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E-Alerts

A Fall “To Do List” For Independent Schools

[November 10, 2014]  With “back to school” a distant memory, it is now the season to tackle compliance projects for this year and next! Below is our “hit list” for the next few months.

Update Enrollment Agreements To Reflect The Current Environment.  A school’s enrollment agreement should describe more than the tuition payment process. The enrollment agreement ought to establish the contractual foundation of a school’s relationship with its families and students. It might, for example, describe the school’s expectations with regard to student and parental comportment, address use of student images, art work and other creative materials, and restrict use of the school’s name (trademark issues and more). Be sure to include an “over 18″ provision if you enroll students age 18 and older. And if the enrollment agreement is executed online, be sure all procedures comply with state and federal laws so that the electronic signatures are enforceable. We recommend a review of this essential contractual document to make sure it appropriately protects the school, in case the school needs to enforce payment from, or behavioral expectations of, families.

Faculty Offer Letters.  Are you still using annual contracts for faculty, staff, and administrators? It might be time to transition from an annual employment contract to one-time offer letters that emphasize the at-will nature of employment, describe duties and responsibilities with specificity, and describe what happens if employment is terminated (either for cause or voluntarily) during the school year. Offer letters ease the administrative burden on the school (because they do not have to be provided annually), while also keeping pace with best employment practices. Alternatively, now is the time to update your faculty contracts for best practices and legal compliance!

Mitigate Risks Associated With Student Travel.  Recent litigation and news reports have highlighted the myriad risks involved in taking students on trips of all kinds, from local excursions to international adventures. We advise schools to create a comprehensive trip compliance package in order to guard against the risks inherent in such activities. A compliance package should include permission and release forms, medical authorization forms, chaperone guidelines, and policies to include in student and employee handbooks, with special considerations for students 18 and older.

Update Electronic Communications And Acceptable Use Agreements And Policies. We started this school year helping schools navigate a host of challenging situations involving student (and sometimes employee) conduct on YikYak, Tinder, Instagram, Prepfessions and other cyber tools, which leads us to believe that independent schools should consider fine-tuning acceptable-use policies. We often encounter acceptable-use policies that are quite narrow in scope and do not account for student and employee cyber behavior that may negatively impact the school experience, even if that activity occurs off campus (and perhaps at a vacation time) and with personally owned (and not school-issued) devices. While we do not advocate that schools act as “Big Brother,” monitoring all online student and employee activity, we do recommend that schools consider whether to have acceptable use policies that empower schools to discipline students and staff should any Internet-based activity, be it cyber-bullying, sexting, or inappropriate text or email exchanges, affect the school environment (in fact, some state bullying laws mandate this approach). We recommend a review of existing policies to ensure that their scope and content keep pace with constantly evolving technology and behavioral norms as well as each school’s unique culture.

Review And Update Health Center Guidelines. Administration of medications in independent schools continues to increase, along with a myriad of complex student health issues, such as allergies, diabetes and cutting. Health Center guidelines should describe how to accommodate students with medical needs, how the school will handle requests for the administration of alternative remedies on campus, and how to support students confronting serious mental illness (with initial onset often happening during high school years). Each state has laws addressing minors and their ability to consent to treatment for mental illness, substance abuse, and access to birth control (and abortion). We recommend auditing and updating all nurse guidelines and Health Center protocols.

Educate The School Community About Shades of Grey And Blurred Lines. The song “Blurred Lines” topped the pop charts last year with its racy video, but the song title also captures a hot topic facing school communities in 2014: when functional and caring relationships within the school community become dysfunctional, dark, and harmful. It may be obvious to most that intimate relations between teachers and students is a bad idea on many fronts – legally, morally, and ethically. However, in the independent school world, where many interactions happen outside of the classroom, let alone in cyberspace, it is important to revisit the complex definitions of what is appropriate and in the best interests of students. Of course, the concept of boundaries in the independent school world transcends the teacher/student context, and often includes teacher/parent, teacher/alumni, student/student, and any number of other pairings in which positive, close connections can quickly turn into an uncomfortable and negative experience that expands beyond appropriate boundaries. Please click here for more information about our innovative, interactive boundary training for school communities.

LGBTQA Employees And Students. An increasing number of students and employees are openly self-identifying at school as transgender or gender non-conforming. For many of these individuals, this may include a gender transition experience, whereby they begin to live and identify with the social norms consistent with their gender identity. We recommend that schools develop admissions and other policies to foster a safe, supportive and welcoming environment for LGBTQA students and employees. Recognizing that gender transition is personal to each individual and depends on the unique circumstances of each situation, such policies should incorporate flexibility, while still providing guidance to students, parents, faculty and staff.

“Happy Birthday”: Students 18 And Older. When students turn 18 while enrolled at an independent school, they are legally adults, yet schools often continue to communicate directly with the student’s parents about academic, discipline, health and financial matters, as if the student were still a minor. We suggest a multi-pronged approach to helping schools ensure that they are still able to talk to parents about mature students, while also complying with applicable laws. By properly drafting enrollment agreements, handbook policies, permission and release forms and communications to students, independent schools can acknowledge a student’s adult status while also continuing to effectively partner with parents.

We hope this is helpful, and please feel free to contact any of the attorneys in the Firm’s Education Group with questions or if we can be of assistance.