Verona Area School Board asks human growth and development committee to treat listed curricula as recommendations, not directives
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Summary
The Verona Area School District board received an update from the human growth and development committee, asked for clarification of the committee’s charge and voted to change a proposed directive into a recommendation while adding the district's gender inclusion committee as a resource to review.
The Verona Area School District Board of Education on April 21 received an update from its human growth and development committee and voted to send back a clarified set of expectations as a recommendation rather than as a directive.
The board heard that the committee reviewed current instruction, identified inconsistencies across grade levels and examined curricula used in nearby districts and at other sites. Nate (facilitator) told the board the committee's work was intended to "review our current curriculum" and that comparing other districts' materials was to give committee members context, not to force replacement.
Board members pressed for clearer guidance. A motion by board member Christopher (mover) with Meredith seconding changed the draft language from a formal directive to the committee into a recommendation and added the district's gender inclusion committee as an expected resource for the review. The motion passed; board members signified approval with "aye." The motion asked the committee to address specific questions on representation, mental health, family engagement and alignment with the district's equity framework.
Board and committee members described persistent gaps the committee found: inconsistent coverage of required content across grades, uneven use of medically accurate language, reliance on external videos and other resources judged by the committee as sometimes out of date, and limited family-facing materials. Committee members reported reviewing several curricular models cited by board members, including Wauwatosa's 3Rs resources and the HealthSmart program noted in Sun Prairie.
Several board members urged the committee to keep its advisory role and not allow the board's request to morph into a prescriptive instruction manual. "The charge of the committee was not to look for replacement curriculum," a board member emphasized during the discussion, noting that the committee's purpose is to advise the board after reviewing existing practices.
The board directed the committee to return with answers to the consolidated questions and explicitly requested that the committee include materials and perspectives from the gender inclusion committee when assessing whether current instruction meets state statute and the district's equity commitments. The board also left open the option to add or remove items from the recommended set of review questions before the committee's next meeting.
The board did not adopt or replace any curricular materials at the meeting; members said further review and reports will follow before any adoption decisions.
The committee's update and the board vote occurred during the superintendent's report segment. The decision shifts the board's language to be advisory and clarifies what the board expects the committee to address in its next report.
