Delaware Valley SD schedules April forum after hours of public comment on 2016 OCR agreement

The Delaware Valley School District Board of School Directors voted 8-1 on March 20 to add a general discussion of the district's 2016 Office for Civil Rights (OCR) resolution to the agenda and announced a special public forum for 6 p.m. on April 16 in the high school learning commons to review the agreement and take public comment.

The move followed extended public comment during which dozens of residents, students and alumni urged opposite outcomes: some told the board that rescinding the OCR would jeopardize federal funding and student safety, while others called for removing the agreement to protect girls' privacy and sports opportunities. The board did not take any vote to rescind or amend the OCR during the meeting; the item was added only for discussion.

Why it matters: the OCR agreement governs how the district interprets federal civil-rights protections for students. Speakers at the meeting tied the issue to Title IX, federal guidance and recent executive orders, and several asked the board to weigh legal and…