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Tag: training

Published on
  • Effective:  9/24/2019
  • Revised:   5/27/2025
  1. Board Directive
    The Board adopts this policy, in part, because the legislature has conditioned certain governmental immunity protections upon the adoption of an appropriate behavior policy not less stringent than a model policy created by the State Board of Education. The Board is committed to establishing and maintaining appropriate standards of conduct between staff members and students.  These standards of conduct are also known as professional boundaries.  Staff members shall maintain professional and appropriate demeanor and relationships with students, both during and outside of school hours, as well as both on and off campus, that foster an effective, non-disruptive and safe learning environment.  The Board delegates to the Administration the responsibility for establishing guidelines for the Employee Code of Conduct.
  2. Administrative Policy
    1. Definitions
      1. Staff Member: an employee, contractor or volunteer with unsupervised access to students.
      2. Student: a child under the age of 18 or over the age of 18 if still enrolled in a public secondary school.
      3. Boundary Violation: crossing verbal, physical, emotional, or social lines that staff must maintain in order to ensure structure, security, and predictability in an educational environment.
        1. A boundary violation may include the following, depending on the circumstances:
          1. Isolated, one-on-one interactions with a student out of the line of sight of others;
          2. Meeting with a student in rooms with covered or blocked windows;
          3. Telling risqué jokes to, or in the presence of a student;
          4. Employing favoritism to a student;
          5. Giving gifts to individual students;
          6. Staff member initiated frontal hugging or other uninvited touching;
          7. Photographing an individual student for a non-educational purpose or use;
          8. Engaging in inappropriate or unprofessional contact outside of educational program activities;
          9. Exchanging personal email or phone numbers with a student for a non-educational purpose or use;
          10. Interacting privately with a student through social media, computer, or handheld devices; and
          11. Discussing an employee’s personal life or personal issues with a student.
        2. A boundary violation does not include:
          1. Offering praise, encouragement, or acknowledgment;
          2. Offering rewards available to all who achieve;
          3. Asking permission to touch for necessary purposes;
          4. Giving a pat on the back or a shoulder;
          5. Giving a side hug;
          6. Giving a handshake or high five;
          7. Offering warmth and kindness;
          8. Utilizing public social media alerts to groups of students and parents; or
          9. Contact permitted by an IEP or 504 plan.
          10. Contact permitted by Policy AA418 – Discipline of Students – Staff Responsibilities (II.E & II.F))
      4. Grooming: befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a student or a student’s family to lower the student’s inhibitions for emotional, physical, or sexual abuse.
      5. Sexual Conduct: includes any sexual contact or communication between a staff member and a student including but not limited to:
        1. Sexual Abuse: the criminal conduct described in Utah Code Ann. 76-5-404.1(2) and includes, regardless of the gender of any participant:
          1. Touching the anus, buttocks, pubic area, or genitalia of a student;
          2. Touching the breast of a female student; or
          3. Otherwise taking indecent liberties with a student; with the intent to:
            1. cause substantial emotional or bodily pain; or
            2. arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any individual.
        2. Sexual Battery: the criminal conduct described in Utah Code Ann. 76-9-702.1 and includes intentionally touching, whether or not through clothing, the anus, buttocks, or any part of the genitals of a student, or the breast of a female student, and the actor’s conduct is under circumstances the actor knows or should know will likely cause affront or alarm to the student touched; or
        3. A staff member and student sharing any sexually explicit or lewd communication, image, or photograph.
    2. Procedures
      Staff members shall act in a way that acknowledges and reflects their inherent positions of authority and influence over students.

