LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT - LAUSD

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

EMPLOYEE CODE OF ETHICS

PREAMBLE

All persons employed by the Los Angeles Unified School District ("LAUSD" or "District") including elected members of the Board of Education, regardless of their particular job or role, are part of one of the nation's most important public educational institutions. As such, they have special legal and ethical obligations arising from two distinct disciplines: government service and education.

The governmental dimension of these responsibilities imposes duties inherent in public service including the promotion and protection of public trust and confidence and avoidance of conflicts of interest and appearances of impropriety. While these duties are more obvious with respect to the job responsibilities of elected Board of Education members, the Superintendent and senior LAUSD administrators, they are no less important or binding with respect to school principals, teachers, counselors and non-instructional staff, who use public facilities and deal with public authority and resources.

Though the educational responsibilities of District employees are more extensive and obvious with respect to certificated instructional personnel such as school principals and teachers, all employees are ethically bound to place the educational and developmental interests of students above personal interests. All LAUSD employees should conduct themselves in a manner that promotes and supports the development of good character by teaching, enforcing, advocating and modeling ethical principles.

The ethical and legal responsibilities of those who serve the mission of the LAUSD in their various relationships and duties are broad and often complex. This Code of Ethics has been adopted to provide clarity about those responsibilities to assist employees to recognize and live up to their ethical responsibilities.

CORE ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

The first and greatest concern of an employee shall be promotion of LAUSD's mission to provide students with a quality education in a safe setting that reflects its commitment to the highest ethical standards.

An LAUSD employee is expected to acknowledge and accept the ethical responsibilities stated in this Code and interpret and apply them so as to create an ethical environment that fosters public and collegial trust, personal and institutional integrity, high levels of competence and accountability and a positive atmosphere characterized by integrity, fairness, respect, and caring.

The specific provisions of this Code of Ethics are grounded in core ethical principles such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship. Since no code of conduct can cover all situations or answer all questions, LAUSD employees are expected to govern their behavior in accordance with these general principles by:

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a) being honest b) treating all persons with respect c) demonstrating accountability for responsibilities d) pursuing excellence e) striving to be fair in all matters f) obeying all laws and regulations g) working in cooperation with others to protect and improve the LAUSD community and

advance the well-being of students.

PURPOSE OF CODE OF ETHICS

This Code of Ethics plays a central part in the commitment of the LAUSD to assure that all persons involved in pursuing the mission of the District abide by high ethical standards in all their work-related activities and relationships. In furtherance of this purpose employees and members of the Board of Education are expected and required to abide by the letter and spirit of this Code and to represent the District in a manner that engenders public trust in its integrity and competence.

APPLICATION OF CODE OF ETHICS

This Code applies to the Board of Education and all certificated, classified and other employees of the LAUSD including all instructional and support personnel. Unless otherwise stated, the term "employees" is used to refer to all these groups. All employees are required to read and sign an acknowledgement that they have read and understand the Code as an indication of their agreement to abide by its provisions.

In interpreting the provisions of this Code, an LAUSD employee and the District shall use good faith, sound discretion and good judgment and seek to adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of specific standards. An LAUSD employee shall also comply with all State law and applicable LAUSD rules and regulations, including applicable provisions of collective bargaining agreements.

ENFORCEMENT

It is expected that the primary use of this Code will be informative and educational. To assure adherence to its standards of conduct, the District will enforce its provisions. The Code is an enforceable regulation for purposes of employee disciplinary actions.

Violations of any provision of this Code may result in administrative or disciplinary action as well as referral to appropriate authorities for civil and/or criminal prosecution. Determinations made with respect to potential violations of the Ethics Code shall in no way preclude or replace any other legal action that may be warranted by the conduct.

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STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

1. Avoiding Appearances Of Impropriety Regarding Students. LAUSD employees are entrusted with the physical and emotional safety and well being of LAUSD students. To justify and maintain this trust, LAUSD employees shall not engage in any conduct that is likely to create in the minds of reasonable, impartial observers the perception that a relationship or interaction with one or more students is abusive, exploitative or otherwise improper. Dating and/or other social relationships between employees and students are strictly prohibited.

2. Avoiding Appearances Of Impropriety Regarding Public Power Or Resources. LAUSD employees are entrusted with stewardship over the District's public school system. To justify and maintain public trust and confidence in the integrity and competency of the LAUSD, employees shall not engage in any conduct that is likely to create in the minds of reasonable, impartial observers the perception that they misused funds, facilities, property, time or other public assets or have otherwise engaged in conduct unbefitting a government employee in a public school system.

3. Reporting Improper Conduct. LAUSD employees shall protect students and safeguard the public's trust by reporting unethical, illegal or dangerous conduct to a supervisor, the Ethics Officer, or the Inspector General. This obligation to report misconduct arises whenever an LAUSD employee has personal knowledge that another employee's conduct constitutes:

a) a violation of the law or this code b) gross mismanagement c) a significant waste of funds d) an abuse of authority e) a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety f) other conduct that could injure the reputation of the District or subject it to liability.

An LAUSD employee shall not file frivolous or unsubstantiated complaints regarding misconduct of other employees, nor shall they abuse the process by which misconduct may be reported.

