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From TexasISD.com Preventive Law
The School Safety Act and Your District’s Volunteers and Visitors They arrive from all areas of your community with a heart to serve the District and the children. They are booster club officers and members, long time volunteers of sports activities, parents, grandparents and others who serve in “parental” roles, neighbors, community activists and the like. The new section 22.0835 of the Texas Education Code strengthens the prior sec. 22.083 by requiring that districts conduct criminal background checks for volunteers or those who indicate, in writing, an intent to serve as a volunteer with the district, school, or shared services arrangement. Schools or centers are authorized to obtain criminal history record information from any law enforcement or criminal justice agency. Consequently, a volunteer is required to provide the district or requesting school a driver’s license or other form of identification issued by a United States government entity containing the person’s photograph. A person can not volunteer until all the requirements are met. (Sec. 22.035(d)). The district can require that the volunteer pay any costs related to obtaining the criminal history information. The cavernous exception to the above excludes this requirement for parents, guardians, or grandparents of a child who is enrolled in the district or school where the person volunteers or is applying to volunteer. Additionally, if the person is volunteering for only a single event, then the criminal background check requirement is excused[1]; a third exception is if the volunteer will be accompanied by a district employee while on the school campus. The exceptions provide an escape for a district to avoid the process and costs for requiring background checks for most who may volunteer. This works particularly well for smaller districts where most everyone is known in the community, but it still leaves skeletons in the closet and potential risks for students. Small communities are no less likely to contain those with past convictions and/or criminal histories. To protect the safety of students, it is important to know who is working in close proximity to or with the students you seek to protect. For years, many school districts across the state have required criminal background or history checks for all who volunteer on their campuses or at any school-sponsored activities, regardless of their relationship to students. In these districts, all persons volunteering, no matter the personal relationship to any student, must submit to a criminal background check. Such checks have even included board members, if they are serving as district volunteers. Once a District learns of a potential volunteer’s criminal history and reported offenses, the District must then judge whether or not to exclude this individual from volunteering. Which offenses are appropriate for exclusion is a local decision, taking into consideration the nature of the offense, the date of the offense, the likelihood of similar or other offenses occurring, potential publicity exposure and possibly even legal exposure. What if They’re Just Visiting? Protection for students extends to those who are visiting a district campus. Section 38.022 of the Texas Education Code authorizes a district to require a person who enters a district campus to display the person’s driver’s license or another form of identification issued by a governmental entity containing the person’s photograph. As added security, a district may also establish an electronic database for storing information regarding visitors to district campuses. Of course, section 38.022 prohibits any sale or dissemination of the information to a third party, and the information should be used solely for security. The district is also authorized to verify whether a visitor to a campus is a sex offender registered with the computerized central database maintained by DPS or other databases. Fortified with a strong district policy, a school district can ensure that those who “visit,” whether it is someone enrolling or visiting a student, viewing the campus, conducting business - such as on site deliveries, or unfortunately creating a disturbance, will be required to present identification. A district’s decision to require visitors to provide appropriate identification creates an added security of knowing who is on campus for the safety of the children and a ready protection for the district in security challenges. What's New Construction Basics October & November 2007 Eight locations around If your district wants to build then you need to start out with the right foundation. This training will help you build that foundation beginning with the board's initial decision to procure construction through the signing of the construction contracts.
Visit http://www.edlaw.com/training_constbasics.html for more information and to register online. Construction Documentation October & November 2007 Eight locations around Texas This training is to provide you with the information and skills you need in order to improve your chances for construction success and to remedy aspects of your project that have already gone wrong. We will show you how to create effective and clear documentation concerning your construction project and how to preserve your district's rights to recover if a contractor or architect damages your property or fails to perform their obligations under the contracts.
Visit http://www.edlaw.com/training_constdoc.html for more information and to register online. Legal Issues for School Secretaries Sessions Continue through October 2007 Schwartz & Eichelbaum, P.C. is once again offering this highly requested program. Arm your school's first line of defense, your school secretary, with practical methods for handling issues with legal implications that they frequently confront. Topics include: *Admissions/Enrollment *Attendance *Records *Family
Visit http://www.edlaw.com/training_secretaries.html for more information and to register online. [1] Presumably, if the person volunteers for a second project, a criminal background check would be warranted to prevent avoidance of the requirement by only volunteering for one project at a time.
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