INTERVIEWS WITH STUDENTS

School Interviews. District personnel shall have the authority to conduct investigations and to question students pertaining to infractions of school rules and District matters whether or not the alleged conduct is a violation of the criminal law. The student's parents need not be contacted prior to the interview, except that if a student in grades prekindergarten through sixth is to be interviewed in connection with an alleged incident of sexual abuse of a student by an employee, the parents or guardians of the student to be interviewed shall be notified and shall have an opportunity to observe and hear the interview or to send a representative in their place.

Community Resource Personnel. Area Education Agency, community mental health and other community organization personnel shall schedule interviews with students through the building principal. Permission must be given by the student's parent or guardian for such outside agencies, other than child abuse investigators, to interview students at school.

Child Abuse Investigations. The District shall cooperate with the Department of Human Services in matters relating to alleged cases of child abuse or neglect. As required by law, the building principal shall allow Department of Human Services personnel to have confidential access to a child named in a child abuse report and to other children alleged to have relevant information. The building principal need not report the investigation or interview to the child's parent or guardian.

In cases involving allegations of abuse by school personnel, the investigations must be conducted in accordance with policy 519. If a student in grades prekindergarten through sixth is to be interviewed in connection with an alleged incident of sexual abuse of a student by an employee, the parents or guardians of the student to be interviewed shall be notified and shall have an opportunity to observe and hear the interview or to send a representative in their place.

Law Enforcement Personnel. The administration shall determine when the necessity exists for law enforcement officials to be contacted to conduct an investigation of matters which may jeopardize the safety of school personnel or students, which may endanger school property, or which may interfere with the operation of the schools. An administrator or other designated professional District employee or the District's police liaison officer shall be present during the questioning, except in Level Two Investigations under Policy 519. The student's parent or guardian need not be contacted prior to the interview unless the student is first taken into custody by law enforcement officials.

It should not normally be necessary for law enforcement officials to conduct any investigation on school premises pertaining to criminal activities unrelated to the operation of the schools. Only when a demonstrated necessity exists, as determined by the administration, shall law enforcement officials be allowed to conduct such an investigation. A professional District employee, parent or guardian shall be present during the questioning.

Students shall not be released into the custody of law enforcement personnel unless the student has been placed under arrest, or is being removed for disorderly conduct at school, or unless the student's parent or guardian agrees to the release if the student is a minor or the student agrees to release if not a minor.