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Board approves student handbook after debate on parental signatures and attendance exemptions
Summary
The board approved the 2025–26 student handbook after members agreed to two edits; debate focused on whether guardian signatures should be mandatory and on the distinction between excused and exempt absences and the state reporting implications of exemptions.
The Stanley County School District 57-1 board approved the student handbook for the 2025–26 school year after discussion and two page-specific edits. The motion passed on a voice vote after members resolved language about guardians' involvement in student plans.
Board members pressed administrators about language on parental signatures and about the difference between excused and exempt absences. One administrator cautioned: "If we exempt a student from attendance, we take them off of attendance counting against them and counting against our school," and noted that overuse of exemptions can trigger state inquiries. Members agreed to require parental involvement language in one place and to revise another passage to say the guardian signature "may" be requested rather than mandatory in all instances.
The board also discussed how the handbook treats 18-year-old students and the practicalities of parental notification and privacy. After the clarifications and two edits on page 15, the board voted to approve the handbook by voice vote; specific tallies were not recorded in the transcript.