      1. Staff members shall recognize and maintain appropriate personal boundaries in teaching, supervising and interacting with students and shall avoid boundary violations including behavior that could reasonably be considered grooming or lead to even an appearance of impropriety. It is not a boundary violation when a student acts or speaks in inappropriately familiar ways with a staff member without having been prompted to do so by the staff member, but such incidents must be promptly documented and reported to the staff member’s supervisor or the building principal and the student should be given guidance on proper student-staff relationships as directed by the supervisor or principal.
      2. A staff member may not subject a student to any form of abuse including, but not limited to:
        1. physical abuse;
        2. verbal abuse;
        3. sexual abuse; or
        4. mental abuse.
      3. A staff member shall not touch a student in a way that makes a reasonably objective student feel uncomfortable.
      4. A staff member shall not engage in any sexual conduct toward or sexual relations with a student including, but not limited to:
        1. viewing with a student, or allowing a student to view, pornography or any other sexually explicit or inappropriate images or content, whether video, audio, print, text or other format;
        2. sexual battery; or
        3. sexual assault.
      5. Staff member communications with students, whether verbal or electronic, shall be professional and avoid boundary violations.
      6. A staff member shall not provide gifts, special favors, or preferential treatment to a student or group of students.
      7. A staff member shall not discriminate against a student on the basis of sex, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited class.
      8. Staff member use of electronic devices and social media to communicate with students must comply with District policy, be professional, pertain to school activities or classes, and comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
      9. A staff member may not use or be under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances during work hours on school property or at school sponsored events while acting as a staff member. Additionally, a staff member may not use any form of tobacco or electronic cigarettes on school property or at school sponsored activities in an employment capacity.
      10. The prohibitions listed above in subsections 1 through 9 apply to staff member interaction with any student presently enrolled in the District and to staff member interaction with any former student who was enrolled at a school where the staff member was assigned during the student’s enrollment at that school for a period of two (2) years after the student ceased enrollment at that school.
      11. A staff member shall cooperate in any investigation concerning allegations of actions, conduct, or communications that if proven, would violate this policy.
      12. The District recognizes that familial relationships or other relationships which are independent of and which do not arise out of the school context between a staff member and a student or former student may provide for exceptions to certain provisions of this policy.
      13. Conduct prohibited by this policy is considered a violation of this policy regardless of whether the student may have consented.
    3. Reporting
      1. A staff member who has reason to believe there has been a violation of this policy shall immediately report such conduct to an appropriate supervisor or school administrator. If a staff member has reason to believe a school administrator has violated this policy, the staff member shall immediately report the conduct to the administrator’s supervisor.
      2. In addition to the obligation to report suspected child abuse or neglect to law enforcement or the Division of Child and Family Services under Utah Code Ann. §80‑2‑602:
        1. a staff member who has reasonable cause to believe that a student may have been physically or sexually abused by a school staff member shall immediately report the belief and all other relevant information to the school administrator, or to District Administration;
        2. a school administrator who has received a report or who otherwise has reasonable cause to believe that a student may have been physically or sexually abused by a school staff member shall immediately inform the District Administration of the reported abuse; and
        3. if the staff member suspected to have abused a student holds a professional educator license issued by the Utah State Board of Education, the District Administration shall immediately report that information to the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission;
        4. a person who makes a report under this subsection in good faith shall be immune from civil or criminal liability that might otherwise arise by reason of that report.
      3. A staff member who has knowledge of suspected incidents of bullying shall immediately notify the student’s building administrator in compliance with Policy AS98-Bullying, Cyberbullying and Hazing.
      4. Failing to report suspected misconduct as required herein is a violation of this policy, the Utah Educator Standards, and in some instances, state law, and may result in disciplinary action.
    4. Training
      1. Within 10 days of beginning employment with the District a staff member shall receive video training regarding this policy and shall electronically acknowledge having received training and understanding the policy.
      2. Staff members employed by the District at the time of initial adoption of this policy shall receive video training regarding this policy prior to the first day of the 2019-20 school year on which students will be in attendance and shall electronically acknowledge having received training and understanding the policy.
      3. All employees will receive video training annually as part of the crucial policy review.
    5. Violations
      A staff member found in violation of this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including removal as a volunteer or termination of employment in accordance with orderly termination policy DP316 NEG, DP316A and DP316B NEG.

