CCSD unveils draft policy on sexual misconduct
The Clark County School District will host a public roundtable on June 15 at Chaparral High School to unveil a draft policy and regulation on sexual misconduct within the district.
The announcement comes amid growing concern over inappropriate relationships between staff members and students following the arrests of 13 district employees since July.
The community event, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., will allow the public to comment on the proposed policy and regulation developed by a 27-member internal working group. A final draft will be submitted to the School Board for possible approval in July.
“Like many in the community, we are concerned about the number of employees who have been arrested for having inappropriate relationships with students,” CCSD Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky said in a statement. “We want the community to know that we are listening and are committed to ensuring all relationships and communications between employees and students are appropriate.”
A copy of the draft is accessible online at ccsd.net/protectourkids, where the public can also take a survey to provide input on the draft.
The working group included members of employee unions, the district attorney’s office, principals, administrators and the Clark County School District Police Department. It only included one student and no parents.
Among other things, the draft policy would require all employees to immediately report any actual or suspected inappropriate relationship, interaction or communication between staff and students to school district police.
The draft regulation states that employees may only electronically communicate with students on educational matters through approved electronic systems, unless there is an emergency. A list of approved systems will be posted and reviewed annually.
Employees would also be forbidden from communicating with students through personal accounts and forbidden from texting individual students outside of emergency situations.
The draft regulation also encourages electronic communications with groups of students rather than with individual students.
The district’s sexual misconduct problem was explored in the Review-Journal’s recent three-part Broken Trust series, which found that the teachers’ union contract and a lack of employee training and clear policies may play a significant role in the recent spate of arrests.
Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4630. Follow @AmeliaPakHarvey on Twitter.
Proposed regulation on sexual misconduct
The draft prepared by the 27-member internal group would:
— Prohibit text messaging between CCSD employees/representatives and individual students (unless in an emergency);
— Allow electronic communication only through approved platforms (unless in an emergency);
— Encourage electronic communications, including text messages, with groups of students rather than individual students;
— Prohibit electronic communications with students between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. (unless in an emergency);
— Prohibit employees/representatives from using personal accounts to communicate with students “over whom they have direct contact, impact or control”;
— Require all CCSD employees/representatives to immediately report any actual or suspected sexual misconduct to CCSD school police.
