Policies of a school district, especially those negotiated with bargaining representatives for the protection of teachers, have the full force and effect of law, and legally bind the school district. Wessington Springs Ed. Assoc. v. Wessington springs Sch. Dist., 467 N.W. 2d 101 (S.D. 1991).
With ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany serving on the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment Task Force, ASBSD has collaborated with the group to re-emphasize the need for school districts to have policies related to reporting child abuse and bullying as state law requires school districts have a child abuse reporting policy (SDCL 26-8C-7) and bullying policy (SDCL 13-32-14).
“ASBSD strongly recommends that school districts review their current child abuse reporting and bullying policies,” ASBSD Director of Policy & Legal Services Gerry Kaufman said.
Child abuse reporting and bullying sample policies are available for member to districts to review:
- JHG: Reporting Child Abuse;
- JFCD: Bullying;
- JFCD-E(1): Bullying – Complaint Report Form;
- JFCD-E(2): Bullying – Complaint Appeal to the Superintendent;
- JFCD-E(3): Bullying – Complaint Appeal to the School Board.
For questions related to the policies and forms, contact Kaufman at gkaufman@asbsd.org or at 605-773-2513.
To access the ASBSD Policy Services website, school board members and administrators must login at http://policy.asbsd.org. Your district’s login and password information has been previously provided to your district’s administration.
If you are not able to access the ASBSD Policy Services website, please contact your district’s administration or ASBSD Policy Services Associate Kay Thompson-Tieszen at kay@asbsd.org.