Students of Benjamin Franklin Middle School are expected to show respect for each other and for school property and personal property. They are also expected to adhere to high standards of integrity and honesty and to share in the responsibility to see that school rules are followed with fairness and consistency.

It is important for students to understand the consequences of violating basic school rules. We believe that middle school is a time to learn from mistakes. Therefore, we are guided by a progressive discipline philosophy, and we believe consequences for students should have meaning and help them learn.

Expectations for students and common infractions that are not acceptable in a school environment will be delineated in the subsequent pages of this handbook. Student conduct is almost never black and white, and we will provide due diligence in any investigation. We are not a court of law, and we look for a preponderance of the truth in any situation. We do not discriminate based on gender, age, religious orientation, or any other protected class, and our policies and practices are implemented without regard to membership in such groups. We do not make public the disciplinary actions that we impose on a student, even to the family of a victim if there is one. We respect the privacy of all students.

What follows is an overview of the expectations for students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. Students and parents should also be familiar with Ridgewood Board of Education Policy and Regulation 5600 (Student Discipline/Code of Conduct) for more details about the full range of student expectations, offenses, and consequences for all students.

Behavioral Expectations (General)

Pursuant to NJSA 18A: 37-2, any student who is guilty of continued and willful disobedience, or of open defiance of the authority of any teacher or person having authority over them, or of the habitual use of profanity or of obscene language, or who shall cut, deface or otherwise injure any school property, may be liable to punishment and to suspension or expulsion from school.

Conduct which shall constitute good cause for suspension or expulsion of a pupil guilty of such conduct shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following:

Continued and willful disobedience;
Open defiance of the authority of any teacher or person, having authority over them;
Conduct of such character as to constitute a continuing danger to the physical well-being of other pupils;
Physical assault upon another pupil;
Taking, or attempting to take, personal property or money from another pupil, or from his presence, by means of force or fear;
Willfully causing, or attempting to cause, substantial damage to school property;
Participation in an unauthorized occupancy by any group of pupils or others of any part of any school or other building owned by any school district, and failure to leave such school or other facility promptly after having been directed to do so by the principal or other person then in charge of such building or facility;
Incitement which is intended to and does result in unauthorized occupation by any group of pupils or others of any part of a school or other facility owned by any school district;
Incitement which is intended to and does result in truancy by other pupils;
Knowing possession or knowing consumption without legal authority of alcoholic beverages or controlled dangerous substances on school premises, or being under the influence of intoxicating liquor or controlled dangerous substances while on school premises; and
Harassment, intimidation, or bullying.

Physically/Verbally Aggressive Behaviors

The Benjamin Franklin Middle School cannot and will not tolerate the use of physical contact or threats of physical contact. The following will not be permitted under any circumstances and will necessitate significant consequences. The following definitions are paraphrased from the Student Safety Data System manual published by the New Jersey Department of Education.

Fighting - Mutual engagement in a physical confrontation that could or does result in bodily injury to either party.
Assault - Attempting to cause, or purposely, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to another.
Robbery - Attempting to obtain money / a material item from another by means of violence, threat of immediate violence, or stated or implied threat of future violence.
Simple Threats - Attempting by physical menace (e.g., verbal threats) to put another in fear of bodily injury when the offender knew that the threat could make the victim fearful.
Criminal Threat - Expressing (either physically or verbally) the intent to commit one of the following violent criminal offenses: homicide, aggravated assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, or arson.
Sexual Contact
Use of Insulting or Obscene Gestures/Communications towards others.
Cases of H.I.B. which include use of physical contact or threats of physical contact as outlined in 1-7 above.

As per Ridgewood Board of Education Policy and Regulation 5600 (Student Discipline/Code of Conduct) school responses to the above offenses will be determined according to the severity of the offenses, consideration of the developmental ages of the student offenders, and their histories of inappropriate behaviors.

Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism

All forms of academic dishonesty are unacceptable at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. These include cheating on tests, copying the work of others, copying from published works (plagiarism), unauthorized possession of testing materials, use of unauthorized technology during testing, attempts to modify grades and other records and similar activities, and the use of artificial intelligence sites and platforms to complete assignments for the student. Students should be familiar with Ridgewood Board of Education Policy 5701 (Plagiarism).

