Student Rights and Responsibilities Introduction

We have created the Student Rights & Responsibilities, A Guide for Families to assist you in your efforts to help your child understand school rules and expectations. These rules apply during school, in both the classroom and virtual environment, at school-sponsored activities, and include interactions between students as they travel to and from school. Students will receive a shortened version that is appropriate for their age, and teachers will review the rules with them during the first weeks of school. We encourage you to discuss these expectations with your child. For your convenience, the entire booklet, including links to referenced regulations, can be found online at www.fcps.edu/srr.

A complete copy of the regulation regarding student discipline is included in the Appendix. If you have questions about any of the information, please do not hesitate to talk with your child’s teacher or principal.

Your child’s behavior at school directly impacts academic success and school safety. Please read this guide and discuss it with your child. 

Parents are essential partners in helping their children learn how to exhibit positive and prosocial behaviors, make ethical choices, and be accountable for their actions.

This family guide is a supplementary tool intended to summarize policies, regulations, and procedures as they existed at publication, and which are subject to change without notice. The Virginia Board of Education and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) reserve the right to enforce changes immediately. In any dispute, the official regulation in effect at the time of an incident will govern and will supersede the language in this guide. 

The current regulations and policies can be found at https://www.fcps.edu/policies-and-regulations.

The Mission

Fairfax County Public Schools inspires and empowers students to meet high academic standards; lead healthy, ethical lives; and be responsible and innovative global citizens.

The Fairfax County School Board is committed to ensuring that every school in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) promotes a responsive, caring, and inclusive culture where all feel valued, supported, and hopeful, and where every child is reached, challenged, and prepared for success in school and in life. Collaboration with parents is essential to reaching this vision.

Disciplinary practices in FCPS focus on prevention of problem behaviors and provide a leveled system of responses to behavior and discipline incidents that uses instructional, restorative, and age-appropriate responses. FCPS considers
the unique needs of each child and works collaboratively with families to support these needs. No student in FCPS shall, on the basis of age, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, marital status, or disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity.

Fairfax County Public Schools uses a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) to support the individual needs of each student using a whole-child approach. MTSS is a framework through which teams make decisions based on data to provide differentiated classroom instruction and the necessary academic, behavior, and social-emotional wellness supports for all students across all schools.