APS Policies & PIPs

Yorktown High School Title IX Coordinator

Danielle Harrell,

Assistant Principal

703-228-5405

Ms. Harrell

APS Title IX Information

The Acceptable Use Policy summary in use by the comprehensive high schools in Arlington, including Yorktown, Washington-Lee, and Wakefield High Schools is available online by clicking here.Under SBP 45-2, APS considers the safe and appropriate use of the Internet and networked resources to be essential to the safety and welfare of the school division. APS also supports the use and integration of technology to reach educational goals, including those defined by the Virginia Standards of Learning for Computer/Technology, APS curricula, and the Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel (TSIPs).

Procedures for Acceptable Use of Electronic Networked Resources & Internet Safety

• All users accessing school system electronic networked resources, including the Internet, are expected to use these resources for instructional purposes or to conduct business of the school division.
• All APS students and staff are prohibited from using the division’s computer equipment and communication services for sending, receiving, viewing, or downloading illegal or inappropriate material via the Internet.
• Students are prohibited from accessing materials that APS deems to be harmful as defined in Virginia Code §18.2-372 dealing with obscenity.
• Under no circumstances may an employee use APS equipment to engage in any activity that is illegal or otherwise expressly prohibited, such as political activity or lobbying activity prohibited by law.  All use shall be conducted in a thoughtful, considerate, responsible, and legal manner.
• APS has implemented an Internet safety program to meet mandates of the Code of Virginia § 22.1-70.2 Chapter 52, and all students and staff members will receive instruction in Internet safety in areas such as personal safety, cyber bullying, cyber security, and intellectual freedom and copyright.

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a state law that ensures that “guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees.”

“Records” include all printed documents, emails, videos and electronic files created by staff or documents that reflect the work of the school division. This means minutes and documents from most meetings as well as all APS official records are subject to public scrutiny with the exception of:

• Scholastic records and personnel records containing information concerning identifiable individuals;
• Writings protected by the attorney-client privilege or the attorney work product doctrine;
• Tests and examinations (subject to certain qualifications); and
• Vendor proprietary information software.

There are many other exceptions listed in the State Code.

The Freedom of Information Act covers only documents (in any form) that exist. This includes documents that are in the computer (either home or APS) if it deals with the business of the school division.  FOIA does not require APS to create a document, nor does it require APS to provide information that is not in any document.

Requests must be responded to within five working days, so please forward immediately. The law authorizes the Arlington Public Schools to charge the costs of total staff time for searching and copying.

All requests for documents that require more than 15 minutes of staff time should be referred to the Assistant Superintendent, School and Community Relations, for appropriate charges and handling.  In addition, the Assistant Superintendent, School and Community Relations is available to assist all school administrators and staff to determine appropriate actions required to ensure that APS complies with the Act.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) Privacy Rule protects the privacy of individually identifiable health records.

Procedure for Implementation

Any questions related to the sharing or maintenance of information related to student medical information should be directed to the Assistant Superintendent, Student Services (extension 6060) or the Arlington County School Health Bureau Chief at 703.228.1657.

In compliance with the Virginia Code, every school has written school crisis, emergency management, and medical response plans.

• The Code of Virginia, in § 22.1-137.1, requires all public schools to participate in specific drills throughout the year.
• The Code of Virginia § 22.1-137 states that in Virginia public schools, fire drills are held once a week during the first 20 school days of each school session, and more often if necessary, and then once a month for the rest of the school session

Below is the required School Board Policy on sexual misconduct. It provides guidelines on sexual misconduct and abuse related to communications, physical contact and social interaction with students as well as other areas you should review.

Click here for a copy of School Board Policy 35-4.10 Guidelines for Prevention of Sexual Misconduct and Abuse.

School Board Policy (SBP) 35-4.10 responds to the Virginia Department of Education’srecommended guidelines on sexual misconduct and abuse approved by the Board of Education on March 24, 2011.  These guidelines are available for review on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall website, document 4874, “Guidelines for the Prevention of Sexual Misconduct and Abuse in Virginia Public Schools.”

All teachers who use or plan to use Social Media platforms as employees must complete, on an annual basis, the Social Media Usage Reporting Form. Click here to fill out the Yorktown High School S.M.U.R.F. online.

School Board Policy(SBP) 20-2.215 Acceptable Use of Social Media clarifies how and when social media sites may be used by APS staff to facilitate communication among groups ofstudents or members of the school community to further the instructional program of APS.

