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Superintendent flags state bills on property taxes, virtual learning and device rules; board alerted to PowerSchool breach
Summary
Superintendent updated the Barnes County North board on pending state bills (including HB 1176 and device/virtual‑learning proposals) and reported a PowerSchool vendor-level breach; members discussed implications for Title I, IEP accommodations and identity-theft protections for families.
The Barnes County North School Board on Jan. 15 heard a superintendent’s report that tracked several state bills that could affect district policy and funding, and learned that a corporate-level PowerSchool breach has prompted district notification and insurance reporting.
The superintendent asked trustees to follow House Bill 1176 for property-tax proposals and described a separate bill that would make funds available to cover delinquent hot-lunch balances using leftover biennium money; the superintendent read example delinquent totals for larger districts and noted the district’s own figure as read from the report. On classroom-technology bills, the superintendent said House Bill 1160 raises questions about instructional time and that proposed language could sweep in tablets and laptops as well as phones.
Board members raised immediate concerns about special-education accommodations and medical-device use if device rules are handled at the state level. “What about kids that need insulin that they run off their phone?” one member asked, pressing that any bill’s wording be amended to protect IEP and medical accommodations. The superintendent and trustees anticipated amendments and that local boards will later adopt implementation policies reflecting local circumstances.
Separately, a board member reported a PowerSchool breach at the vendor/corporate level involving a support-connection and an internal employee at the vendor; the member said the breach was not of district servers (which are state-hosted). The district notified insurance and said it will coordinate communications with affected individuals; the board noted that identity-protection services may be offered by the vendor or insurer.
The superintendent also mentioned grants and initiatives: a PowerSchool dashboard grant for a 'choice ready' dashboard and an e-rate investigation for possible Wi‑Fi on activity buses. Trustees asked staff to continue monitoring legislative developments and to provide guidance on policy implications when bill language changes.
