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Board reviews revisions to equal employment, nepotism and pre-service training policies
Summary
District staff presented revised drafts of Policy 401 (Equal Employment Opportunity), Policy 425 (Nepotism) and Policy 408.005 (Pre-service training). Board members questioned language about accountability and whether to list superintendent designee vs. HR/EEO titles, and asked for further work by the Policy Work Group on certain sections.
St. Paul Public Schools presented proposed changes to three board policies on March 18: Policy 401 (Equal Employment Opportunity), Policy 408.005 (Pre-service Training) and Policy 425 (Nepotism). The board discussed wording, accountability and operational implications and agreed to continued edits.
Maria Eustaquio, director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, told the board Policy 401 was updated to a standard format with a purpose statement and general policy language. She said there were no substantive changes to the policy's protections, but the formatting and the references to roles and titles were revised; that change triggers the board's three-reading process because a purpose statement was added.
Board members debated whether the policy should identify the superintendent (and superintendent designee) as the ultimate accountable office or whether it should explicitly list the head of human resources and the EEO director as operational contacts for complaints and interpretation. Director Vu asked for clarity, saying as an elected official she can hold the superintendent accountable but not subordinate staff; General Counsel Long recommended leaving both types of language (superintendent responsibility and operational contacts) so people know both who is ultimately accountable and where to go for assistance.
Pat Preckcook, executive director of Human Resources, reviewed the pre-service training policy changes, explaining the new draft aligns district practice with Minnesota statute by specifying experience and licensure minimums for cooperating teachers (for example, student-teaching cooperating teachers generally require a minimum of three years of experience and a Tier 3 or Tier 4 license; field-placement cooperating teachers may have lower requirements).
On nepotism (Policy 425) the proposed revision expands definitions (including family and business partners), outlines exceptions and requires employees to report relationships that could create conflicts. Board members asked about how nepotism rules apply when relationships arise after hiring, how the policy interacts with contracting and procurement, and whether to add language about "close friends" or affiliations. Administration said contracting conflicts fall under purchasing and contracting procedures and will follow up with relevant policy language.
Ending: Board members asked for some word-smithing to clarify accountability lines (superintendent/superintendent designee and operational contacts) and for further discussion by the Policy Work Group; no final votes were held on the first readings that evening.
