Policy committee forwards routine policy reviews to school board; several votes 7–1

The Faribault Public School District Policy Committee on Nov. 4 forwarded a slate of district policies to the full school board with no substantive changes, approving routine three-year reviews required under district procedure.

The committee approved sending the following policies to the school board with no changes: Policy 401 (Equal Employment Opportunity) — approved 7–1 after an attempted amendment to remove gender-identity language failed for lack of a second; Policy 402 (Disability Nondiscrimination); Policy 403 (Discipline, suspension and dismissal of district employees); Policy 404 (Employment background checks); Policy 404.1 (Staff admission to school events); Policy 408 (Subpoena of a school district employee); Policy 410 (Family and medical leave) — approved 7–1 after an unsuccessful amendment attempt; Policy 415 (Mandated reporting of maltreatment of vulnerable adults); Policy 417 (Chemical use and abuse) — approved 7–1 after an unsuccessful amendment to delete a paragraph about minor consent for certain services; Policy 420 (Students and employees with communicable diseases); and Policy 423 (Employee–volunteer/student relationships).

Speaker 1, who opened and managed the meeting, framed the agenda as part of the district’s three-year review cycle: “So these as a reminder, these policies are being reviewed as part of the 3 year review cycle, and we will look at the entire policy.” The committee handled most items as mandatory policies and moved them to the board without substantive edits.

Several motions were handled by voice vote with routine discussion limited to clarification points. For example, Policy 404.1 — which waives admission fees for staff and retirees presenting a valid district-issued identification badge — prompted a short conversation about notifying staff and retirees; members agreed staff notification would be handled by district staff.

On policies where members raised concerns, those concerns did not result in changes. Speaker 4 twice proposed amendments challenging inclusive definitions in policy language; both amendment proposals failed for lack of a second. On Policy 417, Speaker 4 asked that a paragraph allowing minors to give effective consent for certain health services be deleted, but that amendment also failed for lack of a second. Speaker 2 cautioned staff that the district will need to monitor state implementation of the Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave Act and federal grant requirements that could affect district policies and practices.

The committee set its next meeting for Dec. 2, 2025, at 3:45 p.m. and adjourned.