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Lebanon board adopts 'Parents' Bill of Rights' policy to meet July 1 deadline
Summary
The Lebanon City School Board voted unanimously June 16 to suspend its usual two-reading requirement and adopt a new policy implementing the state "Parents' Bill of Rights," saying the measure must be in place before the July 1 effective date.
The Lebanon City School Board of Education voted unanimously June 16 to suspend its two-reading policy requirement and adopt a new district policy implementing the state "Parents' Bill of Rights," citing a statutory deadline that requires a policy in effect before July 1.
Superintendent Sievers told the board that the new law is time-sensitive and "it's required to be passed this month," and said the administration had delayed bringing a draft until it was clear the law would not change. "So we must have a policy in effect by July 1," he said during the board discussion.
The board first voted to suspend board policy 0131, which otherwise requires two readings before adoption, so the board could approve the required policy in a single meeting. The suspension passed on a roll-call vote with each present board member voting yes. The board then approved three related policies in the same meeting, including the new Parents' Bill of Rights policy, a revised medication policy and an animals-on-district-property policy that clarifies rules for facility dogs.
The superintendent described the Parents' Bill of Rights policy as aligning district practice with the new law: giving parents access to curriculum on request, specifying notification requirements for certain discussions he described as "sensitive content," and requiring notification to parents in cases where students request use of different names or pronouns. Sievers said the policy does not change the district's health curriculum obligations: "This does not apply to health class where we're required to talk about ... sexually transmitted diseases and things like that," he said.
Board members asked procedural questions about the one-month adoption and were told Ohio law requires approval but does not specify two readings; the district's two-reading practice is a local policy the board may temporarily suspend. The board president called for the votes; each recorded roll call showed unanimous approval.
The board and administration said they plan to include the new language in the family handbook and other parent communications so parents will see the updated policies before the school year starts. The administration said it will return to standard policy procedures after this deadline-driven action.
Why it matters: The board acted to ensure the district has a locally adopted policy that mirrors a recently passed state law and to provide the required parental notification and access provisions before the law's effective date.
No litigation, enforcement action or withholding of funds tied to this board vote was mentioned at the meeting.
