Mercer County Educational Service Center
Bylaws & Policies
 

3113 - CONFLICT OF INTEREST - PRIVATE PRACTICE
 A.The proper performance of school business is dependent upon the maintenance of unquestionably high standards of honesty, integrity, impartiality, and professional conduct by Governing Board’s employees. Further, such characteristics are essential to the Board’s commitment to earn and keep the public’s confidence in the Educational Service Center. For these reasons, the Board adopts the following guidelines to assure that conflicts of interest do not occur. These guidelines are not intended to be all inclusive, nor to substitute for good judgment on the part of all employees.
  1.No employee shall engage in or have a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in any activity that conflicts or raises a reasonable question of conflict with his/her duties and responsibilities in the school system.
  2.Employees shall not engage in business, private practice of their profession, the rendering of services, or the sale of goods of any type where advantage is taken of any professional relationship they may have with any student, client, or parents of such students or clients in the course of their employment with the Center.
   Included, by way of illustration rather than limitation are the following:
   a.the provision of any private lessons or services for a fee
   b.the use, sale, or improper divulging of any privileged information about a student or client gained in the course of the employee's employment or through his/her access to Center records
   c.the referral of any student or client for lessons or services to any private business or professional practitioner if there is any expectation of reciprocal referrals, sharing of fees, or other remuneration for such referrals
   d.the requirement of students or clients to purchase any private goods or services provided by an employee or any business or professional practitioner with whom any employee has a financial relationship, as a condition of receiving any grades, credits, promotions, approvals, or recommendations
  3.Employees shall not make use of materials, equipment, or facilities of the Center in private practice. Examples would be the use of facilities before, during, or after regular business hours for service to private practice clients, or the checking out of items from an instructional materials center for private practice.
  4.Professional employees of the Board may not, as a direct course of their scope of employment, enter into a consultative agreement to provide professional services with any School District under auspices of the Board service umbrella for personal gain. All professional services and expertise rendered to any local or affiliate District is considered part of the employee’s duties and responsibilities regardless of when these services are rendered.
 B.Exceptions to this policy shall be approved by the Superintendent before entering into any private relationship.