Policy 4158 - Employee Security

The Board of Education desires to provide a safe and orderly work environment for all employees. As part of the district's comprehensive safety plan, the Superintendent or designee shall develop strategies for protecting employees from potentially dangerous persons and situations and for providing necessary assistance and support when emergency situations occur.

 

Any person who threatens the safety of others at any district facility may be removed by the Superintendent or designee in accordance with Board Rule 3515.2 - Disruptions.  Any employee against whom violence or any threat of violence has been directed in the workplace shall notify the Superintendent or designee immediately.  As appropriate, the Superintendent or designee shall initiate legal and security measures to protect the employee and others in the workplace.  Such measures may include seeking a temporary restraining order on behalf of the employee pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure 527.8 and/or a gun violence restraining order pursuant to Penal Code 18150 and 18170.

 

Upon request by an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, the Superintendent or designee shall provide reasonable accommodations in accordance with Labor Code 230-230.1 and the accompanying administrative regulation to protect the employee's safety while at work.

 

The Superintendent or designee may pursue legal action on behalf of an employee against a student or the student's parent/guardian to recover damages for injury to the employee's person or property caused by the student's willful misconduct that occurred on district property, at a school or district activity, or in retaliation for lawful acts of the employee in the performance of the employee's duties.

 

The Superintendent or designee shall provide staff development in crisis prevention and intervention techniques, which may include training in classroom management, effective communication techniques, procedures for responding to an active shooter situation, and crisis resolution.

 

In accordance with law, the Superintendent or designee shall inform teachers, administrators, and/or counselors of crimes and offenses committed by students who may pose a danger in the classroom.

 

The Superintendent or designee may make available at appropriate locations, including, but not limited to, district and school offices, gyms, and classrooms, communication devices that would enable two-way communication with law enforcement and others when emergencies occur.

 

Employees shall not carry or possess pepper spray on school property or at school activities except when authorized by the Superintendent or designee for self-defense purposes.  When allowed, an employee may only possess pepper spray in accordance with administrative regulations and Penal Code 22810.  Any employee who is negligent or careless in the possession or handling of pepper spray shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary measures.

 

Employees shall take immediate action upon being made aware that any person is in possession of a weapon or unauthorized injurious object on school grounds or at a school-related or school-sponsored activity. Employees shall exercise their best judgment as to the potential danger involved and shall do one of the following:

When informing the principal about the possession or seizure of a weapon or dangerous device, an employee shall report the name(s) of persons involved, witnesses, location, and the circumstances of any seizure.

 

In order to maintain confidentiality when providing information about student offenses to a counselor or teacher, the principal or designee shall send the staff member a written notification that a student has committed an offense that requires review of a student's file in the school office. This notice shall not name or otherwise identify the student. The staff member shall initial the notification and shall also initial the student's file when reviewing it in the school office.

 

When requested by an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, the district shall provide the employee reasonable accommodations which may include the implementation of safety measures, including:

 

An employee may use reasonable and necessary force for self-defense or defense of another person, to quell a disturbance threatening physical injury to others or damage to property, or to obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects within the control of a student.

 

An employee shall promptly report to the principal or other immediate supervisor any attack, assault, or physical threat made against the employee by a student or by any other individual in relation to the performance of the employee's duties, and any action the employee took in response. Reports of an attack, assault, or threat shall be forwarded immediately to the Superintendent or designee.

 

In addition, the employee and the principal or other immediate supervisor shall promptly report to local law enforcement authorities an attack, assault, or physical threat made against the employee by a student.

 

When a student commits certain offenses that may endanger staff or others, the following procedures shall be implemented to notify staff members as appropriate:

1. Acts That Are Grounds for Suspension or Expulsion

a. The Superintendent or designee shall inform the teacher(s) of each student who, during the previous three school years, has engaged in or is reasonably suspected to have engaged in any act, except the possession or use of tobacco products, that would constitute a ground for suspension or expulsion as specified in AR 5144.1 - Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process. This information shall be based upon district records maintained in the ordinary course of business or records received from a law enforcement agency.

 

b. Upon receiving a transfer student's record regarding acts committed by the student that resulted in suspension or expulsion, the Superintendent or designee shall inform the student's teacher(s) that the student was suspended from school or expelled from the former district and of the act that resulted in the suspension or expulsion. (Education Code 48201) c. Information received by teacher(s) shall be received in confidence for the limited purpose for which it was provided and shall not be further disseminated by the teacher.

