4021.1

Professional Boundaries

Professional Boundaries Between Employees and Students

All employees are expected to observe and maintain professional boundaries between themselves and students. A violation of professional boundaries will be regarded as a form of misconduct and may result in disciplinary action.

The following non-exclusive list of actions will be regarded as a violation of the professional boundaries that employees are expected to maintain with a student:

• Using e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging or social networking sites to discuss with a student a matter that does not pertain to school-related activities, such as the student’s homework, class activity, school sport or club, or other school-sponsored activity. Electronic communications with students are to be sent simultaneously to multiple recipients, not to just one student, except where the communication is clearly school-related and inappropriate for persons other than the individual student to receive (for example, e-mailing a message about a student’s grades).

• Engaging in social-networking friendships with a student on MySpace, Facebook, or other social networking site. Material that employees post on social networks that is publicly available to those in the school community must reflect the professional image applicable to the employee’s position and not impair the employee’s capacity to maintain the respect of students and parents or impair the employee’s ability to serve as a role model for children.

• Engaging in sexual activity, a romantic relationship, or dating a student or a former student within one year of the student graduating or otherwise leaving the District.

• Making any sexual advance – verbal, written, or physical – towards a student.

§ Showing sexually inappropriate materials or objects to a student.

§ Discussing with a student sexual topics that are not related to a specific curriculum.

§ Telling sexual jokes to a student.

§ Invading a student’s physical privacy.

§ Hugging or other physical contact with a student that is initiated by the employee when the student does not seek or want this attention.

§ Being overly "touchy" with a specific student.

§ Allowing a specific student to get away with misconduct that is not tolerated from other students, except as appropriate for students with an IEP or 504 Plan.

§ Discussing with the student the employee’s problems that would normally be discussed with adults (e.g., marital problems).

§ Taking a student on an outing without obtaining prior express permission of the student’s parent or school administrator.

§ Inviting a student to the employee’s home without parent/guardian permission.

§ Going to the student’s home when the student’s parent or a proper chaperone is not present.

§ Giving gifts of a personal nature to a specific student.

Appropriate exceptions are permitted to the foregoing for legitimate health or educational purposes and for reasons of familial relationships between employees and their children who are students in the District.

Adopted on: June 17, 2010

Revised on:

Reviewed on: