Elizabeth School District board approves travel, grant application and advances restraint‑policy revisions

The Elizabeth School District Board of Education on April 14 approved a set of action items including authorization for out‑of‑state travel for the high school track team, a resolution permitting motor‑coach buses for longer trips, and a motion to pursue a SIPA grant to improve routing and parent tracking for school transportation. The board also advanced first readings and reviews of revised restraint and seclusion policy materials.

District staff told the board the motor‑coach option is "typically a little more comfortable than the school bus" for the trip to Kansas City and that any contracted coach must meet applicable regulations and authorized‑driver requirements. The board moved and approved the motor‑coach resolution and separately approved authorization for Elizabeth High School's out‑of‑state travel for the track meet.

On transportation technology, staff described reapplying for a SIPA grant to upgrade routing software and provide parents with real‑time location information for buses. "This is a chance for us to improve the routing software and also offer our parents greater opportunity of tracking their students," a district staff member said, adding that the system would use cellular service and include hardware on buses.

During the grant discussion staff also explained a related stipend program for hard‑to‑fill food‑service positions under the grant's terms. The stipend, if provided under the grant, would be between $500 and $700 per year for qualifying positions, staff said.

The board also conducted policy business on revisions to JFBB (interdistrict choice/open enrollment) and held a first reading and extended discussion of revised policy JKA and its regulation governing the use of physical intervention and restraint.

Board members and staff focused on aligning the district policy language with state law. Staff explained that state law requires documentation when a student is restrained for one minute or longer and that parents must be verbally notified "as soon as possible" when restraint exceeds five minutes. Board members asked for clarification on the definition of "mechanical restraint" and where the policy permits law enforcement or armed security to use mechanical or prone restraints.

One board member said she checked Colorado law (referred to in the meeting as "CRS") and shared the statutory definition of mechanical restraint as "a physical device used to involuntarily restrict the movement of an individual or the movement or normal function of a portion of his or her body." Staff said the regulation text mirrors that language.

Several motions to approve readings or reviews of the JKA materials, exhibits and related regulations were moved and seconded; board members voted to bring those items back on consent at the next meeting after the first reading and review.

The district scheduled its next regular board meeting for April 28, 2026, and adjourned the special meeting at 6:54 p.m.