Centerville-Abington board reviews handbook revisions on attendance, AI use and synchronous learning

The Centerville-Abington Community Schools board reviewed proposed student-handbook revisions for multiple buildings that would rename e-learning to “synchronous learning,” tighten attendance and makeup-work rules, and add new academic-misrepresentation language covering student use of artificial intelligence.

The changes presented by building leaders include deleting an outdated health-education section at Rose Hamilton; updating promotion and retention language for grades K–2 to reflect changes in assessment tools; aligning makeup-work timelines with days absent at Centerburg Elementary; and adding a requirement that gym shoes be worn for recess basketball to reduce nurse visits.

Centerburg Junior High principal Mr. Rule summarized about 22 pages of proposed edits, saying the junior-high handbook will add defined academic and social probation levels, more-specific cafeteria rules, and expanded referral behaviors for unauthorized locker entry and interference with educational activities. Mr. Rule also said the academic portion of that handbook will move into a separate academic handbook to be presented to the board in the coming weeks.

At the high school, presenters described three pages of new synchronous-learning guidelines and an expanded academic-misrepresentation section intended to address student misuse of AI tools. For dual-credit classes, the proposed consequences were: a zero and a long detention for a first academic-misrepresentation offense; a repeat offense could carry the same penalties and the potential loss of dual-credit status. The board did not adopt the changes during this meeting; the principals presented them for board review and questions.

Board members asked clarifying questions about specific language — for example where a sentence about teacher notification appeared in a different place than expected in the absence section — and staff said they would review wording for placement and clarity. No final votes on the handbook packages were recorded in the transcript for these items; presenters indicated some sections will return to the board after further revision.

The district said synchronous-learning language was updated across buildings to reflect differing building practices, and that several grading and promotion measures were adjusted to align with state assessment changes and the district’s new academic handbook structure. The board will see the revised academic handbook material at a future meeting.