Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Policy Updates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
William Penn SD Policy Committee reviews trauma-informed, discipline, weapons, terroristic-threats and facilities policies
Summary
The Policy Committee reviewed multiple policy updates including a new trauma-informed-approach policy (146.1) and revisions to student-discipline, weapons, terroristic-threats (218.2) and facilities-use policies designed to align district language with the PDE School Code and state law enforcement practices.
The William Penn School District Policy Committee reviewed multiple policy updates during its March 6 meeting, including a new policy on trauma-informed approaches, clarifications to student-discipline and weapons policies to align with the PDE School Code, additions to the terroristic-threats policy to address students with disabilities, and edits to the rules governing use of school facilities.
Dr. Bekos presented the proposed changes, saying the revisions are largely clarifications designed to align district language with legal requirements and to provide staff direction. He described policy 146.1 as a trauma-informed-approach policy added to give staff explicit direction on trauma-informed educational practices and to include legal citations and school-safety language. On student discipline, Dr. Bekos said the draft updates clarify references to law enforcement and add the option of a building principal designee without changing substantive disciplinary standards.
The committee discussed alignment of the weapons policy with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) School Code and added language about coordinating with the law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over each school property. On the terroristic-threats policy (218.2), Dr. Bekos said the draft adds a paragraph addressing students with disabilities and explains how the district will work with law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction.
The policy covering use of school facilities was updated to remove wording that specified particular e-cigarette types; the draft now uses the term “tobacco and vaping products and other e-cigarettes” without naming device types. Committee members noted that more work is needed on community-service programming as an option for students who violate certain policies; Dr. Bekos said additional information on that topic will be provided to the board at a later date.
A community member, Miss Ward Micterson, asked how outside organizations apply to use district facilities. Mister Deans explained the district’s process: an organization must register with the district, verify contact information and insurance, and complete an online application indicating the facility is available and not needed by the school. He said the process is handled through the district’s online platform (identified in the transcript as "Bridal") and that the district posts instructions on the website.
Several policies were listed as being up for second reading: access to education, student privacy and immigration enforcement, tobacco and vaping products, controlled substance and paraphernalia, and tobacco and vaping products for employees. Committee members indicated that comments from the prior policy meeting had been addressed via board weekly updates and that additional work on community-service programming would be forthcoming.
