Provo board reviews draft policy updates on access, juvenile notifications, campus conduct, gender inclusion and enrollment

The Provo City School Board reviewed several draft policy updates during its study session, including equal educational opportunities (Title IX), juvenile-offender notification, conduct on school premises, gender-inclusive schools, and eligibility and admissions requirements. Staff said the items are drafts that will go to policy committee and then be posted for public review before final consideration.

Wendy Dow told the board that the equal educational opportunities policy is aligned with Title IX requirements and identifies the district's Title IX coordinator; she noted the policy language is focused on Title IX but that the district also intends to make clear it does not discriminate on other bases.

Policy questions raised by board members included whether named contacts (Title IX coordinator, investigators) should be listed by title only or by name, and whether some long paragraphs could be restructured as lists for clarity. One board member also raised the need to harmonize similar language across related policies (for example, the nondiscrimination/harassment policy).

Other draft policies reviewed:

- Juvenile-offender notification (policy 33-60): draft separates notification when a student is taken into custody from notification when a student is adjudicated and includes a proposed effective date of 07/01/2025; staff suggested the language could be simplified to combine the two near-identical notification sentences.

- Conduct on school premises (policy 70-55): staff noted the policy defines a school as a modified public forum, outlines visitor restrictions, trespass and weapon rules, and includes a clause on alcohol and prohibited substances that board members asked policy committee to review for clarity.

- Gender-inclusive schools (policy 3,300): staff said the state provided model language; board members suggested minor wording edits to be consistent with definitions used elsewhere in district policies (for example, replace "affirmed gender" with language that references "gender identity" where appropriate).

- Eligibility and admissions: staff said the draft clarifies residency evidence timelines (up to 30 days to provide documentation), treatment of newcomers and immunization/health-examination processes, record transfer rules (district must transfer records even if fees or fines are outstanding) and provisions tied to state identification of persistently dangerous schools. Board members asked for an explicit reference to immunization requirements and suggested clarifying the student-identification-number language to note Social Security numbers are not to be used.

Next steps: Dow said policies will be taken to policy committee in August for review, posted on the district website for the required public comment period, and then scheduled for formal board consideration in September. Board members requested staff clean up cross-references, resolve inconsistent naming of point people, and consider adding concise definitions or user-friendly formatting where helpful.

Ending: The board did not vote on any of the policies at the study session; staff will return revised drafts after policy-committee review.