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Student Conduct Policy

STUDENT CONDUCT

The Board of Trustees of the Kern Community College District, in support of education and the exercise of general supervision of the campuses of the District, believes that the student conduct must reflect the standards of good behavior expected by society. Since the people of the District furnish public education, it becomes a privilege for students to have this opportunity to further their education. (KCCD Board Policy 4F8)

Students shall respect constituted authority. This shall include conformance of State laws, Board regulations, Cerro Coso Community College regulations, and applicable provisions of civil law. (KCCD Board Policy 4F8A)

Students are expected to observe high personal standards of decency, morality, honesty, and social relationships. Student conduct should reflect consideration for rights of others, and students are expected to cooperate with all members of the Cerro Coso Community College community. (KCCD Board Policy 4F8B)

In order to operate effective programs, all Cerro Coso Community College personnel shall be responsible for communicating appropriate student conduct and for reporting any violation thereof, and the College President or designee shall have the right to administer suitable and proper corrective measures for misconduct. (KCCD Board Policy 4F8C)

The Board of Trustees, the Cerro Coso Community College President or designee may suspend a student for “good cause” when the presence of the student causes a continuing danger to the physical safety of the student or others. The Board of Trustees may exclude from attendance in regular classes any student whose physical or mental disability is such as to cause his or her attendance to be inimical to the welfare of other students. (Education Code Sections 76020 and 76030/KCCD Board Policy 4F8D)

No student shall be suspended or expelled unless the conduct for which he/she is to be disciplined is related to a Cerro Coso Community College activity or campus attendance.

As used in the above section, “good cause” includes but is not limited to the following offenses. (KCCD Board Policy 4F8E)

The following is a partial list covered by the Board Policy Manual. A detailed and complete Board Policy Manual Section Four – Students/Instructional Services may be reviewed in the Counseling Office, Office of Student Learning, the Learning Resource Center, or viewed online. Complete Board Policy Manual

1. Continued disruptive behavior, continued willful disobedience, habitual profanity or vulgarity, or the open and persistent defiance of the authority of, or persistent abuse of, Cerro Coso Community College personnel.
    
2. Assault, battery, or any threat of force or violence upon a student or Cerro Coso Community College personnel.
    
3. Willful misconduct which results in injury or death to a student or Cerro Coso Community College personnel, or which results in cutting, defacing or other injury to real or personal property owned by the District.
    
4. The use, sale, or possession on campus of, or presence on campus under the influence of, any controlled substance prohibited by law.
    
5. Violation of the Clean Air Policy. The use of tobacco products is banned in all facilities and at all activities of the Cerro Coso Community College.
    
6. Abuse of computer resources.
    
7. Dishonest, cheating, plagiarism or knowingly furnishing false information to the Cerro Coso Community College or its officials. (See Appendix 4F8D)
    
8. Obstruction or disruption of pedestrian or vehicular traffic or of instructional activities, administrative procedures, or public service functions, or interfering with the normal activities of other members of the Cerro Coso Community College community, including their lawful exercise of free speech, petition, or peaceful protest.
    
9. Unauthorized entry in to or unauthorized use of, or the misuse of Cerro Coso Community College property, supplies, equipment, and/or facilities.
    
10. Possession or use of firearms, explosives, dangerous chemicals, or deadly weapons (except law enforcement officers or those persons given permission by the Cerro Coso Community College President or designee).
     
11. Engaging in lewd, indecent, or obscene behavior.
     
12. Use of personal portable sound amplification equipment and other electronic devices (radios, cell phones, pagers and tape players) in a manner that disturbs the privacy of other individuals and/or instructional programs of the Cerro Coso Community College).
     
13. Abuse of and/or tampering with the registration process and forgery, falsification, alteration, or misuse of Cerro Coso Community College documents, records or identification.
     
14. Distribution of Materials: the President of Cerro Coso Community College or Vice President of Student Services shall approve all official student publications. Non-college materials, circulars, leaflets, brochures, posters, and petitions may be distributed on campus, subject to the approval of the Cerro Coso Community College Director of Facilities or designee. The distribution of published materials are subject to Cerro Coso Community College policies regarding time, place, and manner, which may be modified by the amount of space available and by the means of distribution; these involve intangible but essential matters of aesthetics and depend upon the exercise of judgment and good taste.
     
15. Cerro Coso Community College does not prohibit the right of students to exercise free expression including, but not limited to, the use of bulletin boards, the distribution of printed materials or petitions, and the wearing of buttons, badges, or other insignia, except that expression which is obscene, libelous or slanderous according to the current legal standards, or which so incites students as to create a clear and present danger of the commission of unlawful actions on community college premises, or the violation of lawful operation of the community college, shall be prohibited.
     
16. Any violation or violations of any law, ordinance, regulation, or rule regulating or pertaining to, the parking of vehicles. This violation will not be cause for suspension or expulsion of a student.
    
