June 12, 2023 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

This meeting has been preceded by advance notice and is hereby declared to be in open session.  A current copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act is posted on the West wall of the meeting room.

Notice of this meeting was given in advance by publication in the Cozad Local and posted on the Cozad Community Schools website and at the District Office, Cozad Post Office and Wilson Public Library.  Notice of this meeting was also given in advance to all members of the Board of Education. The order of agenda items may be changed when deemed necessary.

The board may choose to enter closed (executive) session to discuss any matter for which closed (executive) session is lawful and appropriate.

Rationale:  This agenda item enables the board to validate if an item was added prior to the 24-hour period before the board meeting. If an item was added, the board may verify when the modifications were made and when the updated agenda was posted to the district website. 

Rationale: 

The Board of Education invites you to offer comments during the public comments portion of the agenda. This is the portion of the meeting when members of the public may speak to the board about matters of public concern.

When you have been recognized, please stand and state your name and address and come forward to the front of the board table.

The board will generally allow a total of 20 minutes for the presentation of all public comments. Individuals may speak only one time, and must limit comments to around 5 minutes.  If there are more than 4 individuals who wish to address the board, the 20 minutes will be divided equally between the number of speakers.  These time limits may be changed by a majority vote of the board members in attendance to extend the time for a specific item or speaker.

For additional instructions on public participation, brochures are provided for you to view.  A copy of  Policy 2009 Public Participation at Board Meetings is available upon request.

 

 

Rationale:  Interviewing board candidates who submitted an application by Friday, June 9 at 12:00pm

• Will Geiger
• Teresa Osborn
• Martin Rascon

Rationale: 

• Monday, May 15, 2023- Regular Board of Education Mtg
• Tuesday, May 23, 2023- Special Board of Education Mtg

Rationale: 

• Bruce Hird, Route Bus Driver
• Abby Worrell, CEEC Para

Rationale:  Michelle Gibson, Middle School, SpEd Para

Rationale:  State Reimbursement: May 2023

School Nutrition Program- $30,318.18
Summer Food Service Program-$1,491.78

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Total State Reimbursement-$31,809.96

Rationale:  Jill Albrecht, University of Nebraska-Kearney, Consult & Collaboration with Families, 3 hours
Jill Albrecht, University of Nebraska-Kearney, Teaching Social Skills Students with ASD, 3 hours

Rationale:  2007 MCI

• 649,000 miles
• 54 passenger
• $145,000

Rationale:  Katelyn Day, Ag Teacher

Rationale:  Policy from Perry Law

Rationale:  We have revised this policy to provide a link to the website at which information on statewide receipts and expenditures and comparisons of cost per pupil and performance to other school districts is available. We also updated a statutory reference. Finally, we amended the policy to follow the changes in LB 243 that make clear that a school may only increase its property tax request by more than the allowable growth percentage "to the extent allowed by law." This change is required.

Rationale:  Section 79-734 requires public schools to purchase and loan textbooks, upon individual request, to children who are enrolled in kindergarten to grade 2 twelve of a private school which is approved for continued legal operation under rules and regulations established by NDE. LB 705 transfers this obligation to NDE effective July 1, 2024. We have amended this policy to end the public school’s obligation to provide textbooks to private schools effective July 1, 2024. This change is effective three months after adjournment of the Unicameral, approximately September 2, 2023. This change is required.

Rationale:  POLICY 3059: AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDING (RELOCATION OF POLICY 5063) Now that most middle-high school students, staff members, parents, and patrons have smartphones and other devices, it was time to revisit this policy. While this certainly does not address all technology-based conduct, we have made a few changes that apply to more than just students. This is why it will be relocated into the 3000 series. For example, previously the policy did not prohibit staff from making secret recordings. We made that change. We also updated the security camera footage section and made a few other tweaks to better align the policy to school practices. These changes are not required but are highly recommended. Relocation is required even if you don’t amend the policy for ease of tracking future changes.

Rationale:  We made a minor revision to fix a clerical error regarding the term Medical Review Officer. This change is required.

Rationale:  President Biden signed into law the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act ("PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act") at the end of 2022. The Act expands protections for salaried employees such as teachers and also requires the break to be paid if the employee is also working while expressing breast milk. We changed our policy to include language regarding the frequency at which an employee can request to pump. This change is required.

Rationale:  Section 79-2,146 currently requires nurses, teachers, counselors, school psychologists, administrators, school social workers, and any other appropriate personnel to receive at least one hour of suicide awareness and prevention training each year. LB 705 amends this section to require "all public school employees who interact with students and any other appropriate personnel" as determined by the superintendent to receive at least one hour of behavioral and mental health training with a focus on suicide awareness and prevention training each year. NDE will develop a list of approved training materials. Please note, we left the proposed October 31 or within 30 days of initial employment wording in the policy. This is not required by law, so you can adjust the completion deadlines as you see fit. These changes are effective three months after adjournment of the Unicameral, approximately September 2, 2023. This change is required.

