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Board reviews HOPE scholarship extracurricular rule and state 'SWAT' internet-safety program
Summary
The board considered policy language to charge homeschooled HOPE scholarship students for extracurricular participation or advanced classes and discussed a state-provided 'SWAT' internet-safety curriculum; members also previewed a vendor change from GoGuardian to the state's new vendor.
Miss Dooley presented proposed policy revisions for the 2,000 series, describing changes intended to govern participation by homeschooled students using the HOPE scholarship. She said the proposed administrative guidelines would allow the district to set fees in administrative procedures rather than embedding amounts in board policy and that the district had drafted a form and eligibility checks (including a minimum composite score on a standardized test) to protect program integrity.
"We're not accepting a transcript that says 'I gotta be' — they have to take a state-based test and they must get a minimum score as a composite," Dooley said, explaining academic eligibility requirements for homeschooled students who seek to participate in extracurriculars or advanced classes.
Dooley also described two new policies tied to a state program called SWAT (Students and Accessing Technology), a more rigorous curriculum the state will provide to address internet safety, social media and online predator awareness. She said the SWAT curriculum will begin at third grade and that 100 percent compliance would be required for participating students.
Board members asked whether related extracurricular eligibility rules had been vetted with the state's athletic association (WDSSAC) and were told staff had consulted neighboring counties that had already adopted similar policies. A separate discussion noted the state changed its vendor for classroom filtering and student-monitoring software; the district expects to transition away from GoGuardian to the newly bid provider this fall.
The board approved the 2,000 series by voice vote. No public comments opposing the policies were recorded during the review; one question from a board member asked where to find the posted policy documents online and staff said the proposed policies had been on the district website since the agenda was posted.
