Splash Minors Policy

MIT Minors Policy

Since mid-2017, the MIT administration has outlined a minors policy which provides requirements for all programs at MIT involving minors (under age 18). The intent of this minors policy is to improve the safety and protection of minors that attend such programs, and for Splash 2023, the concrete requirements are as follows:

  1. Every classroom must have at least 2 adults present. All MIT students count as adults regardless of age. As a special exception, walk-ins are exempt from this requirement (since all walk-ins will occur in the same location).

  2. MIT background checks are required for all Splash teachers. If you are MIT affiliated, a background check will last 4 years, but those who are not current MIT students, staff, or faculty (including alumni and all non-MIT personnel) will require a new background check every year. Non-MIT background checks do not fulfill this requirement.

These requirements are important—teachers who do not satisfy this requirement cannot teach for Splash and future ESP programs.

Feel free to email us if you have questions about the background check process at splash@mit.edu.

Two adults per classroom

If you’re already planning to co-teach your class with others, you’re good to go! If not, we strongly urge you to find a few friends to teach with. Not only is it the easiest way to satisfy MIT’s policy requirement, it’s also a valuable and worthwhile social experience to have.

There is no requirement that all registered coteachers of a class play an equal role in teaching. As far as policy requirements go, it is perfectly acceptable to get a friend to sign up as a teacher but only be present in the room.

If you are unwilling or unable to teach with others, there exists an alternative arrangement. If you agree to observe (sit in) for a different solo teacher’s class, we can try to have another teacher observe your class. However, we cannot guarantee we will be able to match all classes up for observing each other, and you may not be able to teach if we cannot find you an observer.

Background checks

If you are not an MIT affiliate, you will need to receive a background check from MIT. There are several ways to satisfy a background check:

  1. Prior background checks: If you are an MIT affiliate and have been background checked by MIT within the past four years, you are good to go! If you are not affiliated with MIT and have been background checked by MIT within the past one year, you are also good to go.
  2. Getting a background check: More details about getting a background check can be found below.

Prior background checks

If you have been background checked by MIT using an in-person notary in the 12 months prior to Splash 2023 (non-affiliates) or in the past 4 years prior to Splash 2023 (MIT affiliates, including undergraduate and graduate students and staff and faculty members), you already have a prior background check and are good to go!

In particular, this is true if you were background checked when teaching for another ESP program in the past year, like Spring HSSP, Summer HSSP, or Spark. (Rarely, you may be required to do a background check on a case by case basis. We will let you know if this is necessary.) If you got a completely remote background check, you will need to get a new background check for Splash 2023.   

Getting a background check

If you registered a class and you need a background check, please wait for an email about how to do the background check process. Make sure to check your spam.

Background checks can take up to 3 weeks to go through, so please make sure to start the process as soon as you receive instructions. We might have to cancel your classes if the background check process isn't started in time.

This background check is valid for one year (non-affiliates) or four years (MIT affiliates) for any MIT program involving minors. After that period, you will need to do another background check for future programs. 



Last modified on Aug. 31, 2023 at 06:48 p.m.