The Houston Independent School District has established as one of its primary goals the provision of a high-quality educational program for each student in a safe school environment free of disruptions that interfere with the educational process. The purpose of this Code of Student Conduct is to inform all students and parents of their rights and responsibilities and HISD’s expectations regarding behavior and conduct. The Code, reviewed and approved by the HISD Board of Education, is based on federal and state laws and the policies of the Board of Education and Administrative Regulations. Administrative regulations communicate District procedures and practices in the context of Board policy, federal law, and state law. 

This Student Code of Conduct is adopted by the district’s Board of Education; it has the force of policy. In the event of a conflict between the Code and a campus-specific Student Handbook, the Code shall prevail.

The Code’s Jurisdiction:

• while at school or 300 feet from the school’s property line,
• at school-sponsored or school-related activities,
• certain criminal felony violations away from school, and
  
• cyberspace and social media activities that directly and substantially impact the school environment.

This Code was developed to protect the rights of all students by:

• providing a districtwide discipline management plan,
• Specifying the behavior that is expected of all students,
• describing the range of student misconduct and providing appropriate disciplinary consequences or options for the various forms of misconduct,
• outlining student rights relating to school participation, and
• listing procedures that must be followed when applying consequences.

HISD staff, students, and parents/guardians are expected to become familiar with and abide by the provisions of the Code of Student Conduct and the rules and regulations adopted and implemented by individual schools based on their School-Based Discipline Management System.