OAR 414-310-0410. Behavior and Guidance

(1) A school-age center must have a written policy on behavior and guidance of children that is simple and understandable to the child, the parent(s), and all staff (also see OAR 414-310-0170, Policies). (2) A school-age center must have the behavior and guidance policy available in a prominent and frequently visited location for the parents and public to view. (3) A school-age center’s behavior and guidance policy must include the use of positive guidance to help children develop self-control, self-direction, and respect for others through these approaches: (a) Setting and teaching simple, consistent, clear and positive rules and limits that children can understand; (b) Setting up the environment for success with engaging activities that encourage positive behavior and self-regulation; (c) Following a predictable daily routine and schedule with planned transitions; (d) Reinforcing positive behaviors with encouragement and descriptive praise; (e) Supervising actively, taking steps to prevent problems before they occur and explaining safe, natural and logical consequences related to a child’s behavior; (f) Helping children recognize and appropriately express their feelings and understand the feelings of others; (g) Modeling and teaching social skills such as taking turns, cooperation, waiting, treating others kindly, and problem solving; and (h) Redirecting or helping a child change their focus to something appropriate when their behavior is unacceptable. (4) A school-age center must ensure that only staff shall provide guidance to a child. (5) A school-age center must provide guidance that is fair, consistently applied, timely, and appropriate to the behavior, age, and development of the child. (6) When other methods have not been effective, a school-age center may remove the child from an activity or group for the time necessary to regain self-control. Staff must be actively responsive to the child’s needs. When the child has regained self-control, the child may rejoin a group or ongoing activity. (7) A school-age center must have a policy that addresses how staff must proceed if a child is displaying inappropriate behaviors that could endanger themselves or the safety of others (see Policies, OAR 414-310-0170). (8) A school-age center must intervene appropriately to stop biased behavior displayed by children or adults, including but not limited to: (a) Redirecting an inappropriate conversation or behavior; (b) Being aware of situations that may involve bias, responding appropriately, taking actions to prevent future occurrences; and (c) Refusing to ignore bias.