7120 - Code of Conduct between Employees and Students
References:
Utah Code 62A-4a, Part 4, Child Abuse or Neglect Reporting Requirements
Utah Code Section 53E-6-701, Mandatory Reporting of Physical or Sexual Abuse of Students
Utah Admin. Code R277-401, Child Abuse-Neglect Reporting by Education Personnel
Utah Admin. Code R277-515, Utah Educator Professional Standards
Utah Admin. Code R277-322, LEA Codes of Conduct
Utah Code Section 63G-7-301, Waivers of Immunity
Utah Code Section 76-5-401.1, Sexual Abuse of a Minor
Utah Code Section 76-9-702.1, Sexual Battery
- PURPOSE AND PHILOSOPHY
Educators, and all those who work with students in Weber School District, are valued professionals, and are considered role models for those they serve. The relationships between staff and students are paramount in ensuring success for students, and maintaining an appropriate relationship is key to this success. Weber School District is committed to establishing and maintaining appropriate standards of conduct between staff members and students. These standards of conduct are also known as professional boundaries. Staff members shall maintain professional and appropriate demeanor and relationships with students, both during and outside of school hours, as well as both on and off campus, that foster an effective, non-disruptive and safe learning environment. - POLICY
Staff members shall act in a way that acknowledges and reflects their inherent positions of authority and influence over students. Staff members shall recognize and maintain appropriate personal boundaries in teaching, supervising and interacting with students and shall avoid boundary violations including behavior that could reasonably be considered grooming or lead to even an appearance of impropriety. Weber School District prohibits inappropriate conduct and relationships between employees and students while the students are students at Weber School District, including during the summer, weekends, and holiday breaks. Weber District strictly prohibits sexual conduct or communication, as defined in this policy.
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DEFINITIONS
3.1 “Boundary violation” means crossing verbal, physical, emotional, or social lines that staff must maintain in order to ensure structure, security, and predictability in an educational environment. Examples of situations that may be considered a boundary violation include, but are not limited to:
isolated, one-on-one interactions with a student out of the line of sight of others;
meeting alone with a student in rooms with covered or blocked windows;telling risqué jokes to, or in the presence of a student;
employing favoritism to a student;
giving gifts to individual students;
staff member initiated frontal hugging or other uninvited touching;
photographing an individual student for a non-educational purpose or use;
engaging in inappropriate or unprofessional contact outside of educational program activities;
exchanging personal email or phone numbers with a student for a non-educational purpose or use;
interacting privately with a student through social media, computer, or handheld devices; and
discussing an employee’s personal life or personal issues with a student.
Boundary violations do not include:
offering praise, encouragement, or acknowledgment;
offering rewards available to all who achieve;
asking permission to touch for necessary purposes;
giving a pat on the back or a shoulder;
giving a side hug;
giving a handshake or high five;
offering warmth and kindness;
utilizing public social media alerts to groups of students and parents; or
contact permitted by an IEP or 504 plan.
3.2 “Grooming” means befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child or a child's family to lower the child's inhibitions for emotional, physical, or sexual abuse.
3.3 “Sexual abuse” means the criminal conduct described in Utah Code Ann. §76-5-404.1(2) and includes, regardless of the gender of any participant:
intentionally touching the anus, buttocks, pubic area, or genitalia of a student;
intentionally touching the breast of a female student; or
otherwise taking indecent liberties with a student with the intent to cause harm
(emotional of physical) or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any individual.
3.4 “Sexual battery” means the criminal conduct described in Utah Code Ann. §76-9-702.1 and includes intentionally touching, whether or not through clothing, the anus, buttocks, or any part of the genitals of a student, or the breast of a female student, and under circumstances a reasonable person knows or should know will likely cause affront or alarm to the student touched.
3.5 “Sexual conduct” includes any sexual contact or communication between a staff member and a student including but not limited to sexual abuse, sexual battery, and sharing sexually explicit or lewd communication, image, or photograph.
3.6 “Staff member” means an employee, contractor, or volunteer with unsupervised access to students.
3.7 “Student” means a child under the age of 18 or over the age of 18 if still enrolled in a public secondary school.
3.8 “Utah Educator Standards” means the standards created by the Utah State Board of Education for licensed educators, the violation of which may result in licensing action.
The Utah Educator Standards are found in Utah Administrative Rules R277. -
PROHIBITED CONDUCT*
4.1 A staff member may not subject a student to any form of abuse including but not limited to physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, or mental abuse.
4.2 A staff member shall not touch a student in a way that makes a reasonably objective student feel uncomfortable, including unreasonable or unnecessary physical restraint that is not in compliance with Weber District Policy 5400, and Utah Code 53G-8-302
4.3 A staff member shall not engage in any sexual conduct toward or sexual relations with a student including but not limited to:
4.3.1. viewing with a student, or allowing a student to view, pornography or any other sexually explicit or inappropriate images or content, whether video, audio, print, text, or other format;
4.3.2 requesting sexually explicit (including nude or semi-nude) images of students;
4.3.3 engaging in communication with the student about sexual matters, including, but not limited to, the student’s sexual experiences with a boyfriend or girlfriend, the staff member’s sexual experiences, or either staff member’s or student’s sexual thoughts, desires, or fantasies; or
4.3.4 sexual battery.
4.4 Staff members shall not travel alone with an individual student without written permission from the school principal. Reasonable exceptions apply for a community or faith-based activity (such as driving a student, who is also a neighbor, to or from babysitting at the educator’s home; driving a student to or from a faith-based activity; driving a student to or from a community activity) and parental consent is obtained.
