Visitors on School and District Property Procedures
Visitors on School and District Property
The Cache County Board of Education is authorized by Utah law to own and operate district property, to make and enforce rules for the control and management of district property, and to do all other things necessary for the maintenance and success of schools.
Although district property is publicly owned, district properties are not unconditionally open to the public.
The board will regulate public access to all district properties.
Definition(s) “Visitor” - includes any and all persons entering Cache County School District properties, who are not employees assigned or students enrolled at a specific location. This includes, but is not limited to: parents/legal guardians, family members, vendors, contractors, and service providers. “District property” - means a property which is owned by the Cache County School District. “District/school administrator” - means a certified administrator who is responsible for the supervision and management of a district property.
Types of District Property Visits
- Scheduled visits: Any type of meeting on district property with district employees should be scheduled in advance. Meetings with staff to discuss a student’s academic experience should be scheduled in advance so that all necessary participants are available to attend and sufficient time is allotted. Also included in scheduled meetings should be observations of classrooms or instruction and possible educational placement or programs proposed for the student.
- Unscheduled visits: Meetings to discuss pressing issues will be accommodated, provided that the necessary participants are able to attend with minimal disruption to the
educational environment or an employee’s assigned duties.
- District/school events: Open events such as concerts, fairs, performances, athletic events, and assemblies may be opened to the public in addition to the local school community. D. Non-school related meetings: Meetings between an employee and another individual who has been invited to a district property should occur outside the employee’s scheduled work time (before/after school or work, during lunch or scheduled breaks). These meetings should not interfere with the employee’s ability to prepare for or conduct their work.
- Unauthorized visits: These are defined as visits made by individuals who have not received authorization from the district/school administrator to enter a district property. This includes individuals who have been banned, trespassed, and/or been given prior notice that they are not allowed on district property. These individuals will be directed to the front office to speak with administration and/or escorted off district property.
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- Presentations to students: Defined as presentations and events conducted by guest speakers and/or district employees. These individuals must comply with the requirements outlined in the General Requirements for Visitors on School and District Property, prior to making their presentation.
- Volunteer visits: Defined as volunteers who are properly recognized by the school or district and who are performing an approved service as assigned by the school or district (e.g., assisting with classroom/event preparations, tutoring, mentoring, and/or chaperoning of students).
General Requirements for Visitors on District Property
- All visitors must report to the front office when entering and leaving the district property. B. Visitor procedures do not apply to district employees who are regularly assigned to a specific district property.
- Notices shall be displayed on district property, indicating that all visitors are required to register with the front office and obtain authorization to remain on the district property. D. Visitors lacking a district-issued ID badge may be asked to present photo identification.
- All visitors must check in, indicating their name, the purpose of their visit, and the name of the person or location they intend to visit.
- All visitors must pick up a visitor badge and wear it at all times while on district property. G. All visitors should proceed directly to the location of their scheduled meeting. H. At the conclusion of their visit, visitors shall return to the front office, check out, and return their visitor badge.
- District/school administration may reasonably limit the time, duration, frequency, and location of visits.
- All visitors must be respectful and comply with all state laws, local board policies, and district administrative procedures.
Visitors to Classrooms or Other Instructional Areas
- The district/school administrator has the discretion to restrict visitor access to particular classrooms or other areas on the district property.
- Visitor access on district property may also be restricted at certain times, such as, but not limited to, while standardized testing or other student assessments and emergency
procedures are being conducted.
- As classrooms and other instructional areas are most vulnerable to disruption, specific conditions may be required of visitors, including but not limited to:
1) remaining in a designated area or seat;
2) refraining from speaking to students while the class or activity is in progress; 3) refraining from entering or leaving the area while the activity is underway;
4) requiring that the visitor be chaperoned; and/or
5) limiting visits to particular times or lengths of time.
District School Entrances and Timeframes for Visitors
All exterior perimeter doors shall be locked during the school day and at other times as designated by the superintendent or district/school administrator. Thereafter, all exterior doors will remain locked, and visitors will use the main door to gain access into the building.
