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Board reviews draft professional‑boundaries policy, schedules public hearing July 16
Summary
The board reviewed a draft AG policy to codify professional boundaries and prevent educator misconduct, including limits on one‑on‑one meetings, tighter electronic-communication rules, reporting channels and training; staff will post a redline and hold a public hearing July 16 before markup and a vote.
The Albemarle County School Board reviewed the first draft of a policy titled “Professional Boundaries and Prevention of Misconduct and Abuse” and directed staff to post a redline and hold a public hearing on July 16 for further public comment and markup.
Acting Superintendent Chandra Hayes said the draft responds to issues identified following the alleged misconduct at Hollymeade and that the goal is to strengthen student safety while preserving caring, professional relationships. She said staff compared ACPS practices with peer districts and national literature and produced a draft policy to be placed in Section A of board policies.
Dr. Russell Carlock, who led the policy review, summarized the research and the six priority areas that informed the draft: a clear statement of purpose and scope; rules on staff–student communications and one‑on‑one interactions; reporting channels and investigation protocols; discipline and disclosure of employee violations; vendor and volunteer coverage; and training and parent communication. Among the recommendations staff highlighted:
- Limit routine one‑on‑one meetings to employees with a legitimate educational or health reason and require meetings to be visible and in spaces designated by school administration. - Strengthen electronic‑communication rules so that 1‑on‑1 messages use school systems that parents can access or include parents on communications; the district plans to use ParentSquare to log and make communications observable to guardians. - Clarify reporting pathways that go beyond building principals and permit anonymous reports; include whistleblower protections against retaliation. - Define investigation roles (Title IX coordinator for criminal allegations; principal and HR for boundary violations), require documentation, and spell out disciplinary consequences per policy GBCA.
Carlock said the draft draws on peer districts (Arlington, Fairfax and others) and state guidance, and that procedures will be developed for implementation. Board members asked about counseling‑opt out mechanics, parent notification in multiple languages, applicability to internships and vendors, and whether notifications about administrative actions could be digitized; staff said they will propose procedures and implementation timelines and that next week would include a public hearing and possible red‑lining for board consideration.
What’s next: staff will post red‑line edits, accept written comments and take public testimony at the July 16 hearing before returning recommended procedural language for board review.
