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DHD (TSBVI) Personnel Relationships with Students and Families

EMPLOYEE-STUDENT RELATIONS

A TSBVI employee has the responsibility to maintain high professional standards in relationships with students. While an employee is encouraged to establish and maintain a positive rapport and interest in the students, an employee must maintain a professional relationship with students.  An employee may not develop inappropriate personal relationships with students or relate to or interact with students in ways that are incompatible with the employee’s job responsibilities.  Inappropriate fraternization, dating, inappropriate physical contact, borrowing or loaning money or belongings, buying or selling items (except for school approved fund raising projects), disclosing sensitive personal or confidential information about self, other staff, or students, is prohibited.

A TSBVI employee may not have contact with students after the employee’s regularly scheduled work hours, including but not limited to visits in homes, going out to eat, attendance at community functions, and shopping trips, unless the date and time of each specific activity or regularly scheduled activity, is approved by the student’s parent, the Principal and the Superintendent.

Students may not reside in the home of a TSBVI employee unless approved by the Superintendent, Principal, parent, and local school district.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION WITH STUDENTS

Permitted Electronic Communications

Teachers and other approved staff members may communicate with students through the use of electronic media within the scope of the individual’s professional responsibilities.  For example, a teacher may set up a social networking page for his or her class that has information related to class work, homework, and tests.  Parents will always be permitted to join or become a member of such a page.  A staff member may also contact a student individually through electronic media to communicate about items such as homework or upcoming tests and copy the parent or principal.

Prohibited Electronic Communications

Staff members may not communicate electronically with students outside the scope of the staff member’s professional responsibilities.  Examples of communications may include text messages, email, phone calls, and social networking (e.g. Facebook).  In addition, staff members may not post information about students, including photographs, on non-school Internet sites.  (e.g. a personal Facebook page)

Parent Choice

Parents may submit a written request to the Principal if they prefer that their child not receive any one-to-one electronic communications from a staff member.  In this case, this information will be included on a student’s one-page Student Information Summary.

EMPLOYEE-FAMILY RELATIONS

An employee is prohibited from performing paid or unpaid work for a student’s parent or guardian unless the performance of the work has been approved in writing by the Superintendent and the Principal. The Superintendent and the Principal will approve such work only when, in their sole judgment, the TSBVI employment responsibilities of the employee will not conflict with the employee’s responsibilities to the student’s parent or guardian. The Superintendent or the Principal may withdraw approval for such work at any time after determining that a conflict is likely to or has occurred.

A TSBVI employee must maintain a professional relationship with families of TSBVI students at all times. While an employee is encouraged to establish and maintain a professional rapport and interest in the families of TSBVI students, employees shall avoid developing personal relationships with family members that extend beyond educational issues.

STAFF TRAINING

The Superintendent shall ensure that each employee receives a copy of this policy at the beginning of each school year and that each new employee receives training concerning this policy as a part of New Employee Orientation.

Adopted:         7/31/79
Amended:        3/7/80, 5/25/88, 11/15/96, 3/21/97, 11/22/02, 11/9/12, 9/20/13, 1/26/18
Reviewed: