Student policy handbook

the Mayor tries again for "approve on a roll call"
O'Connell: wishes to keep Rule 4; "doing so in part to prevent students from being suspended from school for tardies...should in fact prevent students from being suspended for tardiness...rule is simple and direct"
(The rules don't require suspension; they require discipline.)
"This rule is one of the buwarks of keeping students in school...leave that rule in place"
modify our rule with cellular telephones
current policy is that phones stay in their lockers
concerned with students contacting people outside of the school
now a concern such that people can contact people outside the school
asks that we keep the rule as it is

Mayor suggests keeping to just these two issues for this discussion

Novick: supports keeping tardiness
all it means is that it's a disciplinary issue
cell phones are in the building: we're only fooling ourselves if we think that this is actually being implemented; all it's doing is driving our assistant principals crazy
this doesn't mean it's free reign on cell phones; it just makes them subject to the same discretion as any other possible distraction in the schools

Biancheria: keep tardiness in
"if we can maybe work a little on this this evening" on celll phone language

Foley:
"this could go on forever tonight...tardiness doesn't bother me one way or the other"
cell phone "we're about ten years behind on technology...we want our kids to have cell phones in the schools...they're educational devices"
come up with some kind of a policy that is common sense
"I don't want to leave my expensive cell phone in my locker"
"I think striking it is better than leaving it in the book"

Monfredo: "we have to go back to the school principals with us trying to deal with in the schools"
"that poses a major problem in our schools"
truancy: "our major concern was that we didn't want kids suspended because of that"

Colorio "I get texts every day from our schools"
would like to have a revision in our schools for our schools
"have to teach these kids some kind of responsibility"

Cell phones prohibition deleted
Tardiness stays in

Opt out procedure reading as "Students whose parents opt them out of state or district standardized assessment will not be academically penalized or face disciplinary action except as prohibited by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or by the United States" passes

Display of data will be create a new set of procedures by administration.
Passes, and reconsideration fails.

We've got a policy handbook!