 

2. Offenses Reported to the District by a Court

a. When informed by a court that a minor student has been found by the court to have committed any felony or any misdemeanor involving curfew, gambling, alcohol, drugs, tobacco products, carrying of weapons, a sex offense listed in Penal Code 290, assault or battery, larceny, vandalism, or graffiti, the Superintendent or designee shall expeditiously notify the school principal.

 

b. The principal shall expeditiously disseminate this information to any counselor who directly supervises or reports on the student's behavior or progress and to any teacher or administrator directly supervising or reporting on the student's behavior or progress whom the principal thinks may need the information in order to work with the student appropriately, avoid being needlessly vulnerable, or protect others from vulnerability.

 

c. Any court-initiated information that a teacher, counselor, or administrator receives shall be kept confidential and used only to rehabilitate the student and protect other students and staff. The information shall be further disseminated only when communication with the student, parent/guardian, law enforcement staff, and probation officer is necessary to rehabilitate the student or to protect students and staff.            

  

d. When a student is removed from school as a result of an offense, the Superintendent shall hold the court's information in a separate confidential file until the student is returned to the district. If the student is returned to a different district, the Superintendent shall transmit the information provided by the student's parole or probation officer to the superintendent of the new district of attendance.

 

e. Any confidential file of court-initiated information shall be kept until the student becomes 18, graduates from high school, or is released from juvenile court jurisdiction, whichever occurs first, and shall then be destroyed.

 

In order to maintain confidentiality when providing information about student offenses to a counselor or teacher, the principal or designee shall send the staff member a written notification that a student has committed an offense that requires review of a student's file in the school office. This notice shall not name or otherwise identify the student. The staff member shall initial the notification and shall also initial the student's file when reviewing it in the school office.

 

When requested by an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, the district shall provide the employee reasonable accommodations which may include the implementation of safety measures, including:

1. A transfer, reassignment, or modified schedule

2. A changed work telephone or work station

3. An installed lock

4. Assistance in documenting domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other crime that occurs in the workplace

5. Referral to a victim assistance organization

6. Another safety procedure or adjustment to a job structure, workplace facility, or work requirement in response to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other crime

 

The Superintendent or designee shall engage in a timely, good faith, and interactive process with the employee to determine effective reasonable accommodations that do not pose an undue hardship on the district. In determining whether an accommodation is reasonable, the Superintendent or designee shall consider any exigent circumstance or danger facing the employee.

 

Upon the request of the Superintendent or designee, an employee requesting a reasonable accommodation shall provide a written statement, signed by the employee or an individual acting on the employee's behalf, certifying that the accommodation is for an authorized purpose. The Superintendent or designee may also request that the employee provide certification of the employee's status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Such certification may include:

1. A police report indicating that the employee was a victim

2. A court order protecting or separating the employee from the perpetrator of the crime or abuse, or other evidence from the court or prosecuting attorney that the employee has appeared in court

3. Documentation from a licensed medical professional or health care provider, domestic violence or sexual assault counselor, victim advocate, or counselor that the employee was undergoing treatment or receiving services for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting in victimization from the crime or abuse

4. Any other form of documentation that reasonably verifies that the crime or abuse occurred, including, but not limited to, a written statement signed by the employee or by an individual acting on the employee's behalf

 

Any verbal or written statement, police or court record, or other documentation identifying an employee as a victim shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed by the district except as required by federal or state law or as necessary to protect the employee's safety in the workplace. The employee shall be notified before any authorized disclosure.

 

Every six months after the date of the certification, the Superintendent or designee may request recertification of the employee's status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking or ongoing circumstances related to the crime or abuse. The employee shall notify the Superintendent or designee if, due to changing circumstances, the employee needs a new accommodation or no longer needs an accommodation.

 

The district shall not retaliate against an employee because of the employee's status as a victim of crime or abuse or for requesting a reasonable accommodation, regardless of whether the request was granted.

 

The Superintendent or designee shall notify employees of the district's policy prohibiting the possession of pepper spray on school property or at school-related activities without prior approval of the Superintendent or designee. Employees wishing to carry pepper spray shall submit to the Superintendent or designee a written request setting forth the need for the pepper spray. The Superintendent or designee shall notify the employee in writing as to whether the request was approved or denied.

 

When approving an employee's request, the Superintendent or designee shall inform the employee of the following conditions:

1. The pepper spray shall be used only in self-defense pursuant to Penal Code 22810.

2. An employee who uses pepper spray other than in self-defense shall be subject to disciplinary action by the district and, in accordance with law, a fine and/or imprisonment.

3. The pepper spray must be stored in a secure place and not be accessible to students or other individuals. Negligent storage of the pepper spray may subject the employee to disciplinary action.