June 21, 2016 at 5:30 PM - June Regular Monthly Meeting

Rationale:  The Schools Activity Funds Audit was on the January 2016 agenda along with the principal's responses to the audit.  The audit was approved, however County Finance Director Robert Daniel had requested to meet with a few of the principals regarding their responses, therefore approval of the responses was deferred for 30 days. Since there has been difficulty in getting the parties back together, Mr. Daniel has suggested a study session be scheduled with himself, the principals and a representative from the Comptroller's office and recommends approval of the responses at this time.

Rationale:  This policy was updated to reflect a change in the ability of parents and teachers to access questions and answers on students' state-required tests.  Public Chapter 844 requires districts to publicly disseminate how parents can access their student's questions and answers.  This becomes effective for the 2016-17 school year.

Rationale: 

This policy was updated to reflect the enactment of Public Chapter 660, which requires districts to adopt a policy regarding the appropriate inclusion of religion in the local curriculum and instructional materials.  The changes indicate how religion should be addressed in the classroom.

A course syllabus must be made publicly available for all grades six (6) through twelve (12) social studies, science, math, and English language arts courses.  The syllabus must include standards, objectives, topics covered, major assignments, and field trips.  

The Board already has a policy in place (4.804 - Religion in the Curriculum) which is substantively similar to the recommended adoption attached, however TSBA recommends adopting this revision as it more closely mirrors the requirements of the new law.  The title was suggested to be updated from Religion in the Curriculum to Religious Content of Courses.  

Public Chapter 660 also requires districts to allow public comment before adoption of this policy. TSBA has suggested that this be a first reading of the policy and at the next monthly board meeting the Board should allow a brief time for public comment on the suggested policy.

Rationale: 

This new policy was created due to the enactment of Public Chapter 623.  The new law requires all employees of the school district to attend the annual in-service training on suicide prevention.  Additionally, each district must adopt a policy on suicide prevention that contains procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.  This policy is required to be in place by the beginning of the 2016-17 school year.

"All employees" means any employee that receives a paycheck directly from the system.  This would mean any outsourced employees would be considered an independent contractor and not employee, but TSBA legal is suggesting that when possible, to try and get the outsourcing company to require the employee to do the training.  It was felt by the sponsors of this legislation and experts in the field, that students might more easily reach out to employees other than the child's teacher (maintenance, cafeteria workers, etc.) therefore the requirement that ALL employees receive annual training.  (The Jason Foundation offers a free 2 hour training that can be done online and this may be an option for the required training.)

TSBA does not normally help with administrative procedures but in this case are working on procedural guidelines with experts in the field and will be sending them to us shortly.

Rationale:  This policy was updated to address the new requirement (Public Chapter 677) to conduct a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and AED (automated external defibrillator) drill in schools that have an AED.  The new law requires schools to perform an annual drill for employees and students to ensure they are aware of the steps that will be taken in the event of an emergency.

Rationale: 

This policy was recently updated in April to include emails as an acceptable form of a written request and to add a note about security and safety documents not being open for public inspection.  Administrative procedures regarding rates for copies were also adjusted.

Due to the recent changes to the Tennessee Public Records Act, an extensive revision is needed.  The new law requires districts to incorporate additional information in their records policies and identify the individuals within each district that are responsible for handling open records requests.  The district must also state what forms of payment will be accepted. 

 

Rationale: 

It was discussed to bring an update on this policy earlier in the year with some changes needed to reflect updates in State Board of Education policy, however it was decided to hold off, knowing that changes were imminent in this legislative session.

This revision reflects the older changes needed to be in line with SBOE policy and also the changes to TCA 49-6-6001, which currently requires students to take the ACT suite of assessments in grades 8,10, and 11.  Public Chapter 844 has removed that testing requirement in grades 8 and 10, and allows students to retake the ACT if funds are available.

Rationale:  Due to the changes made in Public Chapter 783, a revision to this policy is needed in order to add additional requirements for bullying investigations.  Once a bullying report is received, the District must initiate an investigation within 48 hours and complete the investigation within 20 calendar days unless appropriate documentation can be produced justifying a longer investigation period (this could be necessary in the event of a cyberbullying investigation where more time is needed to investigate).  The law also requires districts to immediately notify the parents/legal guardians of a student involved in an act of harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying.

Rationale: 

This revision has all the updates necessary to comply with the new physical activity standards resulting from changes to TCA 49-6-1021 brought about by Public Chapter 669.  Students in grades K-6 are required to receive certain periods of non-structured physical activity per day, while students in grades 7-12 are required to receive ninety (90) minutes of physical activity per week.  Physical activity does not include walking to and from class.  

There are also some updates to the nutrition section that should be made and included in this revision.

Rationale:  The Boys & Girls Club has requested that Bus 68 from the surplus listing be donated.  A donation will require the Board of Education's recommendation of approval to county finance and then the county commission will have to approve the donation and pass a resolution in order to complete the transaction.