Supervising Live Classes: For Teachers

As a teacher, you are responsible for learner safety in every class you teach, regardless of the subject or age group. This article explains how to safely run a live classroom. Please see Protecting Learner Information: For Teachers for additional guidance on learner privacy.

All live classes must take place on Zoom through Outschool. Start each class using the Start Live Meeting button in your classroom.

Never use a personal Zoom link or code, another conferencing service, or send a Zoom link through the Conversations or Learners tabs—even when helping someone who is having trouble entering class.

Remain present and supervise learners whenever your meeting is open. Do not leave learners unattended or ask a learner to act as an administrator in your absence. Your camera must be on and your face identifiable while you teach.

See Teaching Live Classes with Zoom for the features you’ll need to manage your classroom.

Check in each learner individually. If a name in the waiting room does not reasonably match your roster, use the one-way waiting-room chat to ask the person to change it. Never reveal the names of other learners or parents.

If the name still does not match, explain that you cannot admit them, let them know you’ll follow up after class, and report the situation to Support.

Once the name matches, verify on camera that the person attending is the enrolled learner and is within Outschool’s learner age range. Voice recognition cannot replace camera verification. Learners who have completed Alternative Learner Verification are exempt from the camera verification requirement.

Cameras are required during check-in, but learners may turn them off afterward. If you require cameras throughout class, state that expectation in both the class description and welcome message.

Information for Teachers on Learner Verification explains the full procedure, including what to do when a learner cannot enable video.

Outschool classes are for learners ages 1–18. If an adult or someone outside the learner age range enters your class, use Block Learner from the learner’s Manage Enrollment window and report it to Support.

Blocking prevents that person from entering other classrooms or sending messages through Outschool. Use this feature only for adults or overage attendees.

Do not admit someone who claims to be an Outschool employee. Report the situation instead. Do not admit AI note-takers to your classroom.

Apply the same caution to private messages from someone who identifies as an adult but is not part of an active learner family.

You will not be penalized for reporting the situation or enforcing this rule. Failing to remove or report adults is a violation of Outschool’s safety standards.

You may invite one adult guest speaker you know to a class meeting. Notify parents beforehand, remain present throughout the meeting, and afterward contact Support so the Zoom links can be reset. Do not leave guests unattended with learners.

Individual teachers may not use substitutes, including other approved Outschool teachers.

Please read our organization policies for more information on substitutions within an organization.

If you cannot teach, cancel the meeting and arrange an appropriate make-up or refund under Managing Live Class Enrollments.

Outschool has zero tolerance for hate speech, threatening behavior involving weapons, or the promotion or use of alcohol, restricted drugs, or tobacco by teachers or learners during class.

For higher-risk classes where items such as knives, chemicals, mature reading material, or other sensitive content are necessary and appropriate to the lesson, clearly disclose their use in the class listing so families know what to expect.

When materials could cause harm, begin class with safe-handling instructions. Prepare learners before introducing emotionally difficult content and anticipate the questions it may raise.

If a learner raises a personal mental health concern, gently redirect the conversation, follow up with their parent, and contact Support when further attention may be needed.

If a learner describes self-harm or suicidal ideation, report it immediately as described under Reporting Safety Concerns below.

See Class Policies: Content Guidelines for additional policies and guidance.

For disruptive behavior, mute the learner and give a verbal warning.

If the behavior continues, move the learner to the waiting room and message the parent through the Parent Conversations tab. Address the concern with the parent in writing before contacting Support to document it.

See the Learner Code of Conduct.

Parents should remain off camera and allow their learner to participate independently. They may listen from a reasonable distance or watch the recording, but may not join from a second device.

If a parent or sibling disrupts class, mute them or disable their camera and message the family privately.

In 1-on-1 tutoring, you may allow a parent to join on camera to discuss their learner’s progress and plans. The conversation must remain focused on the learner, will be recorded, and should not include unrelated personal information.

If a learner may be in immediate danger, tell them to call 911 and then contact Outschool Support right away.

All Outschool teachers are considered mandatory reporters and may be required to share their concerns with law enforcement or social service agencies as needed; in such cases, teachers should reach out immediately to Outschool Support to discuss the next steps in the reporting process.

Urgent safety concerns include:

Timeliness matters more than certainty. Report what you saw or heard rather than waiting for proof.