REFERENCES

Utah Code Title 62A, Chapter 4a, Part 4, Child Abuse or Neglect Reporting Requirements
Utah Code Section 53E-6-701, Mandatory Reporting of Physical or Sexual Abuse of Students
Utah Admin. Code R277-401, Child Abuse-Neglect Reporting by Education Personnel
Utah Admin. Code R277-515, Utah Educator Professional Standard
Utah Admin. Code R277-322, LEA Codes of Conduct
Utah Code Section 63G-7-301, Waivers of Immunity
Utah Code Section 76-5-401.1, Sexual Abuse of a Minor
Utah Code Section 76-9-702.1, Sexual Battery

Published on
  • Effective: 9/25/2012
  • Revision: 11/18/2025

The Board commits itself and its members to ethical, professional, and lawful conduct, including proper use of authority and appropriate decorum when acting as Board members. In such conduct, the Board members shall fulfill the responsibilities set forth in the Oath of Office.

  1. Board of Education members shall have commitment to the owners, the people of Jordan School District, unconflicted by loyalties to staff, other organizations, and any personal interest as a parent or guardian of a student.
  2. Board members shall avoid conflicts of interest with respect to their Board responsibilities.
    1. Board members shall annually, by the first Board of Education meeting in January or upon discovery, disclose to the Board of Education their involvements with other organizations, with vendors, or any associations that are or might reasonably be seen as creating a conflict.
    2. In compliance with Utah Code 67-16-16, Board members shall complete an annual Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement between January 1 and January 31 of each year.
      1. All Board members shall disclose in writing a response to items described in Utah Code 20A11-1604-6.
      2. The disclosure shall be posted on the District’s website and will remain on the website until the Board member leaves office.
    3. Board Members shall comply with Utah Code 67-16-6 and 67-16-7 requiring certain written disclosures to certain state and local officials if the Board Member:
      1. is ever involved with or has significant changes to involvement with any business entity that is subject to the regulation of the school district; or
      2. ever receives or agrees to receive compensation for assisting any person or business with any transaction involving the school district.
        These statements will be posted on the District's website until the Board member leaves office as required by these statutes.
    4. When the Board is to decide upon an issue about which a member has a conflict of interest, that member shall withdraw without comment, not only from the vote, but also from the deliberation.
    5. Board members shall not use their Board of Education positions to obtain employment in the District, or other advantages for themselves, family members, or close associates. Should a Board member apply for employment in Jordan School District, he or she must first resign from the Board of Education.
    6. Members shall not accept or receive, directly or indirectly, a personal financial benefit, or accept any gift, token, membership, or service as a result of a District purchase entered into or anticipated in the future, from any person, firm, or corporation.
  3. Board members shall recognize that authority rests with the Board only in official meetings and that the individual member has no legal status to bind the Board of Education outside such meetings.
    1. In all meetings, a majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and no action of the Board shall be valid unless such action shall receive the approval of a majority of all Board members present.
    2. Board members must follow all open meeting laws established by the current Utah Open Meeting Law.
    3. Individual Board members have no authority when interacting with the Superintendent or staff, except when explicitly authorized by the Board of Education.
    4. When speaking with the public, press, or other entities, individual Board members must recognize they have no authority to speak for the Board unless specifically authorized or to repeat explicitly stated Board decisions.
    5. When speaking as an individual, the appropriate title of the Jordan Board of Education member may be used.
    6. Except for participation in Board deliberation about whether the Superintendent or Business Administrator has achieved reasonable interpretation of Board policy, Board members will not express individual judgments of performance of employees of the Superintendent.
  4. When on social media Board members will:
    1. Clarify that they are speaking as an individual and not for the Board, unless they have been directed by the Board to act as the spokesperson. In such directed instances they should ensure that only items that have been addressed by and voted on by the Board are shared.
    2. Not post statements that make it appear they have already formed an opinion on matters that are before the Board.
    3. On seeking input on an item coming before the Board, not indicate they will take the majority response to form their vote.
    4. Ensure they only post items that have been shared in an open meeting.
    5. Be respectful of the privacy of students and employees.
