Excerpt from the Rules for Educational Punishment in Primary and Secondary Schools (Trial Implementation)
Article 1 These Rules are formulated in accordance with the Education Law, Teachers Law, Law on the Protection of Minors, Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency and other laws and regulations, as well as relevant national provisions, for the purpose of implementing the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, safeguarding and standardizing the lawful performance of education, teaching and management duties by schools and teachers, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of students, and promoting the healthy growth and all-round development of students.
Article 2 These Rules shall apply to the implementation of educational punishment by ordinary primary and secondary schools, secondary vocational schools (hereinafter referred to as schools) and their teachers in the process of education, teaching and management.
Article 3 For the purpose of these Rules, educational punishment refers to educational acts taken by schools or teachers based on educational purposes to manage, guide or correct students who violate rules and discipline, so as to make them take warning, recognize and correct their mistakes.
Article 4 Educational punishment shall conform to the laws of education, focus on educational effects, follow the principle of rule of law, be objective and fair, and select appropriate measures that are commensurate with the seriousness of students' faults.
Article 5 Schools shall, in light of the characteristics of their students, formulate and improve school rules and discipline in accordance with law, clarify students' code of conduct, and improve the specific circumstances and rules for implementing educational punishment.
When formulating school rules and discipline, schools shall extensively solicit opinions from teaching and administrative staff, students and students' parents or other guardians (hereinafter referred to as parents); where conditions permit, they may organize hearings with the participation of representatives of students, parents and other relevant parties. School rules and discipline shall be submitted to the parents' committee and the teachers' congress for discussion, approved by the principal's office meeting, and filed with the competent education department.
Teachers may organize students and parents to jointly formulate class rules or class conventions in the form of democratic discussion, which shall be filed with the school for implementation.
Article 6 Schools shall publicize and explain school rules and discipline to students and parents through orientation education, class meetings and other appropriate means. School rules and discipline that have not been published shall not be implemented.
Schools may, according to circumstances, establish organizations such as school rules and discipline enforcement committees, which shall include representatives of teachers, students, parents and relevant social parties, and shall be responsible for determining applicable educational punishment measures, supervising the implementation of educational punishment, and conducting relevant publicity and education.
Article 7 Where a student is found to have any of the following circumstances, the school and its teachers shall stop and criticize him/her, and may implement educational punishment if necessary:
(1) Deliberately failing to complete teaching task requirements or refusing to obey education and management;
(2) Disturbing classroom order or school education and teaching order;
(3) Smoking, drinking, or violating student codes of conduct with improper words and deeds;
(4) Conducting dangerous acts that are harmful to one's own or others' physical and mental health;
(5) Beating classmates or teachers, bullying classmates or infringing on others' legitimate rights and interests;
(6) Other acts that violate school rules and discipline.
Where a student commits bad acts or serious bad acts as specified in the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, the school and teachers shall stop and implement educational punishment, and strengthen discipline; if the act constitutes a crime, it shall be transferred to the public security organ for handling in accordance with law.
Article 8 In classroom teaching and daily management, teachers may, on the spot, implement the following educational punishment for students who have relatively minor violations of rules and discipline:
(1) Naming and criticizing;
(2) Ordering an apology, making an oral or written review;
(3) Appropriately increasing additional teaching tasks or class public service tasks;
(4) Standing in the classroom for one class teaching period;
(5) Post-class guidance;
(6) Other appropriate measures specified in school rules and discipline or class rules or class conventions.
After implementing the measures specified in the preceding paragraph on a student, the teacher may inform the student's parents in an appropriate manner.
Article 9 Where a student violates school rules and discipline with serious circumstances or refuses to correct after on-the-spot educational punishment, the school may implement the following educational punishment and shall promptly inform the parents:
(1) Be guided by the person in charge of moral education work of the school;
(2) Undertake public service tasks on campus;
(3) Be arranged to receive special education on school rules and discipline and code of conduct;
(4) Be suspended or restricted from participating in excursions, off-campus group activities and other outdoor group activities;
(5) Other appropriate measures specified in school rules and discipline.
Article 10 For students in the upper grades of primary schools, junior high schools and senior high schools who have serious violations of rules and discipline or have bad influence, the school may implement the following educational punishment and shall inform the parents in advance:
(1) Giving suspension of classes or school attendance for no more than one week, and requiring parents to conduct education and discipline at home;
(2) Being admonished by the vice principal for rule of law or counselor for rule of law;
(3) Being arranged to receive psychological counseling and behavior intervention by social workers or other professionals in special courses or educational places.
For students who have serious violations of rules and discipline, or who still refuse to correct after multiple educational punishments, the school may give disciplinary sanctions such as warning, serious warning, demerit recording or probation. For senior high school students, disciplinary sanctions such as expulsion from school may also be given.
For students with serious bad behaviors, schools may, in accordance with legal procedures and in cooperation with parents and relevant departments, transfer them to special schools for education and correction.
