Board members reviewed a printed draft of the 2025-26 student handbook and discussed discipline-matrix changes driven by recent statutory changes.

District staff said the handbook’s substantive updates are concentrated in the discipline section and that the district has submitted the language to legal counsel to confirm the handbook complies with the Revised Code of Washington (RCWs). Staff asked the board to provide any feedback promptly so the district could present the handbook as an action item at the July 23 meeting or, at the latest, the first meeting in August.

Board members questioned the handbook’s discipline matrix when applied to early elementary grades. A board member asked why several disciplinary entries appear severe for kindergarten through fourth grade. Kevin (district staff member) explained legal limits on exclusions: “By law, we're limited to the short term suspensions… I believe it's 10 days within a trimester,” he said, adding that districts must track short-term suspension days and cannot indiscriminately assign long-term exclusions for very young students.

Administrators explained the matrix reflects both statutory limits and developmental appropriateness. Staff noted court and special-education obligations — including what staff referred to as the Free and Appropriate Public Education obligations — mean the district remains responsible for educating students who live in district boundaries even if the district removes them from a regular classroom. When a student’s behavior raises safety concerns, a student-success team must identify an alternate, safe setting where the district can continue instruction.

The board urged staff to clarify the matrix’s age applicability in the handbook and to add explanatory text that describes how suspension days are tallied and how educational services will be provided during exclusions. Staff said they will continue working with legal counsel and return the handbook as a planned action item at the July 23 meeting.

Ending: The handbook remains under review; staff will add clarifications about developmentally appropriate discipline, suspension-day limits for young children, and how educational services are delivered during exclusions, and return it to the board for final action.