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Policy committee advances four state-aligned policy updates to board action meeting
Summary
The committee held second readings of four mostly boilerplate policy updates — academic standards, curriculum observances, federal fiscal compliance and federal travel reimbursement — and asked the board to consider them for third reading and adoption at the next action meeting.
Dr. Hayes, chair of the policy committee, presented four policies for second reading at the Sept. 10 committee session and asked the board to move them to third reading at the upcoming action meeting.
The policies are largely technical updates to align district rules with state and federal requirements, Dr. Hayes said. They were described as: - Policy 102 (Academic Standards): Terminology updates to align with standards the Pennsylvania Department of Education and State Board adopted in 2022; the district’s curriculum teams have already begun aligning curriculum to those standards. - Policy 105 (Curriculum): Minor edits to formalize observances required by school code (for example, Constitution Week and other listed observances) and to reflect existing curriculum practices. - Policy 626 (Federal Fiscal Compliance): Revisions to comply with federal uniform guidance on administrative requirements and record-keeping for federal funds; district staff noted the change in the federal single-audit threshold and that the district receives more than $1 million in federal funds annually. - Policy 626.1 (Travel Reimbursement for Federal Programs): Clarifies approval and allowable travel costs for federal-program travel, including mileage and per-diem consistent with federal rules.
Dr. Hayes said the administration intends to finalize terms with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to support a broader policy overhaul this fall; the four policies reviewed on Sept. 10 are intended to be first among several tranches.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about record-retention periods, why “world language” language was adjusted in the academic standards policy, and how federal guidelines affected travel reimbursement. District staff confirmed auditors test internal controls annually and that world-language standards rely on national, not state, standards.
The committee asked that the policies be brought to the board action meeting (scheduled for late September) for third reading and possible adoption; no final adoption occurred at the committee meeting. Dr. Hayes said the finalized revision dates will appear on the policies once the board adopts them.
