District staff told the Coffee County Board of Education on Sept. 25 that a state law effective July 1 requires the district to update its Internet Acceptable Use policy and submit the revised policy to the State Department of Education by Oct. 15. A staff member said the updated policy will replace the prior version in the student handbook and will address changes in technology use, including references to AI and other online tools.
Why it matters: The acceptable-use policy governs student and staff technology behavior and compliance with state reporting deadlines; failure to submit an updated policy could put the district out of compliance with the Department of Education's requirements.
Board members also engaged in an extended discussion about a proposed revision to policy GARH on employee leave. Staff described a proposed alignment with Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) practice used by neighboring systems: reducing the maximum paid leave available in-district from 150 days to 60 days (or otherwise aligning the district maximum with FMLA parameters) and allowing additional unpaid leave in qualifying circumstances. Staff said many surrounding systems have capped paid leave at 60 days and that the district's existing practice allowing up to 150 days was contributing to high substitute costs and extended benefit payments when employees remain on leave without pay.
Specific items board members discussed included:
- Aligning paid leave with FMLA eligibility and a 60-day cap for paid days as the default, with the possibility of unpaid leave beyond that for qualifying events; staff emphasized that leave balances would not be forfeited but could convert to retirement-credited days if unused.
- Adding a living organ-donor leave provision (staff said a new provision must be added to allow approximately 30 days for living organ donors) and clarifying military leave language. Staff said those two changes are required to align with updates from GSBA (Georgia School Boards Association) policy templates.
- The district's sick-bank policy and interactions with the state health-benefit plan: staff said that when employees move to leave without pay, State Health allows them to keep health coverage for up to 12 months while on unpaid leave and that the employer portion of coverage can be costly; staff cited an example figure stating the district pays "upwards $20,000 a year" for the employer portion in some cases.
Board members urged caution about immediate implementation: one member suggested sending the proposed PDF to employees, explicitly communicating the change and considering implementation beginning in the next contract year so employees can use open enrollment to buy short-term or long-term disability coverage. Staff agreed to provide additional education and to return with cleaned-up language. The board decided to "tag" or table the GARH policy revision to allow time for further review and to add the living-donor and military-leave language before final adoption.
No final vote on GARH was recorded in the work session transcript; staff said the Internet Acceptable Use policy needs board approval to meet the Oct. 15 submission deadline and that item remained on the agenda for action.