DISCLAIMER: This information is presented with the intent of providing accurate and informative materials of a general nature only. Because this office cannot engage in offering you legal or tax advice, we strongly encourage you to seek advice from your personal attorney and tax advisor based upon your unique situation.

Information provided by RFR, Karen Long, Attorney representing Stillwater Public Schools

Title IX Issues (Gender Equity in School Sports)

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1990 provides: “No person in the United State shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity regarding federal financial assistance.”

There are two prongs to Title IX: participation rates; benefits and services

• Booster club issues arise with benefits and services
• School districts must ensure that equivalent benefits and services are provided to both sexes in athletic programs
• This does not require identical benefits and services
• The fundamental premise: If booster clubs provide benefits and services to athletes of one sex that are greater than what the school is providing to athletes of the other sex, then the school must take steps to ensure that the benefits and services are equivalent for both sexes
• Stillwater Public Schools may not use lack of its own funds to justify failure to insure similar benefits to boys and girls
• The district must assure that areas such as equipment, uniforms, coaches, travel, and facilities are provided on an equivalent basis regardless of booster club funding and the resulting benefits and services must be equivalent for both sexes.
• Illustrative problem areas include, but are not limited to:
  • Paying for out-of-state travel by booster clubs of a male sport but not a female sport
  • Paying for certain tournament entry fees for a male sport and not a female sport
  • Food for athletes of only the football team
  • Coaches of male teams receiving extra compensation that is not available for coaches of female teams
  • Booster club donations may involve monetary or nonmonetary donations
• Relevant Stillwater Public Schools staff are required to constantly monitor funds or contributions whether monetary or non-monetary
• All coaches must notify the site athletic director of all donations and contributions whether monetary or nonmonetary – this includes services of volunteer or lay coaches
• Stillwater Public School District athletic directors must monitor the equitable distribution of funds
• The district has a legal duty to track contributions from outside sources, including booster clubs and individual boosters.

Title IX Summary

Under Title IX, all donations (money or in-kind contributions) must be monitored by the school district and boosters, and booster clubs must cooperate with monitoring.

The Stillwater Public Schools has the ultimate responsibility for Title IX compliance. In cases of non-compliance, the argument that a booster club provided funding that the District could not is not a legal defense. Title IX compliance encompasses the areas of trips, camps, facilities, equipment, coaches, uniforms, meals, tournaments, banquets, student awards, and letter jackets.

Stillwater Public Schools is committed to equal opportunity for male and female student athletes to include participation opportunities and equal treatment and benefits, and shall comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The school district's Director of Human Resources has been designated as the Title IX Coordinator. The Title IX Coordinator oversees the district's compliance with Title IX and handles inquiries or reporting of possible gender inequity or inequality with respect to the school district's sports offerings. Any individual may report a violation of Title IX by completing a Discrimination Grievance Complaint Form and then submitting it to the Title IX Coordinator.

The Stillwater Board of Education is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination. There will be no discrimination in this district on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, gender, gender expression or identity, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or age in its employment, programs and activities. This policy will prevail in all matters concerning staff, students, the public, employment, admissions, financial aid, educational programs, events, and services, facilities access, and individuals, companies, and firms with whom the board does business. The district also provides equal access to the Boy Scouts of America and other designated youth groups.

The following administrator has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the district’s non-discrimination policies:

• Section 504/Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (for questions or complaints based on disability)
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (for questions or complaints based on race, color and national origin)
• Title IX (for questions or complaints based on sex, pregnancy, gender, gender expression or identity)
• Age Act (for questions or complaints based on age)

In addition, any individual who has experienced some other form of discrimination, including discrimination not listed above, may contact:

Outside assistance may be obtained from:

Racial discrimination shall include racial slurs or other demeaning remarks concerning another person's race, ancestry, or country of origin and directed toward an employee, a student or a visitor.

Stillwater Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, gender, gender expression or identity, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or age in its employment, programs and activities.

• Sanctioned organizations are encouraged to make efforts to document their activities through photo and video documentation

  • While SPS has permission to release photos of students for school use and promotion, (unless it is requested by parents that their child not be photographed/recorded), sanctioned organizations are separate entities. A media release form for sanctioned organizations is available for your convenience.

  • All photos, video, and broadcasts must comply with board policies and any applicable laws, such as copyright, or agreements SPS, the Athletic Department, or OSSAA may have entered into.

  • Use of broadcast equipment/streams may incur a cost to the district, or violate broadcast agreements. Please check with appropriate administrators before initiating any broadcast or stream.

At Stillwater Public Schools, we understand that social media can be a fun and rewarding way to share your organization's activities with family, friends and co-workers around the world. However, the use of social media also presents certain risks and carries with it certain responsibilities. In order to assist our sanctioned organizations, we have established these guidelines for social media.