    6. Be cognizant of the fact that a Board member’s posts may be subject to retention or disclosure in accordance with state public records laws or the District’s record retention policies.
    7. Not accuse by name or position a Jordan District employee of wrongdoing.
  5. Board members shall honor the high responsibility that Board of Education membership demands by:
    1. Thinking and acting always in terms of "students first."
    2. Understanding and accepting that the basic function of a Board member is "policymaking," not “administration."
    3. Ensuring that appropriate facilities and resources are provided for the proper functioning of the schools.
    4. Making policy decisions without submitting to political pressure.
    5. Representing the entire school community, not just the precinct from which the Board member was elected.
    6. Becoming well informed concerning the duties of Board members and proper functions of public schools.
    7. Ensuring that they are properly prepared to participate in Board deliberations.
    8. Exercising oversight on behalf of all students and constituents regarding District policy, goals, and programs.
    9. Refusing to discuss confidential business of the Board, including closed session items, anywhere but in the proper Board setting.
    10. Refraining from drawing harmful attention to an individual or a group associated with Jordan School District.
  6. Board members shall respect relationships with other members of the Board by:
    1. Making decisions only after all facts bearing on a question have been presented and discussed.
    2. Respecting the right of others to their opinions and supporting the "majority rule" principle.
    3. Providing any prepared material for use during a Board meeting to all Board members prior to the meeting.
    4. Demonstrating respect for fellow Board members at all times.
  7. Board members shall maintain desirable relationships with the Superintendent and the staff by:
    1. Employing the best professional leader available as Superintendent.
    2. Giving the Superintendent full administrative authority for properly discharging the professional duties of this position and by holding the Superintendent accountable for desired results.
    3. Having the Superintendent present at regular and special meetings of the Board. On rare occasion, the Superintendent may be excused at the discretion of the Board.
    4. Referring complaints to the Superintendent and discussing such complaints at a regular meeting only after failure of administrative solution.
  8. Board members shall meet responsibilities to the community by:
    1. Appraising the present and future educational needs of the community.
    2. Communicating the goals and actions of the Board and District to the community.
    3. Insisting that all District business transactions be conducted on an open, ethical, and above-board basis.
    4. Vigorously seeking financial support for the schools.
    5. Involving the community in the schools and the educational process.
    6. Visiting schools and school functions regularly.
    7. Participating in community events.
  9. Board members shall strive to have meetings conducted in a businesslike manner with appropriate decorum through:
    1. Attending meetings and being prepared to participate.
    2. A well-planned agenda that is adjusted to focus on the Ends.
    3. Keeping discussion centered on the agenda and staying focused on Board business.
    4. Generally holding discussion after a motion and a second, with allowance for each member to speak on each issue.
    5. Balanced participation, with everyone participating and no one dominating.
    6. Sharing viewpoints in a clear, concise manner.
    7. Accomplishing work in an atmosphere of trust and openness, with respect and courtesy.
    8. Taking action at the policy level rather than the operational level.
    9. Monitoring policies to facilitate rigorous accountability and assurance of Superintendent performance.
    10. Supporting the Superintendent’s reasonable interpretation of applicable Board policies, or further clarifying Board intention by revising the policies.
    11. Making decisions based on information garnered from community input, both formal and informal.
  10. The Board will govern lawfully on behalf of students with an emphasis on strategic leadership for the future of Jordan School District through:
    1. Outward vision rather than an internal preoccupation or personal agenda.
    2. Encouragement of diversity in viewpoints.
    3. Strategic leadership more than administrative detail.
    4. Clear distinction of Board and Superintendent roles.
    5. Collective rather than individual decisions.
    6. Future thinking, rather than past or present.
    7. Governing proactively rather than reactively.
  11. Board members shall further meet the minimum standards for their elected office by:
    1. Annually committing in writing to abide by a Statement of Ethical Behavior.
    2. Completing Utah State Board of Education training on internal audits every two years, or when membership on the Board’s District Finance and Audit Advisory Committee changes, as required by USBE Rule R277-113-4-1.
    3. Completing during their first year in office, the Utah State Board of Education’s hotline training, as
      required by USBE Rule R277-123-7.

Revision history: 6/14/16, 6/8/2021, 10/29/24