K-12 Off Limits Protection Petition

1.All educational staff should not;

A. Allow, have access to, nor provide teacher/employee leniency to create adult personal friendships and or intimate relationships with minor students k-12th grade.
This behavior is called "grooming" and is unsafe for students and children.

B. Allow teachers/school staff to offer personal cell phone numbers to students without submitting letters of intent to each students parent or guardian. The letter from each school or program must provide written explanations of the purpose for the contact, why it is school related, and why this personal contact needs to be available for that student. The hours and days of contact must be stipulated by the school staff in writing and must be approved by the school principal. Parent/guardians must provide written signatures of approval each school year.

C. Allow unmonitored cell phone access, technology contact, texting, or personal phone contact between teachers and students period. If technology via cell phones are used, they should go directly to e-mails where they can be verified by administrative staff or supervisors.

All personal and crisis related issues should be referred to a school counselor or community based agency only. One teacher must not be the final counselor/contact person for the student during crisis situations. There should always be dual contact where two staff members are providing much needed support for a student. Remember: It could be that one staff member that claims they are trying to play hero. They then in turn, use this hero status as a cover to harm minor students in school based on the motives they overtly created within a specific community over a period of time.

All sports related and school related activity information should easily be imparted to each involved student during school hours. Any change of venues for sports events or activities can be reported to students via e-mail texts. If any school staff member calls a student's home, they should be respectful by requesting to speak to the parent/parents or guardians first. They should then leave a message for the parents only. They should log the time, date, reason for the call, who they spoke with, and outcome. A teacher should never make calls to a students home for any reason that is not school related. Any unwarranted or excessive calls from a teacher to a student or from a student to a teachers' home should be considered harassment and should be reported immediately.
Every sport event should have dual coach involvement at all times. One teacher, coach or staff member should never be in sole control over any sport activity by themselves. School outings, and Statewide competitions, etc... involving travel with minor students should also include more that one teacher or staff at all times. This is true no matter how small the school district might be. No excuses.

2. Adult Significant Others-

All educational staff members must not use their positions for access to exposing their minor students to their adult dating relationships period. Spouses should be introduced in public. However, the teacher or staff member should not initiate personal conversations between their adult significant others, friends, or family members and their minor students. If safety or exploiting issues arise, and initial contact traces back to an educational staff member, the staff member should be held accountable for exposing that minor to their personal adult friend, etc....
A teacher/school staff member's dating life and personal life should remain separate from their students.

3. Personal Photos and Photoshoots-

All personal photos and photoshots taken should be school related and paralleled to school activities.
All photography sessions with photographers where students are involved must include a teacher and one administrative staff or school principal. Parent or guardians must be made aware of the photo shoot in writing beforehand. Signatures of approval must be in writing, and on file prior to each minor student involvement.
Photographs must be provided for each minor student, their parents, and school administration for review. Inappropriate photos taken must be given to authorities for follow up and dealt with according to educational school policies.

4. "Grooming", where an adult educational staff member encourages their minor students to step beyond school policies to create personal or intimate relationships should not be allowed period. All dating and personal friendships between adult teachers and their former students must begin:
-After that student graduates from high school and is no longer enrolled as a student within any school district.
-When the minor is at least 18 years of age.
If a personal relationship between an educational staff member and their minor student begins immediately once the student graduates from high school, and that teacher had access and outside contact with that student while that student was a minor...