GBEE - Employee Device Use

Date Adopted: 3 December 2008

Current Review / Revision: 1 April 2009

In some instances, the possession and use of electronic communication devices by District employees may be appropriate. However, the use of such devices can also have the effect of distracting and disrupting the work of employees and others in the school setting. These devices also may lead to disruptions of the educational process. The purpose of this policy is to establish rules relating to employee use of electronic communication devices in the workplace.

An "electronic communication device" includes telephones (including cellular phones), camera telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's), video broadcasting devices, pagers, and any other device that allows a person to record and/or transmit, on either real time or delayed basis sound, video or still images, text, or other information.

An employee may carry and use electronic communication devices on school property subject to the following restrictions:

1. Except in situations related to medical or family emergencies and/or to protect the safety and welfare of oneself or others, electronic communication devices shall not be used by employees during normal working hours, unless such use is directly related to the employee's work assignment. This restriction also applies to school sponsored programs, meetings, in-services, parent-teacher conferences, or any other time where there is a reasonable expectation of quiet attentiveness. Electronic communication devices may be used by employees during normal break times, lunch times, and preparations times, except that such use shall not interfere with preparation for the instruction of students.
2. At no time may electronic communication devices be utilized by any employee in a way that might reasonably create in the mind of another person an impression of being threatened, humiliated, harassed, embarrassed or intimidated or that violates local, state, or federal laws.
3. Employees operating district-owned vehicles, including buses, shall not use electronic communication devices while the vehicle is in motion. When the vehicle is stopped and appropriately secured, an employee may use these devices for emergencies, to call for assistance if there is a mechanical problem, to assist special needs students and to deal with behavior management. An employee operating a school bus may not use an electronic device for personal use until the bus is safely parked off the roadway and all passengers are safely off and moved away from the bus. This prohibition does not apply to the safe and appropriate use of two-way radios.

Policy Violation

Violation of this policy may subject the employee to disciplinary action, which could include termination. Reports of policy violation are to be made to the employee's immediate supervisor.

The Emery County School District is not responsible for the loss, theft or damage to an electronic communication device owned/possessed by an employee.