William Kritsonis, School Law, Ch 8 School Discipline Admin.

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DISCIPLINE
FROM AN ADMINISTRATORS POINT OF VIEW
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
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99.9 of an administrators time is spent on
discipline.
Dr. Arthur Petterway
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THE STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT
With administrators, discipline begins with the
Student Code of Conduct. Chapter 37 of the Texas
Education Code identifies what disciplinary
actions should be applied, and the rules and
regulations for applying them.
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ADMINISTRATORS TEACHERS
As far as administrators are concerned, they
would prefer that teachers would do a better job
of classroom management. Then, it would be
easier for them to discipline the really
difficult cases of misbehavior.
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WHERE DISCIPLINE STARTS
When a student commits an infraction, the teacher
has several different options to respond.

1. Arrange a conference with the student and their
   guardian
2. At the next instance of misbehavior, the
   students assistant principal should be contacted
3. Only in emergency cases should a student be sent
   to their AP without the teacher making a phone
   call home first

• Determine the level of the infraction
• (All Level 1 infractions should be handled by
  the teacher)
• Have a conference with the student
• If the student continues to misbehave, call their
  parent or guardian

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TEACHER DOS AND DONTS

1. Teachers should make sure their classroom rules
   are posted
2. Teachers should establish procedures for
   everything that happens in their classroom
3. Teachers should respond respectfully, even when
   dealing with a student who misbehaves frequently

1. Teachers should never put students in the hallway
   for any type of infraction w/o paperwork
2. Teachers should not condemn the student, but
   their behavior
3. Teachers should not play favorites when
   administering discipline

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ADMINISTRATOR DOS AND DONTS

1. Administrators should respond to teachers
   requests quickly
2. Administrators should support teachers in their
   efforts in student discipline
3. Administrators should follow the Student Code of
   Conduct and the Texas Education Code at all times

1. Administrators should pay special attention to
   see to it that each student that deserves due
   process receives it
2. Administrators should not suppress students free
   speech rights without research
3. Administrators should not use corporal punishment
   to discipline students

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AS A FUTURE ADMINISTRATOR
I am currently serving as an Administrative
Intern at my school, so Im aware of the us v.
them argument. The more active in my
internship I become, the more them I get
accused of being. I talked to a couple of
teachers over the last couple of days about some
disciplinary issues they were having. One wanted
to know how a student who cursed him out that
morning could be back in his classroom the same
afternoon. The other had a procedural issue
about student hall passes and how they are used.
I can see that an administrators day is filled
with decisions, and most of them about
discipline. To combat feelings of lack of
discipline at the beginning of the school year I
will go over the code of conduct with the
teachers, and also let them know what is expected
of them during the disciplinary process. This
would hopefully eliminate misunderstandings, and
not have teachers feeling as if the disciplinary
process is a waste of time. The more involved
teachers are in the disciplinary process in the
beginning, the better the disciplinary process
will work, leading to happier teachers, and a
better learning environment.