1411
Policy
Community
Relations
Law
Enforcement
It is the
intent of the board that the employees of the district cooperate with law
enforcement agencies in such a manner that the rights of the school, the home,
civil authorities, and individuals be understood and protected.
The
superintendent is charged with formulation of administrative regulations for
implementation of this policy, including provisions for inservicing
of employees about the rights of individuals.
Such regulations shall include the following:
A.
Removals of Students and Interviews of Students
In dealing with law
enforcement officials, Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools employees are not to
obstruct government operations or unreasonably refuse or fail to aid a peace
officer, but are also to attempt to prevent undue interference with District
operations or educational programming.
1.
Removals of Students by Law Enforcement Officials
Law enforcement
officers should not be permitted to remove a child from school while the child
is properly in attendance, without permission of the child’s parent or
guardian, except when legally authorized to do so. For purposes of this policy, a law
enforcement officer is defined as: sheriffs, coroners, jailers, marshals,
police officers, state highway patrol officers, members of the National Guard
on active service by direction of the Governor during periods of emergency, and
all other persons with similar authority to make arrests. (Neb. Rev. Stat.
§49-801).
Law enforcement
officers may in the line of duty require a student to accompany him or her for
questioning or detention either with or without an arrest warrant. A peace officer has the lawful authority to
take immediate temporary custody of children under the age of 18 with an arrest
warrant, or without a warrant or order of the court when:
(1) the child has
violated a state law or a municipal ordinance and the officer has reasonable
grounds to believe the child committed such violation;
(2) the child is
seriously endangered in his or her surroundings and immediate removal appears
to be necessary for the child’s protection;
(3) the officer believes the child to be
mentally ill and dangerous as defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. §71-908 and that the
harm described in that section is likely to occur before proceedings may be
instituted before the juvenile court;
(4) the officer has
reasonable grounds to believe that the juvenile has run away from his or her
parent, guardian, or custodian;
(5) a probation
officer has reasonable cause to believe that a juvenile is in violation of
probation and that the juvenile will attempt to leave the jurisdiction or place
lives or property in danger; or
(6) the officer has
reasonable grounds to believe the juvenile is truant from school. (Neb. Rev.
Stat. §§43-418 and 43-248).
If a peace officer or
probation officer requests to take custody of a student who is at that time
under the control and jurisdiction of Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools, the
following action is to be taken:
a.
Establish Authority to Remove. The student should
be released after appropriate measures are taken and documented to ensure that
the officer has the authority to take the student. The form attached as Exhibit
“A” to this Policy may be used for this purpose.
b.
Notify Local Law Enforcement. In some instances
there may be orders for custody of a student served by the officers with
authority to arrest from outside the jurisdiction of Ashland-Greenwood Public
Schools. Local law enforcement should be
contacted and requested to participate in or monitor the removal.
c.
Notify Parent of Removal. When a principal or
other school official releases a minor student to a peace officer for the
purpose of removing the minor from the school premises, the principal or other
school official shall take immediate steps to notify the parent, guardian, or
responsible relative of the minor regarding the release of the minor student to
the officer and the place to which the student is reportedly being taken.
Provided, however, when a minor student has been taken into custody as a victim
of suspected child abuse, the principal or other school official is not
required to notify the parent or guardian, but shall provide the peace officer
with the address and telephone number of the minor student’s parents or
guardian.
A student should not
be released to a private detective or “special police officer” who is not an
officer of a Nebraska political subdivision or an officer of an agency of the
federal government without consent of the student’s parent, guardian or
custodian.
2. Interviews of Students by Law
Enforcement Officials
Law enforcement
officers and other law authorities should be urged to contact students for
questioning outside the instructional day and off school premises whenever
possible. When it is appropriate that such questioning occur, the following
guidelines are to be followed:
a.
Interviews not related to District Events. If an interview of
a student is requested during school hours concerning an ongoing investigation
of a crime not related to Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools, questioning should
not take place until the student’s parent, guardian or custodian has been
contacted and permission is given for such interview. The consent should be
documented. The presence of a school employee during the interview is not
necessary.
b.
Interviews related to District Events. If the
investigation relates to an incident which took place on school premises or
during instructional time, it is not necessary to obtain consent of the
student’s parent, guardian or custodian.
In these situations, an employee of the District should be present
during the interview to ensure that the interview relates only to the incident
which took place on school premises or during instructional time or something
which is directly related thereto.
c.
Child Abuse or Neglect. If an investigator represents that
an interview is necessary to collect information concerning an allegation of
child abuse or neglect or an offense involving a family relation and it is
clear that obtaining parental consent for the interview would be impossible or
counter-productive, the interview may be conducted without consent of the
student’s parent, guardian or custodian.
In these situations, an employee of Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools
should be present during the interview to ensure that the interview relates
only to those matters.
d.
Probation Officer Interview. A probation officer
assigned to a student by a court may be allowed the opportunity, on request, to
interview a student on school premises.
In such situations, it is neither necessary nor desirable that a
District employee be present during the interview. It also is not necessary to obtain the
consent of the parent, guardian, or custodian.
3. Disclosure of Student Records
School employees
shall not, in the course of dealing with a peace officer or probation officer,
disclose any confidential student records or information from such student
records other than in response to a court order or subpoena or as otherwise
authorized by state law and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA).
