Policy committee authorizes posting of several district policies for April public review

The East Stroudsburg Area School District Policy Committee on April 28 moved to authorize administration to post a set of district policies for public review during the month of April, with subsequent board action planned in May. The list the committee read into the record included Policy 2 52 (Dating Violence), Policy 8 24 (Maintaining Professional Adult‑Student Boundaries), Policy 2 18.4 (Gangs), Policy 2 26 (Searches), Policy 8 02 (School Organization), Policy 8 04 (School Day and Emergency Closings), Policy 8 17 (Workplace Threats and Violence — proposed repeal), Policy 8 22 (Automated External Defibrillator), Policy 8 25 (State Mandate Waivers), Policy 9 05 (Citizens Advisory Committees), Policy 9 08 (Relations with Parents/Guardians), Policy 9 12 (Relations with Educational Institutions) and Policy 9 14 (with noted revisions). A motion to authorize the posting was made and seconded; committee members asked procedural questions about when items require multiple appearances and noted that some policies were review‑only.

During the discussion members clarified that some revisions were minor (for example, the addition of the district mass notification system in the emergency closings policy) and that certain items were being repealed because they duplicated other policy text (the committee discussed repealing Policy 8 17 on workplace threats and violence because related subjects are covered under Policy 3 17, employee disciplinary infractions, and other harassment policies). Members also noted that the cyber academy is not listed as a separate school in the school‑organization policy because it is a program and is not recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education as a standalone school; the district maintains program organization information in PDE's EDNA database.

The committee asked whether changes that repeal a policy require two public appearances; staff replied that repeal requires two appearances and that unchanged policies are often posted to demonstrate due diligence. The committee set its next meeting for May 19, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. in the same room.