At a Clay County School Board workshop on Dec. 1, 2025, board members agreed to begin a series of workshops to review and revise the district's student code of conduct, with the first session focused on bullying scheduled for February, participants said.

Board Member (Speaker 5) urged a full review of the district's student code of conduct and family handbook, saying the document is long, rarely read by parents and could be reorganized into separate elementary and secondary versions plus a one-page, age-appropriate summary for families. "I think it's time to take a deep dive into our student code of conduct and family handbook," Speaker 5 said, arguing that a shorter, clearer summary would improve communication and accountability.

Speaker 5 recommended starting with three topics per workshop until the entire code is addressed, and proposed that bullying, truancy and classroom disruption be prioritized. The board coalesced around beginning with bullying in February; Speaker 2 framed the decision, saying, "So let's start with bullying first and and do bullying in February." Members also agreed the district should provide materials ahead of the workshop so board members can prepare.

Board Member (Speaker 1) requested that legal counsel and the district's climate-and-culture department be prepared to advise because "a lot of that relies on state statute," the speaker said, and the board asked staff to include those offices in planning. District staff agreed to coordinate with the identified offices and to bring examples and templates from other districts to inform discussion.

Speaker 5 described specific ideas under consideration: a separate elementary and secondary code; a short, signed electronic acknowledgment for parents; universal procedures for bullying; and clearer, narrower grading and homework parameters (Speaker 5 referenced the "20-minute rule" as an example other districts use). Board members emphasized collaboration with district curriculum and school-level staff to ensure procedures would align with state requirements and operational realities.

The workshop did not record a formal vote; the scheduling and scope were described as a planning decision to be implemented through staff-prepared materials and follow-up workshops. Members also agreed to add review of a community-rubric for the media policy to the same planning process so that related community-standards items could be considered alongside code updates.

Next steps: staff will prepare materials for the February bullying workshop and circulate drafts to board members ahead of the meeting; legal counsel and the climate-and-culture department were asked to join the discussion.