When a student participates in a form of Academic Dishonesty:

Teacher conference with student and notify school administration.
Parents/ guardians are notified.
The student will receive academic consequences, up to and including zero credit.
Incident will be recorded in the student’s permanent discipline profile in the Skyward portal.
Subsequent violations may result in additional consequences such as detention and/or suspension.

Cafeteria/Recess Expectations

Students are expected to be respectful and follow a few important rules during lunch and recess. This includes:

Students may not leave the cafeteria without permission or a pass. Students may not go to their lockers during lunch.
Students must raise their hand after cleaning up their trash/recycling and wait for a supervising teacher to dismiss them to recess.
No food or drink is allowed outside during recess unless it is water in a reusable bottle. Plastic bottles and other disposable food packaging are NOT allowed outside and must be finished in the cafeteria.
No cell phones or Chromebooks may be used during lunch and recess.
The same expectations for student behavior, language, and safety during school apply to recess. Horseplay and roughhousing are not permitted.

If a student repeatedly demonstrates an inability to meet one or several of these expectations, consequences may be given.

Cell Phone Policy

Cell phones may not be used during the hours of 8:00 AM and 2:53 PM. Cell phones must be off and stored in students’ lockers. If a parent needs to communicate with a student during the school day, parents should call the Main Office to relay any messages that may be urgent for their child. The consequences for cell phone use will be as follows:

First Offense: Staff will confiscate the cell phone and return it to the student at the end of the period; the student must put the cell phone in their locker for the rest of the day. Administration will be notified and the incident will be noted on the student’s permanent disciplinary record as a “first offense.”
Second Offense: The cell phone will be confiscated and turned into the main office. The student must wait until the end of the school day to retrieve the device. The parent/Guardian will be contacted by the staff member who confiscated the phone or an Administrator. The incident will be noted on the student’s permanent disciplinary record as a “second offense.”
Third Offense: The cell phone will be confiscated and turned into the main office. Administration will be notified and the incident will be noted on the student’s disciplinary record as a “third offense.” The student will be assigned an after school detention.
Subsequent Offenses: Multiple offenses may require students to turn in their cell phones to the main office upon arrival to school each day for a period of 5 school days. Students may pick up the phone at the end of each school day.

Students may not use cell phones or any other electronic devices to take photographs or to record video in school unless given specific permission (e.g. for a class project, school yearbook, etc.) Students should be familiar with Ridgewood Board of Education Policy 5516 (Use of Electronic Communication & Recording Devices) for more on this topic.

Students may be permitted to wear Smart Watches. However, students are not permitted to utilize the wearable device to listen to music, play games, communicate with others, and/or use in any manner disruptive to the educational environment during the school day (including cheating.) Any use of a Smart Watch in such a manner may result in disciplinary consequences as per the above “Cell Phone Policy.” Smart Watches are not permitted during state testing.

Classroom Expectations

Students are expected to behave appropriately in the classroom at all times. This includes but is not limited to:

Being in your seat with appropriate material and prepared to work when class begins.
Students may not leave the classroom without permission from the teacher and creating a pass on SmartPass; students are expected to return to class within a reasonable amount of time.
Using courteous and school appropriate language at all times.
Respecting others’ right to work, and avoiding unnecessary noises or distractions.
Being independent and honorable in doing work.
Students should only use their Chromebooks for academic purposes.
Showing respect for all adults in the building (e.g. substitutes, support staff.)

If a student repeatedly demonstrates an inability to meet one or several of these expectations, consequences may be given.

Dangerous/Disruptive Items

Items that can be dangerous or disruptive may not be brought to school. Possession and/or use of any of the following items will result in confiscation and may be cause for further consequences including but not limited to detention, suspension, and/or expulsion.

Cigarettes or any tobacco/nicotine products including electronic cigarettes, vaping products, or nicotine pouches
Matches and cigarette lighters
Drugs, drug paraphernalia, vaping paraphernalia, alcohol, cannabis, marijuana, and other controlled substances
Fireworks
Weapons, guns, knives, box-cutters, paintball guns, or any object that could be harmful as per BOE Policy 8467 (Weapons)
Water pistols, toy guns, toy knives, or Nerf guns
Novelty devices that may cause injury or disruption
Toys or trading cards
An electronic or battery-operated device not utilized in the educational process
Students may not sell food, beverage, or unauthorized items on school grounds

Dress Code

Students are expected to dress in a manner that maintains focus on classroom learning. In accordance with the Ridgewood Public Schools Board of Education Policy 5511 (Dress and Grooming), all students should be dressed appropriately for school each day.

Hallway Expectations

Students are expected to behave appropriately in the hallways at school. This includes the following general rules:

Obtain teacher permission to leave the room during class periods and create a pass with SmartPass so student whereabouts are known at all times.
Do not run, walk at all times.
Stay to the right in halls and stairways.
Avoid loitering or congregating in ways that block the movement of other students and staff.
Keep the level of voices at a normal range; do not yell or scream.
Using appropriate language (no profanity).
Horseplay and roughhousing are not permitted.
Use of cell phones in the hallways/at lockers is not permitted during the school day.

Excessive or repeated violation of these expectations may result in disciplinary consequences such as detention.

Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (H.I.B.)

The administration will determine remedial actions and disciplinary consequences for students who commit one or more acts of H.I.B. as per Board of Education Policy 5512 (Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying.)

Factors to be considered by the administration when determining the remedial actions and disciplinary consequences actions shall include the following:

Age, disability (if any and to the extent relevant), developmental and maturity levels of the parties involved and their relationship to the school District;
Degrees of harm;
Surrounding circumstances;
Nature and severity of the behaviors;
Incidences of past or continuing patterns of behavior;
Relationships between the parties involved;
Context in which the incident occurred

The remedial actions and disciplinary consequences may include, but are not limited to, the examples listed below:

Remedial Measures May Include:

Restitution and restoration
Peer support group
Character Education instruction
Corrective instruction or other relevant learning or service experience
Supportive student interventions or a referral to the Child Study Team, as appropriate
Behavioral management plan, with benchmarks that are closely monitored
Assignment of leadership responsibilities (e.g., hallway or bus monitor)
Involvement of school disciplinarian (Assistant Principal)
Student counseling
Parent conferences

DIsciplinary Consequences May Include:

Administrative detention
In-school suspension
Out-of-school suspension (short-term or long-term)
Reports to law enforcement or other legal action

Tardiness to School

Consistent punctuality is an important aspect of student education as it helps them establish good habits that will serve them well in their future endeavors. While we understand that there might be occasional circumstances beyond anyone's control, a pattern of tardiness can be disruptive not only to your student’s own learning but also to the overall classroom environment. Tardiness not only causes your student to miss out on valuable instruction but also disrupts the flow of the lesson for their peers.

Classes begin at 8:00 A.M.; however, doors to our vestibules open at 7:30 A.M. and students are permitted to enter the halls at 7:45 A.M. This provides ample time for students to visit their lockers and proceed to their classrooms well before classes begin. Any student who is unable to get to their classroom prior to 8:00 A.M. must visit the main office to sign in and obtain a Late Pass.

The Main Office will maintain a tally of the number of times a student signs in for a Late Pass. Students will be required to attend an after school detention upon the fourth Late Pass and every Late Pass thereafter.

Vandalism

Students who are found destroying, damaging, or defacing school property will face disciplinary consequences and will be required to pay for the damages or cost of repair, replacement, or cleaning of the defaced damaged property. As per Ridgewood Board of Education Policy 7610 (Vandalism), incidents such as but not limited to grafiti may also be reported to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. Pursuant to the New Jersey Department of Education, Vandalism includes: Damage to Property, Trespass, Computer Trespass, Arson, False Public Alarm, and Theft.

Violation of Acceptable Use Policy

Students are encouraged to use the school’s computers/network and Internet connection for teacher-assigned, educational work. Students may only access the district network and/or internet by using their assigned school network account.

The use of another person’s account/password is prohibited.
Students may not allow other users to utilize their passwords. Students may not intentionally seek information on, obtain copies of, or modify files, data or passwords belonging to other users, or misrepresent other users on the network.
Students may not download programs from the Internet on any portable device or attempt to bypass the district's internet filter/firewall.
Students may not install or delete programs on the school’s computers.
The school staff may review computer files or messages that are created by the student.
Material may be reviewed for grading and appropriate content, or for any harassing or threatening material, trade secret protection, and/or any vulgar or obscene content.

If a student repeatedly demonstrates an inability to meet one or several of these expectations, consequences may be given.