Establishing and Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries with Our Students

This message was sent to all Safe Pass team members on Monday, April 21, 2025 and is being shared here in the interest of transparency with those who trust us with who and what matters most to them. 💚

----------
​
Hey Team! 👋

In light of the recent article that appeared on the Cleveland 19 News website on April 16, 2025, we will be intentionally starting a more formal discussion regarding appropriate behavior and boundaries with our students (especially those who are under 18) to supplement the ongoing informal attention we regularly show to this key topic.

While we are all required to complete the Sexual Harassment Prevention course (WBT650) offered through The Ohio Traffic Safety Office annually, the conversations that we regularly have with one another, the articles that are shared each week through our internal Driving Instructor Reading List, and the regular continuing education in which all of us participate (going above and beyond the continuing education requirements as set forth by Ohio Driver Training) support our unwavering dedication to our students’ safety in all aspects of their driver education experience. Our expertise in this area also finds a strong foundation in the training that many of us have as educators and relationship managers from our higher education journeys and previous professional experiences.

The trust that students and their families place in us is something we should never assume or take for granted. Over the past 5 years (and carrying over from my time as a Driving Instructor before that), Safe Pass has developed a reputation for safety in all the ways, including how students feel safe and seen with us and how their adults feel safe leaving their teens in our care. Both are trusting that the kind of behavior described in that article or anything approaching it will never happen here. To that end, we will continue to take proactive steps to ensure that expectations regarding boundaries with students are clear to us, to them, and to their families.

Here is a list of resources that each of us will review and that we will set aside time to discuss through responses to this email and in our next team meeting:

PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES - PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY
Teachers & Educators: Student – Teacher Boundary Violations in California
9 Examples Of Boundaries To Implement In The Classroom

​Please respond to this message by Saturday, April 26th at 6PM to confirm that you have thoroughly reviewed each of those three (3) resources. Your response should include at least two (2) specific takeaways from each resource as well as any supplemental questions or thoughts.

My confidence in each of you in maintaining appropriate boundaries and relationships with our students and their families is unwavering. I encourage each of you to continue speaking with your Training Managers whenever you have questions or uncertainty regarding those boundaries and student relationships. If you ever have even the slightest concern regarding a student interaction, we expect that you document that concern or situation in detail in the student’s record (including any applicable messages exchanged with the student or student’s family members) and then to report that documentation to a Training Manager.

When in doubt, conclude the interaction with the student or student’s adult, document the situation, and report the situation to a Training Manager immediately.

Especially during these challenging times, our empathy and compassion can and do motivate us to care for the whole person of each of our students. Knowing what boundaries to establish (and how to establish them), convey, and maintain is key to our ability to do just that.

I’m looking forward to sharing my takeaways from each of the resources above and to reviewing yours! Thank you for all you do to keep our students safe and to support the trust that they and their families continue to place in Safe Pass!

(Please note: in the interest of transparency and to further strengthen the confidence our student and their families are able to have in Safe Pass, this message will be shared to our website.)

​Max Swinton (they/them)
Driving Instructor & Founder
Safe Pass