Any new accounts created require the approval of the SPS PR & Communications Coordinator.

• Accounts presenting as an SPS team or extracurricular activity
  • Account must have:
    • At least one coach or activity sponsor employed by the district
      and
    • At least one administrative staff member from the department/school
      or
    • the SPS PR & Communications Coordinator as an administrator/login credential holder.
  • Only one account per platform per team/activity (Treat all levels of a sport as one. There should not be separate accounts for Varsity, Junior Varsity, Junior High, Middle School, etc.)
  • Any new accounts created require the approval of the SPS PR & Communications Coordinator.
  • The SPS staff member account holders shall inform anyone managing social media accounts of expectations, agreements, policies, and laws regarding sharing of photos, video, and streams.
    
    
• Accounts presenting as an Sanctioned Organization
  • To facilitate accurate communication, login credential holder's names and contact information should be provided to the district via the activity coach/sponsor and at least one administrative staff member from the department/school
  • To prevent confusion in audiences, accounts must be clearly designated as the sanctioned organization, not as the activity being supported.
    • By Name
      • Examples of Appropriate Account Names
        1. Stillwater WhateverBall Boosters
        2. Pioneer ThataBall Supporters
      • Examples of Inappropriate Account Names
        1. Stillwater WhateverBall
        2. Pioneer ThataBall
    • By a disclaimer in the account About or Bio section.
      • For Twitter, Instagram, or other accounts with limited length bios should contain the following as appropriate: "A Booster/PTA/PTO account - views & opinions expressed are our own."
      • For Facebook, Organization Websites (preferably in a footer on every page), and other unlimited length profiles should include: "This page/group is managed by the -Full Name of Organization- The views & opinions expressed are our own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Stillwater Public Schools."
        
        
  • Only one account per platform per activity (Treat all levels of a sport as one. There should not be separate accounts for Varsity, Junior Varsity, Junior High, Middle School, etc.)
  • The SPS staff member account holders shall inform anyone managing social media accounts of expectations, agreements, policies, and laws regarding sharing of photos, video, and streams.

Any employee who wishes to create a social media account to be utilized with operations of the school district, a classroom activity, or an extracurricular club or group associated with the school district shall comply with all District policies and state laws on the use of district-owned hardware, software and networks apply, as relevant, to the use of social media for a school, class or program.

Initially, the employee shall notify the Superintendent or Building Principal Public Relations & Communications Coordinator of a request to establish a social media site for a school, class or program. Employees shall be prohibited from using a personal Facebook page or personal social media account for school-related purposes. All social media accounts created shall have expectations for acceptable use listed on the social media site that are compliant with the District’s Stillwater Public Schools’ expectations for acceptable use.

Accounts created shall not include posts that advocate for or against a political candidate or ballot initiative.

Employees and students shall refrain from posting or otherwise publishing images that include students that have requested, through the Public Relations & Communications Coordinator, their image not be shared without parental release forms on file for the specific social media site that was created.

The site’s security settings should allow only approved participants access to the site. A building administrator or the Public Relations & Communications Coordinator must be approved as an administrator participant for supervisory purposes.

All school policies regarding appropriate behavior in school or the classroom should be applied online. Students shall be disciplined for inappropriate posts or uploads which would violate district disciplinary policies.

Prior to use of the school district’s logo or school-specific logos or mascots approval is required from the Superintendent or Public Relations & Communications Coordinator.

At Stillwater Public Schools, we understand that social media can be a fun and rewarding way to share your life and opinions with family, friends and co-workers around the world. However, use of social media also presents certain risks and carries with it certain responsibilities. In order to assist employees in making responsible decisions, we have established these guidelines for appropriate use of social media.

General Guidelines

Consult Stillwater Public Schools District policy on Internet safety and appropriate use (Stillwater Public Schools District Policy EFBCA), as well as the employee handbook. Be aware that all existing policies and behavior guidelines extend to school-related activities in the online environment as well as on school premises.

Use good judgment. Think about the type of image being conveyed on behalf of the district when you are posting to social networks and social media sites. Remember that what is posted will be viewed and permanently archived. Social media websites and blogs are not private. Internet search engines can find information years after it was originally posted. Comments can be forwarded or copied, and archival systems save information even if a post is deleted.

The district considers an employee’s use of any electronic media for the purpose of communicating with a student or a parent to be an extension of the employee’s workplace responsibilities. Accordingly, the board expects school personnel to use professional judgment and appropriate decorum when using any social media in this fashion. School district administrators may require an employee to provide access to any websites used by him or her for communication with students or parents and to produce copies of any electronic communication with students or parents, including text messages, web page posts, etc. This policy does not authorize an administrator to inspect an employee’s personal devices without the employee’s express consent.

