December 10, 2020 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  This policy was reviewed on 1st reading in October.  I accidentally left it off the agenda last month.
When approving this policy, Policy 4.203 Advanced College Placement will be deleted.

From TSBA:  The State Board of Education modified its regulation on students taking college level courses. We have revised our model policy to more clearly align with the updated regulation.

In response to this change, we also recommend that Boards delete policy 4.203 - Advanced College Placement as this information is no longer supported by the regulation. 

Rationale:  Changes recommended by TSBA.  Lines 8-11 speak to the issuance of a citation by the school principal/school resource officer.  If this is referring to principals issuing citations that would result in legal consequences for students (i.e. ultimately being dealt with by law enforcement), then TSBA recommends that the Board remove this language from the current policy as this is not something currently provided for under state law.  A law enforcement officer could still issue a citation, but this is not something that is required to be dealt with in policy.

Rationale:  A new State Board of Education regulation creates a process for Boards to apply for waivers regarding textbooks and instructional materials.  To take advantage of this, a Board must vote to seek a waiver to use materials that are not included on the list approved by the State Textbook Commission.  We have updated our model policy to include a provision on these waivers.

Additionally, TSBA has combined model policies 4.400 and 4.401 to clarify the relationship between textbooks and instructional materials.  Once 4.400 is adopted, 4.401 will be deleted.

Rationale:  Recommended changes by Lead Team.

Rationale:  TSBA model policy closely aligns with changes that were made to TCA 49-6-1005.

Everything below line 12 will be moved to a procedure.

Rationale:  Changes recommended by TSBA.  Page 1, lines 2-4 and lines 10-12 could be interpreted as creating due process rights for classifed employees that is not supported by state law. TSBA recommends removing these lines for consistency and form implementation purposes.

Rationale:  Recommended by TSBA.  State law requires boards that have video cameras on buses to adopt a policy that establishes a process to allow parents to view photographs or video footage collected from cameras on school buses.  This law also requires the policy to contain provisions on who will supervise the parents while they view the survellance footage and how long the photographs or video footage will be maintained by the LEA.  The model policy contains a provision on this.  TSBA recommends adopting this policy to comply with state law.

Rationale:  TSBA updated their model policy to clarify which immunization exemptions are available under state law.

Rationale:  TSBA has updated their model policy provision on restraint and isolation with additional information that aligns with state law.

Rationale:  Updates from TSBA.  Recent legislation that changes the charter school process will go into effect on January 1, 2021.  Beginning next year, amended charter applications shall be submitted to the TN Charter School Commission.  Previously, these appeals had to be submitted to the State Board of Education.  TSBA has updated the model policy to align with this change.

Rationale:  Waiver of Rules/Adopt on 1st Reading

The State Board of Education approved a rule change on second reading that allows districts flexibility for the 2020-2021 school year.  This change allows the Baord to choose a weight for end-of-course exams to be included in a student's final grade from a range of 0% - 25%.  As more changes on this topic may be forthcoming from the General Assembly, TSBA does not recommend updating board policy 4.700 at this time.  However, TSBA wanted to provide this update as Boards may choose to suspend the current portion of their policy on end-of-course exam weighting.

Rationale:  The highlighted portion of the attached policy is what is recommended to be suspended.

Rationale:  Recommendation to extend the employee's eligibility to take FFCRA leave after the 12/31/20 expiration.