BCSC school board members on Monday night unanimously approved a policy packet on first reading that will consolidate more than 50 current policies into 13.
The proposed policies must receive consent from board members on two readings to be fully approved.
They were posted online on BCSC’s BoardDocs page for public review on Oct. 11. The second reading of the policy packet is scheduled for the school board meeting on Nov. 11.
The consolidation is part of a wider reorganization, meant to simplify and streamline BCSC’s policy structure and eliminate any redundancies, school district officials have said.
Board members voted on July 15 to terminate an agreement with NEOLA, the education consulting firm that assisted with BCSC policies previously, and approve an agreement with Indianapolis-based firm Church Church Hittle and Antrim as a replacement.
The firm is managing BCSC’s board policy platform and will update policies based on changes in state and federal legislation, as well as changes in case law.
This is the second batch of policies to be consolidated after members voted to pair down 26 previous polices into 14 on Sept. 9.
BCSC Superintendent Chad Phillips indicated this would be the largest package of policies that will come before the board.
The packet is “HR heavy” and the superintendent said Erin Stalbaum, BCSC’s superintendent for human resources, spent “a significant amount of time looking at each of these, trying to make sure that they matched up well with our existing policies.”
The only new policy is D500: School Resource Officer Training, which Phillips said was due to changes in Indiana Code.
Administrators did hear feedback from school board members Jason Major, District 1, and Dale Nowlin, District 4 on some suggestions for the policies “but both agreed that they weren’t anything that necessitated a board work session to make those adjustments,” Phillips said.
“We will look at them before the end of this week, and make sure that any of those changes are shared back out with any board members, as well as posted to the website at least a week before the second reading on Nov. 11,” Phillips continued.
The proposed new policies include:
- A125: Nepotism, Conflicts of Interest, Gifts & Use of Corporation Resources
- A175: Whistleblower Protection
- C150: Homeless Students
- C300: Programs for Students with Disabilities & Least Restrictive Environment
- C375: Suspension & Expulsion of Students
- C425: Student Suicide Prevention & Awareness
- C450: Drug Prevention and Drug Testing
- C525: Medical Needs at School
- C550: Search and Seizure
- C325: Personal Background Checks, References & Mandatory Reporting
- D450: Resignation
- D500: School Resource Officer Training
- G325: Free and Reduced Price Meals
The language of the proposed policies can be accessed by going to BCSC’s BoardDocs website, clicking “Policies” on the top right and then, next to where it says “Book,” selecting “District Policy Review Drafts” on the drop down menu.
