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Fort Edward board debates code of conduct changes including homework rule, Saturday detention and vaping referral
Summary
Board members and staff debated edits to the student code of conduct: committee members urged removing homework time expectations and parent-role language, the matrix adds Saturday detention and referrals to a vaping-intervention program; the item is slated for action later.
The Fort Edward Union Free School District board held an extended code-of-conduct hearing in which committee members urged the board to remove prescriptive homework time expectations and parent-role language from the elementary code.
A committee representative said, “We were looking mostly at the time expectations, homework, the parent role, because not not every family is equipped to have the parent take such an active role in homework.” Board discussion focused on equity and feasibility for families with limited time or resources.
Administrators and committee members described other proposed changes to the rubric that would match consequences more closely to behavior. The committee proposed graduated consequences (detentions followed by Saturday school) and specific restorative elements such as custodial work for littering. “After the third offense... we’re gonna come to a superintendent’s hearing because... I have exhausted what I’m allowed to do,” a school administrator said when explaining the escalation process.
The draft matrix also adds an automatic referral for students caught vaping to Teen Intervene, a three-session prevention program offered through the Council for Prevention, rather than relying solely on suspension. “We added a referral to Teen Intervene,” a committee member said, describing the program added to the consequences matrix.
On classroom management and devices, administrators described a classroom phone policy: phones are to be placed in designated holders during class; teachers may take phones that are out and follow the district removal/parent-pickup process for repeated refusal. Board members asked staff to clarify access for students who may need to contact parents after evening activities.
A board member moved to strike the time-expectation paragraph and the parent-role bullets for further consideration; the code-of-conduct revisions remain on the agenda as an action item for the board to approve after the public hearing and committee redrafting.