There may be times, such as before school drop off and during high school lunch periods, when it is necessary for exterior doors to be unlocked. When this is the case, the door must be visually monitored by
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a district employee at all times. Propping open exterior doors is prohibited at all times during the school day.
District employees, students, and visitors should be reminded throughout the school year to open exterior doors for visitors trying to gain access to the building. Everyone must go through the proper procedure to gain access into the building at the main entrance.
Management System for Visitors
In an effort to provide an additional layer of safety for our students and employees, and to better manage visitors in our schools, the Cache County School District will utilize an office check-in system to be implemented in all district schools with the purpose of aiding in managing their visitors.
Visitors include any and all persons entering district schools who are not employees assigned or students enrolled at a specific location. The system is a manual paper-based log, which allows district schools to monitor visitors and assist with any other alerts.
General Requirements for Visitors
- All district schools will post signage directing all visitors to check in through the main entrance front office. Visitor entry is restricted to the main entrance only, unless arrangements have been made with district/school administration requiring alternate access.
- All visitors must report to the front office upon arrival to check in by signing the visitor’s log. C. All visitors will be greeted by a district employee, have their identification verified, have the purpose for their visit confirmed, and be given a visitor badge. If the visitor is a parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in a district school, identification will be verified through the student information system and electronic visitor management system prior to admittance to the school.
- Whenever possible, the visit should be scheduled in advance with a district or school employee. District or school administrators reserve the right to reschedule a planned or unplanned visit as they deem appropriate in order to serve the educational needs of students and to avoid disruption of instruction or other district-sponsored activities.
- All valid, approved, government-issued forms of photo identification are acceptable. F. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Driver's License from any state or country
- Identification Card from any state or country
- Passport or Passport Card from any country
- Permanent Resident Cards (Green Card)
- Consulate Card from any country, and/or
- Military Identification Card
- Identification badges or stickers shall be worn so that they are visible on the outermost garment. H. District employees visiting schools shall wear their ID badge and check in at the front office and follow check-in/check-out procedures.
- Upon exiting the building, non-employee visitors shall check out and return their visitor badge to the front office employees. At the end of the day, district employees shall reconcile the visitor check-out sheet to ensure all visitors have left the building.
- Any employee who encounters a visitor without a visitor badge shall escort that visitor to the front office to check in.
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District Guest Network Access for Visitors
The district may provide guest network access to visitors who have an educational function while visiting. Such activities may include educational or business presentations, vendors, community councils, PTA members, and others whose purpose is to meet the educational and business needs of the district. Guest network passwords will be provided on a case-by-case basis and will be managed by the district Technology Department.
The guest network is not intended to be used by employees, students, or visitors to district schools that do not have an approved, legitimate purpose for use of the district network. All guest network usage is monitored for content and logged by the district. Any abuse of the guest network access will be deemed unlawful, and such activity may result in the offending visitor being subject to lawful sanctions and prosecution, as well as a loss of guest network access in the future. Those using the guest network are subject to the same rules and restrictions as students and district employees.
Registered Sex Offenders on District Property
Pursuant to Utah law, schools are protected areas, and individuals identified as registered sex offenders—those required to register with the state due to a conviction for a sexual offense against a child—are not allowed to be in a protected area on foot or in a vehicle except in circumstances where a registered sex offender must be present in order to carry out necessary parental responsibilities.
- The district/school administrator of where the sex offender’s child attends is authorized to allow the parent or legal guardian limited and restricted access to the district property.
- Adult sex offenders shall not be allowed on district property for any reason during the C. school day or during school-sponsored or school-related activities other than circumstances where a parent or legal guardian’s presence is welcomed, required, and/or necessary.
- Any sex offender who desires access to school property to carry out necessary parental responsibilities during a school-sponsored or school-related activity must first contact the principal of the school and request permission to enter onto school property.
- Individuals on the sex offender registry must be accompanied and supervised by a district/school administrator at all times while on district property.
- Under appropriate circumstances, the principal may assign a school employee to escort, accompany, and supervise the parent or legal guardian while on the school campus.
