5253P Procedure - Maintaining Professional Staff/Student Boundaries

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to provide all staff, students, volunteers, and community members with information about their role in protecting children from inappropriate conduct by adults. For purposes of this procedure and its policy, the terms “district staff,” “staff member(s),” and “staff” include both employees and volunteers.

Boundary Invasion

A boundary invasion is an act or pattern of behavior by a staff member or volunteer that does not have a bona fide health, safety, or educational purpose for the student. Such situations are the opposite of maintaining professional boundaries with students. Staff members and volunteers shall not engage in boundary invasions of students, which include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Any type of inappropriate physical or sexual contact with a student or any other conduct that violates the district’s policy on Sexual Harassment of Students (Policy 3205); Prohibition of Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (Policy 3207); Nondiscrimination (Policy 3210); Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX); the Washington State Law Against Discrimination (Chapter 49.60 RCW); or that constitutes misconduct under RCW 28A.640 and .642 or WAC 181-88-060; or any conduct that would constitute a violation of Chapter 9A.44 or 9A.88 RCW. Inappropriate physical conduct may include hugging, kissing, or unwanted physical contact with students without any legitimate educational or professional purpose;
2. Showing intimate or unduly revealing photos to a student or asking a student to provide intimate or unduly revealing photos; taking inappropriate photographs of a student, or taking an inordinate number of photographs of a student;
3. Any kind of flirtatious or sexual communications with a student;
4. Singling out a particular student or students for personal attention and friendship beyond the professional staff/student relationship;
5. Providing alcohol, drugs, or tobacco to students;
6. For non-guidance/counseling staff, encouraging students to confide their personal or family problems and/or relationships. If a student initiates such discussions, staff members shall confer with and/or refer the student to appropriate guidance/counseling staff. In either case, staff involvement should be limited to a direct connection to the student’s school performance;
7. Sending students on personal errands unrelated to any educational purpose;
8. Banter, allusions, jokes, or innuendos of a sexual nature with students;
9. Favorably commenting on a student’s appearance if it is unduly revealing or if the comments have no educational value;
10. Disclosing personal, sexual, family, and/or employment concerns, or other private matters, to one or more students;
11. Addressing students, or permitting students to address staff members, with personalized terms of endearment, pet names, or otherwise in an overly familiar manner;
12. Maintaining personal contact (including “friending”) with a student on any social networking application or device. This includes “following” a student on a social media account if doing so provides the staff member with a means of private communication with the student; this does not prohibit following a publicly available page published by a student where all interactions are transparent;
13. Sending phone, email, text, instant messenger, or other forms of written or electronic communication to students when the communication is unrelated to schoolwork or other school business. If staff members have educational or school business to conduct, they shall include a parent/guardian and a school administrator on the communication. If staff members receive a student’s communication, the staff member shall reply including the student’s parent/guardian and an administrator. Exceptions may be allowed with parent approval/opt out of known communications. Exceptions may be allowed during school-related activities that extend beyond the school day, particularly for logistical and safety reasons. Staff members should use school email addresses and phone numbers and the parents’ phone numbers for communications with students, except in an emergency situation;
14. Exchanging personal gifts, cards, or letters with an individual student without a legitimate professional purpose and administrator/parent approval for gifts;
15. Socializing or spending time with students (including, but not limited to, activities such as going out for beverages, meals, or movies; shopping; traveling; and recreational activities) outside of school-sponsored events, except as participants in organized community activities;
16. Giving a student a ride alone in a vehicle in a non-emergency situation or failing to timely report that occurrence;
17. Gossiping (casual conversations or reports about other people, typically involving unconfirmed details) with students about other students or staff members without a legitimate professional purpose;
18. Asking a student to keep a secret or not to disclose any inappropriate communications or conduct;
19. Unnecessarily invading a student’s privacy (e.g. walking in on the student in the bathroom or a hotel room on a field trip);
20. Any home visits unless other adults are present, the student(s) are invited for an activity related to school, and the student’s parent/guardian and an administrator are informed and have consented; or
21. Any other conduct that fails to maintain professional staff/student boundaries.

Reporting Violations

Students and their parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to notify the principal or another administrator if they believe a staff member may be engaging in conduct that violates this policy or procedure.

Staff members are required to promptly notify the principal or the supervisor of the staff member suspected of engaging in inappropriate conduct that violates this policy or procedure.

The administrator to whom a boundary invasion concern is reported must document the concern in writing and provide a copy of the documentation to the human resources department. Human resources will maintain a file documenting reports of boundary invasion concerns.

Investigation and Documentation

When an administrator receives information that a boundary invasion has occurred or might have occurred, the administrator must document, in writing, the concern and provide a copy of the documentation to the executive director of human resources and business services. The executive director of human resources and business services will see that the matter is investigated and documented.

Reporting Sexual Abuse

Some actions that violate this policy may also meet the definition of reportable abuse under Chapter 26.44 RCW and Policy 3421. According to law (RCW 26.44.020) and Policy 3421, all professional school personnel who have reasonable cause to believe that a student has experienced sexual abuse by any person are required to make a report to Child Protective Services or law enforcement. Reporting suspected abuse to the building principal or supervisor does not relieve professional school personnel from their reporting responsibilities and timelines.

Disciplinary Action

Staff member or volunteer violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal for employees, or removal of volunteer authorization for volunteers. The violation may also be reported to the state Office of Professional Practices if it violates the Code of Professional Conduct, Chapter 181-87 WAC.

Training

All new employees and volunteers will receive training and/or notice on appropriate staff/student boundaries within ninety (90) days of employment or service. Continuing staff will receive training every three years.

Dissemination of Policy and Reporting Protocols

This policy and procedure will be included on the district website and in all employee, student, and volunteer handbooks. Annually, all administrators and staff will receive copies of the district’s reporting protocol. The district shall also provide a copy of this policy and procedure to students and their parents during each school year through student handbooks.