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Chappaqua board proposes rules to allow parents to chaperone or coach students at sponsored competitions
Summary
The board discussed and moved forward a policy to permit parents to serve as volunteer chaperones or temporary athletic coaches at district‑sponsored individual competitions for their own children, subject to fingerprinting, New York State mandated training and board approval.
The Chappaqua Central School District Board of Education discussed and moved forward a policy to allow parents to serve as volunteer chaperones for academic competitions and, in limited cases, as volunteer athletic coaches for individual competitions that require district sponsorship.
Under the framework presented at the meeting, parents may chaperone or coach only for their own child, must be approved in advance by the high school principal, and must meet the district’s volunteer requirements. Those requirements include fingerprinting and New York State mandated child-abuse training for educational settings; the board must approve volunteers in advance of the competition.
Superintendent: "Volunteer chaperones must be fingerprinted. New York state mandated child abuse training in an educational setting and approved by the Board of Education in advance of the competition," the superintendent said when explaining the proposed language. The superintendent also said parents would serve at their own expense when acting as a coach for a single event.
Trustees and staff said the policy is intended to preserve student opportunities when a competition requires the district to provide a chaperone or coach and it would be unsustainable to send staff for one-off events during school time. A board member said two practical constraints drive the change: coaches are often classroom teachers and competitions may occur on school days, and sending employees to such events would create a cost the district does not want to absorb.
The board discussed limits: the volunteer must be the student’s parent (not an unrelated adult or family friend) and the role is event-specific, not a standing appointment to coach multiple students. The superintendent noted the district would consult with the district attorney and that parents serving in these roles would be covered under the district’s insurance "umbrella" while acting on the district’s behalf.
Ending: The policy committee recommended moving the item forward for first reading and possible adoption at the same meeting because of time-sensitive competitions. The board directed staff to finalize language ensuring fingerprinting and mandated training compliance before formal adoption.