Disorderly Conduct of Visitors
While encouraging visitation, the district has a legitimate interest in avoiding disruption to the educational process, protecting the safety and welfare of students and employees, and protecting district property and equipment from misuse and vandalism.
Unless a court order states otherwise, custodial and non-custodial parents and guardians have the right to attend and participate fully in all significant school, social, sports, and community functions. Parent(s)/guardian(s) are not allowed to exercise their parent/guardian time with the child during regular school hours. This includes physical parent/guardian time and other methods of parent/guardian time, such as telephone, email, instant messaging, video conferencing, and other wired or wireless technologies over the internet or by satellite. In accordance with state law, it is unlawful for any person to annoy, disturb, disrupt, or otherwise
prevent the orderly conduct of activities, administration, or classes of any district property. The
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district/school administrators are vested with authority to limit, control, exclude, or restrict the access of a visitor from a district property who creates or is likely to create an unreasonable and substantial disruption, or appears likely to cause such a disruption to the educational environment; prevent employees from fulfilling their work assignments; or create a safety concern for anyone on the district property. District/school administrators should make every effort to de-escalate the situation, while unsuccessful attempts will result in a directive to the disruptive individual. The disruptive individual will be asked to:
1) stop the unlawful behavior, and may be required
2) to leave the premises.
A visitor who has been excluded will receive a formal written notice of the exclusion, including the district properties excluded from and the duration of the exclusion, and may not enter the specified district property for a period of time designated within the notice.
In the event that the disruptive behavior is severe, law enforcement may be called. Individuals who fail to adhere to the terms of this policy, related procedures, and the lawful directions of district/school administrator or any law enforcement officer acting on behalf of the district, or failure to identify oneself to such district/school administrators or officers when lawfully requested to do so, may be subject to prosecution of criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and/or disrupting the operation of a school.
Visitors Trespassing
Each district property shall, through the use of signs and fences or other enclosures, exclude trespassers from the district property.
In the absence of express permission, all visitors to district property may be deemed to be trespassers on district property and subject to immediate removal by the school district.
The district/school administrator, or an individual with vested authority to act for a district/school administrator, may refuse to allow persons having no legitimate business to enter district property under the board's control. Identification may be required of any person on district property.
An individual is guilty of criminal trespass upon district property if the individual does either of the following:
- Enters or remains without authorization on district property if notice against such entry or remaining has been given by
- personal communication by a district/school administrator or an individual with vested authority to act for a district/school administrator, or
- the posting of signs reasonably likely to come to the attention of a trespasser, or c. fencing or other enclosure obviously designed to exclude trespassers, or
- a current order of suspension or expulsion.
- Enters or remains unlawfully upon district property and
- intends to cause injury or annoyance to a person or damage to district property, or b. intends to commit a crime, or
- is reckless as to whether the person’s presence will cause fear for the safety of another.
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Visitors in violation of this policy are subject to immediate removal from the district property and/or referred to law enforcement for criminal trespassing. Criminal trespass on district property is a violation of the law.
Visitors Disrupting Classrooms/District-Sponsored Events
No person shall be permitted, on district property, to willfully disrupt, alone or in concert with others, the conduct of classes or other district-sponsored events. Conduct that disrupts the educational activities of a district property includes:
- Emissions by any means of noise of an intensity which prevents or hinders classroom instruction or other district-sponsored events.
- Enticement or attempted enticement of students away from classes or other district-sponsored events that students are required to attend.
- Prevention or attempted prevention of students from attending classes or other district-sponsored events that students are required to attend.
- Entrance into a classroom or other district-sponsored event without consent of either a district/school administrator or teacher, through acts of misconduct and/or use
of loud or profane language causing disruption.
Visitors Disrupting District/School Operations
No person may disrupt the operation of the district/school. A person is guilty of disrupting the operation of the district/school if the person, after being asked to leave by a district/school administrator, remains on district property for the purpose of encouraging or creating an unreasonable and substantial disruption or risk of disruption of a class, activity, program, or other function of the district/school.
