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The Rule Book - Examples

Blue Ridge Sudbury School has a Rule Book with each and every rule that is enforced at school. Do you wonder how this all works? With written rules, you know exactly what behavior is acceptable and what is not. Each rule is voted in, amended, or repealed by all the students and staff at school. These are just a fraction of all the rules. When you come visit, ask to see the Rule Book for all the rules.

Rule Book Categories

1. Community Norms
2. Protection of Property
3. Safety
4. General Use of School
5. Off-Campus
6. Visitors
7. Admissions
8. Attendance
9. Graduation
10. Staff
11. Election Procedures - SM, JC, Attendance Clerk
12. School Meeting
13. Judicial Committee

Community Norms

1.1.1 The school prides itself on accommodating a large range of behavior by members of the School Meeting, so long as the behavior of each person shows respect for every other person and for the school community as a whole. At any given period in the school's history, the school community, acting through the School Meeting may establish boundaries that limit the range of behavior that is acceptable while a person is in attendance. Each individual is expected to act within these limits.

1.1.2 No one should interrupt others' activities.

1.1.6 Verbal assault is prohibited. Generally, verbal assault is unprovoked or unwarranted spoken speech that is loud, violent, hostile, attacking, threatening, profane, antagonistic, intimidating, or any combination of these. Generally, the more of these elements that are present, the more severe the assault. However, any one element alone or in combination with others may constitute verbal assault. For example, a high level of hostility and loudness may alone constitute verbal assault. Or a low level of many elements in combination may also constitute verbal assault. These two examples are not intended as binding; they merely suggest plausible interpretations of the definition of verbal assault. Verbal assault may take place in a single severe incident, or in a series of moderately severe incidents.
In determining whether verbal assault occurred, the following additional factors may be considered: the closeness of the speaker to the intended target(s); accompanying physical gestures; the relative size and strength of the speaker and the target(s); the extent of any spoken or implied threats; the history of the relationship between the alleged offender and the alleged target(s); the effects on the alleged target(s); the effects on observers who were not intended targets. To be guilty of verbal assault it is not necessary that the offender have been warned or asked to stop. The fact that a warning or request to stop was issued shall not be treated as evidence that verbal assault took place.
Personal insults, in and of themselves, do not constitute verbal assault, although verbal assault may include personal insults and may be profoundly insulting.

1.2.1 In this place of peace, be respectful, responsible and reasonable to yourself, others and your environment. When a conflict arises, students are encouraged to first talk to the person with whom they are in conflict. If that does not work, they can choose to call Mediation. Mediation allows students to resolve conflict right in the moment. Anyone involved in or witnessing an escalating conflict can say, "Mediation!" An objective third person is called in as the mediator. The mediator and the conflicting individuals discuss the problem and work out a solution agreeable to all parties.

1.3.1 The level and amount of sound in any given location on campus should not be more than what is considered reasonable for that location. Reasonable means what would be considered reasonable to most people.
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Protection of Property

2.1.1 People should clean up their own messes. When someone leaves an activity, either the group all cleans up or the remaining people accept responsibility for cleanup. No activity may start until the previous activity's materials are put away.

2.1.2 No one has the right to disturb, damage, or destroy the School's common property, and no one has the right to disturb, damage or destroy or use the personal property of others without their permission.

2.1.4 Permission must be obtained from School Meeting before any animal or pet is brought to school.

2.2.1 No food may be left open and unattended for more than 20 minutes. Food is anything edible.
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Safety

3.2.1 Activities that present a real or potential danger to anyone's personal safety or to the School's safety are prohibited.

3.2.5 An activity ordered to cease by staff must stop immediately. Objections to the order may be referred to the JC.

3.2.6 No running, rough-housing, or any other typically outdoor activities are allowed indoors.
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General Use of School

4.1.2 Use of Front Door during school hours is limited to students' arrival and departure (with the exceptions of off-campus excursions and emergencies). The kitchen and basement doors are to be used to go outside during the school day.

