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Perkiomen Valley committee narrows 'outside activities' guidance after debate over teacher tutoring
Summary
District administrators and principals debated whether policy language banning solicitation or acceptance of private customers would prevent teachers who tutor from helping students; the committee agreed to remove newly proposed guidelines and ask administration to draft clearer procedures.
At a Perkiomen Valley School District policy committee meeting, administrators and principals debated proposed clarifications to Policy 319 (Outside Activities) that would restrict employees from promoting or soliciting private tutoring and similar services.
Administrators said the district's solicitor advised against teachers "promoting their services or soliciting business for a service that they provide or outside activity." Ryan Moran, speaking for the administration, said the recommendation was to retain existing policy language and not to add further restrictions. "The administration recommends against teachers promoting their services or soliciting business for a service that they provide or outside activity," Moran said.
The discussion focused on how the policy would apply to common practices, such as counselors maintaining a list of staff members who tutor and parents asking on local parent pages which teacher offers SAT or subject tutoring. "If a student approaches the teacher and says, I need a tutor, I understand you provide tutoring services ... and the teacher responds, yes, I provide that service," one principal said. Concern arose over a line that would prohibit employees from "accept[ing] customers for private enterprise," which some principals said could chill routine, private follow-up conversations between teachers and families.
Committee members pressed for a clearer distinction between active solicitation and ordinary parent inquiries. Several principals said the district historically handled tutoring referrals through counselors' lists, with the counselor serving as the intermediary. "For years, the district has discouraged teachers from promoting and soliciting services like tutoring," Moran said. "The way that we worked with teachers to be able to provide some level of service to students was their name goes on a list with the counselors."
After extended discussion about conflict-of-interest concerns (for example, tutoring a current student) and possible administrative regulations to provide guidance, the committee moved to remove the draft guidelines appended to Policy 319 and leave the core policy language in place while directing administration to develop clarifying administrative regulations. When asked whether to "strike the guidelines," committee members voiced yes votes in sequence: "Doctor Weston? Yes." "Mister Keenan? Sure." The chair then moved on to the next policy.
The committee did not adopt new prohibitions on off‑duty tutoring, but members asked administration to draft clearer procedures and an administrative regulation (AR) that would explain how teachers may put their names on a counselor-maintained list and what disclaimers (if any) should accompany that list. Officials also flagged several unresolved issues for follow-up: whether employees may tutor their own students (conflict-of-interest concern), whether exchanging phone numbers with minors requires guidance, and whether union or co-curricular duties should be treated differently from outside private enterprise.
Administration noted it had no data of widespread violations and asked the committee to provide examples if enforcement or additional restrictions were warranted. The committee's direction leaves the policy text largely intact for now and asks administration to return with an AR or other clarifying language that preserves access to tutoring while reducing conflicts of interest and overt solicitation.
The action taken at the meeting was procedural: the committee agreed to remove the newly drafted guidelines appended to Policy 319 and directed administration to draft clearer administrative regulations outlining how staff may be listed as available tutors and how the district will communicate any disclaimers.
Implementation notes: administration and counsel will draft the AR and report back to the policy committee; counselors currently maintain the tutoring list and principals indicated that practice will remain in place unless the committee directs otherwise.