Examples of disrupting the operation of the district/school include:
- Obstructing or restraining the passage of persons in an exit, entrance, or hallway of any building, or while on district property, without authorization from district/school administration.
- Seizing control of any building or portion of a district property for the purpose of interfering with any administrative, educational, research, or other authorized activity. C. Disrupting a lawful meeting or gathering on district property by intending to prevent, obstruct or interfere with the meeting or gathering by physical action, verbal utterance, or any other means.
Visitors Possessing Intoxicants and Illegal Substances
No person may possess any intoxicating beverage or illegal substance for consumption, sale, or distribution, or be under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances while on any district property, or at any other district-sponsored event.
Visitors Possessing Weapons or Dangerous Materials
No person on district property shall possess a dangerous weapon, including firearms, that in the manner of its use or intended use, is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury except: A. Persons exempt from weapons laws by state statute (law enforcement officers and others).
- Persons authorized to possess a concealed firearm by state statute (concealed weapon permit holders).
- Persons whose possession has been previously approved by a district/school
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administrator, or where the person responsible for the possession or use of the weapon is in possession or control of the weapon and it is present or to be used in connection with a lawful, district/school approved activity.
- Possession on district property is permissible if the possession is on the person's real property or in a vehicle lawfully under the person's control, other than a vehicle owned by the district or used for the transport of students.
- A person under the age of 21 with a permit of any kind to carry a concealed firearm may not carry a concealed firearm on or about school premises.
No person shall possess an explosive, chemical, or incendiary device or parts, as defined in statute, which is dangerous to persons or district property or in those parts of a building, park, stadium or other structure which is being used for an activity sponsored by or through the
district. Unlawful possession of the items or materials in the circumstances prohibited by this section is a criminal offense, punishable under state law.
Classroom Visits
The Board of Education values the partnership of our stakeholders and welcomes their interest in our academic process. To facilitate that partnership, every effort will be made to accommodate requests from stakeholders to visit our facilities. To ensure appropriate access and minimize disruption to the learning environment, the Board of Education developed the following procedure regarding visits to schools and classrooms.
General Information
School and classroom visits must be unobtrusive to the educational process and learning environment and should not occur on an excessive basis. All requests for visits will be coordinated through the building principal, his/her designee, or teacher at least one day in advance. A request made through the teacher or designee must be communicated by the teacher or designee to the building principal as soon as
possible.
In general, visits should not exceed the duration of 60 minutes or one class period. Any exceptions to this time guideline must be approved by the principal or designee. Additional information about school and classroom visits, including the number of people who can participate in a visit, the process for viewing instructional materials, and the protection of the privacy of students, may be obtained from the school’s administration.
Visits by Parents/Guardians of Current Students
Parents/Guardians of current students visit the schools for various reasons, including: A. Participating in school/classroom activities
- Volunteering in their child’s school
- Observing their child in one or more of his/her classrooms
- Observing an educational placement or program that has or may be proposed for their child
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Arrangements for school/classroom visits must be made at least one day in advance. If a special circumstance arises that prevents parents/guardians from giving a day’s notice, they must contact the principal, his/her designee, or teacher as soon as possible to make arrangements. A request made through the teacher or designee must be communicated by the teacher or designee to the building principal as soon as possible.
Visits by Individuals Other Than Parents/Guardians of Current Students In addition to parents/guardians, there are a number of other individuals who visit schools on a regular basis. These individuals include, but are not limited to: A. Parents/Guardians of prospective students
- Community volunteers
- Qualified professionals
- Outside agencies or service providers
- Members of the media
- Student visitors
- Invited guests participating in a specific school/classroom activity
With the exception of members of the media, arrangements for visits by these individuals should be made with the principal or designee as far in advance as possible, but no later than one day in advance.
Parents/guardians of prospective students will be accompanied at all times by the principal or designee during their visit.
Members of the media will make arrangements for visits through the district’s communications coordinator or designee as far in advance as possible. These individuals will be accompanied at all times by the communications coordinator or designee during their visit and must follow district policy regarding student picture permission.