Rationale:  LB 705 (Sec. 75) will amend Nebraska’s part-time enrollment statute, section 79-2,136. Prior to the amendments, the statute contained only one section and generally deferred to school board policy for most part-time enrollment considerations. LB 705 contains some new requirements for the admission of part-time students. First, the statute creates an ambiguity regarding which classes a part-time student can take. LB 705 added a clause into the original statute, which now reads: "Each school board shall allow the part-time enrollment of students, for all courses selected by the students...." We know many schools limit the classes available to part-time students, in addition to limitations based on class sizes and things like that. It is unclear whether the Unicameral intended the new clause to mean students can select any courses they want, or if they intended that to mean any courses offered to part-time students but not necessarily all courses they might be eligible to take if they were full-time students. We left the general restrictions based on class sizes and resources intact but remained silent on strict class availability for part-time students (e.g., only essential courses or only specials) giving each school the opportunity to decide whether they want to make all courses available or continue to limit courses a part-time student can take even if you have capacity. Second, LB 705 requires school boards to establish policies and procedures relating to participation in extracurricular activities. It requires schools to permit part-time students to participate in extracurriculars "subject to the same requirements, conditions, and procedures" as your full-time students. This means they must comply with all academic, behavioral, and other eligibility rules established by the school, including your student code of conduct. We’ve also specified that this includes being eligible for NSAA participation, or eligible based on the governing body of any activity not subject to NSAA rules. The statute has two specific limitations. Current NSAA rules require students to be enrolled in at least 20 credit hours, 10 of which must come from the public school. The statute changes now state that part-time students must be allowed to participate if they are enrolled in 5 credit hours in the public school. This change will reduce the public school enrollment requirement from 10 to 5 hours, and we anticipate the NSAA will make any changes necessary on its end to allow schools to comply with this statute. 5 The statute also prohibits schools from giving a preference in team selection to full-time students over part-time students. As for transportation, the statute does not require schools to provide transportation for school attendance purposes, but it does require schools to provide extracurricular transportation or mileage to a part-time student on the same terms as you provide extracurricular transportation to your full-time students. For example, if you drive a bus from the school parking lot to away contests or off-site practices, the part-time student gets to ride the bus to those events. The part-time student would be responsible for getting himself or herself to the designated pick-up point. Finally, this change also raises a timing issue. Schools will have their policies and handbooks updated to start the year, but these requirements do not go into effect until approximately September 10, 2023. This begs the question of whether a student is subject to the various credit hour and other requirements at the beginning of the fall season, or only after the law becomes effective. To avoid having to do mid-year changes to enrollment, handbooks, and policies, our recommendation is to begin applying the new requirements with the start of fall seasons, assuming the NSAA will provide flexibility for the flex time between the start of fall seasons and the effective date of the new requirements. These changes are effective three months after adjournment of the Unicameral, approximately September 2, 2023. This change is required.

Rationale:  LB 705 made three substantive changes to the option enrollment laws. 1. Special education capacity determinations must and may only be determined on a case-by-case basis. If an option application indicates that a student has an individualized education plan (IEP) or has been diagnosed with a disability, the application must be evaluated by the director of special education services or the director's designee who shall determine if the school district and the appropriate class, grade level, or school building has the capacity to provide the applicant the appropriate services and accommodations. 2. If the school board wishes to declare a program, class, or school unavailable for the following school year, the board must pass a 6 resolution with such a declaration prior to October 15th of the previous school year. 3. Schools must annually establish, publish, and report the capacity for each school building under the district's control according to procedures, criteria, and deadlines established by the Nebraska Department of Education These changes are effective three months after adjournment of the Unicameral, approximately September 2, 2023. This change is required.

