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Committee flags statutory wording and bullying‑definition mismatch in district policies
Summary
The committee discussed statutory language choices (e.g., 'handicapped' in state statute) and flagged a discrepancy between a local policy’s bullying definition and the district policy 5131.911; administration said it will consult the policy officer and legal counsel before making changes.
During the meeting the committee paused to review non‑curriculum policy housekeeping and identified two issues requiring follow up: (1) statutory language in an existing district policy uses the term 'handicapped' to match statute text, and (2) a newer draft policy does not use the same bullying definition that appears in policy 5131.911 and the Connecticut statute.
The chair said the district must generally stick to statutory wording where the statute uses a specific term, and that the policy officer (Jody Goler) and legal counsel would need to advise on whether alternative phrasing (for example, 'differently abled') could be used without legal risk. A committee member noted that policy 5131.911 (school climate) defines bullying as "unwanted and aggressive behavior among children ... involving a real or perceived power imbalance," and said the draft under review should align with that language.
Administrators agreed to check alignment across related policies and to confer with the policy officer and legal counsel. The committee thanked the member who raised the discrepancy and asked staff to bring a reconciliation recommendation to a future meeting for review before adoption.
No final policy change was approved in this session; the committee recorded the issue for follow‑up and possible revision after counsel review.
