Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Policy And Contracts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Goochland board approves student conduct regulations on first reading, authorizes BoardDocs and policy-services agreements
Summary
The Goochland County School Board waived second readings and adopted new cell phone and dress-code regulations (JFCR, JFCR1, JFCR2) on first reading, and authorized the superintendent to contract with Diligent for BoardDocs and to execute an agreement with the School Board Member Alliance for policy services.
At a special meeting, the Goochland County School Board approved multiple policy and contract actions intended to take effect for the start of the school year.
Policy updates: The board waived second reading and adopted policy JFCR (student cell-phone regulations) on first reading and then approved the policy as presented. The policy advisory committee and administrators had proposed changes intended to reduce instructional disruptions, align consequences across middle and high schools, and include educational modules as corrective measures. Policy language discussed by trustees included returning a phone to a parent rather than the student on repeat offenses and requiring parent contact for first and second offenses. Board members cited Governor Youngkin's Executive Order 33 as a prompt to clarify cell-phone policies in public schools. The board also waived second reading and adopted related regulations JFCR1 and JFCR2 on first reading; administrators said they requested some of the tobacco- and discipline-related changes and will incorporate the revisions into school handbooks.
Contracts: The board authorized the superintendent to negotiate and execute an independent contract with Diligent for the BoardDocs software after the division severed its prior arrangement tied to the Virginia School Boards Association. The chair said this action implements a prior retreat directive to separate from the association's shared BoardDocs service and secure independent service.
Policy services: The board approved execution of an agreement with the School Board Member Alliance (SDMA) to provide policy services, including the scope of services and an annual fee as presented.
Votes and procedure: Each motion was moved, seconded, and approved by voice vote; the transcript reports "the ayes have it" for each of these actions. Trustees discussed the timing of implementation to avoid midyear disruptions and to give building administrators time to incorporate changes into handbooks before Aug. 19. The board adjourned and announced it will reconvene at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at the Goochland Administration Building.
