July 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM - Smith County Board of Education Agenda

Discussion:  The Smith County Board of Education met at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at the Smith County Board of Education. Mr. XXX provided the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag. 

Discussion:  Mr. Ricky Shoulders, Chairman of the Board, welcomed all visitors and called the July 15, 2025, meeting of the board to order.

Discussion:  Request to approve the regular meeting minutes of the Board - Tuesday, June 17, 2025.

Discussion:  The Superintendent took the following actions:
1. Staff Placement
2. Substitutes
3. Resignations
4. Transfers
5. Volunteers

Discussion:  Request to adopt the following TSBA model policies to ensure compliance with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations due to changes made by the Tennessee General Assembly and the State Board of Education.

As part of your policy subscription, the TSBA Policy Department monitors statutory and regulatory changes to ensure that our model policies comply with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations. Due to changes made by the Tennessee General Assembly and the State Board of Education, TSBA has updated the model policies outlined in this memo. Below are the recommended revisions.

This is the second and final reading for these policy updates.
Policy 1.1021 - Student Board Member

Public Chapter 359 requires Boards that operate at least one high school to adopt a policy authorizing a student board member. Boards that already have policies on student board members or student advisory groups may maintain the current language. Based on this new requirement, we created the model policy below. This model contains suggested language for criteria, and we encourage you to update this model to best serve your district. 

Policy 1.407 - School District Records

Previously, state law permitted individuals to submit a records request via fax. Public Chapter 94 removes this option. We have updated the corresponding model policy to reflect that change.

Policy 2.403 - Surplus Property Sales

In the past, federal regulations required that certain actions be taken when property valued at $5,000 or below was disposed of. This limit has been increased to $10,000. We have revised policy 2.403 to align with this new standard. Additionally, Public Chapter 500 includes new criteria for posting notices on news and information websites. This new law clarifies that the website is not intended to be the same newspaper of general circulation utilized for the printed publication.

Policy 3.202 - Emergency Preparedness Plans

Public Chapter 315 clarifies that no more than two fire drills are required to occur within the first thirty full school days. We have added a provision to the model policy clarifying this point.

Policy 3.204 - Threat Assessment Team

There are new reporting requirements regarding threats and significantly disruptive behavior. A report must be made to parents/guardians within forty-eight hours of the district reporting to law enforcement. Additionally, there must be a quarterly report of incidents provided at board meetings. 






Policy 4.100 - Instructional Program
Policy 5.500 - Discrimination/Harassment of Employees
Policy 6.304 - Student Discrimination, Harassment, Bullying, Cyber-bullying, and Intimidation

We are updating three policies in response to Public Chapter 293. This new state law requires Boards to include the definition of antisemitism in anti-discrimination policies. The full definition is included in the updated version of policy 4.100, and policies 5.500 and 6.304 have been updated to refer to that definition.


Policy 4.212 - Virtual Education Program

Public Chapter 484 permits districts to use hybrid learning in the event of dangerous or extreme weather or in an emergency, as determined by the Director of Schools. If a district uses hybrid learning, the Board must have a policy in place regarding student attendance. We have added this option to the virtual education policy.

Policy 4.301 - Interscholastic Athletics

Students attending virtual schools will now be permitted to participate in interscholastic athletics in accordance with TSSAA or TMSAA guidelines. If a school is not a member with these organizations, virtual school students zoned for the particular school shall be able to participate in interscholastic athletics to the same extent as other students. We have added a provision to the model policy on this aspect.

Policy 4.403 - Library Materials

A recent change to state law clarifies that materials may not be excluded from school libraries solely on the grounds that they are religious. 

Policy 4.406 - Use of the Internet

The Teen Social Media Act specifies limits that must be in place for district internet use regarding age-appropriate content and protecting personal information. This new law also requires that districts prevent students from accessing social media platforms on district provided internet unless expressly authorized by a teacher for educational purposes.



Policy 4.601 - Reporting Student Progress

Report cards for students in grades K-8 must now include the student's score on the most recently administered universal reading screener and the results of a dyslexia screener, if applicable. 

Policy 5.100 - Personnel Goals

The general assembly finds that LEAs are at their most effective when the employees are the most highly qualified candidates for employment and that hiring decisions should be based on merit rather than any other metric. These changes align with the requirements of Public Chapter 494 which removes the requirement for educator diversity goals.

Policy 5.119 - Employment of Retirees

Public Chapter 159 makes several changes that will impact employing retirees in the 2025-2026 school year. Importantly, there is now a requirement for a bona fide separation of service prior to reemployment. This includes a sixty day separation of service, and there can be no previous agreement to return to work. We have reworked this model policy to align with the changes to state law.

Policies 5.305 (Family and Medical Leave) & 5.701 (Substitute Teachers)

A clean-up bill, Public Chapter 235, made several changes to state law. One significant change is to the paid parental leave statute and which employees may use this type of leave. Under the new law, employees must satisfy the following criteria to be eligible for this paid leave: (1) have received a license or an emergency credential from the Department of Education required for the relevant position; and (2) be in a full-time position that requires the relevant license or emergency credential for at least twelve consecutive months. The changes to state law also clarify how this leave can be taken. Now, employees may choose whether to take the leave consecutively or nonconsecutively but in increments of no less that one week. Please note that there is a difference in how attorneys are interpreting this law. We recommend speaking with your board attorney prior to implementation. If necessary, we will send out further updates to this policy.

Additionally, Public Chapter 235 changes the number of days that a substitute teacher can teach without a license. This was previously set at twenty days and has been increased to thirty.



