Board reviews new safety policies: threats, harassment, opioid protections, performance-enhancing drugs and weapons
Summary
The board reviewed new and revised safety and conduct policies including threats of violence, harassment/intimidation/bullying, opioid-overdose protections in the substances policy, performance-enhancing-drug language giving superintendent discretion, and weapons/discipline provisions tied to federal/state statutes.
At the work session administration presented several safety- and discipline-related policies grouped under Article 5.
On threats of violence (BP 5.131.42), staff said the district is developing risk-assessment protocols to differentiate between statements that require a disciplinary or law-enforcement response and speech that may be typical adolescent behavior. Regarding harassment and bullying (BP 5.131.43), administration said the policy language aligns with state statute and that administrative regulation will expand definitions and cyberbullying response procedures.
In the alcohol and other unauthorized substances policy (BP 5.131.6), staff added opioid-overdose-protection language "which came from the ASB model policy based on a recent change or addition to statute," and board members noted that overdose kits (Narcan) are present in schools. On performance-enhancing drugs (BP 5.131.63), staff said the new policy gives the superintendent discretion to prohibit future extracurricular participation in egregious cases where substances do not fall neatly into controlled-substance definitions. "The superintendent or designee may ban a student from future participation as determined appropriate," staff noted.
Board members also discussed weapons and dangerous-instruments policy (BP 5.137) and referenced federal and state disciplinary thresholds for firearms and other deadly weapons; staff said administrative regulation explains how the superintendent may consider written requests to modify presumptive consequences.
Next steps: administrative regulations and risk-assessment procedures will be drafted or refined to accompany these policies and to provide operational guidance for school staff; the board requested further alignment with law-enforcement referral practices and the upcoming bullying resolution.
