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Board reviews FY27 student handbook draft; proposals include Maryland phone-free alignment and telehealth protocols
Summary
The board received a first read of the FY27 student handbook draft, which aligns pre-K/K enrollment with district policy, clarifies lawful absences for students with IEP/504 plans, introduces telehealth procedures (including an outside vendor), tightens electronics and tobacco/vaping language, and adds MTS/PBIS response-to-intervention language.
District staff presented a first read of the FY27 student handbook and walked board members through substantive updates intended to align the handbook to district policy and recent state guidance.
Mr. Lewis, who led the handbook team, described the document as both a legal and moral guide for the school community. Key changes highlighted include alignment of pre-K and kindergarten enrollment language with GCPS policy, explicit recognition that absences related to IEP or 504 services are lawful for attendance and grading purposes, and more explicit language about what happens when young students are left without a guardian (return to school and parental contact procedures).
The draft also implements telehealth procedures rolled out this year. The district cited Charlie Health as an example vendor; staff said telehealth sessions require a student device from home and that a parent must be available onsite to respond if the situation requires it. The handbook clarifies that district devices are not to be used for telehealth sessions.
On personal electronics, the handbook draft tightens acceptable-use language so that secondary students would not be allowed to use personal devices during lunchtime, aligning local practice with the Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act and state guidance. Tobacco and vaping language was broadened to cover emerging devices while excluding products used for tobacco cessation. The handbook also integrates multi-tiered systems of support (MTS, PBIS) language and updates meal-program language to reflect free breakfast and lunch availability.
Board members asked for further clarity on parental-notification steps and recommended that the handbook make some operational procedures more explicit for families; staff agreed to refine wording before final adoption. This was a first read; no approval vote was taken.
