What is the role of parents or guardians in TDV prevention and response within a school context?

• A. Engage with families about healthy relationships and safety, respect student confidentiality, and coordinate with families when appropriate and allowed.
• B. Exclude families from all TDV discussions to protect student privacy.
• C. Share all student disclosures with families without consent.
• D. Coordinate with families only when mandated by law, regardless of policy.

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that parents and guardians play a collaborative, protective role in preventing teen dating violence and supporting students within the school setting. The best approach is to actively engage families about healthy relationships and safety, while maintaining student confidentiality and coordinating with families when appropriate and allowed by policy and law. This partnership helps reinforce prevention messages at home and ensures students have support as they navigate relationships.

Engaging families in conversations about healthy relationships and safety extends the school’s prevention efforts beyond the classroom and signals to students that their families are part of their safety net. Respecting confidentiality means sharing information only as permitted by policy and law, and seeking consent for disclosures when possible. Coordinating with families when it’s appropriate and allowed ensures that responses, resources, and safety planning are aligned with a student’s needs and rights.

Other approaches undermine safety and trust: excluding families from discussions reduces the supportive network around the student; sharing all disclosures with families without consent violates privacy and can erode trust; coordinating only when legally mandated ignores opportunities for proactive collaboration and holistic support.