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Board adopts policy to comply with new state law prohibiting staff belief requirements; may revisit other policy changes
Summary
Board adopted a policy to implement House Bill 214's prohibition on requiring staff to sign or affirm particular political or religious beliefs; administrators said other policy changes tied to Senate Bill 29 notifications may require quick further edits following recent legislative action.
Lebanon City Schools adopted a new policy Dec. 16 intended to implement the recently enacted House Bill 214, which the superintendent summarized as prohibiting school districts from requiring staff to sign statements of commitment to specific beliefs, political affiliations or religious principles.
"The policy was passed, the state law was passed in House Bill 214 that made it ... where the school district could not require staff members to sign anything or agree to a specific set of beliefs, political affiliations, ideals, or principles," the superintendent told the board. He said policy writers (Neola) provided language that mirrors the law and the district aims to complete the required adoption by Jan. 22, 2025.
The superintendent also warned the board that recent changes enacted around Senate Bill 29 — which had required expanded parental notifications when staff accessed student accounts — were modified in the lame-duck session; he said the legislature reversed or eased some aspects and the district may need to update policies again when the final language is clear.
The board voted to approve the policies on final reading. Administration said they will bring related edits back as state law changes are finalized.
Next steps: district will adopt the policy language required by HB 214 and monitor SB 29 technical fixes to determine whether further policy revisions are needed.
