Don’t post links to private Zoom meetings on public websites. Only distribute links via email to authorized attendees.

We recommend you follow UW-IT’s guidance about protecting Zoom meeting spaces. 

Limit use of recordings. Record only when necessary for program goals and when other ways to achieve those goals are unavailable, and only after soliciting required consents. 

Prevent unsanctioned recordings by everyone else by setting your Zoom meeting settings to:

• prevent non-hosts from recording the session, and 
• prevent non-hosts from saving or copying the chat log. 

Review prohibitions of recording and screen capturing with both staff and participants in training and your codes of conduct. (See our codes of conduct and virtual interactions addenda.)

1. Only use University (not personal) Zoom accounts.  This allows supervisors to monitor and review activity records.
2. Always add a co-host to Zoom meetings so a supervisor or other authorized personnel can interrupt or join as needed.
3. Include at least two personnel in Zoom meetings with youth, whenever possible.
   • If you use breakout rooms, ensure there are enough personnel in both the main room and each of the breakout rooms to prevent private, unmonitored one-on-one interactions with youth.
4. Hold small group Zoom meetings rather than scheduling with just a single youth, whenever possible.
5. Set limits on the frequency and timing of Zoom meetings.
   • Schedules should exclude late night or weekend interactions, when possible.
   • Create a regular schedule and share with parents/guardians of youth to reinforce transparency of the encounters.
   • Ensure that supervisors are aware of the scheduled meetings and will be available to interrupt or join as needed.
6. When one-on-one contact with youth is necessary and appropriate for the activity (e.g., counseling, tutoring, mentoring), ensure interactions are observable and interruptible by following the above procedures, and:
   • Set limits on what topics mentors or tutors and youth discuss.
     • Mentors in UW programs typically have a specific academic or career focused purpose underlying the relationship. While the personal connection and rapport between mentor and mentee is also important, train mentors to channel the rapport they have built into a meaningful conversation about the future career or education interests of the youth.
     • Train mentors and tutors to limit sharing personal information and to avoid sharing details that could blur the lines between professional and personal relationships.
   • Mentors or tutors are not serving as therapists or social workers. Train mentors to handle disclosures of extreme personal hardship in a thoughtful and sensitive manner, with redirection to professional support as applicable.

Designate at least 2 staff members as “hosts” for the meeting. “Host” status allows a person to control the meeting and participants and change meeting settings if necessary.

Divide responsibilities for the meeting or session between your hosts: for example, assign one host to monitor the chat (if enabled) and respond to any questions or concerns raised there, while the other host facilitates the session.

Before the meeting, review your response protocols with your co-hosts and divide responsibilities among your team.

You may want to restrict the use of the in-meeting chat to hosts only, or disable the chat entirely. This would prevent youth from being able to talk to each other without supervision.

Should a disruption occur, immediately use the in-meeting controls to:

• Lock the meeting, preventing new participants from joining, if you haven’t done so already. (As mentioned above, we recommend locking all meetings proactively once all authorized attendees are present as a preventive measure.)
• Remove the offending party from the meeting. You may also want to disable the “Allow removed participants to rejoin” setting in your Zoom settings. The removed participant will not be able to rejoin if the meeting is locked.
  • If you don’t want to remove the offending party from the meeting entirely, you can disable their video, mute them, or place them “on hold.” Hold status blocks them from seeing video and hearing audio, but allows the meeting to continue for everyone not on hold. These options might be appropriate if it is an authorized attendee causing the disruption, instead of an outside intruder.
• Report the user to Zoom and, as applicable, follow University reporting guidelines for behaviors of concern and suspected child abuse or neglect. 

If these controls do not eliminate the problem, calmly announce to your group you are ending the meeting and that you will contact them soon to regroup. End the meeting for all participants.

When the immediate disruption is resolved, attend to your participants. Don’t gloss over or downplay the incident, especially if it included threats, slurs, or other triggering content. Inside Higher Ed suggests additional steps to assist with this process.

Don’t forget to take care of yourself and other staff, too. The Washington Employee Assistance Program can provide referrals to supportive resources for staff.