What Educators Should Know About Meetings and Communications with Supervisors, Co-Workers, and Parents

Under Texas law, a supervisor, as the employer's “authorized agent,” can generally require an employee to do anything that is not illegal. This rule holds true for meetings and communications. Here are a few common questions educators have about communication with a supervisor:

• Can you be required to attend a meeting? If your administrator requests a meeting, you must generally attend. No law specifically states you must meet on demand, but many cases have upheld disciplinary consequences for refusal. An educator has no legal right to be accompanied by a representative or supporter at any meeting outside of the formal grievance process, and the supervisor is not required to give prior notice of the meeting or the subject matter unless these requirements are written into local policy. You must generally cooperate in the meeting, including answering questions. However, if your answer would incriminate you in criminal activity, or if questions involve your personal life rather than work-related subjects, you might have a right to refuse to answer. In either of these cases, you should get legal advice as soon as possible.
• Do you have the right to record a meeting? You may request permission to record a meeting, but a supervisor may refuse this request because an educator has no legal right to record a meeting outside of the grievance process. In Texas, it is generally legal to secretly record any conversation to which you are a party—in other words, at which you are actually present. However, some districts have adopted policies requiring permission to record colleagues at work. (Some local policies allow recording of administrative meetings outside the grievance process but require written permission of all involved parties.) Using or sharing the recording proves that a person engaged in secretly recording, potentially violating district policy, and likely very damaging to any working relationship with the other individuals involved.
• Can you be required to provide a written statement? A supervisor can generally require an educator to draft a statement regarding a work-related matter. The general rules just described for meetings would also apply to these statements.
• Do you have to report criminal offenses? Most local board policies incorporate a requirement that district employees report certain arrests or convictions to designated administrators within a specified, and usually very short, time period. It is important to know your district’s policy; failure to make a required report in a timely manner can result in serious consequences to both your job and career. Again, because what you say might affect the criminal matter, and because you might face consequences due to the criminal offense itself, you should try to obtain legal advice.
• What is a supervisor legally required to communicate? A supervisor is generally not legally obligated to respond to inquiries, explain decisions, or justify actions. There are specific exceptions where a response is required, however, such as in the formal grievance process or where a lack of response has its own consequences—such as when policy states that a leave request is considered approved if it is not denied by a certain date.

Your non-supervisory, peer co-workers cannot generally require any kind of communication from you other than that ultimately required by a supervisor, such as sharing lesson plans or cooperating in department meetings. Your relationship with your peers is, by definition, one of equals. However, there are laws that regulate communication among equals. You may not harass a co-worker based on race, nationality, age, gender, religion, or disability. “It was a joke” is not considered a defense. You also should be very careful in comments that could be taken as sexually suggestive as they might be considered sexual harassment. Finally, you should be cautious in talking about a co-worker’s health, personal life, and business.

Of course, your peers have the same responsibilities to communicate to you professionally. If they fail to, the matter can be addressed to a supervisor. As a general rule, it is best to first try talking to the peer who has created a concern. Of course, this is not always possible, and in some situations, such as illegal harassment, doing so cannot be required.

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Chapter 26 of the Texas Education Code  guarantee parents’ rights to access education records, teaching materials, and state assessments regarding their child and also a right to information about their child’s academic progress. Therefore, an educator has a general obligation to share that information. There are exceptions as to what teaching material, such as tests, must be shared, so check with your supervisor if you have questions. FERPA prohibits an educator from sharing information about a student to most people other than the parents’ child or another educator with a “legitimate educational interest” in the information.

Separate from these specific parents’ legal rights, in most cases a supervisor can require that an educator communicate with parents about an issue, such as disciplinary matters, if supervisor believes it to be appropriate—even if the parents themselves might not be able to require it.

• What should educators do if a parent becomes abusive or argumentative? Unfortunately, there is no Parents’ Code of Ethics that requires a parent to communicate appropriately. When confronted with an abusive parent, an educator should remain calm. Escalation is never in the educator’s interest. Sometimes it is necessary to just let the parent vent, even if that is difficult. Having another educator—particularly an administrator—in the meeting or conversation with a parent can be a help, but remember that student confidentiality must be maintained. If the communication becomes too abusive, the educator may professionally ask the parent to control themselves and may, unless directed otherwise by a supervisor, tell a parent who is unable to communicate appropriately that the conversation will have to end and be taken up later.  
• Should educators apologize to parents? When a parent has lodged a complaint, it is not uncommon for a supervisor to ask an educator to apologize to the parent in hope of resolving the matter quickly. Although this may be a legitimate strategy in some cases, doing so can have serious consequences. In some cases, an apology can be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing that can have serious implications for an educator’s job and career. If you are asked to apologize to a parent, you should obtain legal advice before doing so—especially when a student has been injured.