Hawaii Administrative Rules › Title 8 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › Subtitle 2 - EDUCATION › Part 1 - PUBLIC SCHOOL › Chapter 54 - TEACHER LICENSING STANDARDS › Subchapter 6 - EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS › Appendix D - MODEL CODE OF ETHICS FOR EDUCATORS

Current through June, 2024
Principle I: Responsibility to the
						Profession
The professional educator is aware that trust in the
						profession depends upon a level of professional conduct and responsibility that
						may be higher than required by law. This entails holding oneself and other
						educators to the same ethical standards.
A. The professional educator demonstrates responsibility
						to oneself as an ethical professional by:
1. Acknowledging that lack of awareness, knowledge, or
						understanding of the Code is not, in and of itself, a defense to a charge of
						unethical conduct;
2. Knowing and upholding the procedures, policies, laws
						and regulations relevant to professional practice regardless of personal
						views;
3. Holding oneself responsible for ethical
						conduct;
4. Monitoring and maintaining sound mental, physical, and
						emotional health necessary to perform duties and services of any professional
						assignment, and taking appropriate measures when personal or health-related
						issues may interfere with work-related duties;
5. Refraining from professional or personal activity that
						may lead to reducing one's effectiveness within the school community;
6. Avoiding the use of one's position for personal gain
						and avoiding the appearance of impropriety;
7. Taking responsibility and credit only for work
						actually performed or produced, and acknowledging the work and contributions
						made by others.
B. The professional educator fulfills the obligation to
						address and attempt to resolve ethical issues by:
1. Confronting and taking reasonable steps to resolve
						conflicts between the Code and the implicit or explicit demands of a person or
						organization;
2. Maintaining fidelity to the Code by taking proactive
						steps when having reason to believe that another educator may be approaching or
						involved in an ethically compromising situation;
3. Neither discriminating nor retaliating against a
						person on the basis of having made an ethical complaint;
4. Neither filing nor encouraging frivolous ethical
						complaints solely to harm or retaliate;
5. Cooperating fully during ethics investigations and
						proceedings.
C. The professional educator promotes and advances the
						profession within and beyond the school community by:
1. Influencing and supporting decisions and actions that
						positively impact teaching and learning, educational leadership, and student
						services;
2. Engaging in respectful discourse regarding issues that
						impact the profession;
3. Enhancing one's professional effectiveness by staying
						current with ethical principles and decisions from relevant sources including
						professional organizations;
4. Actively participating in educational and professional
						organizations and associations; and
5. Advocating for adequate resources and facilities to
						ensure equitable opportunities for all students.
Principle II: Responsibility for Professional
						Competence
The professional educator is committed to the highest
						levels of professional and ethical practice, including demonstration of the
						knowledge, skills and dispositions required for professional competence.
A. The professional educator demonstrates commitment to
						high standards of practice through:
1. Incorporating into one's practice state and national
						standards, including those specific to one's discipline;
2. Using the
Model Code of Educator
						Ethics
and other ethics codes unique to one's discipline to guide and
						frame educational decision-making;
3. Advocating for equitable educational opportunities for
						all students;
4. Accepting the responsibilities, performing duties, and
						providing services corresponding to the area of certification, licensure, and
						training of one's position;
5. Reflecting upon and assessing one's professional
						skills, content knowledge, and competency on an ongoing basis; and
6. Committing to ongoing professional learning.
B. The professional educator demonstrates responsible use
						of data, materials, research and assessment by:
1. Appropriately recognizing others' work by citing data
						or materials from published, unpublished, or electronic sources when
						disseminating information;
2. Using developmentally appropriate assessments for the
						purposes for which they are intended and for which they have been validated to
						guide educational decisions;
3. Conducting research in an ethical and responsible
						manner with appropriate permission and supervision;
4. Seeking and using evidence, instructional data,
						research, and professional knowledge to inform practice;
5. Creating, maintaining, disseminating, storing,
						retaining and disposing of records and data relating to one's research and
						practice, in accordance with district policy, state and federal laws;
						and
6. Using data, data sources, or findings accurately and
						reliably.