Article 11 Where a student disturbs classroom or education and teaching order, affecting others or possibly causing harm to himself/herself or others, the teacher may take necessary measures to remove the student from the classroom or teaching site and conduct educational management.
Where teachers or schools find that students carry or use prohibited items or conduct dangerous acts, they shall take necessary measures to stop them; where they find that students hide illegal or dangerous items, they shall order the students to hand them over and may check desks, lockers and other places where items may be hidden.
Teachers and schools may temporarily withhold and properly keep students' prohibited items, and return them to students' parents at an appropriate time; if they are illegal or dangerous items, they shall promptly report to the public security organs, emergency management departments and other relevant departments for handling in accordance with law.
Article 12 Teachers shall not commit any of the following acts in the process of education, teaching management and implementation of educational punishment:
(1) Corporal punishment that directly causes physical pain, such as beating or pricking;
(2) Indirect corporal punishment that causes physical or psychological harm, such as excessive standing, repeated copying, forced to do inappropriate movements or postures, and deliberate isolation;
(3) Insulting students' personality dignity with abusive or discriminatory, insulting words and deeds;
(4) Punishing all students for violations of rules and discipline by individuals or a minority;
(5) Implementing educational punishment based on academic performance;
(6) Implementing or selectively implementing educational punishment due to personal emotions or preferences;
(7) Assigning students to implement educational punishment on other students;
(8) Other acts that infringe upon students' rights.
Article 13 After implementing educational punishment on a student, teachers shall pay attention to communicating and helping the student, and timely praise and encourage the student who corrects his/her mistakes.
Schools may, according to actual needs, establish a working mechanism for student education, protection and guidance, consisting of school leaders in charge, heads of moral education institutions, teachers, vice principals (counselors) for rule of law, and professionals in law, psychology, social work and other fields, to provide special psychological counseling and behavior correction for students in need.
Article 14 Where a school intends to implement educational punishment or disciplinary sanctions listed in Article 10 of these Rules on a student, it shall listen to the student's statement and defense. If the student or his/her parents apply for a hearing, the school shall organize a hearing.
Students who can sincerely acknowledge their mistakes and actively correct them after receiving educational punishment or disciplinary sanctions may have the educational punishment or disciplinary sanctions lifted in advance.
Article 15 Schools shall support and supervise teachers in the proper performance of their duties. Where a dispute arises between a teacher and a student or his/her parents due to the implementation of educational punishment, the school shall promptly handle it, and shall not give the teacher a sanction or other adverse treatment if the teacher is not at fault.
Where a teacher violates Article 12 of these Rules, if the circumstances are minor, the school shall criticize and educate him/her; if the circumstances are serious, he/she shall be suspended from performing his/her duties or given sanctions in accordance with law and regulations; if he/she causes physical and psychological harm to students, which constitutes a crime, he/she shall be handled by the public security organ in accordance with law.
Article 16 Schools and teachers shall attach importance to home-school cooperation, actively communicate with parents, so that parents understand, support and cooperate with the implementation of educational punishment, and form a joint force. Parents shall perform their duty of educating their children, respect teachers' educational rights, and cooperate with teachers and schools in disciplining students who violate rules and discipline.
If parents have objections to the educational punishment implemented by teachers or believe that teachers' acts violate the provisions of Article 12 of these Rules, they may complain or report to the school or the competent education department. Schools and education departments shall promptly investigate and handle the matter in accordance with the relevant requirements for the construction of teachers' ethics and style. If parents threaten, insult or hurt teachers, schools and education departments shall protect teachers' personal safety and legitimate rights and interests in accordance with law; if the circumstances are serious, they shall promptly report to the public security organ and cooperate with the public security organ and judicial organ to investigate responsibilities.
Article 17 If students or their parents disagree with the educational punishment or disciplinary sanctions imposed by the school in accordance with these Rules, they may file a complaint with the school within 15 working days after the educational punishment or disciplinary sanctions are imposed.
Schools shall establish a student appeal committee composed of school leaders, teachers, students, parents, vice principals for rule of law and other external representatives, which shall accept appeal applications and organize reviews. Schools shall clarify the composition of the student appeal committee, the scope of acceptance and the handling procedures, and publicize them to students and parents.
The student appeal committee shall conduct a comprehensive review of the facts and reasons of the student's appeal, and make a decision to maintain, modify or revoke the original educational punishment or disciplinary sanction.
Article 18 If students or their parents disagree with the decision on student appeal, they may apply for review to the competent education department of the school; if they disagree with the review decision, they may file an administrative reconsideration or administrative lawsuit in accordance with law.
Article 19 Schools shall strengthen targeted training for teachers, promote teachers to update their educational concepts, improve their educational methods, and enhance their awareness and ability to properly perform their duties.
At the end of each semester, schools shall report information on students who have received educational punishment and disciplinary sanctions listed in Article 10 of these Rules to the competent education department for the record.