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Board gives first reading to redistricting-exemption policy after detailed debate
Summary
The Stratford Board of Education conducted a lengthy first reading of a redistricting and exemptions policy, added amendments addressing timing, lordship 'flex' zone language, annual renewal of waivers, and medical and bullying provisions, and approved the amended first reading.
The Stratford Board of Education completed a first reading, with amendments, of a revised redistricting and exemptions policy that implements the district’s recent boundary changes and sets procedures for year-to-year exemptions and administrative placements.
The policy as revised clarifies that current high-school students in grades 9–11 may choose to remain at their existing high school, and that parents must follow a timeline established by the administration for such choices. Board members pressed for a clear deadline; administrators said families would be notified and that a February 1 deadline had been used in district communications.
Members debated a “Lordship flex zone” amendment intended to balance enrollment at elementary schools. Several board members and multiple public commenters said they were confused by the flex-zone description, asking whether the change would move currently enrolled students and how the zone interacts with private-school enrollments. Administration clarified that the flex-zone adjustment is intended to address future enrollments (starting with incoming sixth graders) to balance capacity over several years, not to retroactively move broad swaths of currently enrolled students.
The board also discussed waiver/exemption language for Chapel satellite and other zones. Members added a requirement that waiver approvals be based on space availability and be conducted via a lottery on an annual renewal basis. The board inserted explicit language that “once an exemption is made, that exemption must stay in place for the duration of the school year,” while noting annual renewal and potential administrative placements for specific medical needs.
Members asked for clearer language about the confirmed-act bullying process referenced in the policy. Administrators agreed to reference the district’s safe-school climate procedures and the state policy for verified acts of bullying rather than an older standalone bullying policy, and to confirm updates to the district’s procedures.
After multiple clarifying amendments proposed from the board table, a motion to accept the policy for first reading as amended passed unanimously. The policy will return for a second reading and a final vote at a future meeting.
