Policy committee opens first readings on student-discipline and special-education confidentiality

The William Penn School District Policy Committee opened first readings on revisions to Policy 113.1, which governs discipline of students with disabilities, and introduced a new Policy 113.4 on confidentiality of special-education student information during its Nov. 6, 2025 meeting.

Dr. Harris presented the updates, saying the changes “are grounded in aligning our policy’s language with federal and state terminologies and updates with regard to school safety,” and noting that the revised language includes updated references to law enforcement and Pennsylvania Department of Education safe-schools guidance. The first-reading packet highlights clarifications to definitions, including language around weapons and procedures related to incidents involving students with disabilities.

Dr. Harris described Policy 113.4 as a new district policy that “details the protections and privacy of personally identifiable information to students who happen to receive special ed services” and that it outlines procedures for collection, storage, access and sharing of special-education records, requires staff training, and defines parent and guardian access rights. He also said the new policy was prompted by the review of the district’s suspension and expulsion policy (Policy 233) and that informal hearings would be conducted at the building level while expulsions would be heard by the board or an authorized committee on solicitor recommendation.

The committee had no questions from the Q&A, and Dr. Harris also announced that Policy 209.2 (diabetes management) and Policy 823 (opioid antagonists) were scheduled for second reading. No votes were taken on the first readings; the items were presented for feedback and formal action will be scheduled at the appropriate subsequent meeting.

The committee closed its policy reports and scheduled the next policy committee meeting for Jan. 8, 2026.