TITLE 6 PRIMARY
AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
CHAPTER 50 INSURANCE
PART 18 USE
OF VOLUNTEERS IN SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS
6.50.18.1 ISSUING
AGENCY: New Mexico Public
School Insurance Authority.
[6.50.18.1 NMAC - Rp,
6.50.18.1 NMAC, 09/01/2014]
[The address of the
New Mexico Public School Insurance Authority is 410 Old Taos Highway, Santa Fe,
New Mexico 87501.]
6.50.18.2 SCOPE:
This part applies to all
school districts, charter schools and other educational entities authorized to
participate in the authority’s risk related coverages.
[6.50.18.2 NMAC - Rp,
6.50.18.2 NMAC, 09/01/2014]
6.50.18.3 STATUTORY
AUTHORITY: Subsection E of
Section 22-29-7 NMSA 1978 directs the authority to establish a policy to be
followed by participating members relating to the use of volunteers, distribute
the policy to participating members and post the policy upon the authority’s
web site.
[6.50.18.3 NMAC - Rp, 6.50.18.3 NMAC, 09/01/2014]
6.50.18.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[6.50.18.4 NMAC - Rp,
6.50.18.4 NMAC, 09/01/2014]
6.50.18.5 EFFECTIVE
DATE: September 1, 2014 unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.
[6.50.18.5 NMAC - Rp,
6.50.18.5 NMAC, 09/01/2014]
6.50.18.6 OBJECTIVE:
To establish a policy to be
followed by participating members relating to the use of volunteers.
[6.50.18.6 NMAC - Rp,
6.50.18.6 NMAC, 09/01/2014]
6.50.18.7 DEFINITIONS:
A. “Regular volunteers” means those persons, including relatives of
students, who commit to serve on a regular basis at a school district, charter
school or other educational entity without compensation.
B. “Spontaneous
volunteers” means those persons who agree to fill an urgent, temporary need
for a school district, charter school or other educational entity without compensation
and who are not pre-registered as a regular volunteer.
[6.50.18.7 NMAC - Rp,
6.50.18.7 NMAC, 09/01/2014]
6.50.18.8 POLICY
FOR REGULAR VOLUNTEERS IN SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS:
A. Participating member schools and school districts make
extensive use of regular volunteers for many of their programs. In seeking and accepting the voluntary
services of qualified, interested individuals, the participating members
recognize that they have basic responsibilities to the regular volunteers as
well as to the students and to themselves.
B. Each
participating member shall be responsible for organizing and managing and
documenting its own regular volunteer program subject to the following
rules. Participating
member schools, school districts and other educational entities shall have in
place policies clearly establishing how and by whom regular volunteers are
appointed and the policies at minimum shall require prior to services:
(1) Provide an application process for all
prospective regular volunteers and doing an FBI fingerprint background check,
and a reference check including, but not limited to any history of drug abuse
or drug dealing, domestic violence, DUI offenses, motor vehicle records checks,
and ethical misconduct in compliance with Section 22-10A-5 NMSA 1978;
(2) providing
all regular volunteers with a job description, outlining specific duties, time
commitment and qualifications for acceptance as a regular volunteer;
(3) providing
appropriate training, supervision and evaluation of regular volunteers; and
(4) instructing
all regular volunteers to understand that failure to obey the code of ethics
and standards of professional conduct as provided in 6.60.9.8 NMAC and 6.60.9.9
NMAC concerning the obligations of school personnel is grounds for dismissal.
C. Regular
volunteers shall not be allowed to begin their service until after their duties
are explained to them and they have accepted in writing the following volunteer
pledge. It is my duty:
(1) to
deal justly and considerately with each student, school employee or other
volunteer;
(2) to
share the responsibility for improving educational opportunities for all;
(3) to
stimulate students to think and learn, but at the same time protect them from
harm;
(4) to
respect the confidentiality of student records and information about students,
their personal or family life;
(5) not
to discriminate or to permit discrimination on the basis of
race, color, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, disability,
religion or serious medical condition against any person while I am on duty as
a volunteer;
(6) to
avoid exploiting or unduly influencing a student into engaging in an illegal or
immoral ethical misconduct or act or any other behavior that would subject the
student to discipline for misconduct, whether or not
the student actually engages in the behavior;
(7) to
avoid giving gifts to any one student unless all students similarly situated
receive or are offered gifts of equal value for the same reason;
(8) to
avoid lending money to students;
(9) to
avoid having inappropriate contact with any student, whether
or not on school property, which includes all forms of sexual touching,
sexual relations or romantic relations, any touching which is unwelcome by the
student or inappropriate given the age, sex and maturity of the student;
(10) to
avoid giving a ride to a student;
(11) not
to engage in sexual harassment of students, other volunteers or school
employees;
(12) not
to engage in inappropriate displays of affection, even with consenting adults,
while on school property or during school events off premises;
(13) not
to possess or use tobacco, alcohol, cannabis or illegal drugs while on school
property or during school events off premises;
(14) to
use educational facilities and property only for educational purposes or
purposes for which they are intended consistent with applicable law, policies
and rules;
(15) to
avoid any violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or
otherwise disorderly conduct when on school property or off campus at school
functions;
(16) to abide by the school’s social media policy to
refrain from using school information technology equipment, hardware, software
or internet access for other than a school related purpose;
(17) to
refrain from striking, assaulting or restraining students unless necessary in
the defense of self or others;
(18) to
refrain from using inflammatory, derogatory or profane language while on school
property or while attending school events off premises;
(19) to
refrain from bringing or possessing firearms or other weapons on school
property except with proper authorization;
(20) not
to be under the influence of alcohol, cannabis or illegal drugs on school
property or at school events off premises; and
(21) to
report, as appropriate under the circumstances, violations of this pledge by
other regular volunteers or school employees.
D. For the mutual
protection of regular volunteers and the participating members, personnel
administering regular volunteer programs shall provide a safe place to work and
clear project organization or direction, establish and inform regular
volunteers of emergency procedures, ensure that regular volunteers understand
that their activities create participating member’s liability, and that ethical
standards apply to them as well as to regular school employees. Participating member personnel shall inform each regular volunteer in writing of the
reserved right to dismiss unsatisfactory regular volunteers and of the
established procedures for doing so.
E. Spontaneous
volunteers are not subject to these rules, but spontaneous volunteers must be supervised at all times by an employee or regular volunteer
of the school district, charter school or other educational entity.
[6.50.18.8 NMAC -
Rp, 6.50.18.8 NMAC, 09/01/2014; A, 12/10/2024]
HISTORY of 6.50.18 NMAC:
History of Repealed Material:
6.50.18 NMAC, Use of
Volunteers in Schools and School Districts, filed 2/9/2010 - Repealed effective
09/01/2014.