Student/Parent Handbook - Braintree Public Schools

Memorandum of Understanding Between the Braintree Public
Schools and the Braintree Police Department
Statement of Purpose:
We agree that crimes committed by young people are a national and societal problem
reaching into our community of Braintree. To maximize the effectiveness of our efforts
to achieve a crime-free community, we recognize the coordination and cooperation of
the community as a whole are essential. Therefore, the Chief of Police, with support of
the Board of Selectmen, the Superintendent of Schools with the support of the School
Committee, and the Norfolk District Attorney pledge to follow the agreed upon
procedures for communicating criminal activity.
We further agree to coordinate our efforts, when appropriate, with the Department of
Education.
An agreement such as this is necessary since administrators, teachers, and other staff
members are increasingly relied upon to monitor student behavior and to report unusual
behavior that may indicate involvement with criminal activity. In these instances, the
rights and responsibilities of school personnel and students and the role of police
officers and law enforcement must be clearly understood.
Reportable Acts:
This memorandum of understanding concerns the report of mandatory reportable acts,
which include assaultive behavior, the possession of weapons, a case where a student
is believed to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or a case where a student is
believed to be in a possession of or distributing any controlled substance.
School personnel are not protected under any privilege statutes of the Commonwealth
and, if called on to testify in court, they would be obligated to reveal any information
relating to a crime, even if voluntarily confided to them by a student.
This memorandum of agreement also concerns the response of law enforcement
agencies to criminal activity in a school setting.
Procedures and Responsibilities:
1.0 The School Superintendent designates the School Principal as the responsible
school official in each school for handling all reportable acts. The Chief of Police
designates the School Resource Officer or, in his or her absence, the Detective
Bureau Commander, as the official responsible for handling all reportable acts. The
Norfolk District Attorney designates a Juvenile Assistant District Attorney
responsible for handling all reportable acts. (The term “drugs,” where used in this
document, includes alcohol and controlled substances.)
2.0 All individuals who are involved in this memorandum of understanding agree to the
following:
2.1 All school staff members are under obligation to report any and all
incidents of the use or possession of any drugs by students to the School
Principal.
II.
Every suspected pattern of use, possession, or distribution of drugs is to
be reported immediately to the School Principal or his or her designee.
The School Principal shall be responsible for reporting all of these
incidents and observations to the School Resource Officer and the parents
in writing. The School Resource Officer shall inform the Juvenile ADA of
the incidents, and the appropriate cases shall be prioritized for
prosecution.
III. Any student who is observed as, or has admitted to being under the
influence of a drug, must be immediately escorted to the office of the
Principal who shall immediately notify parents and the School Resource
Officer of the incident. The School Resource Officer shall inform the
Juvenile ADA of the incident.
IV. All school staff members are under obligation to report any and all
incidents of the use or possession of any dangerous weapons by students
to the School Principal. The School Principal shall be responsible for
reporting all of these incidents to the School Resource Officer. In the case
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