Safety and Discipline

Each school has a licensed nurse responsible for administering first aid.

When a student’s illness/injury may require further evaluation, the school makes every effort to contact the parent/guardian and/or emergency contact immediately. If the illness/injury appears serious, the school may call the emergency services and ask them to transport the student to the nearest hospital emergency room. (The parent/guardian is responsible for the cost of the ambulance.)

When the parent/guardian is not immediately available, a school representative accompanies the injured/ill student in the ambulance or follows the ambulance to the emergency health care facility and remains at the emergency health care facility with the student until a parent/guardian, other family member or family physician arrives.

Parents are reminded that the school health office provides assessment of and care for injuries and illnesses that occur during the school day.

If a student is convicted of assault and battery committed against any person affiliated with a school on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event, or if a student is convicted of a violent offense of any type, state/local authorities notify that student’s school.

Every year the school must notify each of that student’s teachers of his/her conviction.

In addition, the conviction or adjudication and sentence is filed in the student’s permanent record. The school must forward it with the student’s school records when the student transfers to another school or school district.

Schools will assist students with medication using the following procedure:

The parent/guardian must submit a dated request to the school for any non-prescription or prescription medication on the Lexington County School District One Medication Permission Form.

The request should list the student’s name, health care provider’s name, medication, time the student must take the medication, dosage, possible side effects and date the student stops taking the medication.

For long-term medications or emergency medication (e.g., epinephrine for severe allergic reactions), the parent/guardian may submit one request per year.

If the school approves the request, the school nurse will administer the medication and will keep a record of all instances of administration. This may include training unlicensed district employees to assist with the medication when a nurse is not available.

Medications, whether non-prescription or prescription, must be provided in their original labeled containers.

Once the student completes the treatment, or if the medication is discontinued during the school year, the parent/guardian should reclaim any unused medication within two weeks. The school will destroy any remaining medication after this time.

At the end of the school year, the parent/guardian should make arrangements to reclaim any unused medications. The school will destroy all medications not picked up by the last day of school.

Neither the district nor its employees will be responsible for any adverse reactions when the medication has been given in the manner prescribed.

School nurses write Individual Healthcare Plans to guide how a student’s health care needs will be met while at school. The nurse works with the student, the student’s parent/guardian, the student’s health care provider and other school staff, if applicable, to write the plan.

IHPs are written for students who have special health care needs and are also written for students who have been approved by the school district to self-medicate or self-monitor.

Students will not share any prescription or over-the-counter medication with another student. Violations of this will result in disciplinary action including, but not limited to, suspension or expulsion.

Schools cannot allow unsupervised self-monitoring or self-medication in cases where this would jeopardize the safety of the student or others.

To learn more about IHPs, talk with the school nurse.

As required by a new state law, starting Jan. 7, 2025, students are not permitted to use personal electronic devices during school hours.

Elementary
Elementary school students may possess personal electronic devices/accessories as long as the devices remain off and are not visible during the school day while on school property.

Middle and High
​Middle/high school students may possess personal electronic devices/accessories as long as the devices remain off and are not visible during the school day.

Students are not permitted to access personal electronic devices or personal electronic device accessories during the school day (start of first class through the end of the last class to include the time between classes and during lunch).

Personal communication devices are not permitted to be used in locker rooms, restrooms, or other personal spaces at any time.

Important definitions in the cell phone policy

Personal electronic devices
Any device utilized to access the internet, wi-fi, cellular telephone signals, or to capture images or video. This includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, smart watches, tablets, and gaming devices. “Personal electronic device accessories” include any wired or wireless accessory or wearable technology that connects to a device and any other accessory commonly used in conjunction with a personal electronic device.

Access
​Viewing, holding, wearing, or otherwise using a device for the purpose of communication, internet access, gaming, recording, or any other function commonly associated with devices.​

School Day
​Period of time between the morning tardy bell/start time and dismissal bell/dismissal time at the end of the instructional day.

Consequences

Teachers and administrators will only enforce consequences for students whose devices or accessories are visible or heard. Consequences will be as follows:

FIRST VIOLATION: Warning. Student/Parent conference held.

