Rules of coexistence

1. Goal

Everyone who participates in the CPNL’s activities has the right to coexist in a good atmosphere and the duty to facilitate it with their behaviour and conduct.

The aim of these rules of coexistence is to guarantee the exercise of these rights and ensure that all members of the CPNL community fulfil these duties.

2. General principles

These standards are part of the training action and aim to help improve the learning process. They are based on the conviction that prevention is better than punishment. For this reason:

The Management of the Language Normalisation Centre (CNL) must take care to:

Promote coexistence in the CNL, guarantee compliance with the rules of coexistence and adopt the appropriate disciplinary measures.

Guarantee the exercise of rights and fulfilment of duties of all the members of the CPNL community, and guide the exercise of these rights towards achieving the goals of the learning process.

All staff are responsible, within the scope of their duties and powers, for ensuring that order and discipline are respected in the CNL.

In regard to the application of sanctions, pursuant to the objectives of these rules of coexistence, the scale in each case will take into account the following criteria:

1. The personal, family and social circumstances and age of the pupil concerned.
2. The proportionality of the sanction with the conduct or act that caused it.
3. The impact of the sanction on the improvement of the learning process of the affected student and that of the other students.
4. The objective repercussion of the sanctioned action on the CNL’s activity.
5. The repetition or reiteration of the sanctioned actions.

Mediation is a method to resolve conflicts through the intervention of a third person, with the aim of helping the parties to reach a satisfactory agreement.

The CNL management has the power to intervene directly to activate mediation and to mediate in conflicts that arise between members of the CPNL community.

The mediation process can be used as a preventive strategy in the management of conflicts between members of the CPNL community, whether or not they are classified as slightly contrary or seriously detrimental to coexistence in the CNL.

Mediation can be offered as a redress or reconciliation strategy, once a corrective measure or sanction has been applied, so as to re-establish trust between people and provide new ways to respond to similar situations that may occur.

3. Conduct detrimental to coexistence in the CNL. Misconduct classification:

3.1. Minor misconduct

The following are considered to be conduct contrary to coexistence in the CNL:

1. Acts that disturb the development of class activities include inappropriate remarks, both inside and outside the classroom; repeatedly making noise in the corridors while classes or exams are taking place, or repeatedly refusing to participate in the learning activities proposed by the teaching staff.
2. Behaviour that may prevent or hinder the exercise of the rest of the group’s right or fulfilment of the duty to learn.
3. Inappropriate and inconsiderate treatment of other members of the CPNL community.
4. Causing minor damage to the CNL facilities, furnishings, materials or documents or the belongings of other members of the CPNL community.
5. Inappropriate use of the CNL’s material and property.
6. Misuse of the CNL’s facilities and computer equipment.
7. Smoking in any area where smoking is not allowed.
8. Any other misconduct that alters the normal development of the activity that is not seriously detrimental to coexistence in the CNL.

Corrective measures

1. Verbal warning, which will consist in verbal notice or verbal warnings of the student’s misconduct. As far as possible, all efforts will be made to keep it private.
2. Expulsion from class. If after a verbal warning the student does not correct their behaviour in the classroom, they may be expelled from class.
3. Written reprimand. The CNL Director informs the student in writing of the misconduct.
4. Change of group or teacher. This will consist of changing the student’s group and/or teacher for a specific period of time, which could cover the period of time remaining until the end of the academic year.
5. Suspension of the right to attend class. This will consist of not allowing the student to attend class for a maximum period of five school days.

Who applies them

If the conduct contrary to coexistence takes place in the classroom, it will be the corresponding teacher in the first instance who will try to correct the behaviour and they will inform the CNL Management.
If the issue cannot not be dealt with by the teacher, they will refer the case to the CNL Management.

The competent body to impose the corrective measure or sanction in these cases will be the CNL Management, or the delegated person (department or office manager, delegate or coordinator).
If the conducts contrary to coexistence take place outside the classroom, any member of the CNL staff will be able to give a verbal warning, and if this does not have the expected corrective effect, the CNL Management or, in their absence, the coordinator or person responsible for the department/delegation will be contacted.

