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Perkiomen Valley administrators propose curriculum changes, handbook edits and a student Youth Aid Panel
Summary
Administrators proposed revisions to the high‑school program planning guide and student handbook — including new engineering and lifeguarding courses, changes to course withdrawal and swim test‑out procedures, search-and-seizure language tied to bathroom vape detectors, and a proposal to run Youth Aid Panels in-house as a restorative alternative to some suspensions and law‑enforcement referrals.
District administrators presented a package of curriculum and handbook revisions at the Dec. 1 Perkiomen Valley School District board meeting, proposing course adjustments and new disciplinary alternatives intended to increase access and restorative responses to student misconduct.
Curriculum changes to the high‑school program‑planning guide include removing two industrial-technology half‑credit courses that have not run in years and replacing the Project Lead The Way pathway with district-developed engineering courses such as "Principles of Engineering" and an "Energy & Transportation" honors course. Administrators also proposed adding printmaking and AP Art History as art‑department options and introducing a Red Cross lifeguarding certification as a half‑credit PE option that would cost students a reduced fee for certification.
On the handbook side, administrators sought to add language permitting less‑invasive search tools — specifically a metal‑detecting wand — to respond to restroom vape‑detector activations. "We are asking for the inclusion of lawful searching search procedures, particularly the metal detecting wand, which we find to be a less invasive search," an administrator said, adding that wanding would be conducted by administrators in pairs and gender‑appropriate teams.
Administration also proposed using Youth Aid Panels (YAPs) as a restorative first offer for certain offenses at the high school. The district reported training 19 staff and proposed three panels; administrators said the DA's office reviews youth‑aid referrals and that the county program's protocols would remain part of any local implementation. Board members pressed on eligibility for older students, mandatory reporting for serious offenses, recidivism monitoring and whether county cases would remain in the county system. Administrators agreed to return with implementation details and reporting suggestions for monitoring outcomes.
