General Rules to Follow

There are certain legalities and policies that you need to understand as an instructional assistant. Although this is not a comprehensive list, these are some of the common rules you need to understand and follow:

Keep your hands off students:

• DO NOT physically force a student to move from one place to another. Keep your hands off. There is specific training some staff members go through to physically move or restrain a student. If you are in the situation of needing a student to physically move but the student is refusing, you must get help from those who are trained in your building. Your best bet in these situations is to make verbal requests for the student to physically move themselves and try to get help from a trained staff member as soon as possible. During this time, the student's safety is the upmost important thing. Keep the student safe and keep other students safe. This may mean you need to evacuate other students from the area.
• DO NOT touch students in an inappropriate or sexual manner OR in a way that could be PERCEIVED to be inappropriate or sexual. For example, although a child sitting on your lap while on the floor or in a swing could be totally innocent, it could be perceived differently and that leaves you being accused of inappropriate contact.
• BE CAREFUL WHEN HUGGING--A general rule to go by is to let the student initiate the hug and don't hug from the front. Consider sideways hugs, fist bumps, and high fives.
• BE CAREFUL WHEN TRYING TO GAIN A STUDENT'S ATTENTION--Use verbal requests. Understand that physical attention getting is inappropriate such as flicking a child, whacking them on the head, grabbing their arms, etc.

Visitors at work:

Having someone visit you at work may not be avoidable. Do your best to keep visitations to a minimum. You have a job to do and your focus needs to be on the task at hand. Keep in mind that visitors must check in at the office and generally it is not appropriate to have them with you in the classroom setting. If for some reason you are wanting help within the classroom or would like your own child to shadow you for the day, it is expected that you arrange this with the principal and the teachers it may effect. Keep in mind that a principal will not allow a school-age child who is expected to be in school, even if they are your own, to join you or shadow you on a day the child should be in school.

Time sheets:

It is your job to fill out your time sheet in full, honestly, on time, and make sure it is signed.

Discussing student performance or behavior with parents:

This is NOT your job. Communicate this information to your superiors. Always refer parents to the student's teacher or the principal. Why? Because student privacy laws are very real. There is NEVER a time you can speak about a student with anyone other than that particular student's parent...this includes behavior, academic and personal information.