Wallingford policy committee advances orientation, abuse-reporting and FERPA edits to further review

The Wallingford School District policy committee on Dec. 9 reviewed a package of policy updates including a revised board orientation bylaw, changes to the district's procedures for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect, a new student-facing abuse-response policy and minor edits to the district's FERPA (student records) language. No formal votes were recorded; committee members agreed to send the items for further review and place them on the January agenda for second readings.

The committee's presenter, Miss Latour, said the proposed revision to board bylaw 92-30 follows a CABE model and narrows the bylaw to orientation-specific material. "This bylaw is for orientation of board members," she said, adding the draft removes unrelated material and incorporates requirements from Public Act 23-167. "Updates require first-time board members to complete a training program at a time determined by the Connecticut State Board of Education, but no later than 1 year after assuming office," Latour said,…