Stevensville School District

PERSONNEL

Volunteers

The District recognizes the valuable contributions made to the total school program by members of the community who act as volunteers.  By law, a volunteer is an individual who:

  1. Has not entered into an express or implied compensation agreement with the District;
  2. Is excluded from the definition of “employee” under appropriate state and federal statutes;
  3. May be paid expenses, reasonable benefits, and/or nominal fees in some situations; and
  4. Is not employed by the District in the same or similar capacity for which he/she is volunteering.

District employees who work with volunteers shall clearly explain duties for supervising children in school, on the playground, and on field trips.  An appropriate degree of training and/or supervision of each volunteer shall be administered commensurate with the responsibility undertaken.

Volunteers who have unsupervised access to children are subject to the District’s policy mandating background checks.

Chaperones

The Superintendent may direct that appropriate screening processes be implemented to assure that adult chaperones are suitable and acceptable for accompanying students on field trips or excursions.

When serving as a chaperone for the District, the parent(s)/guardian(s) or other adult volunteers, including employees of the District, assigned to chaperone, shall not use tobacco products in the presence of students, nor shall they consume any alcoholic beverages or use any illicit drug during the duration of their assignment as a chaperone, including during the hours following the end of the day’s activities for students.  The chaperone shall not encourage or allow students to participate in any activity that is in violation of district policy during the field trip or excursion, including during the hours following the end of the day’s activities.

Any chaperone found to have violated these rules shall not be used again as a chaperone for any District-sponsored field trips or excursions and may be excluded from using District-sponsored transportation for the remainder of the field trip or excursion and be responsible for their own transportation back home.  Employees found to have violated these rules may be subject to disciplinary action.

Cross Reference:
5122 Fingerprints and Criminal Background Investigations

Policy History:
Adopted on: February 2002
Revised on: July 2010