4. Removals and Interviews by Persons
other than Law Enforcement Officials
A person who comes to
school premises to interview a student or remove a student prior to the end of
the student’s instructional day must obtain permission of an administrator or
designee.
Permission to remove
is not to be granted without consent of the student’s parent, guardian or
custodian, or a person authorized by the student’s parent, guardian or
custodian to give such permission.
Permission to
interview on subjects not related to school matters is not to be granted unless
there is a clearly valid and proper reason for the interview and such is not
disruptive to school operations or the student’s educational program. Ordinarily such contacts shall be restricted
to the student’s parent, guardian or custodian or a friend of the family when
an emergency or other similar circumstance exists.
5.
Nothing in this policy shall
prevent an officer or officers without parent permission from participating in school
activities such as:
·
visiting
school and talking with students informally;
·
serving
as a guest speaker in a classroom;
·
providing
instruction to students on drug, alcohol and tobacco use education, gang
resistance or other matters of personal safety; or
·
reviewing with students what is criminal
behavior and the possible consequences of engaging in criminal behavior.
Legal
Reference: Neb. Rev.
Stat. §§43-248; 43-418; 79-294; 79-2,104
20 U.S.C. §1232g
(FERPA)
Adopted:
October 4, 1983
Revised:
November 1, 1994
Revised:
March 3, 1997
Revised:
Revised:
September 20, 2010
1411
Regulation
Community
Relations
Law
Enforcement
Admission
to Building
All law
enforcement shall report to the office of the building principal upon entering
any school buildings unless that officer's presence has been approved in
advance, the officer is in the building at the request of school officials, or
the officer is in the pursuit of an active crime.
Only law
enforcement within jurisdiction within the
Officers
shall state to the building principal, his or her designee or Superintendent,
the purpose and nature of their investigation.
Whenever possible, officers shall be asked to conduct their
investigation outside of school so as not to interrupt the school and learning.
Probation
officers and
Questioning
Law
enforcement officers shall only be allowed to question students with parent or
guardian permission unless:
a) the child is 18 years of age or older
and willingly consents to the questioning,
b) when a crime has been or is suspected
to have been committed on school premises,
c) when an officer is in the building in
the active pursuit of active criminal behavior, or
d) the student(s) are being questioned as a
result of an investigation of child abuse or neglect by the parent or legal
guardian.
In all
other situations law enforcement officers shall obtain parent or legal guardian
permission prior to questioning students.
It shall be the judgment of the Principal or his or her designee that
determines when parents should or should not be contacted in advance. School representative shall be present as a
part of the interview unless a parent or legal guardian is available. School officials shall not participate in the
questioning of the student. Students
shall be notified that they do not have to answer any questions posed to them
by law enforcement and may be given the opportunity to contact a parent or
legal guardian prior to answering any questions in an age appropriate manner.
Removal of
Students by Law Enforcement
Law
enforcement officers shall be allowed to remove students from the school
building(s) only with the knowledge of the building principal or his or her
designee and only in the following situations:
a) the officer has a signed warrant for
the student's arrest;
b) a court order is presented giving
custody of the child to another individual or agency;
c) a student is removed at the request of
the building principal; or
d) a student has been arrested for a crime
committed on school premises or following the active pursuit of an active
crime.
Parent/Legal
Guardian Notification
If
a parent or legal guardian has not been notified in advance.
The building principal or his or her designee shall notify the parent or
legal guardian of any questioning or removal of their child immediately
following the event unless the law enforcement officer assures the building
principal or his or her designee that the officer will be making the contact
prior to the time the child would normally return home or unless the principal
or his or her designee is not permitted to make contact by law enforcement.
Revised: June
20, 2005
Community
Relations Policy
1411 – Form A
1411--Exhibit A
Affidavit
and Release to Remove Student
Date:_____________
The
undersigned hereby states and affirms to the Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools
as follows:
1.
That
I am duly-appointed and acting peace officer employed by
____________________________________ and am currently acting within the scope
of such employment.
2.
That
request is hereby made of the Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools to deliver to me
the following named student:_____________________________________.
3.
That
I am entitled to immediate physical custody of said student by virtue of:
( ) Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-248 for the
reason that said student (1) violated a state or municipal law in my presence,
(2) is believed by me to have committed a felony, (3) is seriously endangered
in his or her surroundings and immediate removal appears to be necessary for
the student’s protection, or (4) is believed to have run away from his or her
parent, guardian, or custodian.
( )
There having been issued a valid warrant for such student’s arrest, a
true copy of which is attached hereto.
(
) There being reasonable grounds
for me to arrest such student without a warrant, such grounds being that: _____________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
(
) Other (specify) the student
being placed under arrest due to following authority:
_________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4. That the undersigned will take immediate action to notify
the parent(s), custodian, or legal guardian of said student that said student
has been taken into custody and the reason or reasons for said custody.
5. That the undersigned has the legal right to take custody of
the student without the consent of said student’s parent(s), guardian,
custodian, or the Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools.
6.
That
any facts or circumstances set out on the back of this affidavit and release are true and correct and are incorporated herein by
reference.
.________________________________.
(Give
complete description of officer’s name and position, including badge number)