C. The professional educator acts in the best interest of
						all students by;
1. Increasing students' access to the curriculum,
						activities, and resources in order to provide a quality and equitable
						educational experience;
2. Working to engage the school community to close
						achievement, opportunity, and attainment gaps; and
3. Protecting students from any practice that harms or
						has the potential to harm students.
Principle III: Responsibility to
						Students
The professional educator has a primary obligation to
						treat students with dignity and respect. The professional educator promotes the
						health, safety and well being of students by establishing and maintaining
						appropriate verbal, physical, emotional and social boundaries.
A. The professional educator respects the rights and
						dignity of students by:
1. Respecting students by taking into account their age,
						gender, culture, setting and socioeconomic context;
2. Interacting with students with transparency and in
						appropriate settings;
3. Communicating with students in a clear, respectful,
						and culturally sensitive manner;
4. Taking into account how appearance and dress can
						affect one's interactions and relationships with students;
5. Considering the implication of accepting gifts from or
						giving gifts to students;
6. Engaging in physical contact with students only when
						there is a clearly defined purpose that benefits the student and continually
						keeps the safety and well-being of the student in mind;
7. Avoiding multiple relationships with students which
						might impair objectivity and increase the risk of harm to student learning or
						well-being or decrease educator effectiveness;
8. Acknowledging that there are no circumstances that
						allow for educators to engage in romantic or sexual relationships with
						students; and
9. Considering the ramifications of entering into an
						adult relationship of any kind with a former student, including but not limited
						to, any potential harm to the former student, public perception, and the
						possible impact on the educator's career. The professional educator ensures
						that the adult relationship was not started while the former student was in
						school.
B. The professional educator demonstrates an ethic of
						care through:
1. Seeking to understand students' educational, academic,
						personal and social needs as well as students' values, beliefs, and cultural
						background;
2. Respecting the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each
						individual student including, but not limited to, actual and perceived gender,
						gender expression, gender identity, civil status, family status, sexual
						orientation, religion, age, disability, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status,
						and culture; and
3. Establishing and maintaining an environment that
						promotes the emotional, intellectual, physical, and sexual safety of all
						students.
C. The professional educator maintains student trust and
						confidentiality when interacting with students in a developmentally appropriate
						manner and within appropriate limits by:
1. Respecting the privacy of students and the need to
						hold in confidence certain forms of student communication, documents, or
						information obtained in the course of professional practice;
2. Upholding parents'/guardians' legal rights, as well as
						any legal requirements to reveal information related to legitimate concerns for
						the well-being of a student; and
3. Protecting the confidentiality of student records and
						releasing personal data in accordance with prescribed state and federal laws
						and local policies.
Principle IV: Responsibility to the School
						Community
The professional educator promotes positive relationships
						and effective interactions with members of the school community while
						maintaining professional boundaries.
A. The professional educator promotes effective and
						appropriate relationships with parents/guardians by:
1. Communicating with parents/guardians in a timely and
						respectful manner that represents the students' best interests;
2. Demonstrating a commitment to equality, equity, and
						inclusion as well as respecting and accommodating diversity among members of
						the school community;
3. Considering the implication of accepting gifts from or
						giving gifts to parents/guardians; and
4. Maintaining appropriate confidentiality with respect
						to student information disclosed by or to parents/guardians unless required by
						law.
B. The professional educator promotes effective and
						appropriate relationships with colleagues by:
1. Respecting colleagues as fellow professionals and
						maintaining civility when differences arise;
2. Resolving conflicts, whenever possible, privately and
						respectfully and in accordance with district policy;
3. Keeping student safety, education, and health
						paramount by maintaining and sharing educational records appropriately and
						objectively in accordance with local policies and state and federal
						laws;
4. Collaborating with colleagues in a manner that
						supports academic achievement and related goals that promote the best interests
						of students;
5. Enhancing the professional growth and development of
						new educators by supporting effective field experiences, mentoring or induction
						activities across the career continuum;
6. Ensuring that educators who are assigned to
						participate as mentors for new educators, cooperating teachers, or other
						teacher leadership positions are prepared and supervised to assume these
						roles;
7. Ensuring that educators are assigned to positions in
						accordance with their educational credentials, preparation, and experience in
						order to maximize students' opportunities and achievement; and
8. Working to ensure a workplace environment that is free
						from harassment.
