Avery County Schools Policy Policy Code: 4331
ASSAULTS, THREATS AND HARASSMENT
The Avery County Board of Education will not tolerate assaults, threats or harassment from any student. Any student engaging in such behavior will be removed from the classroom or school environment for as long as necessary to ensure a safe and orderly environment for learning.
A. PROHIBITED BEHAVIOR
1. Assault
Students are prohibited from assaulting, physically injuring, attempting to injure
or intentionally behaving in such a way as could reasonably cause injury to any
other person. Assault includes engaging in a fight.
2. Threatening Acts
Students are prohibited from directing toward any other person any language that
threatens force, violence or disruption, or any sign or act that constitutes a threat of force,
violence or disruption.
Bomb and terrorist threats are also addressed in policy 4333, Weapons, Bomb Threats,
Terrorist Threats and Clear Threats to Safety.
3. Harassment
Students are prohibited from engaging in or encouraging any form of harassment,
including bullying and cyberbullying of students, employees or other individuals on
school grounds or at school-related functions, and at any time or place when the behavior
has a direct and immediate effect on maintaining order and discipline in the schools.
Harassment is unwanted, unwelcome and uninvited behavior that demeans, threatens, or
offends the victim and results in a hostile environment for the victim. The hostile
environment may be created through pervasive or persistent misbehavior or a single
incident if sufficiently severe.
Harassment and bullying are further defined in policy 1710/4021/7230, Prohibition
Against Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying, Complaints of harassment will be
investigated pursuant to policy 1720/4015/7225, Discrimination, Harassment and
Bullying Complaint Procedure. For incidents of misbehavior that do not rise to the level
of harassment, see policy 4310, Integrity and Civility, which establishes the expectation
that students will demonstrate civility and integrity in their interactions with others.
Avery County Schools Policy Code: 4331 Page 1 of 2 B. CONSEQUENCES
The disciplinary consequences for violations of this policy shall be consistent with
Section D of policy 4300, Student Behavior Policies. The superintendent or designee
shall list in the Code of Student Conduct the specific range of consequences that may be
imposed on a student for violations of this policy.
A student who is long-term suspended or reassigned to alternative education services as a
result of assaulting or injuring a teacher shall not return to that teacher's classroom
without the teacher's consent.
A student who is convicted under G.S. 14-458.2 of cyberbullying a school employee will
be transferred to another school. If there is no other appropriate school within the school
system, the student will be transferred to a different class or assigned to a teacher who
was not involved as a victim of the cyberbullying. The superintendent may modify the
required transfer of an individual student on a case-by-case basis and shall provide a
written statement of this modification in the student’s record.
Legal Reference: G.S. 14 -33, 34 through -34.2; -458.2; 115C-47, -276(r), -288, -307, -366.4, - 390.2, -390.7
Cross Reference: Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying (policy 1710/4021/7230) Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Compliant Procedure (policy 1720/4015/7225), Student Behavior Policies (policy 4300), Integrity and Civility (policy 4310), Weapons, Bomb Threats, Terrorist Threats and Clear Threats to Safety (policy 4333), Adopted: 12-03-01 Revised: 9/26/07, 12/8/08, 9/13/11, 6/11/13
Avery County Schools Policy Code: 4331 Page 2 of 2