Board committee splits family engagement and partnerships into two policies, advances both to first reading
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Summary
Staff presented a split of Policy 4-13 into 'Parent, Family and Community Engagement' and a new Policy 4-12 on Partnerships; the committee approved both for first reading and asked staff to add definitions, cover-page strategic-goal links and clear regulation-level guidance on vetting partners and volunteer screening.
The Board of Education policy committee voted to advance changes that separate family engagement and system partnerships into distinct policies. Staff said Policy 4-13 will be retitled 'Parent, Family and Community Engagement' and will emphasize definitions, two-way communication expectations and the superintendent's role in creating implementing regulations. The new Policy 4-12, 'Partnerships,' will set expectations for formal system partners (government agencies, nonprofits and businesses), require a regulation to define thresholds for formal agreements and call for annual reporting to the board.
Members asked for practical clarifications: how chaperones and volunteers are vetted, whether the partnership landing page should surface strategic-plan alignment (staff suggested a cover-page link rather than embedding the strategic-goal text in the policy), and whether schools must document informal partnerships in a concise way so families can discover who is interacting with students. Staff described existing practices: volunteers who work regularly are fingerprinted; visitors pass through the Raptor check-in system, and schools are asked to update annual partnership lists so they appear in the yearly partnership booklet and report.
The committee supported drafting a brief registration/one-sheet for potential partners and directed staff to include a cross-reference to board committees and the partnership report. Both measures were advanced to the full board for a first reading by unanimous votes.