Riverside Local board approves package of policy revisions to align with House Bill 96

Riverside Local district staff presented a package of policy revisions intended to align district rules with House Bill 96, and the board approved approximately 140 pages of changes during a meeting, a staff presenter said.

The revisions update a wide set of policies, including nondiscrimination/anti-harassment provisions, the district cell-phone policy, attendance and excused-absence rules related to driver education, digital accessibility and information-security rules, audit procedures for the treasurer/CFO, and rules for participation by homeschooled students in extracurricular programs. Staff described the package as largely technical updates required by the budget bill and related statutes and said administrative guidelines will follow to implement the changes.

District staff (identified in the record as Speaker 1) said the nondiscrimination policy was revised and consolidated with related anti-harassment and Title IX materials to reduce duplication with existing Policy 2266. The presentation noted multiple policy numbers were edited or added; staff referenced Policy 2266 and a related set of handbook policies when describing the nondiscrimination revisions.

On the cell-phone policy (identified in the discussion as Policy 5136), staff said the district intends to keep its existing approach — devices must be authorized and are allowed only for specific purposes such as translation for English-language learners, medical needs, accommodations required by individualized education plans (IEPs) and limited uses like photography for art portfolios. The presenter said the district enforces the rule as “out of sight…