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Board reviews updated staff–student communications and grooming policy to comply with new state laws
Summary
In a personnel committee session HR presented updates to Policy 42‑27 to align with Wisconsin Acts 88, 89 and 57: prohibiting grooming behaviors, requiring district‑approved communication platforms, limiting personal staff contact with students and setting guardian notification timelines for alleged misconduct.
HR staff told the Personnel Policy Committee that Policy 42‑27 has been updated to comply with three recent Wisconsin laws affecting staff–student communications and reporting.
Mr. Neer summarized the legal changes: Act 88 classifies certain grooming behaviors as a felony; Act 89 requires districts to adopt policies on appropriate staff communication with students and to include training and consequences for violations; Act 57 requires districts to notify a parent or guardian by 5 p.m. that same school day (or by noon the next calendar day if the district is notified after hours) when the district reasonably suspects conduct covered by the law.
Proposed handbook language would restrict staff communication with students to district‑approved platforms, disallow staff use of personal email or social media accounts to communicate with current students under 18, and list consequences and required training. Committee members pressed for clearer wording about former students and social‑media windows; HR initially had considered an age 21 threshold but reverted to 18 (the legal adult age) and agreed to clarify the language to specify "current students" and the district context.
Teachers and board members emphasized the mandated‑reporter requirement: staff should understand the first call must be to an administrator to ensure student safety and to arrange privacy and logistics, but the employee who received the disclosure should make the DCFS report to preserve firsthand detail. Several teachers requested a formal debrief or follow‑up process for staff after traumatic disclosures; HR said district follow‑up for students exists and acknowledged adult debriefing is an area to strengthen.
HR also noted training would be delivered annually (vector training) and the policy would spell out notification timelines and examples of prohibited behaviors in line with the cited statutes.
