Common use of Mutual Commitment Clause in Contracts

Mutual Commitment. The parties declare their mutual commitment to maintenance of control and student discipline. The Board and the Association recognize the maintenance of control and discipline in the classroom is a key ingredient in establishing an effective learning environment. A. The parties recognize the importance of teaching positive behavior and conflict resolution. However a teacher may exclude a student for the balance of the class period. If the student poses a safety risk or is extremely disruptive to the learning environment, the teacher will furnish the building administrator, as promptly as possible, a written summary of the full parameters of the incident. The parties recognize that special education students may not be excluded to the extent that such exclusion impacts the student’s IEP, or otherwise violates state or federal laws. B. For persistent minimum offenses/ moderate offenses, teacher will submit in writing a summary of the purported misconduct to an appropriate building administrator. The building administrator shall have primary responsibility for issuing discipline, consistent with Board policies. C. For severe offenses, the District shall follow Board policy, state and federal law, with the intent of creating a safe learning environment for students and staff. Severe offenses that violate the law shall be reported to law enforcement immediately. The accused student shall immediately be removed from that staff member’s classroom (i.e., classroom teacher/instructional paraprofessional) and/or caseload (e.g., social worker, psychologist, and/or counselor). Staff members who are assaulted by a student during the execution of his/her duties will be allowed necessary respite time before returning to their professional duties for the remainder of the school day. D. Consistent enforcement of disciplinary procedures will be administered when student misbehaviors warrant it. The teacher will have attempted to remedy student behavior problems through the use of documented disciplinary procedures prior to seeking administrative assistance, not including cases which may cause imminent danger. This documentation will be recorded on the referral form, which will be available in all buildings. Staff input shall be considered when administration makes disciplinary decisions. E. Administrative disciplinary decisions shall be communicated to the referring staff within forty-eight (48) hours following the written misbehavior referral provided the referral is made by the teacher on the day incident occurred or on the same day the teacher gained knowledge of the incident. These decisions may be emailed to referring staff. In the event that the referring teacher is dissatisfied with administrative discipline, the teacher may submit a written objection to the administrator who issued the discipline, within forty-eight (48) hours after receiving notice of the disciplinary determination. F. At the commencement of each school year, each building principal shall distribute to the staff written student disciplinary procedures, such procedures to be in accordance with applicable provisions of the Michigan Revised School Code. Staff and administration shall be responsible for following and enforcing these procedures uniformly. It is understood that the above disciplinary procedures are subject to revision. Until revisions are formally adopted, building administrators shall continue to use the current disciplinary procedures to maintain consistent expectations within each building. In the event of such revisions, teachers shall be given written notice of same. Not later than April 1 annually the Association shall forward to the building principals, in writing, any recommendations for revisions of student handbooks for the forthcoming school year. Prior to the adoption of revised disciplinary procedures, the district shall share with teachers in each building for the purpose of gathering feedback and making necessary revisions. A meeting to discuss feasibility of recommended changes will be held with the teaching staff and building administration by June 1.