Rationale:  PK-2nd Grade Students. LB 705 provides that schools will no longer be able to suspend a student in pre-kindergarten through second grade unless the student brings a deadly weapon as defined in section 28-109 on school grounds, in a school vehicle, or to a school-sponsored activity or athletic event. Schools must develop a policy to implement this new limitation and must include disciplinary measures inside the school as an alternative to suspension. Completing Missed Work. Any student who is suspended must be given an opportunity to complete any classwork, homework, examinations, or other work missed during the period of suspension. "Must" used to say "may." Schools must develop and adopt guidelines that provide any suspended student with the opportunity to complete classwork and homework. The guidelines may not require the student to attend the school district's alternative programs for expelled students in order to complete classwork and homework. The guidelines must be provided to the student and a parent or guardian at the time of suspension. Short-Term Suspensions. When a principal suspends a student for up to five school days, he or she must give a written notice of the suspension to the parent or guardian within 24 hours "or such additional time as is reasonably necessary." LB 705 has revised this requirement to state that the principal only has an additional 48 hours (a total of 72 hours) to send the written notice of the suspension. The principal has always been required to make a "reasonable effort" to hold a conference with the parent or guardian when the student returns to school. Now there is an additional requirement that the principal document such effort in writing. 7 Post-Expulsion Requirements. LB 705 includes a new requirement. At the conclusion of an expulsion, a school district must reinstate the student and accept nonduplicative, grade-appropriate credits earned by the student during the term of expulsion from any Nebraska-accredited institution or institution accredited by one of the six regional accrediting bodies in the United States. Long-Term Suspension, Expulsion, or Mandatory Reassignment. The decision to recommend long-term suspension, expulsion, or mandatory reassignment did not have a timeline associated with it. Now, the decision must be made within two school days after learning of the alleged student misconduct. Also, if a student is suspended pending the outcome of a hearing for a long-term suspension, expulsion, or mandatory reassignment, the student must be allowed to complete classwork, homework, examinations, and other work during the period of suspension. Hearing Examiner. When a hearing is requested under the Student Discipline Act, the superintendent now "recommends" the appointment of a hearing examiner within two school days after receiving the hearing request. Parents have two days to request the designation of a different hearing examiner. Upon receiving the request, the superintendent: ? Must provide one alternative hearing examiner who is not an employee of the school district or otherwise currently under contract with the school district and whose impartiality may not otherwise be reasonably questioned; and ? May also provide an additional list of hearing examiners that may include hearing examiners employed by or under contract with the school district. The student or the student's parent or guardian must, within five school days, select a hearing examiner to conduct the hearing who was recommended, provided as an alternative hearing examiner, or included on an additional list, if any, and must notify the superintendent in writing of the selection. The superintendent must appoint the selected hearing examiner upon receipt of the notice. The Hearing. Previously, the hearing had to be "scheduled" within five school days after it was requested. Now, the hearing must be "held" within five school days after the appointment of the hearing examiner. Previously, students and their parents had the right to examine records and written statements "at a reasonable time" before the hearing. Now, the 8 school must provide copies of records, written statements, and required affidavits no later than 48 hours before the hearing. The school must make available those witnesses who have knowledge of or were involved in the alleged misconduct and subsequent discipline of the student if such witnesses are requested by the student or the student's parent, guardian, or representative and if such witnesses are employees or under contract with the school district. With changes from LB 705, the hearing examiner now has ten calendar days to provide the findings and recommendations to the superintendent, and the superintendent has five school days after receiving the report to make his or her determination. Previously, there was no time limit for either action. Appeal. If the student or parent appeals the superintendent’s decision, the superintendent’s determination will no longer take immediate effect. School Board Decision. In the event of an appeal, the school board now must take final actions within three calendar days after the hearing. Previously, there was no time limit on the board’s ability to make a final decision. The changes are effective three months after adjournment of the Unicameral, approximately September 2, 2023. However, Policy 5035 has been revised to reflect these new requirements so that you do not have to change policies and handbooks in September. These changes are required.

Rationale:  LB 77 authorizes anyone, other than a minor or prohibited person, to carry a concealed handgun anywhere in Nebraska, with or without a concealed handgun permit. However, the law still prohibits people from carrying a concealed or unconcealed handgun into a public school or on public school property. This prohibition does not apply to a qualified law enforcement officer or qualified retired law enforcement officer carrying a concealed handgun pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 926B or 926C. We have revised this policy to remove the reference to an exception based on possessing a concealed handgun permit. This change is required.

Rationale:  The link to the website at the bottom of the policy that contains the evidence-based strategies used in the policy has been updated. This change is required.

Rationale:  We have updated the policy to reflect the minimum number of instructional hours for each corresponding grade as required by Nebraska law and NDE regulations. You may adjust these hours upward if desired. This change is required.

Rationale:  We have updated the policy to reflect the new requirement that goes into effect for the 2023-24 school year that all students take at least one course in financial literacy. This required coursework may not be embedded in other curricula throughout a high school student’s secondary education. Rather the course must be a standalone class equaling five (5) high school credits or an equivalent one-semester course. The Nebraska Department of Education has curricular resources for the financial literacy course here. The Financial Literacy Act requires the district to submit a report to the board of education about your compliance with the Act no later than December 31, 2024. You do not need to worry about reporting for the 2023-24 school year. We will provide you with the necessary information for that report in the years they will be required and will add them to our running list of annual notices, hearings, and reports at that time. The Financial Literacy Act was passed as a companion statute to the Computer Science and Technology Act. LB 705 pushed back the effective date of the Computer Science and Technology Act to the 2027-28 school year. As a side note, Policy 6004 has a table that sets out a schedule for curriculum review and textbook adoption. This table will need to be edited to reflect your district’s practices. For example, if your district staff reviews the curriculum in one year and then actually adopts a textbook in the following year, you would adjust the content of the "textbook adoption" cell down a level. This year is also a good time to check the dates that your district has filled in under the "school year" column and to update them as necessary. The financial literacy curriculum is required for 23-24, but we have added both financial literacy and computer science to the curriculum review chart.

Rationale:  Monday, July 17, 2023- Regular Board of Education Meeting, 7pm

Rationale: 

* Closed Session:  If, during the course of the meeting, discussion of any item on the agenda should be held in a closed meeting, the board will conduct a closed meeting in accordance with the Nebraska Open Meetings Law.

**Sequence of Agenda:  The sequence of agenda topics is subject to change at the discretion of the board.  Please arrive at the beginning of the meeting.

***Action Item:  The board reserves the right to take action on any item on the board agenda.