At a Dec. 15 Fairbanks North Star Borough School District work session, board members reviewed a consolidated Article 5 policy manual covering admissions, attendance, student records, conduct and safety. The board requested wording edits on early-entrance age, transportation exceptions and scholarship language; no votes were taken.
Members questioned a line in the draft attendance-boundaries policy that said the district "will not provide transportation to schools outside of a student's attendance area," asking staff to consider language that preserves exceptions (for shuttles, magnet programs, or special needs) when resources allow; administration agreed to research historical practice and propose alternate wording.
During Article 5 review, the board questioned why the district's admissions draft uses a 'school age' of 6–20 and how early entrance exceptions for 4- and 5-year-olds will be handled; administration said 'school age' and 'compulsory education' are separate statutory definitions and that 5-year-old kindergarten remains a district decision.
The board reviewed new and revised safety and conduct policies including threats of violence, harassment/intimidation/bullying, opioid-overdose protections in the substances policy, performance-enhancing-drug language giving superintendent discretion, and weapons/discipline provisions tied to federal/state statutes.
Superintendent Doctor Minor highlighted curriculum public comment (social studies second draft due Dec. 14), inclement-weather decision times, snow-removal priorities and student achievements; the board also read and entered two resolutions recognizing Disabilities Awareness and Acceptance Month (Jan. 2026) and a week of study for Martin Luther King Jr.
Kids Voting North Alaska and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District reported 2,179 student participants across 13 schools in a simulated October election; Barnett Magnet (88%) earned the highest voter-turnout award, followed by Randy Smith (79%) and West Valley High (60%).
After more than two hours of public testimony mostly about school library materials, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board approved the second half of Article 6 (instruction policies) on second reading, including a narrowly-drafted amendment to require staff be included in crisis communications.
At its Dec. 1 work session the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District board reviewed a proposed bullying resolution, agreed to remove committee-specific references, debated wording about supporting both victims and perpetrators, and asked administration to return a tightened draft for a regular agenda.
Board members at the Dec. 1 work session asked administration to prepare tentative lease agreements (with and without BEST co-location), gather cost estimates and five-year financial modeling, and notify charter principals — acknowledging a statutory right of first refusal for existing district charter schools.
The board reviewed a new open/closed campus policy codifying existing practice; trustees split on whether to keep open lunch privileges (citing student responsibility and limited building capacity) and asked administration to clarify whether parental consent can be given by phone or must be written; administrators said sign-out sheets count as written authorization but will review practical options.
