Policy 711 - Minors on Campus

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Section: Employee Relations
Policy Number: 711
Responsible Office: General Counsel
Effective Date: 1/1/07
Revised: 3/1/13

Scope

All administrators, staff and student workers who work with minors.

Preamble

St. John’s University hosts minors on its campuses in a variety of contexts. Minors participate in academic programs, mentoring programs, sports camps and a host of other social, educational and vocational events on our campuses. It is a natural implication of our Vincentian Mission to extend educational and enrichment opportunities to the broadest possible array of people, including minors.

The University naturally desires to take reasonable measures to see that when minors visit our campuses the experience is a positive one, and the environment is as safe and secure as possible. With this in mind, the University has developed the following guidelines, which formalize many established procedures, in order to assure that we take reasonable precautions for the safety and security of the minors who visit our campuses. The guidelines apply to all minors visiting campus, whether they are invited by St. John's University as part of an officially sponsored University event, or whether they are invited by external entities that are licensed to access University facilities. These guidelines are common sense provisions to enhance the security of minors on our campuses, and must be closely followed whenever minors are present on our campuses. However, they do not supersede the requirements of any laws or regulations that may apply. If you have questions about what procedures to follow in a given situation, please contact the Office of the General Counsel for advice at (718) 990-6337.

Guidelines

The following guidelines should be adhered to in all situations involving minors on our campuses:
1. A minor for purposes of these guidelines means anyone less than 17 years of age not accompanied by a parent or adult relative who is visiting any of St. John’s campuses for any purpose other than:
a. for clinical testing or treatment services in a University sponsored clinic;
b. to visit the University for the purpose of determining whether to apply or enroll
in the University; and
c. to attend an athletics or entertainment event that is open to the general public.
2. Minors must be under the care of, and supervised by, adults at all times while on campus. Supervision means line of sight supervision at all appropriate and practicable times, including during meals and breaks from an activity or event. This necessarily precludes minors being left to traverse the campus on their own. Provisions for supervision should be arranged in advance. The adult supervisor must ensure that minors are not disruptive in any way to St. John’s operations, staff, faculty or students.
3. There should be an appropriate ratio of minors to supervising adults, meaning 10:1 for groups of 44 or less minors and 15:1 for groups of 45 or more minors, unless circumstances or applicable laws or regulations dictate otherwise. Where the number of
minors exceeds 20, and there are both boys and girls, every effort should be made to have both male and female supervisors.
4. The Public Safety Department (“PSD”) should be notified in advance in all cases when minors will be present on any of our campuses for group events or for any overnight stay.
5. Any group or person(s) (including University groups, departments, etc.) bringing minors to campus for any event must provide to the University a signed certification that the group/person(s) has received and reviewed appropriate parental consent forms from each minor’s parent or guardian permitting that minor’s attendance on campus under the group leader’s supervision. Such certification is due no later than five (5) business days prior to the event. The Parental Consent Certification form can be obtained from the Office of General Counsel or printed off the General Counsel’s web page on the St. John’s Intranet.
6. Any group or person(s) (including University groups, departments, etc.) bringing minors to campus for any event must provide a signed certification setting forth the names of all persons who will be supervising minors, and that such group or person(s) has conducted a background investigations on such persons – this includes: student workers, graduate assistants, employees, volunteers, vendors and contractors. Such certification is due no later than five (5) business days prior to the scheduled event. For departments engaging vendors or sponsoring organization, the Background Investigation Certification form can be obtained from the Office of General Counsel or printed off the General Counsel’s web page on the St. John’s Intranet. Any department engaging student workers, graduate assistants, employees, or volunteers to work with minors on campus must notify the Office of Human Resources so that an investigative background check can be conducted before the engagement begins. The background investigation shall not be required for supervisors of minors who come to campus for one-day (with no overnight stay) to participate in a purely educational event, such as a lecture, theatrical performance or educational testing that is University sponsored and run by University personnel or students. In such instances, the overall group sponsor must certify that he/she knows of no reason why the individuals responsible for supervising the minors should not be permitted to supervise the minors. The Supervision of Minors Certification form can be obtained from the Office of General Counsel or printed off the General Counsel web page.
7. An Affiliation Agreement or, if compensation will be paid to the University, a Contract, is required for all activities or events on St. John’s campuses run by an external entity. Obtain the required provisions for affiliation agreements and contracts from the Office of General Counsel. Deviations from these forms must be approved in advance by the Office of the General Counsel. These required elements include the following:
a. a statement that the entity will be responsible for supervising minors (as defined above) in a 10:1 supervisor to minor ratio;
b. proof that the entity has obtained a license to run the activity, event or program, if applicable;
c. proof that the entity has obtained minimum levels of insurance, including for sexual abuse;
d. a promise to indemnify the University for event-related liability;
e. a requirement that the entity submit the certification forms provided for in Sections 5 and 6 above no later than five (5) business days prior to the event; and
f. a certification that the entity will comply with all applicable laws related to the running of the event.
8. All certifications shall be maintained by the University group or department that sponsors the event for three (3) years after conclusion of the event.

Appendices to this policy, including  the referenced certification forms and required provisions in affiliation agreements/contracts can be obtained from General Counsel's office or online here.

 

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