Skip to content

DA158 – School Trespass

  • Effective: 6/22/1976
  • Revision: 10/17/2006
  1. Board Policy
    It is the policy of the Board to operate each facility owned or utilized by the school district in a manner which will reasonably assure the safety of individuals participating in school district functions and activities and in a manner to avoid disruption of all school district activities and functions.  The Board maintains the right to close any school activity or facility or school bus to persons and organizations not specifically authorized by the Board or by local school administrators under authority delegated by the Board.
  2. Administration Policy
    The local school administrator shall be responsible to handle any situation that may arise because of a trespasser or any acts therefrom.  The following procedures and guidelines will be used in administering this policy.
    Guidelines

    1. Legal basis for this policy includes:
      Salt Lake County Ordinance: (§10.32.010 Offenses In and About Schools, Colleges, and Universities), and Utah Code Annotated: (§76-9-102 Breaches of the Peace and Related Events; §53G-8-603 Criminal Trespass Upon School Property; §76-9-106 Disrupting the Operation of a School; and §76-9-107 Unauthorized Entry of a School Bus); and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as amended in 2004 (20 USC §1415(b)(1); 34 CFR §300.501(a)).
    2. The administrator is to have an understandable knowledge of the legal basis of this policy so that he/she may properly interpret and enforce them.
    3. The administrator shall inform his/her staff and students of the legal basis of this policy.
    4. The administrator shall post in a conspicuous place in his/her building, rules and regulations pertaining to all visitors.  This may be an abridgment of the Salt Lake County Ordinance and/or the State of Utah Criminal Code.
    5. The administrator shall have the right to utilize every effort in the protection of personnel and property.  He/she may, as he/she deems necessary, secure assistance from an appropriate law enforcement agency.
    6. In accordance with federal statutes and local ordinances, school administrators are vested with authority to limit or control access to any school facility or activity.  This includes the authority of the local school administrator to take reasonable steps to prohibit the transport of contraband onto the school facility or to a school activity and to restrict or prohibit access by persons who are not specifically authorized or required by law to be present in school facilities, at school activities, and on school buses.
    7. The local school administrator retains the discretionary authority to restrict access of school visitors to only those portions of the school reasonably associated with the purpose of the visit.  Permitted access to a portion of the school does not grant access to all areas in the school.
    8. Parents, guardians, relatives and acquaintances are invited and encouraged to enter schools to participate in specific activities, meetings and appointments with teachers and administrators.  Parents and guardians do not have the right to attend school with their children or access school premises, including school buses, without specific authorization by school administration.  Such authorization may be withdrawn without prior notice and a parent or guardian’s continued presence after authorization has been withdrawn will be considered school trespass.
    9. In accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as amended in 2004, parents of students with disabilities are entitled to the same access as general education parents (see H above) as well as the opportunity to participate in meetings with respect to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the child and the provision of a free and appropriate public education (20 USC §1415(b)(1); 34 CFR §300.501(a)).  Beyond this parental participation, parents of students with disabilities have no entitlement to access school premises.