Williamsburg, VA
School's out; camp's in session. And we all know that the Business Offices are busier than ever preparing for a new school year. As associations, what can we be doing to help in this endeavor? How can we provide helpful oversight to help school's improve safety and rise to the level of "best practice"?
In this presentation, Caryn Pass and Megan Mann will discuss a checklist each school can utilize to increase student and employee safety and minimize liability for the schools. We will briefly discuss each item and how the summer is the optimal time to reflect on these topics and prepare documentation in advance of the fall.
Summer homework includes what we call the "Summer Seven Checklist":
- Activities and Field Trips: do our schools have the best forms in place to provide consistent protections for the school?
- Handbook Policies: when was the last time our schools reviewed their handbooks to ensure best practice and legal compliance?
- Sexual Abuse: what schools should be thinking about now to prevent abuse and to prepare for allegations if the worst case occurs.
- Transgender students: have our schools taken the time to think about creating safe spaces for transgender students?
- Adults on campus: Are our schools revisiting hiring, service provider, and visitor policies to ensure that we are properly vetting the adults we invite onto our grounds?
- Adult-Student Boundaries: what steps should schools be taking to educate adults on appropriate boundaries?
- Employee Harassment and Discrimination: now, more than ever, our schools need to be aware of the liability associated with harassment claims and inconsistent employment practices that may give rise to discrimination claims. How can they take steps to minimize such liability?
The list could go on, but during our time together, we can assess these Summer Seven critical items and address several more as we go!