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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-11-16 ad Hoc - School Committee Policy Subcommittee MinutesRECEIVED Town of Reading TOWN CLERK Meeting Minutes READING, MA. e � 1023 FEB 16 AM 7: 47 Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Polity Subcommittee Date: 2022-11-16 Time: 9:00 AM Building: Location: Address: Session: Purpose: Open Session Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Erin Gaffen, Tom Wise, and Chuck Robinson Members - Not Present: Others Present: Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Stys, Director of Finance and Operations Susan Bottan Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Tom Wise, Chair Topics of Discussion: The meeting was held remotely via Zoom. A recording of the meeting can be found here. Chair Wise called the meeting to order at approximately 9:00 a.m. via roll call. B.1. Consent Agenda Motion by Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mrs. Gaffen to approve the Minutes of 00-29-2022. The motion was carded by a roll call vote of 3-0. D.1. Old Business - Review / Discuss Catalogue of Policies for Review Mr. Wise reviewed a Book of Work Catalogue for the Subcommittee to review throughout FY23. That included where the Policy change request came from -Administration or MASC -and included priontization of the Policies per Admin and/or recent legal changes captured by MASC's recent updates. Mrs. Gaffen thanked Mr. Wise for putting it together and prioritizing the work for the year. Mr. Robinson agreed. Dr. Stys echoed that feedback and asked that we priontize Susan Bottan's request for Policy DGD - Purchasing Cards. Mr. Wise outlined that it is a joint Policy between School and Town and thus will take more moving pans. Mr. Wise reviewed the background for the change - the inability to book hotels and pay for meals - is difficult and cumbersome for staff. Dr. Stys emphasized the problem being staff floating the cost until reimbursement. D.2. Old Business - Review. Revise. and Approve chances to or suggested revocation of Policy JHBA - Skip Days Mr. Wise outlined that we received Legal Feedback that would approve our revocation of the Policy. Legal Counsel feedback noted that the current Policy is problematic and the ability to handle skipping is already covered in other ways. Mr. Wise motioned that the Policy Subcommittee recommends to the School Committee as a whole to revoke Policy JHBA - Skip Days. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Gaffen. The motion was carried by a roll call vote of 3-0. Mr. Wise reintroduced the discussion about doctors notes after five days and some challenges that have happened over the first month of school. Dr. Stys mentioned she talked to the Attendance Committee about the desire to change the Handbook, in alignment with this Policy, to only require a doctors note after five days of consecutive absence for being sick. The Attendance Committee agrees with this proposal and understands the desire to trust parents. Dr. Stys also mentioned the State does not delineate between excused and unexcused absences. We will track those differently internally, but the State does not differentiate. Discussion on Policy JH ensued. Mr. Wise noted that the current Policy does not note a lot of the categories that the District Wide Handbook now incorporates. Mr. Robinson asked a clarifying question about Legal Counsel guidance. Mr. Wise confirmed there was no further legal need to change the Policy to align with the five-day discussion about doctor's notes in the Policy. Mr. Wise shared his opinion that he didn't think we needed to add it to the Policy, but that the District Wide Handbook should be clarified and cleaned up to align with the intent. Mrs. Gaffen and Mr. Robinson agreed. The Subcommittee made minor grammatical updates to Policy JH. Mr. Wise motioned that the Policy Subcommittee recommend the School Committee adopt the adjusted Policy JH — Student Absences and Excuses as amended for alignment with MASC policy and legal recommendations. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Gaffen. The motion was carried by a roll call vote of 3-0. Discussion on Policy JE — Student Attendance ensued. There are no major updates from MASC or Legal Counsel. The Policy has been adjusted by Mr. Wise to account for pronouns and other grammatical updates. Mr. Wise motioned that the Policy Subcommittee recommend the School Committee adopt the minor changes to Policy JE— Student Attendance. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Gaffen. The motion was carded by a roll call vote of 3-0. E.1. New Business — Review. Revise. and Approval legal changes to Policy JFABD — Homeless Students: Enrollment Rights and Services Mr. Wise introduced changes to Policy JFABD — Homeless Students: Enrollment Rights and Services which included changes from both MASC and Legal Counsel. Mr. Wise shared the version that included all the changes. Mrs. Geffen asked a question about the inclusion of Head Start and Gifted and Talented programs that we do not have in the district. Mr. Wise suggested that it may be there for legal reasons. Dr. Stys mentioned the wording is inclusive, meaning as applicable, so the Policy wouldn't have to change. Mrs. Geffen was comfortable moving forward without changing those. The Subcommittee made minor grammatical and pronoun updates to Policy JFABD. Mr. Wise motioned that the Policy Subcommittee recommend the School Committee adopt the amended Policy JFABD — Homeless Students: Enrollment Rights and Services as amended for alignment with MASC policy and legal recommendations. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Gaffen. The motion was carried by a roll call vote of 3-0. E.2. New Business — Review. Revise. and Approve suggested administrative changes to Policy EFDA— Unpaid Meal Pay Polity Mrs. Bolton joined the meeting and introduced the need for changing Policy EFDA— Unpaid Meal Pay Policy. The driver is legislation introduced the prior year that was related to meal shaming. Mrs. Bohan reviewed the changes she recommended. Mr. Wise reviewed the legal changes. The Subcommittee made minor grammatical and parent/guardian updates to Policy EFDA. Mr. Wise motioned that the Policy Subcommittee approves the amended Policy EFDA — Unpaid Meal Pay Policy for a recommendation for adoption by the Full School Committee. The motion was seconded by Mr. Robinson. The motion was carried by a roll call vote of 3-0. The Subcommittee briefly reviewed calendars for the next potential meeting Page 1 2 Motion to adjourn by Mrs. Geffen, seconded by Mr. Robinson at approximately 9:58 a.m. The motion was carried by a roll call vote of 5-0. Page 1 3