To ensure appropriate access and minimize disruption to the learning environment, the superintendent has developed the following procedures regarding visits to schools and classrooms.
School Classroom Visit Protocols
- School/classroom visits must be unobtrusive to the educational process and learning environment, and should not occur on an excessive basis.
- All visits must be coordinated through the building principal, his/her designee, or teacher. Individuals who are interested in visiting a school or classroom will provide the principal, his/her designee or teacher with detailed
information about their visit (date, time, purpose, etc.) when submitting their request for access to the building. A request made through the teacher or designee must be communicated by the teacher or designee to the building principal as soon as possible.
- Front office staff should monitor the visitor check-in/out sheet.
- All visitors must enter through the main school entrance and register in the front office to obtain a visitor’s badge. This visitor’s badge must be worn at
all times in the building. Anyone not wearing a visitor’s badge will be
directed to the school office. Anyone who does not register with the front
office is on school property without authorization and will be asked to
identify himself/herself and obtain permission to remain on the premises or
leave school grounds immediately. If the visitor refuses to obtain permission
to stay on the premises and won’t leave the school grounds, the principal or
designee will contact the police.
- Any individual who shows up at a school for a visit without making prior
arrangements must speak with the principal or designee about the purpose of
his/her visit and either get permission to remain on school grounds or
determine a more appropriate time to come back and conduct the visit.
- In general, visits should not exceed the duration of 60 minutes or one class
period. Any exceptions to this time guideline must be arranged with the principal or designee. G. When school/classroom visits are being scheduled, the number of participants should be taken into consideration in order to avoid disruptions to the learning
environment.
- Visitors will not be allowed to visit classrooms during testing.
- Visitors are expected to respect the instructional environment and the learning process. If questions arise during a visit while instruction is in progress,
visitors should contact the principal or designee after the visit so they can be
answered during non-instructional time.
- Visitors may view the instructional materials being used by students and/or
teachers if copies of these materials are readily available during their visit.
Otherwise, arrangements can be made to view the instructional materials at
another time.
- Any visitors interested in using audio or video equipment to record school or classroom activities must get approval from the principal or designee. If
approval is granted, visitors must use this equipment in accordance with the
law, and work with the school administrator or teacher to protect the
privacy of other students.
- Visitors must agree that they will not disclose any information about student work groupings, behavior, or classroom contributions that would result in the
identification of individual students.
- If a situation requires a student to be called to the front office of the school to meet with a visitor who is not a parent/guardian, the principal or designee
must be present during the visit except when required to be excluded by an
authorized investigation conducted by law enforcement or child protective
services. A student will not be permitted to leave the school with anyone who
is not identified as his/her parent/guardian or an appropriately authorized
person. No one may visit a student in school unless it is with the specific
approval of the principal or designee.
Guidelines for Outside Agencies or Service Providers Observing in CCSD Schools A. Requests to observe individual students in the school should be provided in writing to the school administration a minimum of three days prior to the requested observation date.
- Individuals requesting to observe a student in an official capacity must provide identification to the school administration and sign in and out at the school office.
- Parents of the student to be observed must provide written permission for the observation and consent to access confidential student records.
- Individuals observing a specific student should sign a “confidentiality agreement” with the understanding that the scope of their observation is limited to the specific student only; and with the stipulation that any information regarding other students or staff members obtained during the observation will not be shared outside of the school.
- School administration is responsible for establishing the time and duration of classroom observations. A specific observation schedule should be provided to the observer, and classroom visits should be defined by a specific timeframe. We recommend a maximum of 60 minutes per visit. The frequency of observations should be mutually agreed upon, as long as the visits are not causing a disruption to the instructional program and the observer does not engage/work with the student. (Attempting to engage a teacher in conversation or asking questions during instruction may be considered a disruption.)
- The outside agency/service provider will be accompanied by a staff member during the classroom observation. If the school cannot provide this support, a staff member from the special education central office may be contacted to assist.
- Cache County School District reserves the right to rescind observation privileges from any individual who does not comply with the guidelines established by the school administration or when such visits disrupt the educational environment, as determined by the building principal.