• All staff wishing to use social media should review the SBP and PIP on social media and use the APS Social Media Registration Form to register their use.  Staff also must include the information on their course syllabus or activity materials.
• APS requires, through its SBP and PIP 45-2 Acceptable Use of Electronic Networked Resources and Internet Safety Acceptable Use  that the use of any electronic media by employees or students should at all times be professional in content and related to the students’ instructional program or school-sponsored extracurricular activities.
• SBP 35-4.10 Prevention of Sexual Misconduct and Abuse requires that:  “Adults must restrict one-on-one, electronic communication with individual students to accounts, systems and platforms that are provided by and accessible to Arlington Public Schools.”

For more information or additional questions, contact the Office of School and Community Relations at extension 6005 for assistance.

SBP 25-1.17 Student Safety – Bullying/Harassment Prevention states that the school district is committed to creating a safe, caring, respectful learning environment for all students.  Bullying or harassment of students, including bullying based on an actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and mental, physical, or sensory disability, is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated.

The school district’s anti-bullying policy applies to school buildings; school grounds; school-sponsored social events, trips and sporting events; and to buses and bus stops.  Bullying which occurs off of school premises, including misuse or inappropriate use of technology (cyber bullying) is also prohibited and subject to school discipline when the order, safety or welfare of the school or its students is affected asa result of such out-of-school actions.

Procedures for Reporting

• Staff members should view bullying and sexual harassment seriously and intervene promptly when they see a student harassing another student.
• Ensure students know that inappropriate behaviors such as teasing, threatening, spreading rumors, gossiping, unwanted touching, name-calling, pushing, tripping and hitting will not be tolerated.  Staff members that fail to intervene and report instances of bullying may be legally liable for failure to protect a student.
• The Office of Civil Rights requires that we document bullying incidents in three categories – by offender, victim and allegations.  You will be required to make these reports in accordance with APS Policy & PIP 25-1.17, using a different form for each category:
  • SCH-0037 – Reported Allegations of Harassment or Bullying
  • SCH-0038 – Students Reported to Have Been Harassed or Bullied
  • SCH-0039- Students Disciplined for Harassment or Bullying
• Parents should be contacted within two days of the alleged incident with details of the allegation and how the school will resolve the issue.  This should be done without violating the confidentiality of involved parties to the extent possible.
• Students who are victims of bullying should be referred to the school counselor for support.

Students who bully are subject to disciplinary actions in accordance with school district policies and procedures related to bullying behaviors as specified in PIP 25-1.3 Discipline.

Teachers may not tutor employees assigned to their classes, caseloads/rosters or use school buildings to tutor students for pay.

A teacher (to include speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, etc.) may not enter into private, paid tutoring arrangements with students assigned to their classes, caseloads or rosters.  Individuals may not use school buildings to tutor students for pay.  Teachers who are interested in tutoring after-hours must fill out a tutor profile card in the Department of Student Services. Please refer to Policy Implementation Procedure (PIP) 35-3.15 Employment Beyond Normal Workday and School Year for additional information.

The Code of Virginia now requires all local school boards to “adopt and implement policies for the possession and administration of epinephrine in every school, to be administered by a school nurse, an employee of the school board, or a volunteer who is authorized and trained in the administration of epinephrine to any student believed to be having an anaphylactic reaction.” The Arlington School Board will amend the current APS policy by early September to include this provision. After approved, copies of the revised policy will be posted online in September and provided to all administrators.  In addition, Epi-Pens are being provided to each school and program location for this purpose. Annually, designees at each school and a minimum of two staff are to be selected for training on Insulin, Glucagon and Epi-Pen administration. Staff should ask administrators which staff members at their locations have received the appropriate training.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.  The following rights are covered under APS Policy and PIP 25-1.9 Privacy Rights and Regulations.

