Policy committee adopts rules, approves Section 504 and special-education policies and tables student-led item

Policy Committee Chair opened the January 21 meeting by reporting a student-voice update and then moved the committee through several procedural and policy votes.

The chair said a January 10 student forum with about 20—6 high-school students covered schedule changes, the coming budget and student advocacy; students were surprised by district budget scale — one estimate mentioned by the chair was "$500,000" — and the chair encouraged board members to join future sessions. "We will be sharing information on signing up to speak," the chair said, inviting board participation.

The committee adopted the proposed rules of procedure after Miss Siler Albino moved to adopt them and Mr. Hyman seconded. The chair called a hand vote and recorded the members in favor as "1, 2, 3," declaring the rules adopted and asking Jen to circulate a memo to the full board and relevant administrators.

On the fourth agenda item, the chair proposed tabling a student-requested matter because of "very fresh and new" executive orders the prior day and asked for time to assess potential impacts. The chair noted the Stanford High School mayoral Youth Leadership Council had asked the board to consider related policy work. The motion to table was seconded and passed with five committee members recorded in favor.

The committee then considered resolution 01-23-25:02, described by the chair as a policy on civil and legal rights and responsibilities recommended by the superintendent. Chris, the district—s chief compliance officer and committee liaison, said the policy "is—required by section 5 0 4, and it was based upon advice from our legal department," and that the draft drew on a CAVE model and Shipman—s model regulations. Committee members asked questions about implementation and monitoring: Dr. Hammond pressed for clarity on how many Section 504 students the district serves and urged more frequent reviews than the policy—s "1 to 3 years" language, saying, "It really should be looked at annually" and adding, "I hate to have a lawsuit dealing with this." Chris and other staff said they would check with legal and return with the legal rationale for the 1-to-3-year review language.

After discussion, the chair moved the resolution to a vote. The chair recorded four members in favor (counts given as "1, 2, 3, 4") and stated the resolution passed. The committee also agreed the adopted resolution would be placed on the board meeting—s consent agenda.

On the next item the committee approved resolution 01-23-25:03, a brief special-education policy developed by an ad hoc committee. Chris summarized that the policy provides a concise overview of how the special-education function operates in the district and noted the special-education function is "highly regulated both at the state and federal level." The chair called the vote and recorded the item as unanimously passing; the chair said it will be placed on the board meeting—s consent agenda.

Finally, the chair noted a suicide-prevention policy developed by the Stamford High School mayoral Youth Leadership Council had been submitted to administration with research and citations; administration will review and return it to committee when ready. The meeting adjourned after a customary motion and second.

What happens next: committee members asked staff to provide a legal explanation for the policy—s 1-to-3-year review language for Section 504 plans; the student-drafted suicide-prevention policy will remain under administrative review before coming back to committee.