety Plan are being violated, alert your chapter leader. She or he will try to resolve such matters informally or report it on the UFT Web site.
• Failing that, he or she may decide to file a safety grievance, a high-priority complaint that must be answered within 24 hours and has a fast-track appeal process.
• If you do not want to personally file such a grievance, your chapter leader can do it in the chapter’s name.

Violence Prevention Training

You can take advantage of several union initiatives to learn how to enhance your own safety in school:

• The union’s School Safety Department offers violence prevention training. This series of workshops will show you how to identify the warning signs of danger to yourself and your students and teaches you ways to defuse volatile situations before they reach the point of no return. Using research from psychology and practical knowledge gained from law enforcement, these workshops have enabled thousands of members to avoid confrontations that could have led to violence.
• In addition, the union offers many workshops on classroom management, on teaching students self-discipline and on instructional techniques that engage students so they do not start misbehaving out of restlessness. Check the New York Teacher for upcoming sessions.

What if I’m Injured?

Unfortunately, UFT members do get injured in the line of duty, or even assaulted in schools. If this should happen to you:

• The UFT’s Victim Support Program will contact you to offer every assistance – legal, medical and psychological.
• If you are assaulted:

Here are the forms you may need to file:

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