Board weighs non-substantive terminology changes and a plan to reconcile model and negotiated policies
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Summary
Staff recommended updating model policies to replace the term 'classified' with 'education support professional' and to clarify 'certified' for licensed educators. The board asked staff to identify negotiated policies that differ from the models and to prepare a consolidated, dated policy book for review.
The Grand County School Board discussed recommended non-substantive wording changes to a suite of model policies, chiefly replacing the term "classified employees" with "education support professional" (ESP) while retaining the term "certified" for licensed educators.
A staff presenter described the edits as primarily terminological and said they reflect recent legislative language: "This is making the recommended terminology changes coming out of legislative changes," the presenter said. Staff clarified that negotiated policies with the local education association are not reflected in the posted materials and will be labeled so board members can identify differences.
Board members questioned whether citation-only or terminology edits require full public posting. Staff recommended targeting substantive items for full posting while expediting citation or terminology-only updates where appropriate. The district will compile a single verified policy book with current approved language and effective dates to help the board and public identify where local negotiated language diverges from model policy.
Next steps: staff will identify negotiated policies (marked with an "N"), reconciled citation changes, and provide a consolidated policy reference for the board to review at a future meeting.