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Harrisonburg school board OKs first readings of updated student conduct and related policies
Summary
The Harrisonburg City School Board approved first readings of Policy 4-12 (Student Conduct) and Policy 4-41, aligning language with Virginia School Boards Association guidance and adding explicit references such as cyberbullying; board directed staff to ensure harassment/discrimination policy explicitly addresses hate speech.
The Harrisonburg City School Board on Sept. 2 approved first readings of two revised policies: Policy 4-12 (Student Conduct) and Policy 4-41, a set of updates the board said align district rules with guidance from the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA).
Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Richards introduced the items during the information portion of the meeting, telling board members the packet contained the old policy alongside the proposed new policy and notes listing substantive content changes. "This has been reviewed in addition to Ms. Howard and her team by, Doctor Blosser and by myself," Richards said when presenting the materials.
Board members discussed specific language points. Dr. Cohen asked whether the district should explicitly name "hate speech" in its anti-harassment language, saying he had attended a webinar in which panelists recommended including the words "hate speech" in any anti-discrimination policy. "Literally the words hate speech should be part of any anti discrimination policy that is made," Cohen said. Richards replied, "I think it should be there. So let's take this back and make sure it's in either 4-37 or we can vote here." The board directed staff to ensure the harassment/discrimination policy explicitly addresses hate speech or to place the language in the related policy identified by staff.
Board members also noted updates in Policy 4-41, including the explicit addition of cyberbullying. Board members suggested a wording tweak to improve clarity where Policy 4-12 is referenced within other policies; staff agreed to revise the phrasing before the next reading.
Both policies were approved on first reading by unanimous vote with no recorded dissent.
The revisions are being processed as part of routine policy review; the board will consider final adoption at a later meeting after staff incorporates the requested clarifications.