SECOND VIOLATION: Detention. Student/Parent conference held.

THIRD VIOLATION: One Day ISS. Student/Parent conference held.

FOURTH VIOLATION: One day OSS. Student/Parent conference held. Student is prohibited from possessing a device at school.

FIFTH VIOLATION: Recommendation for expulsion.

**The board recognizes that enforcement of this policy during non-instructional times presents challenges for school staff. Therefore, during class changes and at lunch if a middle/high school student is not complying with this policy, he/she will be asked to power off their personal electronic device/accessory and put it away. If a student does not comply with this directive, he/she will be referred to an administrator for failure to obey.

Violations of the laws of the United States or of the state of South Carolina may subject students to criminal prosecution.

Lexington One includes an emphasis on health, hygiene and safety in its curriculum. The district also includes age-appropriate information concerning safe health practices that inhibit/prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

Under certain circumstances, students with communicable diseases can pose a threat to the health and safety of other students and staff. The district works to maintain a balance between educating all eligible students and controlling communicable diseases.

Decisions regarding the educational placement of students with communicable diseases are made on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with these guidelines:

• Students with communicable diseases will be permitted to attend school, provided they do not meet any SC DPH or district exclusion requirements. The parent/guardian, however, must inform the school principal of their child’s communicable disease.
• If an elementary school student is diagnosed with AIDS or HIV, SC DPH notifies the district. Children with AIDS or HIV infection should be permitted to attend school and school activities without restriction, provided their health allows it.

A student athlete who has been removed from play and evaluated, and who is suspected of having a concussion or brain injury may not return to play (RTP) until the student athlete has received written medical clearance by a physician.

Any student athlete determined to be concussed may not RTP on the same day of injury.

The parent/legal guardian of a student athlete determined to be concussed will be contacted and counseled regarding management of the injury.

A student athlete who has been cleared to RTP must follow an appropriate graduated RTP protocol as well as any specific instructions concerning classroom work.

The athletic trainer, physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner who evaluates the student athlete during practice or an athletic competition and authorizes the student athlete to return to play is not liable for civil damages resulting from an act or omission in rendering this decision, other than acts or omissions constituting gross negligence or willful, wanton misconduct. This immunity applies to an athletic trainer, physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner serving as a volunteer.

The district will implement plans and conduct drills for evacuating or locking down facilities in emergency situations. Plans will include safety measures for indoor and outdoor assemblies, events and gatherings (e.g., recess) detailing crowd management and security. Safety drills will be conducted throughout the school year in accordance with the state Model Fire and Safety Program Guidelines. District staff shall give full cooperation in carrying out this legal requirement and shall train students in prompt and orderly evacuation of buildings.

See Policy EBCB issued 07/2021.

In addition, the Transportation Office conducts at least two bus evacuation drills each school year.

Parents/guardians and employees can get information about school delays and closings from the district’s telephone calling system, SchoolMessenger, the district’s 24-hour pre-recorded telephone message center at 803-821-1299, the district’s website at lexington1.net, local radio stations or local television stations.

Please do NOT call schools, the Central Services Office or the media. In weather-related emergencies, the district needs to keep all telephone lines open.

Should the weather worsen unexpectedly while students are at school, the district will keep students and school buses at school until the crisis passes. (Schools are one of the safest places that children can be during most natural disasters. In fact, the district’s schools serve as emergency shelters.)

During weather-related crises, schools will release students only to parents/guardians or other individuals listed on the students’ emergency information cards.

Sick children do not perform well in class and can expose their classmates to illness. If your child complains that he/she does not feel well, please check his/her temperature before sending him/her to school. If your child has a fever of 100 degrees or more before you give him/her Tylenol, Advil, Motrin or some other appropriate fever-reducing medication, keep your child at home.

Your child should not return to school until he/she has been fever-free without the help of Tylenol or another product for 24 hours.

Gangs that initiate, advocate or promote activities on school grounds that threaten the safety or well-being of individuals or property disrupt the school environment and are harmful to the educational process. Therefore, any student wearing, carrying or displaying gang paraphernalia, exhibiting behavior or gestures which symbolize gang membership, or participating in negative activities which affect other students will be disciplined.

