Policy committee approves Title IX policy update, replaces named HR contact with position title

The Bridgeport School District Policy & Personnel Committee on March 4 approved an amendment to a proposed Title IX harassment policy that replaces a named human-resources director with a generic position contact and moved four other draft policies to a March 12 meeting.

The change came after committee members and staff said a January district-court ruling invalidating the 2024 Title IX regulations prompted the district to revert to earlier guidance while adopting a more detailed model policy. "In January, our district court said that the regulations were illegal, and they suggested going back to 2020 policies and regulations," Dominique, the policy presenter, said. Dominique described the recommended document as "a little bit more in-depth and a little bit more descriptive than what we currently have in our policies and regulations."

The committee chair, Pauline Medina, framed the proposed update as a compliance and continuity matter. "This is a key recommendation because this is what the state mandates for us to have," Medina said while explaining the committee's reasons for moving the item to the full board after the committee vote.

Committee members debated how the district should respond to evolving federal guidance and executive actions outside the court ruling. One member noted that recent presidential executive orders and related litigation are "premature" for local policy decisions and that court challenges could take years to resolve. Committee members agreed the district should focus on the court ruling that directly affects local obligations and adopt a policy that aligns with state requirements and existing district practices.

The specific amendment the committee approved struck the individual name of a human-resources director from the Title IX contact field and replaced it with the position title/contact (for example, "Head of Human Resources" or the district HR email). Jennifer Perez, who was online and identified as staff, confirmed the procedural change would prevent repeated revisions when personnel change.

The committee also raised a separate wording issue in student conduct policy regarding alcohol, drugs and tobacco. Members asked staff to revisit language that still describes marijuana as a "violation of Connecticut state law," noting that state law no longer criminalizes certain marijuana possession and use; staff clarified that federal law remains applicable for some policy enforcement contexts. The committee directed staff to refine that language before bringing the items back.

Votes at a glance - Approve minutes dated Oct. 22, 2024 — motion approved by voice vote; no roll-call recorded. - Amend Title IX policy to replace named HR director with position contact — motion approved by voice vote. - Move items labeled b, c, d and e to the March 12 Policy & Personnel Committee meeting — motion approved by voice vote. - Adjournment motion — approved by voice vote.

Next steps: The Title IX policy, with the committee's amendment replacing the named contact with a position title/contact and other editorial updates requested by the committee, will be forwarded to the full school board for consideration. Staff were also asked to refine the substance-abuse wording and to complete final edits to the other four draft policies before the March 12 committee meeting.