R277-515-2. Definitions

  (1)(a) "Boundary violation" means crossing verbal, physical, emotional, and social lines that an educator must maintain in order to ensure structure, security, and predictability in an educational environment.

  (b) A "boundary violation" may include the following, depending on the circumstances:

  (i) isolated, one-on-one interactions with students out of the line of sight of others;

  (ii) meeting with students in rooms with covered or blocked windows;

  (iii) telling risqué jokes to, or in the presence of a student;

  (iv) employing favoritism to a student;

  (v) giving gifts to individual students;

  (vi) educator initiated frontal hugging or other uninvited touching;

  (vii) photographing individual students for a non-educational purpose or use;

  (viii) engaging in inappropriate or unprofessional contact outside of educational program activities;

  (ix) exchanging personal email or phone numbers with a student for a non-educational purpose or use;

  (x) interacting privately with a student through social media, computer, or handheld devices; and

  (xi) discussing an educator's personal life or personal issues with a student.

  (c) "Boundary violations" does not include:

  (i) offering praise, encouragement, or acknowledgment;

  (ii) offering rewards available to all who achieve;

  (iii) asking permission to touch for necessary purposes;

  (iv) giving pats on the back or a shoulder;

  (v) giving side hugs;

  (vi) giving handshakes or high fives;

  (vii) offering warmth and kindness;

  (viii) utilizing public social media alerts to groups of students and parents; or

  (ix) contact permitted by an IEP or 504 plan.

  (2)(a) "Conviction" means the final disposition of a judicial action for a criminal offense, except in cases of a dismissal on the merits.

  (b) "Conviction" includes:

  (i) a finding of guilty by a judge or jury;

  (ii) a guilty or no contest plea; and

  (iii) a plea in abeyance.

  (3) "Core Standard" means a statement:

  (a) of what a student enrolled in a public school is expected to know and be able to do at a specific grade level or following completion of an identified course; and

  (b) established by the Board in Rule R277-700 as required by Section 53E-3-501.

  (4) "Diversion agreement" means an agreement between a prosecutor and defendant entered into prior to a conviction delaying prosecution of a criminal charge for a specified period of time and contingent upon the defendant satisfying certain conditions.

  (5)(a) "Educator" or "professional educator" means a person who currently holds a Utah educator license, held a license at the time of an alleged offense, is an applicant for a license, or is a person in training to obtain a license.

  (b) "Professional educator" does not include a paraprofessional, a volunteer, or an unlicensed teacher in a classroom.

  (6) "Illegal drug" means a substance included in:

  (a) Schedules I, II, III, IV, or V established in Section 58-37-4;

  (b) Schedules I, II, III, IV, or V of the federal Controlled Substances Act, Title II, Pub. L. No. 91-513; or

  (c) any controlled substance analog.

  (7) Grooming" means befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child or a child's family to lower the child's inhibitions for emotional, physical, or sexual abuse.

  (8) "LEA" or "local education agency" for purposes of this rule includes the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

  (9) "License applicant" means a person who is applying for:

  (a) an initial license; or

  (b) renewal of a license.

  (10) "Licensing discipline" means a sanction, including an admonition, a letter of warning, a written reprimand, suspension of license, and revocation of license, or other appropriate disciplinary measure, for violation of a professional educator standard.

  (11) "Misdemeanor offense," for purposes of this rule, does not include Class C or lower violations of Title 41, Utah Motor Vehicle Code

  (12) "Plea in abeyance" means a plea of guilty or no contest that is not entered as a judgment or conviction but is held by a court in abeyance for a specified period of time.

  (13) "Pornographic or indecent material" shall have the same meaning as defined in Subsection 76-10-1235(1)(a).

  (14) "School-related activity" means any event, activity, or program:

  (a) occurring at the school before, during, or after school hours; or

  (b) that a student attends at a remote location as a representative of the school or with the school's authorization, or both.

  (15) "Stalking" means the act of intentionally or knowingly engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person as defined in Section 76-5-106.5.

  (16)(a) "Under the influence of alcohol or an illegal drug" means that a person:

  (i) is under the influence of alcohol, an illegal drug, or the combined influence of alcohol and drugs to a degree that renders the person incapable of effectively working in a public school;

  (ii) has sufficient alcohol in the person's body that a subsequent chemical test shows that the person has a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .08 grams or greater at the time of the test; or

  (iii) has a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .08 grams or greater during work hours at a public school.

  (b) An educator is presumed to be "under the influence of alcohol or an illegal drug" if the educator refuses a lawful request, made with reasonable suspicion by the educator's LEA, to submit to a drug or alcohol test.

  (17) "Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission" or "UPPAC" means an advisory commission established to assist and advise the Board in matters relating to the professional practices of educators, as established by Section 53E-6-501.

  (18) "Weapon" means any item that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury.