Committee reviews draft tutoring-for-pay rules limiting staff tutoring of current students

The School Committee reviewed a proposed policy on private, paid tutoring Oct. 23 that largely tracks guidance from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and earlier model language.

The draft defines tutoring as paid private instruction and says district employees may not solicit private tutoring work from students or families, may not tutor students currently in their class, and may not use school facilities, materials or district websites to advertise or conduct private tutoring. The draft permits a teacher to tutor a student when the relationship is initiated by a parent or guardian, but it requires written disclosure if the student may later be under the teacher's authority in the district. "A teacher may provide tutoring when the relationship is initiated by the parents or guardians...but if the student is, or in the future may be, under the teacher's authority, the teacher will need to provide a written disclosure," a presenter said.

Why it matters: Committee members said they wanted clearer guardrails to prevent conflicts of interest and to avoid using district resources for private gain. The draft also allows principals to provide parents with lists of tutors but says those lists should not include a student's current teacher as a tutor for that subject.

Next steps: The committee did not vote on the policy and asked that it be reviewed by the policy subcommittee alongside related ethics provisions. Administrators said the language is aligned with MASC-reviewed guidance and recommended inclusion in district policy.