- Western High
- School Rules
We Care - Know The Rules
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The School Board of Broward County, Florida (SBBC) consists of nine elected School Board Members who serve four-year terms. Two of the School Board Members are elected “at large” by all of the electors in Broward County. The other seven School Board Members are elected from seven school board member residence areas. The School Board Members, along with the Superintendent, oversee the sixth-largest District in the nation. The SBBC implements policies that govern ethical, fiduciary, and scholastic mandates, protocols, and procedures for the District's schools, offices, and departments subject to any applicable federal, state, or local laws. The SBBC answers to the residents and taxpayers of Broward County in an ethical, open, and transparent manner.
A school principal may supplement District policies by outlining rules specific to the school such as uniform colors, cell phone usage areas, and drop off/pick up times. However, school rules are limited in scope and do not supersede school district policies.
Our School Rules
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Anonymous/Non-Anonymous Security Tip Reporting
Call 911 immediately in an emergency.
Submit a safety or security tip that is not an emergency directly to the District Security Operations Center (DSOC), open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (including holidays). CLICK or TAP on the icon below.
From there, choose the reporting tool that works best for you by learning more about how they work and how easy they are to use.What to report: Please report safety and security threats, bullying and harassing behaviors, illegal activity, self-endangerment behaviors, etc.
Details are everything: Please provide as many details as you can, such as names and physical description of anyone involved, school location, social media handles, date of when threats are supposed to occur, etc.
We respect your privacy and care about your safety. Your tip is shared only with investigators and administrators assigned to the tip.
Remember, helping is not the same as snitching. We are counting on you to help us help a friend.
Be a Broward Buddy, Report a Tip! -
Absence Reporting/Attendance
According to SBBC Policy 5.5: All students under 16 are required to attend school every day of the 180-day school year. Absences are established by tardiness, early sign-outs, or absences for all or part of any day. The maximum number of acceptable absences is 5 days. Additionally, please note that students may not be released after 1:45 p.m.
- Parents have 2 days (48 hours) in which to report an absence.
- The Attendance Policy allows eight (8) reasons for absence to be excused.
- Make up work for credit and grade is allowed for ALL absences. Learn more about Homework/Makeup Work.
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Arrival/Tardy/Dismissal
Arrival
Students must arrive at school on time every day.
Tardy
Any student arriving after 7:40 AM should report to Student Affairs to sign in and receive a pass to class. Failure to sign in will result in a referral for skipping. Consequences for tardiness will be given based on the following matrix.
Tardiness is disruptive to the learning environment and can have a negative impact on student achievement. Tardiness may also count towards establishing a pattern of non-attendance that may indicate early signs of truancy. A pattern of non-attendance may be established by an accumulation of tardiness, absences (excused and unexcused), and early sign-outs that exceed five (5) days in a marking period or ten (10) days in two (2) marking periods.
Dismissal
The dismissal time is 2:40 PM. All students are expected to remain in school for the entire school day. If students are dismissed early, they must be picked up by 2:10 PM. No students will be dismissed 30 minutes prior to the last bell for safety reasons.
Sign-out Reminders
- Plan ahead, we know emergencies arise, but students and parents need to make sure documents are up to date to ensure a smooth sign-out process.
- Students are NOT to leave their class or lunch period to wait for parents / guardian arrival.
- Our school’s office staff will call the student’s class or security to have a student released.
- Students who leave class before being signed out will be sent back.
- There are no sign-outs allowed after 2:10 PM
Students are NOT allowed to use any car service, including Uber or Lyft, as a part of the dismissal process.
Early Sign-outs
When students are signed out early on an ongoing basis, their academic performance may be negatively impacted. Broward County Schools strongly encourages parents to ensure their student is in school for the full school day every day. Signing out early may count toward establishing a pattern of non-attendance that may indicate early signs of truancy. A pattern of non-attendance may be established by an accumulation of tardiness, absences (excused and unexcused), and early sign-outs that exceed five (5) days in a marking period or ten (10) days in two (2) marking periods.
- Students shall not be released after 2:10 PM unless the principal/designee determines that it is an emergency, or the student has a medical/dental appointment that cannot be reasonably scheduled at another time.
- Excessive early sign-outs will be addressed on a case-by-case basis to determine if there is a pattern of non-attendance.
- TELEPHONE CALLS will not be accepted to sign students out. Parents or guardians must present themselves with valid identification at the front office to pick up their student and be on the Student’s Emergency Contact file.
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Cell Phone
Possession of a wireless communication device that disrupts the educational process is a violation. Cellular phones, camera phones, and pagers are prohibited at all times during class unless specifically instructed to do so as part of the lesson.
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Emergency Drills
All Broward County Public Schools conduct regular exercises and drills at various times as outlined in the Florida Fire Code and Florida Administrative Code.
To aid in this process, every school has a designated SAFE team comprised of faculty and staff who have been specially trained on appropriate procedures to ensure every school follows safety protocol.
Discussion-based tabletop exercises are also conducted regularly with staff, faculty, and community partners, and the results of these exercises are documented and incorporated into school safety plans as necessary.
All public schools are required to conduct one (1) fire drill per month with one (1) additional occurring within the first 30 days. Additionally, public schools are required to conduct, at a minimum, six (6) emergency drills every school year that are nonconcurrent with fire drills. One emergency drill must take place within the first ten (10) days of the beginning of the school year, and the remaining drills may not occur more than forty-five (45) days apart. Four (4) of the six (6) emergency drills must address active threats. The remaining two (2) drills must address other emergency events, such as severe weather, natural disasters, hazardous materials incidents, or reunification.
Students are expected to fully participate in drills and follow the directions of faculty and staff. -
Dress Code
The dress code rules enforced at our school align directly with the District's Unified School Dress - Policy 5309. Review the District policies outlined on this page for more information.
Appropriate dress and grooming can help to create a positive learning environment. Other attire may be allowed for special school activities with the approval of the school administration. Possible consequences for violating the dress code are found in the Discipline Matrix. Changes in clothing trends will not override the dress code policy.
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Parents & Visitors
All visitors including parents must check into the attendance office prior to going to any classrooms or any area on campus. An official photo identification (ID) is required. Acceptable forms of ID include the following:
- Driver’s license
- Florida’s official state identification card
- Passport
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Parking
Visitor Parking
All visitors must park in the designated visitor parking spaces. Please do not park in spaces designated for faculty and staff or in the bus loop.
Student Parking
Students must have a decal to park in the student parking areas.
Please do not leave valuables in your car.
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Pick Up/Drop Off
Controlling School Traffic is Essential for Safety
Students should be picked up and dropped off at the car loops only. Parents wishing to park should walk their children to the front gate. For safety reasons, parents are not allowed to walk their children to their classrooms.