MNPS board approves technical edits to policies 901, 903, 904, 905 and 906

The Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Board voted unanimously to approve revisions to policies 901, 903, 904, 905 and 906 after a staff presentation explaining clarifying changes to terminology and reporting requirements.

Dr. Severe, speaking to the board, said the revisions aim to resolve ambiguous wording around which entity acts as a chartering authority. “The term chartering authority is a sort of term of art for, an entity that in this case, would would grant, the ability for a charter school, to operate,” Dr. Severe said. He explained that Tennessee has two types of authorizers in such cases — the local school district and the state charter school commission — and the draft edits replace ambiguous language with the term "LEA" (Local Education Agency) where the responsibility falls to the district and use "commissioned" where responsibility falls to the state commission.

Dr. Severe also told the board staff struck an older reporting requirement tied to a September 1 report that is no longer applicable. “We did also strike out a report that is arcane that no longer exists relative to, a September 1 report that, is is not, applicable anymore,” he said.

After Dr. Severe's overview the chair asked for a motion to approve the five policies; a motion and second were recorded and the board approved the package unanimously.

The approved changes are technical and editorial in nature, according to staff, and were presented as a block for a single vote. No substantive new programmatic requirements or funding changes were described during the discussion.