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Board reviews discipline‑data system; teachers and union urge keeping Synergy tracking
Summary
District administrators reviewed how teachers and administrators document classroom behavior in the Synergy student information system and said training will emphasize parent contact and factual documentation.
Peoria Unified administrators provided a detailed overview of the district’s student discipline data entry process and how entries in the Synergy student information system are intended to support early intervention, district review and parent contact.
Doctor Hernandez, deputy superintendent for educational services, summarized Arizona Revised Statute 15‑841 and the district’s “majors/minors” guidance, explaining that teachers may remove a pupil from class under two specific statutory conditions and should document classroom interventions before escalating to administrators. Hernandez walked the board through a non‑real example used for training that showed a teacher documenting repeated minor incidents, parental contact and subsequent administrative response after an incident coded as major.
Hernandez described safeguards the district has put in place: annual training for staff and principals (with refreshers as needed), executive‑director review of discipline entries and an emphasis this year on ensuring parent contact when incidents are recorded.
A public commenter who identified himself as Devin Moser said the Peoria Education Association polled more than 150 educators and concluded 94% prefer the current Synergy documentation model. Moser argued a return to handwritten referral slips would be inefficient and would reduce the district’s ability to detect behavioral patterns across classes or grades.
"A policy requiring teachers to revert back to a written documentation isn't in the best interest of our students," Moser told the board.
Board members asked detailed implementation questions. Mrs. Ewing asked whether the system prompts staff to contact parents when entries are made; Hernandez said parent contact was a training emphasis this year and that the district expects such contact. Board members asked whether minor‑incident entries can be searched to identify students who are repeatedly the recipient of other students’ conduct; Hernandez said those relationships are recorded but are not surfaced in the same searchable discipline profile in the way some members expected.
Members also raised questions about record retention, data access and redress. The board discussed federal and state rights of parents to request and review student records; Hernandez confirmed parents have access to maintained records under Arizona law and federal rules. Members asked about modification or removal of entries; Hernandez said the district follows applicable procedures (including the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and the board’s current policy for amendment of records.
Several trustees urged more clarity about how schools will ensure the parent contact is meaningful (for example, phone calls rather than automated mailings) and asked staff for a demonstration of the Synergy entry screen at a future meeting so the board and public can see exactly what teachers see when they log incidents.
No policy was adopted at the meeting. Trustees requested follow‑up materials: a demonstration of the Synergy incident workflow, documentation on parental notification (including whether Synergy can auto‑send alerts by text or email), confirmation about retention and destruction of discipline entries under state archival rules, and a review of how discipline entries trigger supports for teachers (for example, whether administrators receive alerts when a single teacher logs many incidents). Hernandez and executive directors committed to preparing follow‑up information and training refreshers.
The discussion reflected a tension between two goals: (1) giving teachers an efficient way to document classroom supports and recurring behavior patterns so schools and families can act early, and (2) protecting students from overlabeling and ensuring entries are factual, contextualized and subject to review.
Timeline and next steps: administrators will provide a Synergy screen walkthrough and a written summary of notification and retention practices for the board; staff said they will include how entries inform district review of “what’s getting in the way of learning.”
