District 204 reviews PRESS 118 updates including AI policy, Title IX and 'Ensuring Success in Schools' requirements

Lyons Township High School District 204 administrators presented a first reading Tuesday of PRESS 118, the Illinois Association of School Boards’ policy update package, and recommended adopting several changes that the district’s legal counsel reviewed, including a new policy on access to electronic networks (AI guidance), updates tied to Title IX regulations, and a new policy implementing the Ensuring Success in Schools (ESS) law.

“PRESS Plus is an online resource for sample policies and the legal rationale that supports them,” Brian (Ed) Wardman and other administrators told the board, and Jennifer Rosenberg of Hodges, Louisi, who reviewed the package, answered legal questions during the presentation. Administrators said PRESS updates are issued several times a year and that the district uses the updates to keep board policy aligned with state law and best practice.

Key items discussed: an AI/electronic networks policy (policy 6235 in the packet) that would create a district standard for staff and students, training expectations and classroom guidelines; Title IX‑related revisions and a return to 2020 Title IX procedures in many policies; changes tied to the new Ensuring Success in Schools law including a standalone policy on services for expectant parents, student‑parents and other protected groups; identity‑protection and cybersecurity references; and accounting/bidding threshold updates prompted by state rule changes. Rosenberg told the board that certain policies allow administrators to insert names/contacts administratively rather than adopting policies with specific people’s names to avoid frequent board amendments.

Board members asked detailed operational questions. Several asked whether adopting the proposed electronic‑networks/AI policy would require immediate, prescriptive training frequency; administrators and task‑force members said training should be ongoing and content‑specific, and they described a “stoplight” classroom approach (red/yellow/green) to indicate allowed levels of AI use for specific assignments. The district’s technology team said it has trained teachers, has four tech coaches providing lunch‑and‑learn sessions, and is considering closed AI solutions that retain student data on district‑approved platforms.

On Title IX and other student‑safety policies, Rosenberg noted the district had not adopted the 2024 Title IX guidance and had continued operating under 2020 rules; PRESS edits are intended to align nondiscrimination and grievance language to current legal expectations. On the ESS law, administrators said the district is still digesting federal and state guidance and that some ESS implementation details arrived late in the update process; the district will continue legal review and may revise training schedules or implementation dates as guidance clarifies.

Administrators recommended the board adopt most PRESS 118 updates at a second reading on June 16, and flagged a small set of items the board directed staff to change or review further (for example, removing a nonresident‑student tuition provision from the residency policy and extra review of a medication/self‑administration clause). No final votes were taken at the first reading.

Ending: Administrators will bring a revised packet with targeted edits and recommended policy language back to the board for a second reading and potential approval on June 16. The district said it will continue working with legal counsel on ESS implementation and Title IX clarifications.