Rights and Procedures

• School officials shall have access to student records only for legitimate educational purposes and to carry out their responsibilities to each student.
• The release of student record information to others depends upon a written release from the parent/guardian, student 18 years old or over, or legally emancipated minor.  Under certain circumstances and applicable laws, information may be released to other agencies, such as Child Protective Services, without parent permission.
• Parents have the right to inspect, review, and confirm the accuracy of the student’s educational record. They may seek to amend their child’s records believed to be inaccurate or misleading.
• Any amendments to a student’s educational record, including destruction of academic, disciplinary, personal data card, assessments, and immunization records, should be done through approval of the Assistant Superintendent, Student Services or designee.
• Parents have a right to file a complaint regarding records violations with the U.S.Department of Education.
• Parents or guardians have a right to obtain a copy of the student record policy of the school district.  This information is summarized annually in the APS Handbook.
• Parents have a right to request complete copies of all educational information in their child’s file. APS typically does not charge for copies requested within reasonable time frames.  Repeated requests for copies of the same record may result in a charge. Please contact the APS Office of Pupil Services if you have questions.
• Federal law requires that the school district comply with parent requests for access to records within 45 days or less. The district would also include requests for copying records within this timeline as well. It is in rare instances that it should take this length of time.

After reviewing each section, please click the following link to open the APS Policies & PIPs Overview Acknowledgement form. Log in using your APS Google credentials. Your electronic signature will serve in lieu of a paper form, indicating that you have received all of the included documentation, have access to it, know how to locate it, and have thoroughly reviewed it, as required by the Arlington Public Schools.Should there be questions about specific policies and procedures, feel free to contact the following staff members prior to proceeding:

• 10 School Board: Melanie Elliott (extension 6015)
• 20 Instruction: Connie Skelton (extension 6145)
• 25 Student Services: Brenda Wilks (extension 6060)
• 30 Administration, Boundaries, and 25 Transfers/Discipline: Cintia Johnson (extension 6008)
• 30 Printed Materials, Political Activity, & FOIA: Linda Erdos (extension 6005)
• 35 Personnel: Betty Hobbs (extension 6110)
• 40 Finance & Management Services: Deirdra McLaughlin (extension 7654)
• 45 Information Services & 30 Planning and Evaluation and Accreditation: Rajesh Adusumilli (extension 6142)
• 50 Operations, Facilities & Equipmeny: John Chadwick (extension 6600)

After you have reviewed all of the sections of this area, and are ready to acknowledge your receipt of this information, you may click the link for the Acknowledgement Form. You will be prompted to log in to your APS Google account. (Please be sure you have logged out of all other Google accounts before proceeding, or you will see an access denied error.) Once you are ready to complete this section:

SBP 25-1.11 Safety of Students and Child Abuse and Neglect – CPS states, “An abused or neglected child shall mean any child fewer than eighteen years of age whose parents or other person responsible for his care creates or inflicts, threatens to create or inflict, or allows to be created or inflicted upon such child a physical or mental injury by other than accidental means, or creates a substantial risk of death, disfigurement, impairment of bodily or mental functions; neglects o rrefuses to provide care necessary for his health; abandons such child; or commits or allows to be committed any sexual act upon a child in violation of law.”

Procedures forReporting

• AnyAPS employee who observes evidence or has any suspicion of physical, sexual, or mental abuse or neglect of a child must report this to the school principal.
• If a staff member is involved, the principal/designee must report the incident immediately to the Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources, or designee.  If a staff member is not involved, the principal must report the incident to the Assistant Superintendent, AdministrativeServices.
• A report must be filed immediately by the principal or designee with CPS.  In reports that must involve the Police, the principal/designee must ask if CPS or the principal/designee needs to call the Arlington County Police.

Virginia Code §63.2-1509 states, “Any person required to file a report pursuant to this section who fails to do so as soon as possible, but no longer than 24 hours after having reason to suspect a reportable offense of child abuse or neglect, shall be fined not more than $500 for the first failure and for any subsequent failure not less than $1,000.”

SBP 25-1.11 Safety of Students and Child Abuse Neglect – Child Protective Services (CPS) states, “All students should have the right to learn in a safe and protective learning environment.”

SBP 30-5.1 No Smoking Policy states, “Smoking, chewing or any other use of tobacco products by staff,students and visitors is prohibited on APS property.”  PIP 30-5.1 states that school property means all property owned, leased, rented or otherwise used by the school system, including, but not limited to interior portions of buildings, school grounds, athletic fields, school buses, other vehicles used to transport students, APS-owned vehicles that do not transport students, etc.

The 2013 General Assembly passed House Bill 2028 and Senate Bill 986, effective on July 1, 2013, to require that every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license shall provide evidence of completion of certification or training in emergency first aid (EFA), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of automated external defibrillators (AED). The certification or training program shall be based on the current national evidence-based emergency cardiovascular care guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external defibrillator, such as a program developed by the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross. This is a one-time requirement for initial or renewal licenses.