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District 186 board reviews student and family handbook updates, schedules vote next meeting
Summary
A committee of staff, parents and community members reviewed updated handbook language on attendance, accelerated placement, career-center attendance, electronic devices, discipline and bullying; the board will vote on the amended handbook at its next meeting.
A district presenter told the Springfield Public Schools District 186 Board of Education on Tuesday that a representative committee has finished recommending updates to the student and family handbook and the board will vote on the changes at its next meeting.
The revisions, drafted by a 36‑person committee of school staff, parents and community members, add language required by a legislative mandate for an accelerated placement program, tighten rules around attendance and career‑center participation, and expand the district's electronic device and technology policy, the presenter said.
Committee members added minimum attendance requirements for students attending the Capital Career Center, and the handbook now emphasizes makeup work: “All students will be provided with work whether their absences are excused or unexcused,” the presenter said. The committee also kept the district’s mandatory attendance hours chart and broadened it this year to show penalties for both arriving late and leaving early.
The handbook retains the phrase “gross disobedience and misconduct,” the presenter said, noting that the wording is required by the school code and is legally binding. The committee also reorganized discipline guidance and expects additional edits after the district’s technology department finishes an updated office discipline referral form.
On technology, the committee added details about student Google accounts — including that graduates will lose access in July — and expanded the electronic‑device definition to explicitly include Bluetooth listening devices and wearable technologies. The committee rejected proposals to allow hoods in classrooms or pajama pants as part of the dress code, citing safety and expectations for a professional environment.
Bullying, hazing and harassment sections were revised to align reporting forms with federal reporting categories; a missing federal aggressive act was added to the district form, the presenter said.
Board members were told a PDF of the draft will be distributed before the next meeting. The board was not asked to vote Tuesday; the superintendent said the full board will vote on the handbook at the next scheduled meeting.
The handbook update presentation closed with an invitation to board members and the public to send additional suggested edits before the formal vote.
