SERIES 3000: OPERATIONS, FINANCE, AND PROPERTY

3100 General Operations

3105 Visitors and Volunteers

Visitors and volunteers, including parents/guardians, may access the District’s property subject to all applicable Policies. The District may deny such access for any lawful reason.

A. Visitors

1. A person may not enter or remain on the District’s property if prohibited by law.
2. A person visiting a school building during instructional hours must first report to the building’s main office. In the Superintendent’s or building principal’s discretion, a visitor may be required to sign in, present a form of identification, explain the visitor’s purpose, wear a visitor badge, and be escorted while on District property. District personnel that discover a visitor who has not reported to the building’s main office will promptly direct the visitor to the building’s main office.
3. The District may require advance notice from a person who desires to observe classroom instruction. See also Policy 5401.
4. The building principal or designee may permit a parent/guardian who is a registered sex offender to visit District property to participate in or attend his or her child's school activities. The building principal or designee may require the parent/guardian to comply with other conditions upon visitation, including: a check-in/check-out system, an employee escort while on District property, and a requirement to leave District property immediately upon conclusion of the child’s activity.

B. Volunteers

1. A person desiring to volunteer must provide information to the District, including that person’s name, address, telephone number, and a form of identification.
2. The District may lawfully require a volunteer to complete an application and consent to a background check as described in Policy 4205. 
3. Volunteering is a privilege, not a right. A person does not have any right to volunteer or to perform any particular volunteer assignment. The Superintendent or designee will assess a volunteer’s capabilities and determine the appropriate volunteer assignment. The Superintendent or designee may reject a volunteer’s request or deny or terminate a volunteer’s assignment at any time for any reason that is not unlawful.
4. Volunteer Drivers

a. A volunteer may only drive a District vehicle with approval of the Superintendent or designee and in compliance with all applicable laws. For purposes of this subsection B.4, a “District vehicle” is a vehicle owned or leased by the District, including a school bus, and a “private vehicle” is any vehicle that is not a District vehicle. 

b. With the Superintendent or designee’s approval, District personnel, an approved volunteer, or a student’s parent/guardian may transport students to and from a school or school-sponsored event in a private vehicle.

c. Except in an emergency, before a student rides in a private vehicle, the driver must have permission from the student’s parent/guardian to transport the student to or from the school or applicable event. Permission must be in writing if the driver is using a vehicle with a manufacturer’s rated seating capacity of 11 or more passengers.

d. A volunteer driver must:

• hold a valid driver’s license appropriate for the vehicle;
• if required by law, hold a valid chauffeur’s license; and 
• for a private vehicle, provide to the Superintendent or designee’s satisfaction proof of insurance and proof of the vehicle’s lawful registration. 

e. A volunteer driver is responsible for any loss, damage, cost, and liability related to the driver’s operation of a District vehicle or private vehicle.

Legal authority: MCL 28.721 et seq.; MCL 257.6, 257.1807; MCL 380.1137, 380.1230, 380.1230a-h

Date adopted:   08/09/2021

Date revised:   06/16/2023