18. ESP RIGHTS/RESPONSIBILITIES

18.1 Assignments

18.1.1 Assignment of duties shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, marital status, or membership in any organization.

18.2 Voluntary Activities

18.2.1 Activities beyond the workday that are not related to the ESP employee's regular duties shall be voluntary.

18.2.2 ESP employees attendance at each school's annual open house is voluntary, however, the parties recognize the importance of this activity to the school community. Therefore, ESP employees who attend open house will be granted two hours of compensatory time to be used on non-student days.

18.3 Privacy of Discussion

18.3.1 Verbal reprimands relating to individual problems, discussions concerning serious performance problems, and/or discussions relating to individual personal situations shall be dealt with in a confidential manner.

18.4 School Property

18.4.1 ESP employees shall be accountable but not financially responsible for school property lost, stolen, or damaged when policies and procedures have been followed.

18.5 County Committees

18.5.1 The Association shall name a majority of any ESP representatives serving on a county committee which will have an effect on ESP employees.

18.5.2 The School Calendar Committee shall include two ESP representatives selected by the Association.

18.5.3 The school district shall create the School Community Professional Development Committee for purposes of implementing related Florida statutes. ESP committee appointees shall be appointed by the CTA. The term of office for each ESP committee member shall be for two years.

18.6 Student Illness

18.6.1 ESP employees (except Health Assistants) shall not be required to make final decisions on the status of a student's illness and action to be taken, if any.

18.6.2 ESP employees may be directed to administer student medication when they have specifically been designated by the principal for such assignment, when they have been trained by appropriate district health services personnel, and when all relative Florida Statutes, School Board Policies and Procedures, and District Health Services Guidelines have been implemented.

18.7 Paraprofessional Supervision

18.7.1 Paraprofessionals assigned to teachers are to be utilized and supervised by the teacher to whom the paraprofessional is assigned. Paraprofessionals are not to be routinely used to perform services for the school's administrative office.

18.7.2 Assignments of duties necessary for the safety of students shall be distributed equitably among comparable paraprofessionals at the work site and posted.

18.8 Transportation of Students

18.8.1 Paraprofessionals who transport students as an extension of their normal work activities shall be covered by the Board's liability insurance policy when approved by the appropriate administrator.

18.9 Staff Meetings

18.9.1 County-wide paraprofessional and clerical meetings shall be held annually. The objectives of these meetings shall be to generally inform the system's ESP personnel of any new operational procedures and/or policies, to review, if needed, any established operational procedures and/or policies, to promote county-wide communication for improved efficiency in system operations, and to offer any type of professional training that may be beneficial to ESP employees.

18.9.2 Staff meetings/inservice at individual work sites that require attendance by the ESP employees shall be held during the normal work day. In instances where the staff meeting and/or staff development is pertinent to the ESP's job requirements, the ESP may be required to attend beyond the normal work day up to 2 1/2 hours per year with one day's notice. Exceptions shall be made on an individual basis due to extenuating circumstances which prevent ESP attendance. Compensatory time at the appropriate rate will be given for time beyond the normal work day.

18.9.3 Afternoon staff and inservice meetings shall begin within ten (10) minutes after student dismissal.

18.9.4 ESP employees may attend teacher inservice programs on a space available, voluntary basis. Information concerning these programs shall be made available to ESP employees and the Association.

18.9.5 The appropriate amount of travel time to attend inservice/staff meetings at other work sites during the work day shall be allotted to ESP employees.

18.10 Personal Profits

18.10.1 ESP employees shall not personally profit as a direct result of any company or individual engaged in business with the School Board.

18.11 Faculty Steering Committee

18.11.1 There shall be ESP representation elected by the ESP faculty on each school faculty steering committee. Since participation by ESP representatives shall be voluntary, there is no requirement for salary payment for this committee work beyond the normal work day.

18.12 Parent Conference Day

18.12.1 If the teachers at a school choose to work the "optional conference day schedule", the ESP employees at that school shall have the option to work the same schedule. However, the regular number of duty hours in a regular day must be accounted for by working and/or by compensatory time, personal time, vacation leave, or non-paid personal time.

18.13 Accountability

18.13.1 School Improvement Plan waivers shall be considered part and parcel to the collective bargaining agreement.

18.13.2 All School Improvement Plan waiver proposals at a site shall be approved by secret ballot vote and monitored by an association representative.

18.14 Field Trip Expenses

18.14.1 ESP employees assigned to chaperone field trips shall not pay any transportation or entrance fees for the trip.

18.15 School Choice

18.15.1 ESPs shall be permitted to enroll or transfer their children, or children for whom they are legally responsible, in a school of their choice, space permitting. This will not exempt them from existing eligibility requirements.