Policy 8:30 Visitors to and Conduct on School Property 

The following definitions apply to this policy: 

School property - District and school buildings, grounds, and parking areas; vehicles used for school purposes; and any location used for a Board of Education meeting, school athletic event, or other school sponsored or school-sanctioned events or activities. 

Visitor - Any person other than an enrolled student or District employee. All visitors to school property are required to report to the Building Principal’s office and receive permission to remain on school property. 

All visitors must sign a visitors’ log, must show identification, and wear a visitor’s badge. When leaving the school, visitors must return their badge. On those occasions when large groups of parents/guardians, friends, and/or community members are invited onto school property or when community members are attending Board meetings, visitors are not required to sign in but must follow school officials’ instructions. Persons on school property without permission will be directed to leave and may be subject to criminal prosecution. 

Except as provided in the next paragraph, any person wishing to confer with a staff member should contact that staff member to make an appointment. Conferences with teachers are held, to the extent possible, outside school hours or during the teacher’s conference/preparation period. Requests to access a school building, facility, and/or educational program, or to interview personnel or a student for purposes of assessing the student’s special education needs, should be made at the appropriate building. Access shall be facilitated according to guidelines from the Superintendent or designee. 

The School District expects mutual respect, civility, and orderly conduct among all people on school property or at a school event. No person on school property or at a school event (including visitors, students, and employees) shall perform any of the following acts: 

1. Strike, injure, threaten, harass, or intimidate a staff member, Board member, sports official or coach, or any other person; 

2. Behave in an unsportsmanlike manner, or use vulgar or obscene language; 

3. Unless specifically permitted by law, possess a weapon, any object that can reasonably be considered a weapon or looks like a weapon, or any dangerous device; 

4. Damage or threaten to damage another’s property; 

5. Damage or deface School District property; 

6. Violate any Illinois law, or town or county ordinance; 

7. Smoke or otherwise use tobacco products; 

8. Distribute, consume, use, possess, or be impaired by or under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, cannabis, other lawful product, or illegal drug. 

9. Be present when the person’s alcoholic beverage, cannabis, other lawful product, or illegal drug consumption is detectible, regardless of when and/or where the use occurred. 

10. Use or possess medical cannabis, unless he or she has complied with policy 7:270, Administering Medicines to Students, implementing Ashley’s Law. 

11. Impede, delay, disrupt, or otherwise interfere with any school activity or function (including using cellular phones in a disruptive manner); 

12. Enter upon any portion of school premises at any time for purposes other than those that are lawful and authorized by the Board of Education; 

13. Operate a motor vehicle: (a) in a risky manner, (b) in excess of 20 miles per hour, or (c) in violation of an authorized District employee’s directive; 

14. Engage in any risky behavior, including roller-blading, roller-skating, or skateboarding; 

15. Violate other District policies or regulations, or a directive from an authorized security officer or District employee; or 

16. Engage in any conduct that interferes with, disrupts, or adversely affects the District or a School function. 

Convicted Child Sex Offender 

State law prohibits a child sex offender from being present on school property or loitering on a public way within 500 feet of school property when persons under the age of 18 are present, unless the offender: 

1. is a parent/guardian of a student attending the school and has notified the Building Principal of his or her presence at the school for the purposes of (i) attending a conference at the school with school personnel to discuss the progress of his or her child academically or socially; (ii) participating in child review conferences in which evaluation and placement decisions may be made with respect to his or her child regarding special education services; (iii) attending conferences to discuss other student issues concerning his or her child, such as retention and promotion; or 

2. has permission to be present from the Board of Education, Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee. If permission is granted, the Superintendent, Superintendent’s designee or Board President shall provide the details of the offender’s upcoming visit to the Building Principal. In all cases, the Superintendent, or designee who is a certified employee, shall directly supervise a sex offender whenever the offender is in a child’s vicinity. State law further prohibits child sex offenders from participating in holiday events involving children under 18 years of age. Accordingly, requests from child sex offenders to attend holiday events involving children under 18 years of age will be denied. 

Exclusive Bargaining Representative Agent 

Upon notifying the Building Principal’s office, authorized agents of an exclusive bargaining representative will be provided reasonable access to employees in the bargaining unit they represent in accordance with State law. Such access shall be conducted in a manner that will not impede the normal operations of the District. 

Please also refer to the applicable collective bargaining agreement(s). 

Enforcement 

Any staff member may request identification from any person on school grounds or in any school building; refusal to provide such information is a criminal act. The Building Principal or designee shall seek the immediate removal of any person who refuses to provide requested identification. 

Any person who engages in conduct prohibited by this policy may be ejected from or denied admission to school property in accordance with State law. The person also may be subject to being denied admission to school athletic or extracurricular events for up to one calendar year in accordance with the procedures below. 

Procedures to Deny Future Admission to Athletic or Extracurricular School Events 

Before any person may be denied admission to athletic or extracurricular school events, the person has a right to a hearing before the Board. The Superintendent may refuse the person admission pending such hearing. The Superintendent or designee must provide the person with a hearing notice, delivered or sent by certified mail with return receipt requested, at least 10 days before the Board hearing date. The hearing notice must contain: 

1. The date, time, and place of the Board hearing, 

2. A description of the prohibited conduct, 

3. The proposed time period that admission to school events will be denied, and 

4. Instructions on how to waive a hearing.