The administration considers any gang activity or evidence of membership in gangs or secret societies as described in Board Policy JICF to be an act detrimental or disruptive to the school environment, which, for disciplinary purposes, calls for a referral to the district hearing officer.

Hazing is against board policy and, more importantly, against the law.

The district tolerates no acts of hazing by students, staff or third parties as a part of any school-sponsored activity. Any hazing activity, whether by an individual or a group, will be presumed to be a forced activity, even if a student willingly participates.

All students and employees must avoid any action that could be viewed as planning, directing, encouraging, assisting or engaging in hazing. No administrator, coach, sponsor, volunteer or district employee will permit, condone or tolerate any form of hazing.

State law defines hazing as “the wrongful striking, laying open hand upon, threatening with violence or offering to do bodily harm by a superior student to a subordinate student with intent to punish or injure the subordinate student, or other unauthorized treatment by the superior student of a subordinate student of a tyrannical, abusive, shameful, insulting or humiliating nature.”

Lexington One follows school exclusion guidelines for communicable diseases published by SC DPH. These guidelines indicate school exclusion for head lice from the end of the school day until after the child has been treated with an appropriate lice treatment product and live lice have been removed.

If a teacher thinks a student may have head lice, that teacher will refer the student to the school nurse for screening. If the nurse confirms that the student has evidence of active head lice, the nurse will notify the parent/guardian of that finding and treatment options.

Before a student can be readmitted to school, the nurse must recheck the student to verify that the treatment was effective and no live lice are present.

Students may not possess a laser pointer (cylindrical objects approximately the size of a writing pen that emit a laser beam) of any kind on school property or while attending a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off school property.

If a student brings a laser pointer to school, the principal will confiscate it, and the student will face disciplinary action, which could include suspension.

Students who break any bus rules are subject to disciplinary action.  Disciplinary actions may include, but are not limited to, a student conference, detention, bus or school suspension, or receive a recommendation for expulsion from the bus or school.  A student suspended or expelled from the bus may not board any school bus.  More information can be found in your school’s student handbook.

The district takes sexual harassment of students seriously and prohibits such conduct by employees, students or third parties associated with district schools.

Students can report inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature without fear of adverse consequences. Any student who feels he/she has been subjected to sexual harassment or any parent/guardian of a student who feels his/her child has been subjected to sexual harassment is encouraged to file a complaint with the school’s principal or designated school contact person.

All employees, students and third parties associated with schools must avoid any action or conduct which could be viewed as sexual harassment. Any employee or student who is found to have engaged in sexual harassment or inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature will be subject to disciplinary action (up to termination in the case of an employee or up to expulsion in the case of a student). Other appropriate steps will also be taken to correct/rectify the situation.

The district expects students to conduct themselves in such a way that they do not violate the rights and privileges of others.

Students should respect authority, conform to school and district rules, and obey laws that apply to the conduct of juveniles or minors.

School staff emphasize high standards of personal courtesy, decency, morality, clean language, honesty, wholesome relationships with others, respect for real and personal property, pride in one’s work and achievement within the limits of an individual’s ability.

Students who show a sincere desire to remain in school, to be diligent in their studies and to profit from the educational experience will be given every opportunity to do so.

The Student Code of Conduct is in effect when the student is:

• on school property at any time;
• at any school-sponsored event;
• on a school bus or other district vehicle; and
• at all times and in all places where the student’s conduct has a direct and immediate effect on the district’s interest.

For more information, see Board Policy JICDA, JICDA-R and your school’s student handbook.

Students have certain civil rights guaranteed by state and federal law. Among them are:

• the right to attend free public schools without regard to race, color or national origin;
• the right to due process with respect to suspension, expulsion, unreasonable searches and seizures, or administrative decisions which the student believes injure his/her rights;
• the right to free inquiry and expression; and
• the right to privacy.

With those rights come responsibilities. Student responsibilities include:

• the responsibility to attend school as required by law;
• the responsibility not to harm or discriminate against others; and
• the responsibility to observe reasonable rules established by school administrators.