For the protection of both students and staff, whenever feasible, student contacts should be made with district-sponsored software (such as @stillwaterschools.com email and teacher websites), which provide both administrators and parents/guardians with access to the messages. For software not provided by the district (such as texting, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), employees should, whenever feasible, enable and preserve electronic communication records for a minimum of 60 days.

Social Networking Websites

Personnel shall abide by the following requirements regarding use of social networking websites, even when done in their personal time, using personal property. These provisions do NOT apply to former students who have graduated from high school NOR to students who are also the teacher’s relative in the first or second degree (e.g. son, daughter, niece, nephew).

1. Fraternization with students using social networking websites on the Internet:
   1. Inappropriate contact with students or parents via e-mail, phone, or other devices is prohibited;
   2. School personnel must exercise caution regarding social media contacts with students. A staff member who is “friends” with a student in such contexts is responsible for all of the information accessible to the student via the social media service. If a staff member allows any current students in the district to be their “friend” or form a similar connection, the staff members may not post items or send messages with sexual content, nor may they post items or send messages exhibiting or advocating the use of drugs or alcohol. This restriction is not intended to interfere with appropriate professional contacts or counseling, such as professional contacts and counseling between a student and a staff member who is also a youth minister, scout leader, appropriate commercial transactions, etc.
   3. School personnel and sponsors should use, and direct students to use, the school e-mail system or other school-sponsored software for contacts whenever feasible, rather than personal emails or messaging services on a social networking site; voice telephone contacts should use the school’s telephone system whenever feasible;
   4. Student/teacher contacts via e-mail, phone, or other devices should be limited to school-related or other professional business (e.g. assistance with homework, logistics of school-sponsored extracurricular events, appropriate contacts between a youth minister and a student, appropriate contacts with a student who is a babysitter or lawn care worker); staff shall not send messages that are personal in nature and not related to the business of the school or other community organization or that contain confidential information to persons not authorized to receive that information.
   5. Before using social media, school personnel and sponsors should be aware of current educational technology best practices and appropriate privacy settings to ensure that information about students is private and not accessible, especially by personal friends of the employee/sponsor.
2. School district personnel and sponsors may not post items on social networking websites with sexual content if they are identifying themselves as an employee of the district;
3. Employees may not post items exhibiting or advocating use of drugs or alcohol if they are identifying themselves as an employee of the district;
4. Employees may not post pictures, video, or audio of students participating in school sponsored activities if the student’s parent (if the student is under 18) or the student (if the student is 18 or over) has requested to opt out of media release.

Note that when using a school district e-mail address or equipment to participate in any social media or professional social networking activity, the communications are public records, and employees are responsible for the content in the communications.

As per state law, employees are discouraged from sharing content or comments containing the following when directed at a citizen of the State of Oklahoma:

1. Obscene sexual content or links to obscene sexual content;
2. Abusive behavior and bullying language or tone;
3. Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity; and
4. Disclosure of any information required to be maintained as confidential by law, regulation, or internal policy.

“Social networking” or “social media” means interaction with external websites or services based upon participant contributions to the content. Types of social media include social and professional networks, blogs, micro blogs, video or phone sharing and social bookmarking; and

“Comment” means a response to an article or social media content submitted by a commenter.

Text and Instant Messaging

District personnel shall not text or instant message any student individually unless the staff member is using a district-sponsored communication service for instructional purposes, which provides both administrators and parents/guardians with full access to the messages, or the staff member is an activity sponsor contacting students about the logistics of the activity. Staff shall not send messages that are personal in nature and not related to the business of the school or that contain confidential information to persons not authorized to receive that information. These restrictions do not apply to students who are the staff member’s relative in the first or second degree and are not meant to restrict appropriate and professional contacts made in the context of community organizations such as youth ministries, scout troops, community outreach groups, etc., and are not meant to restrict appropriate contacts with a student who is a babysitter or lawn care worker, etc.

1. The Superintendent shall designate those staff persons who have management or administrator access to the district’s social media, including, but not limited to the ability to remove content from the school’s social media if determined to be inappropriate. Only content that is allowable on the school’s website is allowable on the school’s social media pages unless otherwise authorized by the superintendent.
2. Staff should not be accessing or using social media during the contract day unless it is work-related.

Penalties

District personnel face the possibility of penalties, including employee termination, for failing to abide by district policies when accessing and using social media. Any inappropriate, harassing, intimidating, threatening or bullying to an employee of the district, regardless of whether the activity uses district equipment or occurs during school/work hours, is strictly forbidden and may lead to disciplinary action.

REFERENCE: DHAC Policy; EFBCA Policy; FL-R Policy

All sanctioned organizations must abide by Stillwater Board of Education policies CH, CH-E regarding the use of district logos and trademarks. Only current existing logos and marks may be used as outlined below. Sanctioned organizations may create unique marks/logos that represent the organization, but must comply with these policies.