An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 12 - Investigations

Police officers are empowered to arrest or question students. 1918 A minor’s parents need not be notified before the police can question a minor who has been temporarily detained but not taken into custody for the purpose of identifying the minor as a suspect, obtaining his or her full name and date of birth. 1919 Schools should inform the minor’s parents if the minor has been removed from campus by law enforcement.

C HAPTER 12 - I NVESTIGATIONS

Section 1 I NTRODUCTION This chapter is designed to guide school administrators responsible for investigating reported allegations or evidence of employee and student misconduct. The purpose of an investigation is to gather all facts needed to make a determination as to what occurred or did not occur. Conducting a sound investigation is important in several ways, including to make relevant decisions involving employees and students and to protect the school from liability. The investigation also helps maintain the school’s credibility, reassures those involved that the school acts in a thoughtful, responsible, and fair manner, models to students the process by which individuals are held accountable for their conduct, and guards against future improper conduct. This chapter and the corresponding compendium provide a step-by-step guide for conducting an investigation. A substantial portion of the discussion and many of the examples in this chapter focus on workplace harassment investigations because this is a common type of investigation employers conduct, and harassment investigations are addressed in a substantial body of case law, as well as Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) regulations and guidelines of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”). However, the principles and best practices concerning workplace harassment investigations discussed in this chapter generally apply recommended principles and best practices for all types of employee and student misconduct investigations that a school may need to conduct.

W HEN S HOULD AN I NVESTIGATION B E C ONDUCTED ?

Section 2

A. W HEN T HERE I S A P OSSIBLE V IOLATION O F A S TANDARD O F C ONDUCT An investigation into alleged misconduct by an employee is typically conducted when there is reasonable suspicion to believe an employee has violated an employment contract, the school’s personnel rules, policies, or employee handbooks, or has engaged in an otherwise wrongful act related to or impacting the employee’s job. Likewise, an investigation into alleged student

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 428