Governance and Employee Issues: student handbook

Governance and Employee Issues meets today at 5:30. You can find the agenda here.
It's almost entirely on reviewing the student policy handbook for the 2014-15 school year, which is done every year (policy is one of our major responsibilities, remember!) and needs to be completed at this time so it can be translated into our languages and printed ahead of school in the fall.
posting as we go

out of school discipline rate; recommendation is that item be filed, as we're awaiting the state's new regs on out of school discipline
Rodrigues: "don't yet have the guidelines"
discipline days that a student can have, use language that we don't use in Worcester (explusion)
"what does not change for us, is students who have violated our rules on weapons, drugs, or felony charges" will go through process and have school elsewhere for a maximum of one year
up to 90 days for non-violent
will bring recommendations to School Committee as regs are out
Rodrigues "having a new set of rules...very clear...what will change for us is to look internally to the programs and the responses we have in schools"
diminishing behaviors
"learning curve will be for everyone"
Foley: "we still need as a district to have this conversation and a review" regarding suspension in years past
impact of new regulations on these suspensions?
Important to engage in this dialogue: how do we look at this report? grade levels
"some of us were concerned about the kindergarten, grade one and two"
Rodrigues: working with WEC and LEI on disaggregating that data
cautious when we unpack this regulation
proposed to have interventions that schools can adopt, meaningful, relevant
Foley: take a close look at data
Monfredo: invite WEC and LEI
do we have a timeframe?
Rodrigues: asked Chester last Friday...'some tweaking' He couldn't tell us exactly where they will
"once we get them, we'll work very expeditiously" as July 1 is coming
will forward regulations once we have them
motion to FILE

Changes to the policy handbook

Note that one of the changes is that athletes must have a 65 average or above in four traditional year long courses and a C average in all year long courses, except for incoming 9th graders for the first quarter.
Much conversation here around the term "need-to-know" in relation to nurses telling teachers about students who have diabetes
Changes approved, with minor amendments