Amarillo ISD �Volunteer Training

Volunteer Guidelines & Expectations

Sign In & Out Procedures: All volunteers must sign in using Raptor at the main office of the campus. The first time you sign in, your driver’s license will be scanned. After that, you can scan the barcode of your license on each visit. You will receive a sticker badge that must be worn and easily visible at all times while on campus. Volunteers must return to the office to sign out.

Dress Code: Volunteers must dress in a manner appropriate for their position, setting a positive example for students.

Safety Procedures: If you are on campus during a safety drill or emergency situation, follow the directions of campus personnel. The poster below will be posted in every classroom.

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Volunteer Guidelines & Expectations

Conduct and Prohibited Items: Never arrive to your volunteer assignment while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or use alcohol, drugs, or tobacco during your assignment. Never carry a weapon on school premises or other program sites.

Reporting Abuse or Neglect: Although the student is free to share information with you, there are certain things that you are required by law to tell a campus administrator.

• If a student confides that he or she is the victim of sexual, emotional, chemical, or physical abuse;
• If a student confides that he or she is involved in any illegal activity;
• If a student confides that he or she is considering homicide or suicide.

Should one of these situations arise, you are required to immediately notify the student’s principal AND appropriate agencies. In case of suspected child abuse or neglect, contact the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) at 1-800-252-5400 within 24 to 48 hours. https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Protection/Child_Safety/report_abuse.asp

Note when this information was reported and to whom it was given. Remember, this information is extremely personal, so do not share it with anyone except the appropriate authorities. If you have questions, please ask a campus administrator.

“Texas law requires that any person suspecting that a child has been abused or neglected must immediately make a report. If there is an emergency, call 911 and then call the DFPS Texas Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400. You can also make a report online.

Professionals must make a report no later than the 48th hour after first suspecting a child has been abused or neglected or is a victim of an offense under Section 21.11, Penal Code. A professional may not delegate to or rely on another person to make the report (Texas Family Code, Section 261.101)”.

Volunteer Guidelines & Expectations

Maintain confidentiality: Volunteers must keep all information about the school, including details about students, teachers, parents, staff, and principals, confidential. Discussing any student information violates the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and could result in liability for the volunteer. Confidential information includes any personally identifiable information regarding a student, including, but not limited to:

• Student’s name
• Parent name(s)
• Name of another family member
• Parent address
• A personal identifier (like Social Security number), or
• A list of characteristics that would make it possible to identify the student with reasonable certainty
• Academic and health records
• Test scores and grades
• Family information
• Discipline or behavioral incident information
• Status or accommodations given an academic or developmental special need

For additional information about FERPA and to read the FERPA regulation visit:

https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/faq/what-ferpa

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Volunteer Guidelines & Expectations

Appropriate Interactions with Students:

Physical Contact

• Volunteers should practice appropriate touch: High fives, gentle fist bumps or handshakes (no hugs) are appropriate if students initiate them.
• Restrict other physical contact.
• Use common sense.
• Remember that what you see as simple, friendly affection between you and the student may be viewed as something entirely different by someone else.

Pictures and Recordings

• Volunteers should not photograph or record any students who are not their own; without prior permission from the teacher and/or the campus principal.
• Volunteers should never post photos of students on social media. Both state and federal law protect the privacy of student information, including pictures and recordings of students.
• Volunteers should not photograph or record any students’ work without prior permission from the teacher and/or campus principal.
• Volunteers should never post, distribute, or publish any photograph or recording of any student not their own, even if the teacher or campus principal consents, on any social media site.

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Volunteer Guidelines & Expectations

Appropriate Interactions with Students:

Transportation

• Volunteers are prohibited from transporting a student in their personal car.
• Students must be transported in a school district vehicle for field trips or in the vehicle of a parent or legal guardian.

Communication

• Volunteers should never give the student personal contact information (email, phone numbers, etc.) or take student information.
• Volunteers should never give students gifts, candy or any other item. Opportunities may exist for student recognition, but must be approved by the campus principal and designated staff.
• Communication with the student through the use of electronic media is prohibited. The term “electronic media” includes all forms of social media, such as text messaging, instant messaging, electronic mail (email), web logs (blogs), electronic forums (chat rooms), video sharing websites (for example, YouTube), editorial comments posted on the Internet, and social network sites (for example, Facebook,Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, SnapChat). Electronic media also includes all forms of telecommunication such as land lines, cell phones, and web-based applications.
• The volunteer is prohibited from knowingly communicating with students through a personal social network page.

Volunteer Guidelines & Expectations

Appropriate Interactions with Students:

Appropriate Setting

• All meetings and/or activities with students must take place on the school campus, or as part of a school-sponsored or school-related activity such as a field trip, concert, or athletic game.
• All activities with a student or students must take place in a room with open visibility to the public or on the school grounds in sight of school staff representatives.
• Off campus meetings between the volunteer and a student are strictly prohibited unless under the direct supervision of a school official.

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Removal from the Volunteer List

Volunteers may be removed from service from a campus or the district any time it is deemed necessary and appropriate to do so. If a report is received of possible misconduct or involvement in an inappropriate activity by a volunteer, an investigation will be conducted by the administrator responsible for the campus. The investigation may lead to a report to Child Protective Services, and or law enforcement. This report of misconduct can be a verbal complaint or a written complaint made by a student, employee or community member. Volunteers may be removed for inappropriate behavior or misconduct that impedes the daily operation of the campus.

If circumstance warrants it, the volunteer may be restricted immediately from service to the district, pending the outcome of any investigation.

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Volunteer Guidelines & Expectations

Acknowledgement of Volunteer Guidelines and Expectations:

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Click here and complete the form to verify you have reviewed the Amarillo ISD Volunteer Guidelines and Expectations and the policies therein and agree to apply them to your volunteer service. You acknowledge that failure to follow these policies could result in your dismissal from the volunteer program.

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Thank you for your support and dedication to our students' success!

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