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Committee adopts amended Community 100 language to implement House Bill 10; adds guardian language and superintendent review
Summary
The committee accepted language from House Bill 10 into Community 100, required buildings to develop parental involvement policies, and directed staff to change references from "parent" to "parent/guardian" and add superintendent or designee review and notification to policy committee.
The Policy Committee discussed and approved amended language to Community 100 that incorporates the parental bill of rights enacted in the recent legislative session (House Bill 10). The attorney said the draft language is drawn directly from the statute and that the district has already posted the parental bill of rights on its website.
Committee members repeatedly asked that the draft replace the word "parent" with "parent/guardian" to ensure coverage for guardians and custodial arrangements. One member asked, "should it say parent or guardian?" and the attorney agreed to add "guardian" everywhere the term appears.
Members also raised a core governance question: House Bill 10 requires each school building to promulgate a policy, which members worried could produce inconsistent local policies that conflict with district operational rules. A committee member summarized the concern: small groups of parents at an individual school could, through their local process, adopt policy language that conflicts with district practices.
The attorney said the statute uses the term "school" and not "school district," and while the board retains the authority to disapprove portions inconsistent with district policy, the law limits the topics schools may address (parent-teacher cooperation, access to information, procedures for parents to object to course material, etc.). The committee added a provision requiring that building-level policies be reviewed by the superintendent (or designee) with notification to the policy committee prior to formal adoption.
The committee moved to approve Community 100 as amended (change to "parent/guardian" and superintendent review/notification). Staff will advise principals and ask that draft building policies be shared with the district office for legal review to guard against inconsistency or conflict with district operational policies.
