Policy committee narrows student code of conduct language to explicitly cover images, social media and device misuse

The Creighton Elementary District policy review committee spent the bulk of its meeting reviewing revisions to the district student code of conduct, debating where to place explicit language addressing images, video and social media in the harassment definition, and proposing updated language to cover modern device misuse.

Committee members agreed the harassment section should explicitly reference non‑text media after Speaker 1 asked whether examples such as “pictures, videos, and social media” should be added to the section that begins “Harassment includes, but is not limited to…” Speaker 3 said the wording should be located where the policy lists the forms harassment can take so it applies across categories rather than being buried in a single subitem.

Members also discussed clarifying how a complainant must be ‘informed’ that certain conduct is unwelcome. Speaker 4 urged adding a definition that covers both verbal and nonverbal notice; the committee endorsed adding language such as “verbally or nonverbally” to reduce ambiguity in application.

On technology, attendees agreed to modernize references to district equipment. After back‑and‑forth about iPads and other hardware, one participant proposed the concise sentence: “Students shall not engage in unauthorized use of any district device.” Several members accepted this as a clear way to capture misuse including unauthorized access using another person’s device.

The committee also reviewed other code items briefly: the clause barring gambling remains but members noted lawful, supervised activities such as school raffles or a carnival cakewalk are routine exceptions; the section on tobacco and vaping was left intact and members observed that marijuana use is addressed in a separate policy.

Multiple participants cautioned that any new language should be checked against state statute and existing district policy. As Speaker 7 noted, the trust policy manual is intentionally lean and adding provisions could create statutory interactions that require attorney review. The committee agreed to highlight suggested edits in the draft and forward them to the board attorney for legal review and final drafting before rollout to site leadership.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the agreed phrasing changes (including the device language and the social media examples), mark edits for the attorney, and prepare a version for site leaders to review and for placement on the agenda at a future meeting.