School Board Policy 903 Addendum A - Administrative Guidelines for Visitors to School Buildings and Sites

Adopted: november 19, 1973
REVISED: october 24, 1994
revised: october 9, 1995
revised: june 10, 2017
revised: december 10, 2018
Revised: April 16, 2021

These guidelines are intended to assist in the implementation of School District #624 Policy 903, Visitors to School District Buildings and Sites.

I. Visitor Accommodations and Limitations

A. Parents, citizens, alumni and other adult visitors are welcome and encouraged to visit the White Bear Lake Area Schools; however, the school district reserves the right to decline or withdraw permission for parents, citizens, alumni and other adult visitors to visit district schools if deemed necessary to ensure the physical or emotional safety of students and staff of the district or to prevent the disruption of the district’s educational programs. These rules are in effect for all school activities, functions and meetings.

B. Visitors must, upon entering any school building, first come to the administrative office so that they may be directed to the teacher, student or class they wish to see.

C. Parents wishing a conference with a teacher should not expect to interrupt the teacher’s class, but rather must telephone the school in order to arrange for such an appointment in advance. In the event of an emergency requiring that parents have immediate access to their student, parents may either call or go to the office to:

1. Explain the circumstances of the emergency; and

2. Request that their student be called to the office to meet with them and/or talk with them on the telephone, if doing so does not disrupt the educational program.

II. Expectations of Visitor Conduct 

A. Certain conduct including but not limited to those listed below, occurring in person or via email, text, voice message, or other are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

1. Inappropriately raised voices, shouting or yelling;

2. Obscene or foul language;

3. Insulting a staff member’s intelligence, judgment or professionalism;

4. Threats, intimations or suggestions of violence or other intimidating types of behavior; and

5. Unpermitted and unwelcome touching of any nature, regardless of the degree of force used.

B. In the event that any such conduct occurs, the following steps may be taken:

1. The visitor will be informed that the conduct violates district policy and a copy of this policy will be given to the visitor.

2. The visitor will be told that if the behavior continues, the discussion will be terminated.

3. The visitor will be told that a memorandum of the incident will be prepared and maintained in the district’s files.

4. The incident will promptly be reported to the building administration and the superintendent.

5. The building principal will write a letter to the visitor that includes a summary of the incident and, if deemed appropriate, specific restrictions on future visits.

6. If deemed appropriate, an administrator or principal will advise the visitor(s) that they are prohibited from school property for a period of up to six months from the date of notice and that violation of the directive will result in a report to the police pursuant to state statute. In addition, the person may be issued a trespass notice.

C. In the event that the visitor is prohibited from coming onto school property, arrangements will be made to conduct statutorily required meetings, such as IEP team meetings, at either another district facility or at a public meeting place.

III. Staff Expectations

A. In applying this policy, staff members must always be aware that there is an important distinction between declining to be treated in an unacceptable or disrespectful manner and, on the other hand, refusing to carry out a legitimate request for information or assistance. The former is not a reason for the latter. Timelines created by a statute or a district policy for making a response to an otherwise legitimate request must be observed even while the issue of unacceptable or disrespectful conduct is being addressed.

IV. Communications

A. It is expected that Board Policy 903 and these administrative guidelines will be broadly communicated via district and building publications and the district web page.