3.2. Gross misconduct

The following behaviours are considered seriously detrimental to coexistence in the CNL:

1. Physical aggression against any member of the CPNL community.
2. Insults and offences against any member of the CPNL community.
3. Actions detrimental to health and personal integrity.
4. Ill-treatment, harassment, persecution, humiliation, particularly if there is a sexual, racial or xenophobic component.
5. Threats or coercion against any member of the CPNL community.
6. Identity theft in teaching-related acts.
7. Forgery and/or theft of academic documents or copying them without the express consent of the CNL.
8. Serious damage to facilities, material resources or documents, or to the property of others.
9. Theft of any material resource or document of the CNL, or property belonging to any member of the CPNL community.
10. Menacing behaviour by word or deed against representatives of governing bodies, against the management team or against any member of the CPNL community.
11. Infringement of privacy, recording and dissemination using any kind of unauthorised reproduction of the image of any member of the CPNL community.
12. Reiteration in the same course of conduct contrary to the rules of coexistence classified as minor misconduct.
13. Any other act aimed directly at preventing the normal course of activities.
14. Failure to comply with imposed corrections.

Corrective measures

1. Assumption of economic costs. Payment of the cost to repair damage caused to the CNL’s facilities and material or the belongings of other members of the CPNL community.
2. Change of group. The change of the student’s group for a period of between 16 school days and the end of the academic year.
3. Suspension of the right to attend class. Suspension of the right to attend the CNL or certain classes for a period that may not exceed 20 school days, without this implying losing the right to continuous assessment, and notwithstanding the obligation that the student may perform certain academic tasks outside the CNL. The teacher must provide the student with a work plan of the activities to be carried out and establish the forms of monitoring and control during the days of non-attendance at the CNL in order to guarantee the right to continuous assessment.
4. Temporary deprivation. Deprive the student of their right to study at the CPNL for a period of three months or for the time remaining until the end of the corresponding academic year if the period if shorter.
5. Definitive deprivation. Definitive deprivation of the right to study at the CPNL.

Who applies them

Behaviour that constitutes misconduct that is seriously detrimental to coexistence in the CNL can only be sanctioned after processing the corresponding procedure, which will be initiated ex officio by agreement of the CNL management, on its own initiative or any member of the community of CPNL, within a period not exceeding two school days after the events are known. The proceedings will be investigated by a person in charge (department or office manager, delegate or coordinator) appointed by the CNL management.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, as a precautionary measure, the management may change the student’s group or deprive them of the right to attend class for a maximum of five school days, a period which, if appropriate, will be deducted from the sanction.

NOTE: the disciplinary or corrective measures that the CPNL may apply are not to the detriment of other compulsory measures applied for behaviour that, under current legislation, could constitute an offence or misdemeanor.

4. Procedure to follow

The proceedings will be investigated by a person in charge (department or office manager, delegate or coordinator) appointed by the CNL management. In the proceedings, the events and responsibility of the students involved are established, the sanction is proposed, as well as, if appropriate, the redress payment or cost to repair the damages or materials that may have been affected by the sanctioned action.

The CNL management will inform the students concerned and, in the case of minors under 18 years of age, also their parents or legal guardians, of the initiation of the proceedings. Notwithstanding the rest of the investigative actions considered appropriate, prior to formulating the definitive proposal for resolution, the person investigating the proceedings shall hear the students affected, as well as the parents or legal guardians, if applicable, and shall let them see the completed proceedings until the proposal for provisional resolution, to enable them to either express their agreement with what has been established and proposed in the proceedings, or make allegations. The time limit for hearing the proceedings, which shall be recorded in writing, is five school days, and the time limit for formulating allegations is another five school days.

In order to avoid further damage to the learning process of the students affected or the rest of the CNL students, the CNL management may exceptionally apply a provisional suspension of class attendance for a minimum of three school days, which may be extended up to a maximum of 20 school days. This measure shall be stated in the management’s decision to initiate the proceedings. Once the proceedings have been resolved by the CNL management, at the request of the student affected or of the parents or legal guardians if the student is a minor, the CPNL Training and Promotion Area may review the sanction applied, notwithstanding the submission of the relevant appeals or complaints to the management. In any case, the CNL management must periodically inform the CPNL Training and Promotion Area of the proceedings that have been resolved. The misconducts and sanctions referred to in these rules expire after three months, from the date on which the CPNL becomes aware of the misconduct.

When, due to the alleged misconduct seriously detrimental to coexistence, the student, together with their family in the case of minors, immediately acknowledges the commission of the events and accepts the corresponding sanction, the management shall directly impose and apply the sanction. However, the student and, in the case of minors, their parent or legal guardian, must acknowledge the misconduct and acceptance of the sanction in writing.

Barcelona, June 2016