Policy 1210 – Communicating With Parents/Guardians (Including Crisis)

Communication sponsored by individual schools shall be used as a means of further informing the public regarding school activities. All school-sponsored communication shall be reviewed/approved by the building principal and/or his/her designee.

ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ-level communications directed to parents/guardians, such as those involving districtwide bond referenda, budget matters, boundaries, school enrollments, curriculum changes, transportation, food services or the like, shall be approved by the Superintendent and/or his/her designee. Where such information has previously appeared in an official district communication, it may be copied and/or reproduced exactly for dissemination without prior approval of the Superintendent and/or his/her designee.

Parents/guardians shall be informed of incidents occurring on school premises that pose a threat to the future health, safety and/or life of staff and/or students as expeditiously as possible.  All such communication shall be consistent with legal and ethical principles regarding the privacy rights of students and their families.

LEGAL REF.: Wisconsin Statutes

  • Sections  19.31 [Public policy on access to record information]
  • 118.125 [Confidentiality of student records]
  • Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act  [Confidentiality of student record information]

CROSS REF.:

  • 1212, Non-English Language Version Printed Materials
  • 1220, Cable Television
  • 1520, Notification of Materials and Literature to Students
  • 2810, Incident Reporting
  • 3600, School Safety
  • 5910, Children of Divorced or Separated Parents
  • 6470, Student Records
  • Emergency Operations Plan

AFFIRMED: December 28, 1990

REVISED:

  • May 11, 1999
  • February 25, 2003
  • December 19, 2006
  • July 24, 2018

Rule 1210 – Communicating With Parents/Guardians (Including Crisis)

  1. General:
    1. All school-sponsored communications shall be reviewed/approved by the building principal and/or his/her designee.
    2. School-sponsored communications shall be objective, ethical and factual.
    3. School-sponsored communications shall not include material of a partisan political or religious nature.
  2. Crisis communications:
    1. Incidents occurring on school premises or during school-sponsored activities that pose an immediate threat to staff and/or students shall be communicated to parents/guardians as expeditiously as possible.
    2. The Chief Communications Officer shall draft all crisis communications.
    3. Messages shall include facts about the incident that are in line with legal and ethical principles regarding student privacy, and will be sent in the most expeditious manner available (e.g. phone call, text, email, etc.).
    4. The district will collaborate with local law enforcement agencies, fire departments and/or Kenosha County Emergency Management to draft and disseminate appropriate, timely messages when necessary.
    5. In health related situations, the district will follow instructions from the Kenosha County Division of Health regarding if, when and how to notify parents/guardians.
    6. The Office of Communications will draft any necessary media releases and the Chief Communications Officer will handle all media inquiries.