Delaware Community School Corporation

A.

An employee shall immediately report to law enforcement or child protective services any suspected child abuse or neglect.  All employees shall immediately report to a building administrator any knowledge of criminal organization (gang) activity, and will immediately report to the Title IX coordinator any report of student sexual harassment or assault.

B.

All employees and volunteers shall follow established school safety procedures and protocols. 

C.

An employee or volunteer shall immediately report to a building administrator any accident, safety hazard, knowledge of threats of violence by students, employees, or volunteers, or other potentially harmful condition or situation s/he detects.

D.

An employee shall not fraternize or associate with students at any time in a manner that may give the appearance of impropriety or is not consistent with an employee’s role as an exemplar, including, but not limited to, the creation or participation in any situation or activity that could be considered abusive or sexually suggestive, includes profane language, or involves harmful substances such as illegal drugs, alcohol or tobacco.  Further, staff members shall not communicate with students by electronic means (texting, social media messages, etc.) except on School-approved applications and sites, and such communications shall only pertain to educational matters. Social media platforms that purport to automatically erase communications should never be used.  Communications exchanged via any electronic platform shall not be deleted by an employee unless first preserved and documented as an educational record in a method approved by the School. Any sexual or other inappropriate conduct with a student, including communicating in an inappropriately familiar or personal way (peer-to-peer-like manner), by any staff member will subject the offender to potential criminal prosecution and disciplinary action by the Board up to and including termination of employment.

E.

If a student approaches a teacher or other employee to seek advice, to ask questions, or to discuss personal matters, including but not limited to friendships, social relationships, sexual behavior, substance abuse, mental or physical health, and/or family relationship, etc., the employee must be mindful of their responsibility to serve as a mentor and exemplar to the student and avoid communications of a peer-to-peer nature. Any employee who perceives that a student is in need of services from a certified or licensed professional for mental health assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of the student's stated problem shall report the matter to their supervisor. Under no circumstances should an employee attempt, unless properly licensed and authorized to do so, to provide counseling, assess, diagnose, or treat the student's problem or behavior, nor should any such employee inappropriately disclose personally identifiable information concerning the student to third persons not specifically authorized by law.

F.

An employee shall not transport students in a private vehicle under any circumstances.

G.

A student shall not be required to perform work or participate in activities detrimental to his/her health or welfare.

H.

An employee or volunteer is prohibited from electronically transmitting any personally identifiable image of or information on a student(s), such as video, photographs, streaming video, and written posts and documents, by any means, unless such transmission has been pre-approved by School administration, and the student’s parent, where applicable.

I.

Staff shall set a good example for students in actions, communications and behaviors. This includes, but is not limited to, refraining from use of profanity, demeaning statements, and any other communications that set an inappropriate example for students.