    “Good cause” may be established by using appropriate investigation standards, such as:
    • Interview of witness
    • Review of Campus Security Report, if applicable
    • Review of written statements, if applicable
    • Review of pertinent documents, if applicable
    • Review of any other evidence, if applicable

PROCEDURE

1. An instructor may remove a student from his or her class for the day of the removal and the next class meeting. The instructor shall immediately report the removal to the Vice President of Student Services for appropriate action. During the period of removal a student shall not be returned to the class from which he or she was removed without the concurrence of the instructor of the class.
    
2. A Cerro Coso Community College official may remove a student from a Cerro Coso Community College activity for violation of the Code of Student Conduct for the duration of that event. The Cerro Coso Community College official shall immediately report the removal to the Vice President of Student Services for appropriate action.
    
3. The Vice President of Student Services shall receive and may issue any charge of alleged misconduct made against a student by a member of the staff or fellow students.
   1. The Vice President of Student Services shall confer with the student for the purpose of advising him/her of the charge, the evidence to support the charge, possible sanction to be imposed of him/her under Cerro Coso Community College regulations and State laws.
       
   2. The student will have a formal hearing before the Vice President of Student Services, at which time the student will have the opportunity of answering charges.
       
   3. At this point, the Vice President of Student Services may take any one of the following actions:
      1. Dismiss the charge for lack of merit.
      2. Place the student on probation or temporary suspension.
      3. If an immediate suspension is required in order to protect lives or property and to insure the maintenance of order, a reasonable opportunity shall be afforded the suspended person for a hearing within ten (10) days.
      4. A verbal or written reprimand or ineligibility to participate in extra curricular activities.
      5. Recommend suspension or expulsion to the President
         1. From one (1) or more classes for a period of up to ten (10) days of instruction.
         2. From one (1) or more classes for the remainder of the school term.
         3. From all classes and activities of the Cerro Coso Community College for one (1) or more terms.

      Whenever a minor is suspended, the Vice President of Student Services shall notify the parent or guardian in writing. If the student removed by the instructor is a minor, the Vice President of Student Services shall ask parent or guardian of the student to attend a parent conference regarding removal as soon as possible. If the instructor or the parent or guardian so requests, a Cerro Coso Community College administrator shall attend the conference. (Education Code Sections 76031 and 76032)
       

   4. All cases of suspension or expulsion must be accompanied by a prompt hearing held by a campus body impaneled for that purpose to ensure due process; all hearings must contain the following minimal elements:
      1. A notice to the student by registered mail, return receipt requested, or deliver by hand with a signed receipt. The notice should include the time and place of the hearing, specification of the charges, appraisal of the right to representation as appropriate, a clear request for the student’s response as to whether or not he or she wishes the hearing, and a clear indication that no response from the student constitutes a waiver of the right to a hearing.
      2. Opportunity for the student to fully respond to all charges.
      3. A record of the hearing.
      4. The hearing will be held whether the student attends or not, so that the charges and supporting evidence be a part of the official record.

THE HEARING

1. The Vice President of Student Services shall arrange for the meeting of the Student Conduct Hearing Panel within ten (10) days after submission of the charge to consider the disposition of the cases.
    
2. The Student Conduct Hearing Panel shall be composed of the designated memberships per Board Procedure 4F8. The Vice President of Student Services shall arrange for a chairperson, appointed by the Cerro Coso Community College President.
    
3. Upon receiving the findings and recommendations of the Hearing Panel the suspension or expulsion is upheld, the Vice President of Student Services shall forward the recommended action to the Cerro Coso Community College President. If the suspension or expulsion is not upheld, the Vice President shall confer with the Hearing Panel before forwarding the recommendation to the President.
    
4. The student shall receive official notice from the Cerro Coso Community College President. A record of the action will be forwarded to the Chancellor. During the period of suspension a student shall not be permitted to enroll in any college in the District.
   
   In cases of expulsion, the Chancellor or designee shall recommend actions to the Board after receiving the President’s recommendation and supporting documentation including the Hearing Panel’s recommendation and the hearing record. After Board action, the Chancellor or designee shall notify the student by registered mail, return receipt requested. The expulsion may be for a specified or unspecified time and shall be from all colleges, programs, and activities of the District.
    
5. In cases of expulsion for an unspecified time the student may, after a reasonable time, request the Cerro Coso Community College President to remove the expulsion. If the President approves the request, he or she shall make the recommendation to the Chancellor or designee, who may recommend to the Board that the expulsion be removed. The Chancellor or designee will notify the student of the Board’s action.
    
6. The Vice President of Student Services shall, upon the suspension or expulsion of any student, notify the appropriate law enforcement authorities of the county or city in which the school is situated of any acts of the student, which may be in violation of Section 245 of the Penal Code. (Education Code Section 76035)
    

Please note: This policy applies to all students at all locations of Cerro Coso Community College. After consultation with the Vice President of Student Services, the Faculty Director of any Cerro Coso Community College site may serve as the Vice President of Student Services Designee for implementing the Student Conduct Policy.
 

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Last updated October 04, 2006