Policies
Board of Education Policy - Student Code of ConductListed to the right is the Student Code of Conduct policy and three Board polices that are are appendices to the Code of Conduct.
These documents are in pdf format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.
Please click on the link to use the search feature to locate other policies: Westhill Central School Policy Portal
Westhill Central School District Attendance Policy
The Board of Education recognizes that regular school attendance is a critical factor in student success. School attendance is both a right and responsibility of all students. The Westhill Central School District is an active partner with parents and students in the task of ensuring that all students meet or exceed the New York State Learning Standards. Because the school district recognizes that consistent school attendance and academic success have a positive correlation, a comprehensive attendance policy has been developed in compliance with the Commissioner's regulations relating to school attendance. Copies of the district's policy is available to interested person's at individual school offices.
Legal excuses for absence or tardiness recognized under the Education Law include:
-Illness
-Illness or death in family, medical appointments
-Impassable roads or weather making travel unsafe
-Religious observance
-Approved school-supervised trips, music lessons, CSE meetings, test
modifications that extend time
-Court appointment and/or legal circumstances
Absences or tardiness for any other reason is considered unexcused and is entered on the student’s permanent attendance record. Each student who has been absent MUST bring a written excuse from home on the day of his/her return to school.
Tardiness cannot be excused except for the reasons cited above. Please also see attendance rules listed in the various student handbooks.
Parents Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security
The NYS Education Department’s Education Law §2-d
Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security
Parents and eligible students can expect the following:
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A student’s personally identifiable information (PII) cannot be sold or released for any commercial purpose
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The right to inspect and review the complete contents of the student’s education record stored or maintained by an educational agency.
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State and federal laws, such as NYS Education Law §2-d and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, that protect the confidentiality of a student’s PII, and safeguards associated with industry standards and best practices, including but not limited to, encryption, firewalls, and password protection, must be in place when data is stored or transferred.
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A complete list of all student data elements collected by NYSED is available for public review at www.nysed.gov/data-privacy-
security, and by writing to: Chief Privacy Officer, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234. -
The right to have complaints about possible breaches and unauthorized disclosures of student data addressed. Complaints may be submitted to NYSED online at www.nysed.gov/data-privacy-
security, by mail to: Chief Privacy Officer, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234, by email to privacy@nysed.gov, or by telephone at 518-474-0937. -
To be notified in accordance with applicable laws and regulations if a breach or unauthorized release of their student’s PII occurs.
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Educational agency workers that handle PII will receive training on applicable state and federal laws, the educational agency’s policies, and safeguards associated with industry standards and best practices that protect PII.
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Educational agency contracts with vendors that receive PII will address statutory and regulatory data privacy and security requirements.
"Parent" means a parent, legal guardian, or person in parental relation to a student. These rights may not apply to parents of eligible students defined as a student eighteen years or older. "Eligible Student" means a student 18 years and older.
"Personally identifiable information," as applied to student data, means personally identifiable information as defined in section 99.3 of title thirty-four of the code of federal regulations implementing the family educational rights and privacy act, section twelve hundred thirty-two-g of title twenty of the United States code, and, as applied to teacher or principal data, means "personally identifying information" as such term is used in subdivision ten of section three thousand twelve-c of this chapter.
Information about other state and federal laws that protect student data such as the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, and NY’s Personal Privacy Protection Law can be found at http://www.nysed.gov/student-
For more information on the sites and apps we use in the classrooms, please visit this site. Here you will find more detailed information on which sites and apps are Ed Law 2d compliant. On the front page of that site, you will also find tutorials and descriptions of many of the sites we use.
Non-discrimination Policy
The Westhill Central School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions; and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.
The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Steven Smith, Equal Opportunity Officer, 400 Walberta Road, Syracuse, NY 13219, (315) 426-3210 . Inquiries concerning the application of the Westhill Central School District non-discrimination policies may also be referred to the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), 32 Old Slip, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10005, telephone (646) 428-3800 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (TTY).
