Wednesday
September 18, 2024 
Council Rock School Board is set to vote on a policy related to vaping on July 18, but one dealing with students who commit sexual assault won’t be ready this month.
Members of the board’s Policy Committee looked at a total of five policies July 1 — three new, two amended, all mandated through statute regulation code, state code or federal code.
Being amended are Policy 222 — Tobacco and Vaping Products (students) — and Policy 323 — Tobacco and Vaping Products (staff). The previous policies were outdated, officials said, having last been updated in June 2018. At the time, they only dealt with tobacco products. The updated policies extend their definitions to include vaping, and attempt to address the prohibition of medical marijuana.
The amended Policy 222 prohibits both the use and possession of tobacco and vaping products. Policy 323 only prohibits the use, allowing staff to be in possession on school grounds.
Policy 218.3 — Discipline of Student Convicted/Adjudicated of Sexual Assault — aims to ensure a safe school environment for student victims of sexual assault committed by fellow students on or off school property.
The policy addresses disciplinary action against the perpetrating student through three options: reassigning him/her to another school in the district, transferring the individual to another educational program outside of the district, or expelling the convicted or adjudicated student.
Board members addressed concerns over the reassignment of the perpetrator. School board member Bob Hickey wondered how students in other schools would be protected if the individual is reassigned.
Linda Stone, another board member, countered that in the case of statutory rape between two consensual students, the student convicted should have the option to remain in the district to avoid further permanent damage to their record. By leaving the option to reassign, it would leave the district some flexibility in certain circumstances.
The board members agreed that the policy is vague and needed further discussion at the August Policy Committee Meeting before putting it before the full board.
Determined to be ready for a July vote is Policy 150 — Title I Comparability of Services — that requires any school that has Title I supplemental funding to use its state and local funds equally across all schools.
Also ready is Policy 830.1 — Data Governance: Storage/Security. It requires that the district maintains a data governance system that meets or exceeds industry and government standards of data protection and privacy of personal information. It’d also apply to the third party service providers with which Council Rock contracts.
These policies will be included on the July 18 Board of School Directors Meeting agenda.
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