Good afternoon all.
Call to order the May 10th, 2021
meeting of the Policy Standing Committee.
And just we'll go around
and identify ourselves for
record keeping purposes kept.
Typical school board
Expenditures. School Board.
John Abell School Board.
Tricia Steiner School Board.
Jason Ray Snyder representing the administration.
Michelle Agee Board Secretary.
Beth Olmstead, Citizen Advisor.
Okay.
Thank you all for your time and
effort for this meeting.
And if everyone
has had a chance to look at the minutes of the last meeting
or entertaining motion to approve,
so move Nancy Drew.
Second, John Abel,
any discussion or recommendation for revisions?
Hearing and seeing None.
All those in favor of approving the minutes
of the previous meeting say I don't.
I any opposed.
Okay. They'll stand approved.
Moving on to unfinished business.
We have policy to 18.3.
The discipline of student convicted or adjudicated of sexual assault.
Jason Yeah.
At our last meeting, we pushed this forward for 38 review.
So it did pass in our last board meeting.
But at that time and I'll ask policy standing committee meeting
we had discussed or the motion was made to continue
to keep this on our agenda in case there are any updates there.
We did receive updates from SBA.
I want to say three weeks ago, but this was not one of the policies
to receive an update, so I didn't want it to fall off the radar.
So it's more of an informational item
today than than anything else.
So the update is that there are no updates, correct?
Okay. Thank you, Jason.
And the we need to keep this on the agenda or can we just
we can drop it and
if we're provided with updates of of any policy, we really bring it back.
So we'll just
keep an eye out for updates.
Well, remove it until the next update from the SBA. Yes.
Okay.
Moving on to policy for revision
number nine, 16 volunteers.
Yeah. So
SBA updated this policy.
And what you don't see in front of you is the language that they included
with this most recent revision, with stills, with senior tax credits,
since the district does not participate in that program,
I did not include that language in the policy,
but that was the majority of the revisions that they had recommended.
They did re recommend some additional language
which you can see in the policy, primarily under the purpose
and then also under the authority for that.
I actually use the language that we use since we added a few additional categories
compared to what the SBA was was recommending.
So that matches the language that that we currently have.
And then since this policy, since the SBA brought it up,
I thought it would be a perfect time to just to discuss
our volunteer process.
Anyways, right now you know, we require the the FBI, the
the child abuse, the criminal abuse,
as well as the TB test and mandated.
Reporter, Which was which was great.
When we first did this at a high, we had about 1200 active volunteers.
Of course, this year
there's really not the opportunity for volunteers to participate.
So the numbers have gone down because the five year
renewal period was up this year.
So we knew we a chunk of volunteers would no longer be be active.
The issue is because the language says that they only have to do a TB test once.
No one ever gets removed from the volunteer list.
So we have about 700 volunteers
who are no longer active volunteers that we're maintaining files for
and so I I'd like to introduce some language that says if
if you don't if you're not volunteering
and if you don't volunteer within a certain period of time, that
that you do need to renew your TB test in order to be active.
That way we can remove a volunteer files from their archives.
So I'm not sure 12 months is the right amount of time, but
it's more so adding language so we can begin that conversation.
How long is the TV test valid?
Like if you were a new volunteer and doing your certifications,
what's the window of time that would have had to have been done in?
Yeah, so this is the interesting thing and hopefully Dr.
Shaw can have some insight to this.
So so
all volunteers and districts new district employees
need to produce a TB test within three months of of their hire date.
Outside of that,
I don't know.
I know we get pushback from physicians saying
this person just had a TB test within a year.
I'm like, I understand that.
But the school code says it needs to be within three months.
So outside of that window, I asked, this is I remember when I had a
like when I was becoming a volunteer, I went and got one. Yes.
Because I hadn't had one. I couldn't remember. Right.
So the new volunteers, it's within three months of giving us your paperwork.
Okay.
So generally speaking, if you're in the health care environment,
then its annual you have an annual TB test and it's kind of like a pregnancy test.
It doesn't predict the future.
And so I think I think that it's very reasonable
if we're talking about someone five years
plus 12 months, I mean, that's six years.
Yeah.
I mean, yeah, you need to have a repeat.
If you're if you're going to do it at all,
then you should have a repeat TB test.
And so that would be a good reason then to be able
to purge the archives of some people that probably
haven't volunteered for 15 years and may even be deceased. Now,
there is the only other thing I know is on the on the policies,
there is a under authority, that first phrase is repeated.
The word prohibits discrimination on the basis
the board prohibits discrimination on the basis.
So just I guess the first time this phrase shows
up, I can go,
but no.
Yeah, this is Tricia Snider.
I agree.
I think that 12 months was reasonable.
I would agree as Johnny
and if you remember you said this,
I think you can get that TB testing here right at the school.
No, no, not
at all.
