Board committee reviews nondiscrimination, IDEA alignment and health-care policies and clarifies meeting-posting rules

The Policy Governance and Legislation Committee reviewed several policy updates and procedural clarifications on Aug. 12, including a redraft of the district’s nondiscrimination statement, alignment of special-education definitions and least-restrictive-environment language with IDEA, updates to health-care management procedures for students, and a discussion about meeting-packet posting timelines.

Nondiscrimination and Title IX alignment

A policy adviser introduced revisions to Policy 1009 (nondiscrimination) to align district language with federal requirements and recent Tennessee statutory language noted in the draft. The update adds explicit prohibitions against retaliation and coercion, names the Title IX coordinator and requires annual dissemination of the nondiscrimination notice to employees, students and parents. Staff said the draft also includes contact information for reporting to the U.S. Department of Education.

Special education (IDEA) alignment and dyslexia

Policy 002 (program for students with disabilities) was discussed and staff explained the draft aligns the district’s definition of “child with a disability” to state and federal law and reiterates the IDEA principle of the least-restrictive environment. Board members asked whether dyslexia is included in the policy; district staff confirmed that if a child is identified under IDEA with dyslexia, they are covered under the policy’s protections and supports.

Health-care management and staffing questions

Proposed revisions to Policy 6043 (health care management) update who may perform healthcare procedures students cannot perform for themselves; district staff said licensed health-care professionals are required for those procedures, and that the district maintains nurses assigned to students with specialized medical needs (feeding tubes, tracheostomies, etc.) tied to IEPs. Committee members asked how schools without a full-time nurse would meet the requirement; staff said training and site-level first-aid coverage are used for minor injuries, but medically complex procedures tied to IEPs are staffed by district nurses.

Meeting-packet timing and law vs. practice

Committee members discussed whether the policy that currently says materials “shall” be posted five days in advance should be updated to reflect the legal minimum of 48 hours. Staff recommended keeping a five-day expectation in policy while adding a notation that the law requires a minimum posting 48 hours prior to meetings; committee members asked that language be included for transparency and to allow discussion in public work sessions.

Other policy housekeeping

The committee also reviewed proposed repeals for policies (early transition to college; student rights and due process) where language is duplicated elsewhere, and discussed ensuring the student handbook and other communications are distributed in multiple formats to families. District staff said the whistleblower hotline remains in internal audit and that the handbook will be distributed electronically and in hard copy.

Next steps: Staff will finalize red-line policy language, clarify dissemination plans and return the revisions to the board for second reading and formal adoption. No committee votes to adopt final policies were recorded in the committee transcript.