4.5 Staff members shall not meet with students outside the regular school day, normal schedule of extracurricular activities or outside of the school premises without express written permission from the school principal.
4.6 Staff members shall not be alone at any time with an individual student unless it is necessary in the performance of professional duties within the scope of employment (for example, counseling, disciplining, instructing, and completing administrative tasks).
Even when it is necessary to perform professional duties within the scope of employment, staff members shall make every effort to be in the line of sight of other adults or when meeting in a classroom one-on-one with a student, keep doors open, and/or uncover blocked windows.
4.7 Staff members shall not engage in any communication that invites, encourages or establishes an inappropriate relationship with a student. This includes:
4.7.1 Any written communication—including text, email, letter, and/or social networking--that is of a personal nature or is not related to school or a school-sponsored activity for which the staff member is an advisor
4.7.2 Texting students through any personal application or program that is not a district-approved and controlled communication application or program, such as Google text
4.7.3 Connecting with students through any social media platform unless the connection is part of a class program and the medium of communication is a district-approved application
4.7.4 Communicating verbally by any telecommunication device if the communication is not for a legitimate educational purpose
4.7.5 Communicating, through any medium, about personal and private matters of the staff member that would not be shared with that student’s parents or guardians
4.7.6 Communicating, through any medium, about personal and private matters of the student, unless done in the course and scope of the staff members’ employment (for example, a school counselor, adults roles teacher, school psychologist, principal) and with parental consent.
4.8 A staff member shall not provide gifts, including money, special favors, or preferential treatment to a student or group of students.
4.8.1. Any donation or contribution to a student for items such as but not limited to, food, clothing, school-event attire, and/or Christmas gifts for a family, must be collected and given to the student by the school principal.
4.8.2. The school principal shall document the gift and the circumstances surrounding the gift.
4.8.3 Staff members may be recognized as contributors to the gift but staff members may not give gifts directly to students.
4.9 A staff member shall not discriminate against a student on the basis of sex, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited class.
4.10 A staff member shall not use or be under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances during work hours on school property or at school sponsored events while acting as a staff member.
4.11 A staff member shall not provide to students or help students obtain alcohol, illegal substances, tobacco, electronic cigarettes, or prescription drugs for which a student does not have a prescription.
4.12 A staff member shall not use any form of tobacco or electronic cigarettes on school property or at school sponsored activities in an employment capacity.
4.13 A staff member shall not use vulgar, profane, or otherwise inappropriate language (including jokes with sexual innuendos or racial undertones) when communicating with students.
4.14 A staff member shall not make romantic or sexual advances, either verbal or written, and either explicit or implicit, toward a student.
4.15 A staff member shall not visit the home of a student or invite the student to the staff member’s home without written permission from a district-level administrator.
4.16 A staff member shall not engage in grooming behaviors.
*Weber District recognizes that familial and pre-existing community relationships between a staff member and a student may provide for exceptions to certain provisions of this policy.
- EXPECTED CONDUCT
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5.1 Staff member communications with students, whether verbal or electronic, shall be professional and avoid boundary violations.
5.2 Staff members are encouraged to avoid conduct that may appear to an outside observer to be grooming.
5.3 Staff member use of electronic devices and social media to communicate with students must comply with this policy, be professional, pertain to school activities or classes, and comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
5.4 A staff member shall cooperate in any investigation concerning allegations of actions, conduct, or communications that if proven, would violate this policy.
5.5 Conduct prohibited by this policy is considered a violation of this policy regardless of whether the student may have consented.
5.6 In addition to the above, Weber School District licensed employees shall be familiar with and comply with the Utah Educator Standards.
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REPORTING
6.1 A staff member who has reason to believe there has been a violation of this policy shall immediately report such conduct to the school administrator, or if a staff member has reason to believe a school administrator violated this policy, the staff member shall immediately report the conduct to the Director of Human Resources.
6.2 A staff member who has reasonable cause to believe that a student may have been physically or sexually abused by a school staff member shall immediately report the belief and all other relevant information to the nearest law enforcement or the Division of child and Family Services under Utah Code Ann. §62A-4a-403, AND to the school administrator.
6.2.1. A school administrator who has received a report or who otherwise has reasonable cause to believe that a student may have been physically or sexually abused by a school staff member shall immediately inform the Director of Human Resources of the reported abuse; and
6.2.2. If the staff member suspected to have abused a student holds a professional educator license issued by the Utah State Board of Education, the Human Resource Director shall immediately report that information to the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission.
6.3 A person who makes a report under this subsection in good faith shall be immune from civil or criminal liability that might otherwise arise by reason of that report.
6.4 Failing to report suspected misconduct as required herein is a violation of this policy, the Utah Educator Standards, and in some instances, state law, and may result in disciplinary action.
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TRAINING
7.1 Within 10 days of beginning employment with Weber District, a staff member shall receive training regarding this policy and shall acknowledge in writing having received training and understanding the policy by signing the attached Acknowledgment Form.
7.2 All staff members employed by Weber District shall receive training regarding this policy on an annual basis and new staff members shall receive this training prior to beginning work with students. Staff members shall acknowledge in writing having received training and understanding the policy.
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VIOLATIONS
A staff member found in violation of this policy will be subject to disciplinary action and will be referred to the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission.
Approved by the Board 09/04/2019