Okay.
I thought like maybe ten, 12 years ago.
Okay. But but no longer.
And one of the reasons for that is that there's
it ebbs and flows, but at points in time,
it's very hard to obtain a TB test just because the supply just isn't there.
And the other
quirky thing is that the someone, the person is certified,
you have a negative test, has to be certified.
As a reader of the TB test.
And again, that certification has to be renewed.
So even if it's obvious that it's a negative,
if you're not a certified reader,
even if you're a physician, you can't attest that it's negative.
Well, it's not
so motion
to approve the revisions to policy.
916 volunteers
as discussed and presented
so moved Tricia Steiner Second, Lindsay drew
any additional discussion.
Okay.
All in favor say I, i i and you want to post.
Okay.
And then this will then move forward to
the board for 30 day review, correct.
Moving on to two new
policies, policy 800.1 electronic signatures.
Yes. So this is a
new policy that EPA is creating, I would imagine
as a result of the pandemic kind of spearheaded this.
So the district currently use electronic signatures
that was passed into law at the federal level years ago.
So it's not like we're we have to necessarily
have this policy to be able to, you know, use electronic signatures.
It just gives some rules and ground lines and procedures.
And in order
to comply with the policy,
for example,
we've been using for DOC so all year, which is not for docs
DocuSign office electronic signatures.
And do you sorry, this is Tricia Steiner.
Do you follow some of the guidelines in here as far as like
do you have an electronic log
that you like can compare the electronic signature with like a real log?
I mean,
so my understanding and
this aide, you can correct me if I'm wrong, is that we print out all the
the final copies anyways of of the documents
so we maintain a hard copy of of all of the electronic signatures.
Okay.
So there's nothing in here that would be overly burdensome.
I don't believe so.
Okay.
And this has never come up on an audit.
Not, not that I'm aware of.
Okay.
Motion to approve 800.1 new PI, New policy on electronic
signatures of electronic records for movement to the board.
So Lindsay drew
second.
Tricia Steiner, thank you.
Any additional discussion?
All in favor?
Say i, i, i any opposed?
Okay.
800.1 passes
and that will move for 30 day review
are another new policy is 816
proposing policy 16 is district social media
now we've
been operating our social media without specific policy
for for some time
and this comes from
as a recommendation from from the VA.
It's well, this is complicated
but anybody want to Jason wanted to add Yeah so it is complicated.
And one of the things you'll see is it says work with your school solicitor
in order to develop this. So
I so I'm showing you
the policy kind of in its full fact and I can actually go back
and show you what the SBA recommended.
So one of the things they said was recommend either
public former nonpublic forum for your social media.
Well, there may be times where we want both,
you know, so I included included
both of those but but maybe we don't. So
you know, one of the things that we've always said with the policy
committee is the SBA recommend
something, bring it to us so we can take a look at it
as a committee, and then we'll decide what to do with it
instead of the administration necessarily saying, we're not going to show this.
So that's that's where we're at today.
I don't think we're at a point really as a committee to try
to work through this and try to work on it and pass and move this forward tonight.
You know, anytime the SBA saying work
with your solicitor, we should probably do that.
So I'm not sure if we want to have
a discussion tonight with the committee or where the discussion is.
Let's invite our solicitor to review it
and then based on
their feedback, bring it to the committee again,
or invite this listener to our next policy committee to discuss it,
you know, with the committee and the board members.
So my recommendation would not be to move this forward,
but to figure out how we want to go about
approving this policy if we even want to approve a policy.
This is Lindsey Drew. I,
I think there are a lot of things inside of this policy
that we want to make sure that we address appropriately.
So reviewing with the solicitor first would be a good first step.
There are a lot of things that stood out to me that we don't want
to put a policy in place and
and not make sure that we have all of the procedures
around it.
So I would move to table this to the next policy meeting
so that we would have time for review.
Yeah, thank you.
I also think that it would be very reasonable to have the solicitor
comment on this policy as I have some concerns
and questions.
Yes, this is Joshua Steiner.
I also concur with that to table.
If you need a second second.
Joshua Steiner That makes sense to me.
This is Johnny.
Well, I mean, I, you know, did my best to push through this.
And I would actually I think solicitor review is helpful
and I'd actually be in favor of having solicitor solicitor
in our next policy meeting so we can kind of work through in
real time what might be some of the questions about it.
But at the very least, I think I'd like to have my solicitor
have our solicitor take a look at this.
So what I think I've
heard was a motion to table this to the next meeting, pending review
by our solicitor, by Lindsey Drew and seconded by Patricia Steiner.
Does that is that correct?
Yes. Okay. Any any additional discussion?
I we have a couple of additional folks who have joined us.
We're currently reviewing the new policy, the proposed new policy,
a district social media that's 816
and the motion on the table seconded,
is to have this policy tabled
until our next committee meeting pending review by our solicitor.
So we're open now for discussion
prior to vote on this.
Anyone?
Okay then
seeing and hearing and narrating a seeing and hearing, no discussion.
All those in favor say I, I,
I and you want to say now.
Okay,
so that takes us to public comment.
Anyone have anything to say for
the good of the order?
Actually, yeah.
Sorry, Dr. Shaw.
Actually, there was an agenda item, Adam, to discuss the focus areas
for the next school year.
So that was out
late this afternoon with Superintendent
Koenig. I wasn't there, but yeah, Mr.
Macfarlane said.
Do you have your focus areas on the agenda for next year?
And I'm like, It does not appear so you guys, would you please add that?
Okay. All right.
We will.
So this past year, I believe our focus areas were to continue
to update, revise and look at any recommendations
from the PSB.
Also, any policies
dealing with equity and inclusion,
I believe were the focus areas for this past year.
And then I know, Dr. Shaw, you had
had recommended that we never really got through it,
but was to start a policy review cycle again.
So those were the three that I remember from last year.
I'm not sure if we want to continue with those or head in a different direction.
Yeah, I mean, just
looking from the what's listed on
the the web page, it's continue to focus on policies
related to social emotional learning, school climate and equity
address, LGBTQ
plus policy needs for employees,
which Dr.
Isiah and I talked about that briefly last year and
and not really,
you know, not really knowing where to go with that.
I've done some extensive research with other school districts,
and I haven't really been able to find a policy for employees.
We do have an LGBTQ friendly policy
with our equity policy and our transgender and gender nonconforming policy.
So we would hope that that would
in a sense extend to a culture and climate
that extends to our employees as well, especially in the state of Pennsylvania,
when there's not protection for LGBTQ employees.
And so there's still a concern there.
But at this point, I'm not sure
that it needs to stay on as a focus area
unless there's a really need that comes up in the future.
And then the other one was review policy
with corresponding board operating guidelines for consistency,
develop a systematic policy review cycle,
prioritizing policies that dictate regular review and continue to review
and revise policies based on EPA and Board of School Director
recommendations.
So unless anybody has anything to add,
I would move that we would keep everything
except for the address, LGBTQ plus policies for employees.
I will second that
any additional discussion.
Okay, so we're looking at the following
focus area and goals for the 2021 2022 academic year,
and that is to continue to focus on policies
related to social emotional learning in school climate in the context of safe
and supportive schools.
Review policy
with corresponding board operating guidelines for consistency,
consider systematic policy review cycle
prioritizing policies that dictate regular review
and continue to review and revise policies.
Issues arise and recommended by the SBA
and the Board of Directors.
Is that correct?
I would just revise the first one to
because we changed it a little bit from the previous year,
which was continue to focus on policies related to social, emotional learning,
comma, school climate and equity
and equity. Okay, got it.
As a fan of the
Oxford comma, I would say school climate, comma and equity.
Yes. Yes.
No, no, no, no comma before the before the end.
Got it.
Or I would add that now.
Yeah.
Some things are you add a comma before the last and the ones that one
depends on if you're a fan of the Oxford comma or not.
Okay.
All those in favor of those one comment, I think I'm fine with this.
I'm just thinking out loud here whether or not
we want to carry these focused goals
on the agenda, each meeting
just to kind of keep this anchored.
And we don't really need to discuss a plan of attack now.
But if we are going to do a systematic review, perhaps it's take them by chance.
Right?
They're they're they're they're done by a series or the board policy.
So maybe we just take a chunk of them
per meeting to see, you know, here they are.
We're going to go through these
in fairly quick order, but please review ahead of time
if you think anything here needs revisiting.
I mean, we we rely on some part of the SBA to say, hey,
listen, you got to update your policies because of X, Y, and Z.
But there might be other reasons that we want to update them.
So that's that's my suggestion.
That'll be in the record.
So we'll have that as an idea for the next time.
That's sort of like, All right, here's our goals for this year.
How are we doing on them?
And, and
otherwise I'm fine with this with the set of focus areas or goals.
Thank you, Dr.
Shah.
Yes, thank you, Mr.
Able.
The comments are welcome and maybe in conjunction with
that as we go through the sections, think
we might be also able to prioritize at least reviewing,
not necessarily revising,
but if the policy hasn't been looked at in more than five years,
it probably needs at least to be reviewed.
I would think
that seem reasonable.
All right.
An additional discussion.
Okay, then.
All those in favor say I, i,
i and you want to post?
Yes. Okay.
Thank you.
Any additional items,
any additional comments?
Okay.
And that case will entertain a motion for adjournment.
So Lindsey Graham.
All right.
Any objection to adjourning?
Okay.
In that case, will adjourn at about 525.
Thank you all very much for your time and attention.
We'll see you next time.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.