Policy 6.200a - Attendance

Public Chapter 401 requires entities that provide released time courses to submit proof of compliance with state law on background checks. We maintain an optional provision on released time courses in our alternate version of policy 6.200. This version of the model policy has been updated to highlight the responsibility of these independent entities.

Policy 6.303 - Questioning Students and Searches

There is a new training requirement for school personnel who may conduct searches of students. Going forward, any searches of students must be carried out by a school resource officer, a school security officer, or a school administrator who has completed state required training. Public Chapter 244 requires the Department of Education to develop this training. We have updated this policy to align with these legal changes.

Policy 6.312 - Use of Wireless Communication Devices

Public Chapter 103 requires Boards to adopt a policy on student use of wireless communication devices. We have created two versions of this model policy to assist Boards that may desire to have different practices for younger students. Both versions include exceptions required by state law (e.g., use during emergencies).

Policy 6.411 - Student Wellness

Previously, state law required elementary students to receive 130 minutes of physical activity per week. This has now been increased to 40 minutes each full school day. Middle and high school students are still required to receive 90 minutes of physical activity per full school week. These requirements are separate from physical education classes.

Policy 6.600 - Student Records

If a student transfers from one school to another, Public Chapter 156 requires the district to provide a copy of a student's records to the new school within five business days. We have added a provision to our model policy to clarify this obligation.

Discussion:  Request to adopt the following TSBA model policy 1.700 School District Goals to ensure compliance with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations due to changes made by the Tennessee General Assembly and the State Board of Education utilizing Policy 1.600 adopting changes on first reading.

As part of your policy subscription, the TSBA Policy Department monitors statutory and regulatory changes to ensure that our model policies comply with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations. Due to changes made by the Tennessee General Assembly and the State Board of Education, TSBA has updated the model policy outlined in this memo. We have received questions from districts about Public Chapter 494 and how it impacts Boards. This new state law removes the requirement for educator diversity goals. Further, it prohibits districts from making hiring decisions on metrics other than merit. Additionally, the State Board of Education recently deleted the requirement for local Boards to maintain a policy on this topic. Roughly half of Boards maintain policy language that would need to be revised. Based on this, we recommend that Boards review policies that may contain language on this topic along with any other relevant documents.

Discussion:  Request to approve the following student school fees for the 2025-2026 school year.

See attached school fees

• • Defeated Elementary School
  • Forks River Elementary School
  • Smith County High School
  • Smith County Middle School
  • Union Heights Elementary School

Discussion:  Request to accept the low bid of $2.645 per gallon for 4,500 gallons of diesel fuel from Mixon-Nollner for delivery on June 18, 2025.

Discussion:  Request to accept the following low bids for janitorial supplies for the 2025-2026 school year.

2025-2026 Janitorial Bid Summary
Trash Liners 60 gallon 300 cases	Unipak	$5,751.00
Trash Liners 15 gallon 100 cases	Unipak	$1,410.00
N.A.B.C. 100 cases	Kelsan	$2,578.00
Pearlux Hand Soap 50 cases	Kelsan	$1,545.50
Urine Screens 30 dozen	Lebanon Chemical	$507.00
Hand Towels 300 cases	Lebanon Chemical	$11,979.00
Toilet Tissue 300 cases	Lebanon Chemical	$14,733.00

 

Discussion:  Request to approve the contract agreement between the Smith County Board of Education and Heather Tiedemann, Speech Language Pathologist Assistant, for thirty-five dollars per hour for services. The length of this agreement is from August 1, 2025, through May 22, 2026.

Discussion:  The director of schools shall establish the salary rating of each person employed and shall recommend such salary rating to the Board for its approval as stated in Policy 5.110 Compensation Guides and Contracts.

Discussion:  The Smith County Schools Technology Department asks the Board to approve Howard Technology Solutions as our Chromebook vendor for the 2025-2026 school year. Howard Technology Solutions submitted two proposals for Bid #25-10 and received the highest and second-highest scores on the attached evaluation rubric. We request permission to accept both proposals as potential purchase options, which will ensure we have access to additional stock as needed throughout the school year. Submission 1 came to a total cost of $275 per unit, and Submission 2 totals $290 per unit. We received a total of 14 bids. The bid opening
attendance sheet, bid evaluation matrix, and copies of the recommended bids are attached.

See attached bid information

• Recommendation Letter
• Bid Opening Sheet
• Bid Evaluation Matrix

Discussion:  Director of Schools Evaluation Results
2024-2025 School Year
A random number was assigned to each board member for the evaluation process.

		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Average
A	Planning/Goals	100%	100%	74%	82%	68%	51%	100%	100%	84%
B	Public Relations/ Communications	100%	90%	68%	77%	77%	35%	100%	100%	81%
C	Board/Supt. Relations	100%	96%	84%	85%	73%	33%	100%	100%	84%
D	Personnel Evaluation/ Supervision	100%	97%	61%	80%	67%	50%	80%	100%	79%
Total Average Score										82%

                                                                                                                                                       81% - 100% is Excellent
 

Discussion:  Annual Policy Review (July)
Please review the following policies for the Smith County Board of Education to remain compliant in policy review.  If you find any inconsistencies or if something needs to be discussed regarding a policy listed below, please bring it to the attention of Mr. Ricky Shoulders, Chairman of the Board, during the meeting.

Policy 1.101, Role of the Board of Education
Policy 1.202, Duties of Board Members
Policy 1.2021, Boardsmanship Code of Conduct
Policy 1.407, School District Records