The SJB is an official judicial body within the Restorative Discipline process. It is composed of students, staff and faculty. The SJB will attempt to resolve the situation through a deliberative judicial process, which culminates in the determination of whether or not an alleged offender should be held accountable for any violation(s) and the subsequent development of a Restorative Plan with when required.
The Judicial Officer will provide the SJB with copies of all the information regarding the case–the Notice of Allegation(s), Incident Reports, Violation Report, and any other information, document or evidence available.
When conducting a hearing, the SJB will review all information provided. They may choose to interview those harmed and others who have relevant information about the alleged violation. The alleged offender will have the opportunity to present his or her own explanation of the evidence and/or his or her involvement in the incident including additional information and witnesses. When the hearing is concluded, the SJB will then carefully consider all of the information it has gathered and render a decision.
In some instances, the SJB may not be able to conduct a hearing and complete its deliberations for a case during a single weekly session. In such instances the SJB may withhold its determination for one additional week in order to insure adequate time for deliberation and decision. Results will be communicated to the alleged offender in writing within 3 working days of the SJB’s decision.
If the SJB determines that the alleged offender is not responsible for any violation, the process will end. If the determination is that the alleged offender is to be held responsible for the violation the SJB may do one of the following:
- Refer the case back to a CJC if the AO has accepted responsibility for their actions and chooses to participate in a CJC. (The preference is that the offender would choose to work out an agreement to make things right using the CJC process.) Exceptions may involve cases in which a serious violation was brought directly to the SJB and no opportunity was given for the CJC process originally.
- Develop a restorative plan specifically designed for each unique situation. The plan will take into consideration past or repeated offences. It will be respectful, restorative, reasonable, and as much as possible, intended to reintegrate the offender(s) and those who were harmed by the violation. It will attempt to come as close as possible to recognizing the injustice, restoring equity, and addressing the future to prevent reoccurrence of the initial offense. This plan might include such things as restitution, educational experiences, training classes, community service, fines, probation, etc.