C. The professional educator promotes effective and
						appropriate relationships with the community and other stakeholders by:
1. Advocating for policies and laws that the educator
						supports as promoting the education and well-being of students and
						families;
2. Collaborating with community agencies, organizations,
						and individuals in order to advance students' best interests without regard to
						personal reward or remuneration; and
3. Maintaining the highest professional standards of
						accuracy, honesty, and appropriate disclosure of information when representing
						the school or district within the community and in public
						communications.
D. The professional educator promotes effective and
						appropriate relationships with employers by:
1. Using property, facilities, materials, and resources
						in accordance with local policies and state and federal laws;
2. Respecting intellectual property ownership rights
						(e.g. original lesson plans, district level curricula, syllabi, gradebooks,
						etc.) when sharing materials;
3. Exhibiting personal and professional conduct that is
						in the best interest of the organization, learning community, school community,
						and profession; and
4. Considering the implications of offering or accepting
						gifts and/or preferential treatment by vendors or an individual in a position
						of professional influence or power.
E. The professional educator understands the problematic
						nature of multiple relationships by:
1. Considering the risks that multiple relationships
						might impair objectivity and increase the likelihood of harm to students'
						learning and well-being or diminish educator effectiveness;
2. Considering the risks and benefits of a professional
						relationship with someone with whom the educator has had a past personal
						relationship and vice versa;
3. Considering the implications and possible
						ramifications of engaging in a personal or professional relationship with
						parents and guardians, student teachers, colleagues, and supervisors;
						and
4. Ensuring that professional responsibilities to
						paraprofessionals, student teachers or interns do not interfere with
						responsibilities to students, their learning, and well-being.
Principle V: Responsible and Ethical Use of
						Technology
The professional educator considers the impact of
						consuming, creating, distributing and communicating information through all
						technologies. The ethical educator is vigilant to ensure appropriate boundaries
						of time, place and role are maintained when using electronic
						communication.
A. The professional educator uses technology in a
						responsible manner by:
1. Using social media responsibly, transparently, and
						primarily for purposes of teaching and learning per school and district policy.
						The professional educator considers the ramifications of using social media and
						direct communication via technology on one's interactions with students,
						colleagues, and the general public;
2. Staying abreast of current trends and uses of school
						technology;
3. Promoting the benefits of and clarifying the
						limitations of various appropriate technological applications with colleagues,
						appropriate school personnel, parents, and community members;
4. Knowing how to access, document and use proprietary
						materials and understanding how to recognize and prevent plagiarism by students
						and educators;
5. Understanding and abiding by the district's policy on
						the use of technology and communication;
6. Recognizing that some electronic communications are
						records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state public access
						laws and should consider the implications of sharing sensitive information
						electronically either via professional or personal devices/accounts; and
7. Exercising prudence in maintaining separate and
						professional virtual profiles, keeping personal and professional lives
						distinct.
B. The professional educator ensures students' safety and
						well-being when using technology by:
1. Being vigilant in identifying, addressing and
						reporting (when appropriate and in accordance with local district, state, and
						federal policy) inappropriate and illegal materials/images in electronic or
						other forms;
2. Respecting the privacy of students' presence on social
						media unless given consent to view such information or if there is a
						possibility of evidence of a risk of harm to the student or others; and
3. Monitoring to the extent practical and appropriately
						reporting information concerning possible cyber bullying incidents and their
						potential impact on the student learning environment.
C. The professional educator maintains confidentiality in
						the use of technology by:
1. Taking appropriate and reasonable measures to maintain
						confidentiality of student information and educational records stored or
						transmitted through the use of electronic or computer technology;
2. Understanding the intent of Federal Educational Rights
						to Privacy Act (FERPA) and how it applies to sharing electronic student
						records; and
3. Ensuring that the rights of third parties, including
						the right of privacy, are not violated via the use of technologies.
D. The professional educator promotes the appropriate use
						of technology in educational settings by:
1. Advocating for equal access to technology for all
						students, especially those historically underserved;
2. Promoting the benefits of and clarifying the
						limitations of various appropriate technological applications with colleagues,
						appropriate school personnel, parents, and community members; and
3. Promoting technological applications:
(a) that are appropriate for students' individual needs;
(b) that students understand how to use and;
(c) that assist and enhance the teaching and learning
						process.