4.1.7 All lingering and playing on either stairway is prohibited.

4.1.8 No playing in either bathroom.

4.1.10.1 All students will have one shelf in a cubby assigned and labeled with their names.

4.4.1 School Cooperatives are chartered by the School Meeting. The motion chartering the Cooperative must state its name, the type of activity it is to be responsible for, and any unusual procedures for choosing directors or officers.
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Off-Campus

5.1.2 Signed releases must be on file at school before all excursions. The forms must include an Off-Campus Excursion Release and any other permission slips pertinent to the trip.

5.1.8 One staff member may take up to five students for an excursion of up to four hours.
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Visitors

6.1 All visitors shall sign in at the office and be issued a name tag. At the end of their visit they shall sign out and return the name tag.

6.4 If some one walks in off the street to visit, a Staff member needs to escort the person on a tour. If the visitor wishes to visit longer, s/he will need to submit a request to the School Meeting, and will be required to sign in and have a name tag.
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Admissions

7.3 Final Admissions Decision: A secret ballot will determine the admission of a student after the completion of the Visiting Week. All School Meeting members present at school must attend a Special School Meeting to be held at 10:30 am on the next school day after the end of the applicant student's Visiting Week. School Meeting members may vote yes (to admit), no (do not admit), or abstain. Staff not present on the day of the decision may vote on a secret, absentee ballot which must be submitted to the Office prior to the Special School Meeting. A majority vote will decide the final admission decision.
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Attendance

8.1.2 For the year, each student is required to attend a total of 990 hours.

8.1.3 School Meeting members must check in immediately upon arrival at the School, and must check out immediately prior to leaving for the day on the attendance list posted in the Main Room.

8.1.4 If a student does not sign in and/or out for the day and is known to attend for the day, the student will be credited with only (3) hours of attendance.

8.2.2 The decision to close the school due to weather concerns is made by the Attendance Clerk in consultation with the opening staff.

8.2.4 The Attendance Clerk will contact any student who has been absent for three consecutive days without notifying the school. Irregular attendance is sufficient cause for the School Meeting to remove an enrollee from the rolls of the School, provided the student has been sent at least two warnings in writing that the insufficient attendance is jeopardizing his/her continued enrollment at the School.
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Graduation

Graduation requirements are being developed by the School Assembly members.
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Staff

10.1 All current staff who wish to continue as staff for the following year will be automatically nominated and put on the election ballot. New nominations must be submitted to the School Meeting in written form by 5:00 pm on the Friday before election day.
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Election Procedures - SM, JC, Attendance

11.1 The people who wish to run for office shall sign up on the posted sheet no later than the day before the election.
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School Meeting

12.1.7 All rules passed in School Meeting are to be printed and then posted on bulletin board by the School Meeting Chair. They are to remain there for one week. The School Meeting Chair must also put the rules in the rule book and notify all students who cannot read, that new rule(s) have been passed.

12.1.8 If a person is called out of order three times by the SM (School Meeting) Chair, the person is automatically fined $1.00.

12.2.5 School Meeting Secretary is responsible for communicating decisions of the School Meeting to those persons who have to know about them and transmitting to the School Meeting communications intended for it.

12.3.6 All rules and substantive amendments to rules, must have two readings, at two consecutive School Meetings, before being voted upon. All motions presented for a first meeting must be listed in the School Meeting Agenda for the meeting at which the motion is to be read. At the first reading, the motion is debated and is then set aside when the debate has ended. At the second reading, the motion is voted upon after debate has ended.
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Judicial Committee

13.1.1 JC functions to receive allegations of School Meeting rules ("complaints") and investigate those which it chooses, by vote, to take up.

13.1.2 JC is to decide, by vote, and on the basis of its investigation, what (if any) charge of a violation should be brought, and which School Meeting members should be charged.

13.4.1 The Judicial Chair and Clerk are the chief judicial officers of the school and are responsible for overseeing the smooth functioning of the school's judicial system.
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