JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – The Campbell County Board of Education Policy Committee will meet on Monday, July 13th, at 1:00 p.m., in the upper conference room of the Central Office.  The policies below will be discussed at the meeting  including those policies linked HERE.Memorandum

TO:               TSBA Policy Subscribers

FROM:          Jennifer White, Director of Policy Services/Staff Attorney

SUBJECT:    June Policy Recommendations

DATE:          June 29, 2020

Dear Policy Subscribers:

As part of your policy subscription, the TSBA Policy Department monitors statutory and regulatory changes to ensure that our model policies comply with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations. Due to changes made by the Tennessee General Assembly and the State Board of Education, TSBA has updated three model policies. Below are the recommended revisions.

Additionally, I will host a webinar on these updates on July 13th at 11:00 a.m. The webinar will cover the policy changes as well as other informational items and allow participants to submit questions. Click here to register.

Thank you for your continued confidence in TSBA’s Policy Department, and please let us know if you have any questions.

Policy 4.205 – Enrollment in College Level Courses

The State Board of Education modified its regulation on students taking college level courses. We have revised our model policy to more clearly align with the updated regulation.

In response to this change, we also recommend that Boards delete policy 4.203 – Advanced College Placement as this information is no longer supported by the regulation.

View model policy 4.205 by clicking here.

View State Board of Education Regulation 0520-01-03-.03(8) by clicking here.

Policy 6.319 – Alternative Education

The General Assembly recently passed Public Chapter 603, which clarifies that students who commit zero tolerance offenses are not required to be placed in alternative schools or programs. Additionally, the State Board recently approved a regulation clarifying the differences between alternative schools and programs as well as the reasons that may justify removing a student from an alternative school or program. As a result, we have updated and retitled our model policy to align with these changes.

View model policy 6.319 by clicking here.

View Public Chapter 603 by clicking here.

View State Board of Education Regulation 0520-01-02-.09 by clicking here.

Corresponding Student Discipline Policies

We have recently received many questions about student discipline. As a result, we wanted to take this opportunity to send out the model policies below. It may also be helpful to review your Board’s current policies on these topics alongside the updated model policy 6.319 to ensure there are no conflicts.

View model policy 6.309 by clicking here.

View model policy 6.316 by clicking here.

View model policy 6.317 by clicking here.

Policy 6.409 – Reporting Child AbuseThis month, the General Assembly made significant changes to several statutes that govern child abuse reporting requirements. Two of the most notable changes are: (1) the requirement to have one employee designated as the Child Abuse Coordinator at each school; and (2) the prohibition against notifying parents/guardians of suspected child abuse that occurs on school property. We have revised our model policy to align with the new law.

View model policy 6.409 by clicking here.

View House Bill 2461 by clicking here.

View corresponding model administrative procedures by clicking here. These are intended to be used by the Director of Schools and revised to fit the district’s needs.

Informational Item on Family Life Education

For school districts that offer a program of family life education, new legislation requires the family life curriculum to include instruction on the prevention of dating violence. If you have a policy on family life curriculum,  we wanted to bring this requirement to your attention.

View Senate Bill 2269 by clicking here.

Memorandum

TO:               TSBA Policy Subscribers

FROM:          Jennifer White, Director of Policy Services/Staff Attorney

SUBJECT:    Title IX Update

DATE:          June 22, 2020

Dear Policy Subscribers:

As part of your policy subscription, the TSBA Policy Department monitors statutory and regulatory changes to ensure that our model policies comply with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations. The U.S. Department of Education recently released updated Title IX regulations that require school districts to respond to allegations of sexual harassment in very specific ways. These regulations will go into effect on August 14, 2020. Accordingly, we have reviewed these regulations and created a new model policy (Policy 6.3041 – Title IX & Sexual Harassment) to align with the updated requirements.

