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Deer Creek narrows student behavior code, adds state-required anti-Semitism language
Summary
Trustees revised student behavior policy JGA to reduce the number of listed infractions and to add language required by recent state law, including a specified definition of anti-Semitism drawn from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; the board approved the policy 5-0.
The Deer Creek Board of Education voted 5-0 to revise board policy JGA (student behavior), consolidating a long list of specific infractions into broader grouped categories and adding language required by state law that expressly references anti-Semitism and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition.
Staff explained the policy previously listed 46 discrete infractions; the revision narrows and groups behavior categories into about 10 broader categories so the policy does not require constant amendment as new issues arise. Trustees and staff discussed why the state law requires that certain language be included for anti-Semitism even though the district's nondiscrimination policy is intended to cover protected groups more broadly.
A board member asked whether the policy still protects other races and protected classes; staff responded that the district's nondiscrimination policy continues to "blanket" all groups while the new state statute requires explicit mention of anti-Semitism and the IHRA definition. The policy will be reviewed as part of the district's accreditation process in the fall, and staff said the state will check for required language at that time.
The motion to adopt the JGA revisions carried with recorded yes votes from Lay, Keane, Green, Gibbs and Adamson. No public commenters attended the meeting to address the change.
The board flagged the revision as required for legal compliance; it did not add new disciplinary categories beyond the consolidated list and retained the district's existing nondiscrimination protections for other groups.
