Easton School Committee approves dozens of policy edits; community-use rules sent back for more review

The Easton School Committee approved a series of policy revisions and deletions during a remote meeting Sept. 30 while agreeing to return one substantial facilities-use policy to the policy subcommittee for further work.

Director Perez led the committee through a second-reading and vote on policies in sections K (school–community relations) and J (student- and discipline-related policies), moving several items to final approval and sending the community-use policy (KF) back for a third reading so administrators and the policy subcommittee could separate operational procedures from policy language and finalize fee amounts.

Why it matters: The packet included multiple classroom- and student-facing rules—visitor policies, searches and interrogations, discipline and student records—that affect how Easton Public Schools staff, families and outside groups interact with schools. Changes to the community-use policy could change how outside organizations request and pay for use of school facilities across the district.

Most actions were approvals on second reading. The committee unanimously approved revisions to policy section KA (School–Community Relations Goals), KBA (School–Parent Relations Goals), KBE (Relations With Parent Organizations), KDD (News Media Relations/News Releases), KE (Public Complaints), KI (Visitors to Schools), KLG (Relations With Police Authorities), and multiple J-series policies covering harassment, student discipline, protections for homeless students (JFABD), student records (JRA) and related items. The committee also approved deletions of policies it determined no longer needed to be in the manual, such as JJ-E (co‑curricular and extracurricular activities) and JJA (regulatory excerpts), where noted in the packet.

On the community-use policy (KF), Director Perez and staff said the draft contains substantial edits from Director Copas and others to reflect a new online application system (referred to in the packet as “Bridal”) and to replace an older paper application process. Assistant Superintendent Pruett asked whether procedural details belong inside a policy, saying, “Do procedures need to be in a policy? Because if a procedure ends up changing due to any sort of malfunction of a technology, for example, the whole policy would need to change.” Perez and committee members agreed to send the policy back to the subcommittee to pare operational procedures out of the policy text, work with administration on how procedures will be published (for example, on the facilities web page), and bring a revised policy back for a third reading.

Several other items discussed in the packet were flagged for additional review. On student records, committee members and staff noted an overlap between the district’s directory-information approach and recent opt-out processes used for a middle-school pathways program; the committee asked legal counsel and staff to reconcile the language with applicable law before finalizing implementation. On searches and interrogations (JIH), legal counsel restored language principals had requested; a clerical spelling correction was noted and fixed before the committee approved the revised policy.

The committee also reviewed a draft animal-assisted therapy policy (IMGA/animal-assisted therapy) originally written for therapeutic staff; committee members said the draft was broadened to address requests from a school resource officer who has sought to use a comfort animal in certain school settings. Committee members checked that requirements such as accommodations for students with allergies and sanitization procedures remained included under the revised language and said they would schedule a second reading on that policy.

Votes at a glance (policies discussed Sept. 30, 2025) - KA (School–Community Relations Goals): approved (second reading). - KBA (School–Parent Relations Goals): approved (second reading). - KBE (Relations With Parent Organizations): approved (second reading). - KDD (News Media Relations/News Releases): approved (second reading). - KE (Public Complaints): approved (second reading). - KF (Community Use of School Facilities): not approved; returned to policy subcommittee for a third reading to separate procedures and finalize fee language. - KI (Visitors to Schools): approved (second reading). - KLG (Relations with Police Authorities): approved (no changes since first read). - KJA (Relations with Booster Organizations): first read (no vote). - JBA/ACAB (Harassment policy text replacement): approved (second reading). - JFABD (Homeless Students Enrollment Rights and Services): approved (second reading). - JRA (Student Records): discussion held; committee asked staff and counsel to reconcile directory‑information language with recent opt‑out practices before final adoption; committee instructed staff to proceed as described (motion to approve with staff follow-up contingent on counsel review). - JIH (Searches and Interrogations): approved (second reading, with clerical spelling fix). - JIC/JICF/JICFA (Student discipline, gang activity, hazing, weapons): approved (second readings where noted). - JJ‑E (Co‑curricular and extracurricular activities): approved for deletion. - JK, JKAA, JKF and related discipline/safety policies: approved (second readings).

What committee members said: Assistant Superintendent Pruett urged limiting procedures inside policy text to avoid frequent policy amendments if operational systems change, saying policy should “refer to the procedures as a document rather than actually putting the procedures in the policy.” Director Perez responded that Title IX–type requirements must remain where law requires and that where the law does not require procedures to be in policy, the committee should decide whether to keep procedure text or reference an externally maintained procedure.

What’s next: The committee agreed to a third reading for the KF (community‑use) policy after staff and the policy subcommittee remove operational procedures from the policy and finalize fees and the online application workflow. The committee also asked legal counsel to reconcile student-records/directory‑information language with recent district opt‑out practices before finalizing that policy.

The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn following roll-call votes on the final block of policies.