Policy committee to prioritize 12 school-safety policies after W ASB review

The Mineral Point Unified School District Policy Committee agreed on Dec. 4 to prioritize updates to a dozen policies connected to school safety after reviewing a W ASB "quick check" that listed about 90 policies needing attention. The committee listed specific policy numbers and committed to completing staff and committee reviews before proposing edits for a full-board first reading after its Feb. 5 committee meeting.

Committee members recommended pulling the following policies for the next round of updates: 443.7 (Responsible Use of the Internet Safety Policy), 446 (Student Search and Seizure), 447.3 (Student Suspensions/Expulsions), 447.4 (Student Expulsion), 449 (Student Complaints and Grievance), 456 (Suicide Prevention/intervention), 511 (Discrimination and Harassment Complaint), 512 (Harassment Based on a Protected Status), 722 (School Safety Plans), 722.3 (Emergency School Closings), 832 (Weapons on School Premises) and 860 (Visitors to the Schools). The committee instructed staff to compare current district policy language with recommended edits from the W ASB review and return proposed revisions to the committee between Dec. 5 and Feb. 5.

Christie Johnston, chair, and other committee members emphasized that recent circumstances made reviewing school-safety topics the immediate priority. The committee did not adopt policy changes at the meeting; it set a timeline for collaborative review and for bringing proposed edits to a subsequent committee meeting for discussion and recommendation.