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Rochester Board advances five district policies to first reading, updates student voter registration and volunteer guidance
Summary
At its Oct. 14 work session the Rochester Board of Education voted to move five policies — covering internet use, volunteers, homework, promotion and student voter registration — to first reading at the October business meeting. The board discussed implementation concerns but did not adopt final language.
The Rochester Board of Education voted Oct. 14 to move five district policies to first reading at the October business meeting, including updates to the district's student voter registration policy and new guidance for school volunteers.
Charisma, a district policy presenter, told the board that policies 45-26 (internet use), 45-32 (school volunteers), 47-30 (homework), 47-50 (promotion and retention) and 56-05 (voter registration for students) were presented under the board discussion items. She said policies 45-26, 47-30 and 47-50 had no significant changes; policy 45-32 was revised to clarify second and third paragraphs about volunteer guidance; and policy 56-05 was updated to reflect a recently amended state law on student voter registration and preregistration and to align with NESBA recommendations and similar policies in other large districts.
Commissioners spoke briefly during discussion. Commissioner Santiago raised concerns about policy execution, saying the board can adopt policy but must ensure it is carried out at the school level, citing examples from her family. Vice President Malloy and others described the voter-registration changes as additions that would, for example, post information, offer registration in required classes and host registration events, aligning procedural steps with the statute. No board member asked to withhold any of the five policies from first reading.
Motions to move each policy forward were made and seconded; Commissioner Griffin moved and Vice President Malloy seconded the motions to advance policies 45-26, 45-32, 47-30 and 47-50. The motions carried by voice vote. The motion to advance policy 56-05 (voter registration for students) was likewise moved by Commissioner Griffin and seconded by Vice President Malloy and carried by voice vote.
The board did not adopt final policy language at the work session. The policies will return for formal consideration at the board's October business meeting as first-reading items, with any additional edits and public posting expected before final adoption.
The district's policy presenter said 56-05 did not follow the district's usual review timeline because the state law change required more immediate alignment. No statutory citation was provided in the presentation; the presenter described the change as made to align with “a recently amended state law.”