A student may be suspended from school for up to 10 school days for one offense.

A principal may not suspend a student from school during the last 10 days of a school year without the approval of the superintendent if the suspension would make the student ineligible to receive credit for the school year. An exception to this rule would be if the presence of the student constitutes an actual threat to a class or a school. Students who exhibit serious disciplinary behavior may be suspended from school immediately. A student may not be suspended for more than a total of 30 days in a school year.

Prior to suspending a student from class or school, the principal will give an oral statement of the charges and, if the student denies them, an explanation of the evidence. The student will have an opportunity to present his/her version of what happened.

When a student is suspended, the principal will attempt to contact the parent/guardian to request that the parent/guardian pick the student up from school; otherwise, the student will stay at school until the end of that school day.

Occasionally a principal will ask a student to leave immediately and that student may be removed from school grounds immediately.

The principal will notify the parent/guardian in writing, giving the reason(s) for such suspension, and setting a time and place for a conference. If, after the conference, the parent/guardian believes the suspension was unjustified, they may appeal to the district’s hearing officer. An appeal can ultimately be made to the superintendent.

A suspended student may not enter the school or school grounds, attend any day or night school function, or ride a school bus, except for a prearranged conference with an administrator.

Students who have been suspended will have the opportunity to make up all school work missed.

It is unlawful for any person to knowingly and willfully deliver or convey to any teacher or principal any written or verbal or electronic threat to take the life of or to inflict bodily harm on a teacher, principal or their immediate families.

Any person violating this law must, upon conviction, be punished by a term of imprisonment of no more than five years.

It is unlawful for a student to knowingly and willingly deliver or convey a threat to commit bodily harm by means of a weapon against specific individuals or the school by means of any letter or paper, writing, document, electronic communication, or other type of communication that is intended to reach another person.

According to state law, a student must be expelled for one academic year, if, at a minimum, the following criteria are met:

1. The threat was directed at specific students, staff or school;
2. An ordinary person reviewing the threat would have a reasonable expectation of a violent act resulting in bodily harm;
3. The student making the threat could be reasonably expected to have the capacity to carry out the threat; and
4. The threat resulted in a material and substantial disruption to school operations including, but not limited to, the cancellation of classes or families declining to send students to school in response to the threat or lock-down of the school and students.

Lexington One is committed to the safety and well-being of all our staff and students at all times.

For that reason, Lexington One has a districtwide telephone Tip Line, accessible online, by telephone or by email, for students, their parents or staff to report school safety concerns or the improper use of district resources.

Submit a report by calling 803-636-8317 and leaving a message; texting details of your concern to 803-636-8317; filling out a form online at https://lexington1-sc.safeschoolsalert.com/; or emailing details of your concern to 1607@alert1.us.com. When submitting a report, please leave a detailed message that includes the name of the school or office where the concern happened.

When you contact the Tip Line, you may provide a name or telephone number, but it is not required that you provide a name or telephone number in order to leave a message about your concern.

District personnel check the Tip Line regularly from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Outside of those hours, you can submit an urgent concern after hours, on the weekend or during a school holiday by contacting Midlands Crimestoppers at 1-888-274-6372.

Anyone on any school campus without a visitor’s pass is trespassing.

Anyone who interferes with or disturbs in any way or in any place the students or teachers of any school, loiters around a school without permission or acts in an obnoxious manner at school is disturbing schools.

Administrators will contact the proper authorities about trespassing/disturbing school violations.

All visitors to schools must report to the school office to have their driver’s license or other government issued photo ID scanned in the district’s visitor management system. The software compares the information from the identification badge to a registry that consists of registered sex offenders throughout the United States. 

Should the system flag a visitor for any reason, the system automatically and privately alerts the front office staff and the school’s administrators. An administrator will then talk to the individual and work through any issue.

All visitors and volunteers must wear their name badges in plain sight at all times while on school grounds or at school-related events or activities. Visitors will not, however, be asked to check in and out using this system during public events held after school hours.

When an event takes place that requires chaperones or volunteers to supervise students and is after school or away from school, schools will work with those chaperones or volunteers to make sure that they receive approved volunteer badges for the event.