3213 - STUDENT SUPERVISION AND WELFARE

Professional staff members are frequently confronted with situations which, if handled incorrectly, could result in liability to the District, personal liability to the professional staff member, and/or harm to the welfare of the student(s). It is the intent of the Board to direct the preparation of guidelines that would minimize that possibility.

A professional staff member, or a person who works or volunteers with children, who is found to have had sexual contact with a student, including a student age sixteen (16) or older, shall be referred to the proper authorities and be subject to discipline up to and including discharge.

This policy should not be construed as affecting any obligations on the part of staff to report suspected child abuse under 48.981, Wis. Stats. and Policy 8462- Child Abuse and Neglect.

Each District employee shall maintain a standard of care for the supervision, control, and protection of students commensurate with their assigned duties and responsibilities which include, but are not limited to the following standards:

1. A professional staff member shall report immediately any accident or safety hazard about which they are informed or detect to their supervisor as well as to other authorities or District staff members as may be required by established policies and procedures.
2. A professional staff member shall report unsafe, potentially harmful, dangerous, violent, or criminal activities, or threats of these activities by students to the Superintendent and local public safety agencies and/or school officials in accordance with Policy 8420 - School Safety and Reporting of Crime Statistics.
3. A professional staff member should not volunteer to assume responsibility for duties that they cannot reasonably perform. Such an assumption carries the same responsibilities as assigned duties.
4. A professional staff member shall provide proper instruction in the safety matters presented in assigned course guides.
5. A professional staff member shall not send students on any personal errands.
6. A professional staff member shall not associate with students at any time in a manner which gives the appearance of impropriety, including, but not limited to, the creation or participation in any situation or activity which could be considered abusive or sexually suggestive, or involve illegal substances such as tobacco, alcohol, or drugs. Any sexual or other inappropriate conduct with a student by any staff member will subject the offender to potential criminal liability and District discipline up to and including termination of employment.
   
   This provision should not be construed as precluding a professional staff member from associating with students in private for legitimate or proper reasons or to interfere with familial relationships that may exist between staff and students.
7. A professional staff member shall not disclose personally identifiable information about a student to third parties unless specifically authorized by law or the student's parent(s) to do so.
8. A professional staff member shall not transport students for school-related reasons in a private vehicle without the approval of their immediate supervisor and consistent with the provisions of Policy 8660 - Transportation by Private Vehicle for District-Sponsored Activities or Trips. This does not apply to any student who is the professional staff member's family member.
9. A student shall not be required to perform work or services that may be detrimental to their health.
10. Staff members shall not engage students in social media and online networking media.
11. Staff members are expressly prohibited from posting any picture, video, meme, or other visual depiction, or comment pertaining to any student on personal or unauthorized social networking media or similar forums. This provision of the policy does not apply to pictures and/or videos taken of public events that may involve or incidentally include depictions of students participating in or observing such events where the purpose of the photo or video is to depict the event, not a particular student. This section does not apply to depictions of a professional staff member's own child or other relatives.

Since most information concerning a child in school, other than directory information described in Policy 8330 - Student Records, is a confidential student record under Federal and State laws, any staff member who shares confidential information with another person not authorized to receive the information may be subject to discipline and/or civil liability. This includes, but is not limited to, information concerning assessments, grades, behavior, family background, and alleged child abuse.

Pursuant to the laws of the State and Board Policy 8462 - Child Abuse and Neglect, each professional staff member shall report to the proper legal authorities immediately, any sign of suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

Revised 5/20/19
Revised 6/15/20
Revised 4/19/21
Revised 10/17/22
T.C. 7/31/24
T.C. 5/18/26

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