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Policy committee drafts temperature policy, reviews cell phone and class‑size rules following state changes
Summary
After new state law requires local boards to adopt building temperature standards, the district's policy committee drafted a temperature policy and reviewed cell phone guidance and class‑size ratios to ensure local policy aligns with state rules and local practice.
The district's policy committee reported Wednesday that a new state law requires school boards to adopt minimum and maximum indoor temperature ranges for school buildings and that the committee has drafted a policy to meet the September 24 statutory trigger while consulting facilities staff.
Committee chair Jody (board member) said the legislation enacted in mid‑June requires boards to adopt a written policy and to consult the Department of Education before finalizing a local standard; the committee consulted Facilities Director Bill Hanson to align practical building HVAC capabilities with the policy draft. The committee cited Title 20a as the legislative reference and said it would present the draft to the full board for further action if a state sample policy is not provided by the Department of Education.
The committee also reviewed the district's cell phone policy work and said boards without a phone policy must develop one; staff reported preliminary impressions that implementation has reduced hallway and lunchroom noise and that administrators will report back to the committee. The committee noted it will consult the assistant superintendent and the policy office for refinements.
Finally, the committee reviewed class‑size policy and state statutes governing staffing ratios, noting that state guidance establishes school‑wide ratios (25:1 maximum in several grades) and that district practice sets lower targets (for example, kindergarten 16:1, grade 1 18:1, grades 2–3 20:1). The committee said pre‑K adult‑to‑child ratios (1:8) required by DOE chapter 124 would be added to current policy language and returned to the full board.
Next steps: the committee will solicit Department of Education sample language if released, add pre‑K language, and present the drafted policies for full‑board consideration at a future meeting.
