Greeley Evans Board updates nondiscrimination and student-search policies, approves handheld metal-wand searches

The Greeley Evans School District 6 Board of Education on a 7-0 vote approved a set of policy revisions that return portions of the district's Title IX-related language to earlier federal regulations and update student-search rules to authorize trained building administrators to use handheld metal-detection wands when reasonable suspicion exists.

Board President Matthews opened the item after legal counsel described the changes as a rollback of portions of the district's recent policy language. "These policy revisions are essentially bringing us back to align with those 2020 regulations," Nate Fall, the district's in-house legal counsel, told the board, referring to the earlier Title IX regulatory framework.

The revisions covered language in the AC (nondiscrimination) section and a harassment policy listed as GBAA, and they included an amendment to student policies under the J series (JIH). The board considered public comment on the JIH changes before the vote. Patricia Nelson, a parent and community member, urged the board to delay the JIH change and to require searches be conducted only by law enforcement officers assigned to schools. "This not only introduces a new search method into the school policy, this also changes the policy so students have no way to refuse the search," Nelson said during the public comment period.

District leaders and board members said the handheld wands are intended as a limited, noninvasive tool to help locate contraband such as vaping devices when staff have a grounded suspicion. "This doesn't change anything that we are already doing with our search and seizures procedures. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution still exists," Fall said. He added that the wands "are very noninvasive items. You don't have to do pat downs with them. You don't have to touch anybody, with a wand." Dr. Pilch, the superintendent, reiterated that more invasive searches would remain the role of law enforcement.

Director Campos Spitzy, a board member who asked questions during the debate, said she viewed the wand as a way "to keep hands off the kids," noting that administrators would receive training and that law enforcement would be used for more intrusive searches. Several board members also emphasized that the policy requires "articulable, reasonable suspicion" before a search may be initiated and that building administrators, not untrained staff, would use the handheld devices.

Board discussion also included a narrow clerical amendment to correct a typographical error in the AC policy language: the board voted to change an internal wording identified during debate so the policy text reads consistently.

The board's legal counsel said the state law the district must follow (identified in the meeting as Senate Bill 23-296) also shaped the revisions. Fall told the board he incorporated some language retained from the district's prior summer policy work and that the current revisions align the district with both the 2020 federal Title IX regulations and applicable Colorado law.

After the discussion and public comment, the board approved the grouped policy revisions, including AC, GBAA and the JIH changes, with unanimous votes. Director Lemon read aloud the roll call votes for each motion; each motion passed 7-0.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve revisions to AC (nondiscrimination/equal employment) policies: approved 7-0. (Amendment adopted earlier to fix a typographical wording inconsistency.) - Motion to approve revisions to GBAA (harassment-related) policy: approved 7-0. - Motion to approve revisions to J-series policy JIH (search and seizure; handheld metal-detection wands): approved 7-0.

What changed and what it means

- Title IX alignment: Legal counsel said the policy language was changed to align with the 2020 Title IX regulations after more recent federal rule changes were rescinded. The district retained some language adopted in a prior summer update but reverted other elements to the earlier regulatory framework.

- Handheld wands and searches: The JIH revision explicitly authorizes the use of handheld metal-detection wands by trained building administrators under circumstances anchored to "articulable, reasonable suspicion." Counsel and administrators said the wands are intended as a noninvasive investigative aid to locate metal contraband (for example, vaping devices) and do not replace law enforcement for more intrusive searches.

- Training and administrative limits: Counsel told the board that staff who will use the wands receive training and that building administrators, not untrained employees, will conduct such scans. The board also voted to keep the district's existing disciplinary provision that failure to cooperate with a search can be grounds for discipline.

Public comment and concerns

During public comment, Patricia Nelson asked for prior notice, more community engagement, and a requirement that only SROs or law enforcement conduct searches. Counsel and board members responded that the district had notified the community that it intended to include the wands in search procedures and that the revisions do not themselves authorize wider measures such as magnetometer checkpoints or metal-detector entry systems.

Documentation and next steps

Board staff stated that redline versions of the proposed policy revisions are posted on the district website. Counsel said the changes are an ordinary policy update and that the district will continue to review and refine policy language as needed to reflect state and federal law.

Ending

The policy votes were part of a regular business meeting that included recognition of student award winners, a Dream Team scholarship presentation, a professional-development update and a proclamation recognizing school social work month. The meeting adjourned after the board completed its business.