Plainfield 202 committee reviews 2025–26 student handbooks, new in‑school suspension language and a food‑service coordinator reorganization

Plainfield School District 202’s Personnel Policy & Administration committee on April 16 reviewed proposed 2025–26 student handbooks for elementary, middle and high schools, discussed an update to policy 7:200 on in‑school suspension that the committee will send to a 30‑day public display, and considered a reorganization to create a coordinator of food service position.

The committee’s discussion detailed handbook changes that will be included in the materials presented at the April 23 regular board meeting. Assistant Superintendent Olivas opened the item; Linda Taylor, director of community relations, and directors and principals from the district reviewed level‑specific edits and districtwide changes.

Why it matters: the handbook changes affect discipline reporting, accessibility, communication and classroom expectations for tens of thousands of district students and families. The committee reviewed new wording that aligns district reporting requirements to state reporting categories and discussed operational impacts of creating a dedicated coordinator to oversee food service operations and the district’s contract with Aramark.

What the policy change would require: the proposed policy 7:200 adds minimum requirements for operating an in‑school suspension program. The committee summarized three conditions that must be met before assigning a student: the charges must be explained and the student given an opportunity to respond; students must be supervised by licensed school personnel (the committee clarified licensed personnel include teachers, administrators and paraprofessionals); and students must be provided an opportunity to complete classwork for equivalent academic credit. The committee voted to send the draft policy to a 30‑day public display for comment prior to a final board vote.

Handbook changes across levels: district staff outlined changes intended to update practice and to satisfy state reporting or federal/ADA obligations. Major, districtwide edits summarized by Director Craig Brown include:

- New links and consolidated notices: a single district web link to annual notices such as FERPA and the acceptable use policy, and an added acknowledgement of the student behavior policy and student conduct code. - Accessibility: several high‑school tables (fee schedules, graduation requirements, bullying classifications, athletic‑violation consequences) were removed from handbook PDFs and replaced with web links for ADA compliance. - Discipline and reporting categories: language was revised so incidents will be reported with four distinct categories for assault/physical attack (student with physical injury, student without physical injury; staff with physical injury, staff without) to align with state reporting. Fireworks were split into “with fuse” and “without fuse” for reporting. Harassment and related entries were expanded into categories distinguishing physical injury or not, and threats were separated by presence/absence of a weapon.

"We added a section on hazing, that was not in any of our handbooks," Director Craig Brown said during the presentation.

High school: staff removed multiple tables and added web links; they also added a Level‑2 offense specifically for violation of social probation.

Middle school: Principal Lubin described curriculum adjustments (revised algebra descriptions, a newly adopted social studies resource scope and sequence), new English language development (EL) classes (Levels 1 and 2) for newcomers, and two new potential encore options—"Pure Helpers" and "Personal Development." Discipline edits included broadening "classroom disruption" to simply "disruption" and moving "disrespect/insubordination" from Level 1 to Level 2.

Elementary: staff added a sex/offender notification model statement that the district had not previously included and condensed complaint‑procedure language (based on an IPA model) into a shorter, blended version. Committee members discussed readability concerns and whether some procedural detail might be better published outside the handbook so families are more likely to read core expectations.

Evidence preservation and follow‑up: the committee clarified the district’s investigative practice: the district retains evidence collected during investigations and administrators are expected to follow up immediately after an investigation concludes. Staff said they will encourage students and families to preserve digital evidence (screenshots, messages) if they wish to bring a complaint.

Food service reorganization: the committee reviewed a proposal to reclassify an assistant administrative assistant for finance into a coordinator of food service for the 2025–26 school year. District staff said the position would add responsibility for overseeing the expanded Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) participation, ensuring compliance with federal, state and local regulations, and monitoring the Aramark contract. The proposal was presented as a reorganization item to be included in the materials forwarded to the full board.

Next steps and decisions: the committee approved forwarding the proposed policy 7:200 to a 30‑day public display; it also placed the 2025–26 handbooks on the agenda for the April 23 board meeting for formal consideration. The food service reorganization was presented to the committee for approval to forward to the board; final board action is required for implementation.

Meeting context: the discussion took place during a regular Personnel Policy & Administration committee meeting and included board members (Chair Dr. Woland; Vice President Barb Seiden; board member Miss Morelos), district leaders and building administrators. Several committee members stressed clarity and parent communication as priorities while staff asked for latitude to publish certain procedural detail outside the printed handbook to improve readability.

What was not decided here: the committee did not adopt final board policy or finalize handbook publication at this meeting; those formal decisions remain with the full Board of Education at upcoming meetings.