Title IX is a federal law that applies to all public schools. It states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” While this language is brief, federal regulations and case law have expanded the ways in which this applies to school districts. Many of you are likely familiar with the broad categories that Title IX covers such as: (1) requiring equity in athletics; (2) prohibiting discrimination in the educational program; and (3) establishing a framework for addressing grievances related to sexual harassment. The new model policy is designed to address the third aspect. Because these new regulations go into more detail about what is required of school districts when they respond to claims of sexual harassment, we created a stand-alone model policy to align with those requirements. Fully complying with the new regulations will require a combination of reviewing and updating current policies and procedures, training staff, and ensuring that appropriate notification of these changes are publicized to the community.

Additionally, the new regulations include several components that we wanted to bring to your attention. These include the following:

  • All K-12 employees should promptly report allegations of sexual harassment to the Title IX Coordinator. Per the U.S. Department of Education, the new regulation “arguably broadens…an elementary or secondary school’s obligation to respond to Title IX sexual harassment.”
  • The definition of sexual harassment has been expanded to include sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.
  • The employee designated to oversee Title IX compliance must be specifically referred to as the Title IX Coordinator. His/her contact information must be provided on the school district’s website, if any, and in employee and student handbooks.
  • School districts must notify applicants for admission and employment as well as parents/legal guardians of the name or title, office address, email address, and telephone number of the Title IX Coordinator.
  • Any person may report sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, in person, by mail, by telephone, or by email using the contact information listed for the Title IX Coordinator or by any other means that results in the Title IX Coordinator receiving the person’s verbal or written report. These reports may be made at any time, including during non-business hours.
  • If the school district has a website, training materials used to train Title IX personnel must be provided there for public access.
  • The Board must choose whether the “clear and convincing” or the “preponderance of the evidence” standard will be used to determine responsibility in instances of alleged sexual harassment. Particularly in regard to this issue, we strongly recommend working with your board attorney.
  • A new recordkeeping requirement mandates that all records from sexual harassment investigations, appeals and results from appeals, and materials used to train Title IX Coordinators must be maintained for seven years.

Due to these changes, we recommend ensuring that all district employees are trained on the updated requirements. Additionally, we encourage all districts to work with their board attorney to ensure that the implementation of this policy and any procedures align with all legal requirements.

We will provide a brief webinar covering the basics of these changes on July 6th at 11:00 a.m. (central). There will be opportunities to ask questions. Click here to register.

Below are the recommended revisions to your policy manual. Thank you for your continued confidence in TSBA’s Policy Department, and please let us know if you have any questions.Policy 6.3041 – Title IX & Sexual Harassment

The new policy has been created to align with updated Title IX regulations. Many districts currently use a version of our model policy 6.304 to respond to these types of complaints as well as other kinds of harassment. We recommend adopting this new policy, however, to ensure that complaints of sexual harassment are dealt with in compliance with the new complex regulations. The new Title IX regulations include several components that must be part of the grievance process for any Title IX sexual harassment complaint. As these differ significantly from what is found in policy 6.304, we recommend adopting this new model policy.

Additionally, please note that while the Title IX Coordinator may serve as the investigator, the investigator, decision-maker, and person or entity that hears appeals must be different individuals/entities. Because the size and needs of districts vary across the state, we have included fill-in-the-blanks for each Board to customize to fit their particular needs.

View model policy 6.3041 by clicking here.

View Title IX Regulations Addressing Sexual Harassment by clicking here.

View a summary from the U.S. Department of Education by clicking here.

View information on the different evidentiary standards that the Board must choose between by clicking here.

View a flowchart outlining the basics of the Title IX process, administrative procedures, forms, and checklists that can be used by the Title IX Coordinator, investigators, or decision-makers by clicking here.

Policy 6.304 – Student Discrimination, Harassment, Bullying, Cyber-bullying, and Intimidation

We have updated this policy for clarity. Additionally, we wanted to send it out to highlight the differences between these two policies.

View model policy 6.304 by clicking here.  (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 07/08/2020-6AM)

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