4. Prohibition Of Retaliation. LAUSD employees shall not use or threaten to use official authority or influence to discourage, restrain or interfere with any other employee from reporting facts believed to constitute improper, unethical or illegal conduct nor shall they harass, punish or retaliate against any employee who has made a good faith complaint.

5. Honesty And Integrity. LAUSD employees must conduct themselves in a manner that engenders respect and justifies trust in their integrity, competency and devotion to the mission of the LAUSD. LAUSD employees shall demonstrate personal trustworthiness by being honest and avoiding any form of falsification, misrepresentation, deception, or cheating in District records and all their communications and actions.

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6. Candor Regarding Supervisor-Subordinate Relationship. LAUSD employees shall demonstrate a high degree of accountability by being candid and forthright in giving timely, complete and accurate information to help their superiors and members of the Board of Education make informed and intelligent decisions.

7. Atmosphere Of Integrity. An LAUSD employee must strive to establish and uphold an atmosphere of integrity that encourages honesty and discourages all forms of dishonesty, deception or academic cheating. An LAUSD employee shall assure that all official actions affecting students, including but not limited to the assignment of grades; conclusions and recommendations incorporated in formal assessments, determinations of eligibility for special programs; accessibility to particular classes, teachers and programs; and inclusion or exclusion from sports or other co-curricular activities, shall reflect adherence to the highest standards of integrity and fairness.

8. Improper Influence. An LAUSD employee shall not engage in nor cooperate with any conduct intended to improperly influence the actions, grades or assessments of any central or local administrator, teacher, counselor, coach or other employee who makes decisions affecting students. For example, money or personal favors should not be offered in exchange for a decision affecting a student's grades.

9. Cheating And Improper Assistance. An LAUSD employee shall not engage in nor cooperate with any conduct intended to improperly aid students in their performance on exams or participate in or allow actions designed to alter or falsify tests or grades.

10. Confidentiality. LAUSD employees shall abide by all laws and District policies concerning confidential information. An LAUSD employee must not use or disclose confidential information acquired in the course of official duties for financial gain, personal advantage or any other non-official reason.

11. Procurement Information. An LAUSD employee who has access to confidential information relating to contracts, construction, or procurement must maintain the confidentiality of such information and not disclose or use it for any purpose other than in the proper performance of the employee's job.

12. Student Records And Personnel Files. An LAUSD employee must not use or disclose confidential, private or sensitive information acquired in the course of official duties relating to student performance and records, personnel files or other District records except in the proper performance of the employee's job.

13. Confidentiality Of Meetings. An LAUSD employee must honor confidentiality agreements and policies concerning the content and source of comments and actions occurring during staff, faculty, parent and closed Board of Education meetings.

14. Improper Use Of Position. LAUSD employees shall use the authority, discretion, powers and resources arising from their public position only to advance public interests and not to attain personal or private gain or advantage for themselves or any other person. (For provisions relating to prohibited and approved activities on school premises, see Board Rule 1251.) In dealing with personal matters, an LAUSD employee shall not use official letterhead,

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title, or badge or otherwise refer to their position with LAUSD in a manner that would create in the mind of a reasonable objective observer the belief that the employee was seeking to induce or intimidate persons to resolve disputes more favorably, provide preferential treatment, or give gratuities, discounts, favors or provide other unwarranted personal or private benefits.

15. Unauthorized Use Of District Facilities, Equipment, Supplies, And Mailing Lists. An LAUSD employee shall not use nor allow others to use for non-District purposes, District equipment, supplies or mailing lists nor engage in or allow conduct resulting in the unauthorized use of any District resource. Except for occasional and limited personal use that does not interfere with the performance of official duties or create an appearance of impropriety, an LAUSD employee shall not use nor allow others to use District facilities, equipment, supplies or mailing lists for personal purposes.

a) Reporting And Reimbursement Obligation. An LAUSD employee shall make reasonable efforts to avoid the necessity of using District facilities or equipment for personal use and where such use is not reasonably avoidable the employee shall promptly report and reimburse the District for the costs of all such uses.

b) Examination Of Records. LAUSD reserves the right to review records to determine abuse of privileges relating to the use of telephones (including cellular phones), pagers, computers (including internet access), copy machines, automobiles and/or transportation vehicles.

16. Misuse Of Time. The time and services of all LAUSD employees during working hours are assets of the District that should be used only for LAUSD business. An LAUSD employee shall not conduct personal business on District time.

17. Misuse Of Personnel. An LAUSD employee shall not direct, cause, induce or permit another District employee to perform personal services or confer a private benefit on District time. Employees who are asked or instructed to perform improper personal services shall refuse to do so and report the request or instruction to the Superintendent, the Ethics Officer or Inspector General.

18. Negotiations For Future Employment. In order to avoid conflicts of interest and appearances of impropriety, an LAUSD employee shall not discuss or negotiate the possibility of future employment with any person or organization (other than a government agency) that might be directly or indirectly benefited in a substantial way by any official action the employee might take.

19. Maintaining A Respectful Environment. The ability to resolve problems and work effectively as team members is often necessary to effectiveness. The cornerstone to a good working environment is respect. An LAUSD employee shall strive to create and sustain a respectful, fair and caring environment by treating all persons including other District employees, students and parents with a high degree of respect by being civil and courteous and avoiding conduct that can reasonably be construed as abusive, rude or inappropriate.

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