Clay County board backs broad tightening of volunteer vetting and policy 9200

The Clay County School Board heard a presentation from district safety director Matt Boyack on a proposed overhaul of volunteer policy intended to close ambiguity in Policy 9200 and raise screening standards for people with direct access to students. Boyack told the board he conducted a comprehensive review and offered nine recommendations to reduce interpretive gaps in who is considered "unsupervised." "The standard for that is going to be as a Level 2 volunteer," Boyack said, describing Level 2 as the clearance required for chaperones, volunteer coaches and other unsupervised roles.

Boyack said the new policy would keep some limited Level 1 roles that are strictly public-facing, like ticket takers and concessions workers, but that many extracurricular and chaperone roles should default to Level 2 to reduce the risk of an unsuitable person having unsupervised time with students. He emphasized the recommendations are intended to fit within state statute and the existing clearinghouse process while giving the superintendent authority to add protections when needed. Staff said the proposed policy would be advertised at the August meeting and return for a final vote after the required public-notice period of roughly 28 days.