Note: These minutes should be considered preliminary until they are approved at the next Policy
and Amendment Committee meeting.
———————————————————————————————————————
Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) Policy and Amendment Committee
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Regular meeting 2:00 pm
Hybrid meeting: WSESU Central Office, 53 Green St., Brattleboro, VT and
Remotely via Zoom
DRAFT MINUTES
Policy and Amendment Committee members present: Deborah Stanford (DS, Chair), Tim Maciel
(TM), Anne Beekman (AB)
WSESD/U Staff and Administrators present: Superintendent Mark Speno (MS), Mo Hart (MH),
Hannah Parker (HP, via zoom), Ben Coppolo (BC, via zoom)
Guests: Liz Adams (via zoom)
Call to Order
DS convened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. and read the hybrid statement.
I. Approval of Minutes and confirmation of next meeting date
The minutes of 6/26/24 meeting approved by assent with the following amendment:
Remove line that states:
“DS noted that the agenda for 8/14 will include:
F41 (Policy on Section 504 and ADA Grievance Protocol for Students and Staff)”
F41 is not on the agenda for today’s 8/14 meeting, as it was approved for readoption on 8/13/24.
The Policy and Amendment Committee meets on second and fourth Wednesdays, from 2-4 pm at the WSESU Central Office and on Zoom. The next meeting is scheduled for: August 28
II. Updates from the 8/13/24 Board meeting:
• The following policy went for a second reading on 8/13/24 and will be presented for readoption on 8/27/24:
o D4 Education Supervision and Evaluation
• The following policies were readopted by the Board on 8/13/24:
o E14 Environmental Awareness and Responsibility
o F4 Searches, Seizures, and Interrogation of Students by School Personnel
o F5 Searches, Seizures, and Interrogation of Students by Law Enforcement Personnel or Other Non-School Personnel
o F41 Policy on Section 504 and ADA Grievance Protocol for Students and Staff
o G13 Responsible Computer, Network & Internet Use
III. Policies
F1 Student Conduct and Discipline
• Committee reviewed changes made to the Due Process section at the last meeting and made further edits to the final paragraph of that section.
• The largely struck-out and likely corrupted “The Plan” at the end of the document will be removed before presenting F1 for a first reading.
• HP noted that F1 is included in the student handbook. That handbook is online, so when the revisions to F1 are approved, it can go live, and the handbook can be shared again.
• DS asked that committee members to read through the cleaned-up version of F1, which MH will send out, and if there are any glitches, it can put it on hold. If there are no concerns, F1 will go for a first reading on 8/27/24.
F28 Student Athletics, Clubs, and Activities
• MS will pass F28 along to admin teams and athletics for feedback. The policy may then need to be run by legal, in consideration of clubs related to a protected class.
• The question was raised about who buys sports equipment for extracurricular activities and what happens if a student does not have the resources for that.
o In practice, schools provide equipment for school-sanctioned club activities if a student needs it, but it is not specified in a policy. TM suggested working it into F37 (below).
• F28 is on hold pending feedback from admin and athletics.
Policy F29 English Learners / Multilingual Learners
• Committee revisited the definition section of policy, which were edits provided by VSBA
for consideration.
• The major concern was that in trying to spell out all the possible scenarios, the complexity becomes overwhelming and the logic is hard to follow; keeping it simple may be better. On the other hand, having the detailed list may provide an opportunity to provide service for students who aren’t obvious.
• AB provided possible wording for a simplified version. MH will add the simplified version to the current draft, so that both options can be considered, and MS will pass it along to Jen Course and Deb Coombs for feedback.
• F29 is ON HOLD until next meeting.
F37 District Equity Policy
• F37 is a policy the committee has not looked at previously. The current version is based on wording from VSBA. DS read the policy aloud. Discussion included the following points:
• The scope of the policy (particularly the list following “To realize this commitment to equity, the District will:”) feels like a tall order, a goal that the district is striving to accomplish but nowhere near reaching.
• “Provide every student with equitable access to high-quality and culturally relevant instruction, curriculum, support, facilities, technology and other educational resources that respect their individual identities, cultures, backgrounds, abilities and experiences”
o This would make students stand out, and isn’t true.
o “Facilities” in this line is problematic – District is not currently providing bidets /foot-washing stations for Muslim students.
• The meaning of “initial proficiencies,” used twice in the policy, felt unclear to the committee.
• Edits:
o Delete “civically” from the definition of culturally responsible practices.
o In the final bullet point under implementation: Replace “…outcomes to prepare all students for college, career, and life” with “…outcomes to prepare all students for responsible adult lives.”
o To address the concern brought up in the discussion of F28, about equitable access to equipment for extracurricular activities, TM suggested adding “including equipment” so the following line in the definitions section reads:
“Equity means that every school provides and every student has access to high quality culturally responsive curriculum, programs, teachers and administrators, extracurricular activities (including equipment) and support services to meet the needs of each and every student.”
o Delete “and every” in the last sentence of that line
• TM will contact Sue Ceglowski at VSBA to ask about the intended meaning of “initial proficiencies” and, per DS request, will also ask if this policy is going to come under review.
• F37 is ON HOLD until next meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 3:57 pm.
Notes taken by Anna Monders (recorder)
Submitted by Anne Beekman (vice chair)
