School committee approves handbook changes, athletic handbook and aligns middle/high school policies

On June 11 the Blackstone‑Millville School Committee approved multiple handbook updates intended to align building practices across the district and simplify language. Administrators said the revisions harmonize middle‑ and high‑school attendance and discipline language, add grade‑specific homework sections, remove obsolete COVID‑19 references and add a school‑search section for middle‑school handbooks.

The committee also approved a substantially shortened athletic handbook (reduced from 33 to 22 pages), which the athletic director said removes repetitive language, aligns chemical‑health and bonafide team‑member definitions with current MIAA rules, clarifies sports lists (added tennis and cross‑country), sets a 100% participation expectation for varsity letters (with injury exceptions), and adds a mandatory parent/athlete acknowledgement form for rosters. The athletic director said the handbook will be distributed with team rosters and returned signed.

Several motions to accept handbook changes were moved and seconded by committee members and carried without recorded opposition. Committee members asked whether bus‑permission forms and building‑specific procedures were located in the handbook or handled separately; administrators clarified that building practice and bus permissions exist as forms and building procedures and that staff would follow up to confirm placement in handbook materials.

No substantive policy reversals were made; most changes were clarifying and alignment edits approved by the committee.