R-5 board adopts new policies

When March 1 arrives the Nevada R-5 School District will be in compliance with the legislative mandate that all Missouri school districts adopt a policy addressing employee-student communications, including electronic communications.

After a lengthy discussion of some of the implications of adopting such a policy the Nevada R-5 Board of Education voted 7-0 during their Jan. 11 meeting to approve such a policy, effective March 1.

"This policy is in response to a few persons making bad choices. That's what's frustrating," Dr. David Stephens, Nevada R-5 superintendent, said Wednesday.

"I don't believe any staff member is doing anything inappropriate," Stephens said.

With the passage of Senate Bill 1 during last fall's special session, state law requires: Every school district shall, by March 1, 2012, promulgate a written policy concerning employee-student communications. Such policy shall include, but not be limited to, the use of electronic media and other mechanisms to prevent improper communications between staff members and students. (RsMo 162.069.1)

While this policy is directed at employee-student communications, it also requires that staff are trained to identify signs of sexual abuse.

Board member Chris Ellis said this policy could have a chilling effect on the use of Facebook pages and text messages for appropriate communications between instructors and students. For example, using the choir Facebook page to tell members when a practice is. Or a group text message that the team bus is back.

Stephens said that under this policy the staff members administrator would need to have access to the Facebook page or to be on the group list for the text messages.

"It's now our responsibility as administrators to educate the staff and others," Stephens said.

According to this policy "staff members must maintain professional boundaries with students while using electronic communications regardless of whether the communication methods are provided by the district or the staff member uses his or her own personal electronic communication devices, accounts, web pages or other forms of electronic communication. The district's policies, regulations, procedures and expectations regarding in-person communications at school and during the school day also apply to electronic communications for educational purposes, regardless of when those communications occur. Staff communications must be professional, and student communications must be appropriate."

Guidelines include:

1. Staff members must use district provided devices, accounts and forms of communications when available. Any of these communications may be monitored. The district may give staff members permission to set up Web sites on the behalf of the district to enable communications between staff members and students and parents.

2. A staff member may be authorized by his or her supervisor to use personal telephone numbers, address, webpages or accounts to communicate with students to "organize or facilitate a district-sponsored class or activity if the communication is determined necessary or beneficial, if a district sponsored form of communication is not available and if the communication is related to the class or activity." Parent or guardians will be notified of this and staff members are required to send the same communication to the staff member's supervisor.

3. The use of any electronic communication is subject to the district's policies, regulations and procedures ... governing the confidentiality and release of information about identifiable students. Employees are prohibited from posting any photographs or information they may receive through their connection with the district on personal Websites or personal social networking Websites without permission from a supervisor.

4. "The district discourages staff members from communicating with students electronically for reasons other than educational purposes. ... If any concerns are raised the staff member must be prepared to demonstrate that the communications are appropriate."

This policy does not apply to communications between staff members and their children, stepchildren or other persons living in the staff member's home who are students of the district.

The policy also details five types of interactions between staff members and students "that are never acceptable and are absolutely prohibited including, but not limited to:

1. Touching, caressing, fondling or kissing students in a sexual or sexually intimate manner.

2. Dating a student or discussing or planning a future romantic or sexual relationship with a student. The district may presume that this provision has been violated if a staff member begins a dating or sexual relationship with a student immediately after graduation or immediately after a student has left the district.

3. Making sexual advances toward a student or engaging in a sexual relationship with a student.

4. Engaging in any conduct that constitutes illegal harassment of discrimination as defined in policy AC or that could constitute a violation of that policy if pervasive.

5. Engaging in any conduct that violates Board policies, regulations or procedures or constitutes criminal behavior.

In addition to these prohibited actions, the policy also outlines a list of 14 examples of situations that, unless they are for an educational purpose or an exception that must be defensible by a staff member, should be avoided.