MMSD board reviews draft staff–student communication policy, cites Sept. 1 compliance deadline

The Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education met in a special session on July 27 to review a draft policy intended to define appropriate communication between staff and students and to comply with recently passed Wisconsin laws. General Counsel Aka told the board that Acts 88, 89 and 57 and a July 10 U.S. Department of Education release informed the draft and said the district’s policy must be in effect by Sept. 1."This topic is of utmost importance to us, and that's because it involves and concerns student safety," General Counsel Aka said, framing the policy as a student-safety issue. She also said, "Act 89 is the act that will provide school districts across the state time to adopt policies ... and the policy has to be effective by September 1."

Board members asked staff to clarify several drafting and implementation issues before a second review. They requested a clear definition of who counts as "staff" (to include volunteers, contracted providers and coaches), consistent wording of "parent/guardian" throughout the document, and plain-language guidance on when staff must report suspected misconduct. Petra, a district staff member assisting the presentation, recommended reordering some sections so prohibited conduct and definitions appear earlier to set context for parent-notification requirements. The board agreed to take feedback back to the policy committee and aim for an August second reading followed by a special meeting if feasible.

The district legal team described required training obligations under act 89 and said DPI (Department of Public Instruction) is creating a statewide online training that districts can use; the district will supplement that training with building-level sessions for administrators and staff who have the most student contact. Aka said the draft also incorporates act 57's reporting and parent-notification components and includes examples of boundary violations. Board members asked staff to make the policy more reader-friendly and to add explicit language for some items, such as groping or massaging, hypersexualization and preferential treatment that could increase a staff member's access to a student.

The board did not take a final vote on the policy at the meeting; members instructed staff to bring a revised draft back to the policy committee and potentially to a full-board second reading in August so training and implementation can begin before the school year starts.