March 24, 2020 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

Notice of the time and place of the Lincoln Board of Education meeting was e-mailed to an extensive list of local and regional news media.  A mailing list is maintained at the Lincoln Public Schools District Office.  A public notice was published in the LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR.

The Lincoln Board of Education is empowered to act on any item listed on the Agenda at any time during the meeting, irrespective of the time or order listed. Pages listed, or further detail, are available upon request. The Open Meetings Act requires and the intention of the Board is that agenda items be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the meeting. The Lincoln Board of Education releases its agenda well in advance of most meetings and desires that all interested persons are fully informed. Any interested person who has a question or needs clarification about the sufficiency of a descriptive item should contact the Office of the Superintendent of Schools. The Lincoln Board of Education shall also make available for examination and copying as requested by members of the public, at least one copy of all reproducible written materials to be discussed at the meeting.

Rationale:  The attached minutes are intended to accurately reflect the action of the Board at its previous meetings.

Explanation
The minutes have been prepared for Board approval.

Rationale: 

In keeping with Board Policy 8420:

1. Persons speaking during Public Comment will be called forward individually by the Board Chair to the location identified for such purpose. 
2. A time limit of five minutes will be allotted for any speaker. At the discretion of the chair, the speaker may be allotted additional time. Board members may share, address or consider comments from the public during public comment, at the end of public comment or when related business is on the agenda.
3. Each individual speaking to the Board will be required to identify himself or herself prior to giving public comment. A "Record of Appearance" card is provided for this purpose.
4. Persons wishing to appear will be heard in the order in which the Chair of the meeting determines appropriate.
5. In cases where more than one person wishes to speak on the same topic, their presentations to the Board may, at the discretion of the chair, be grouped together by topic.
6. If the number of people wishing to speak under the public participation portions of the agenda is large, the chair may rule that a public hearing be scheduled or the discussion be limited on the issue in question.
7. Persons speaking to the Board during public comment may make printed materials available to the Board but may not use any other form of media.

If at any time persons appearing before the Board exceed the time limitations set forth in this policy or on the agenda or if persons appearing before the Board or who are present at the Board meeting or public hearing become abusive in language or behavior, it shall be the responsibility of the chair to declare that person or persons out of order and to refuse permission to continue to address the Board, require a change in behavior and may require the person or persons to leave the premises of the Board meeting.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  The Human Resources Division also includes the Office of Risk Management.  As such, in addition to the Lincoln Board of Education approving all contractual agreements with employees, all employee benefit issues, all personnel actions, and all other matters within the scope of the Human Resources Division, as part of the Human Resources Matters agenda; the Lincoln Board of Education also must approve the settlement of Workers’ Compensation claims, take action on tort claims filed against the district, and take action on all other matters within the scope of the Office of Risk Management.

Explanation:
This report includes routine Human Resources changes:

a.  Certificated Employees:
         Change of Status - 2
         Separations - 1

c.  Substitute Certificated Employees:
         Elections - 13
         Change of Status - 5
         Separations - 2

d.  Classified Employees:
          Elections - 36
          Change of Status - 3
          Leave of Absence - 1
          Separations - 22

Proposal:
That the Board approve the Human Resources items presented in the attachment(s).*

*The information in the attachment(s) may be protected by privacy legislation until the Board of Education takes action on the staff recommendations.  Therefore, this attachment(s) is not included in agenda materials provided the public and the news media.  Any information in the attachment(s) that is not protected by privacy legislation, however, is available for public inspection from the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources upon request.

That the Board is approving the Human Resources items attached with the information as presented or as on file with official district records and documents relating to each such item, or in such other form as may be approved by the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources, or the Associate Superintendent’s designee, and that the Board hereby authorizes the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources, or the Associate Superintendent’s designee, to transact and complete each such item approved hereby, and to sign, execute, and deliver necessary documents or contracts, and to take or cause to be taken any and all other action as may be necessary to complete each such item of transaction as contemplated, for and on behalf of this school district.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  On March 26, 2019, the Board adopted a resolution to accept option enrollment students for the 2019-20 school year.  Applications for enrollment during the 2019-20 school year have been received and are in compliance with the Board resolution of March 26, 2019.  
  
The applications included in this agenda item have been examined by staff and meet one of the criteria set forth by the Board in the resolution of March 26, 2019.  Staff recommends approval of the application.  

Proposal   
That the Board adopts the following resolution:

WHEREAS, the students who have been assigned student numbers 246553 and 400243 (for purposes of confidentiality, assigned numbers are being used) meet one or more of the criteria of the Board resolution of March 26, 2019, with regard to such option students;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the aforementioned students be accepted as option students on the condition and with the express understanding that all programs, all classes and all buildings of assignment, except as otherwise required by law, shall at all times and from time to time during attendance at Lincoln Public Schools be determined solely by Lincoln Public Schools.

Rationale: 

March 15, 2019, was the deadline for enrollment option applications to be completed for students wishing to attend school in a district other than the one in which they reside for the 2018-19 school year.  The Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education has authority to waive the deadline for late enrollment option requests (NDE Rule 7, Section 004.05).    

Explanation  
Requests from students who reside in the district of Lincoln Public Schools and wish to attend school outside of Lincoln Public Schools have been received after the March 15, 2019, deadline.  The Lincoln Board of Education may deny or approve these requests.  If the requests are approved by the Board of Education, they will be forwarded to the option school districts for their approval.

Student Number            Option District
436308                              Palmyra
288812                              Palmyra

Proposal  
That the Board approves the requests for option out for the 2019-20 school year.

Rationale:  On February 11, 2020, the Board adopted a resolution to accept option enrollment students for the 2020-21 school year.  Applications for enrollment during the 2020-21 school year have been received and are in compliance with the Board resolution of February 11, 2020.  
  
The applications included in this agenda item have been examined by staff and meet one of the criteria set forth by the Board in the resolution of February 11, 2020.  Staff recommends approval of the application.  

Proposal   
That the Board adopts the following resolution:

WHEREAS, the students who have been assigned student numbers 264309, 278028, 436281, 414923 and 247510 (for purposes of confidentiality, assigned numbers are being used) meet one or more of the criteria of the Board resolution of February 11, 2020, with regard to such option students;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the aforementioned students be accepted as option students on the condition and with the express understanding that all programs, all classes and all buildings of assignment, except as otherwise required by law, shall at all times and from time to time during attendance at Lincoln Public Schools be determined solely by Lincoln Public Schools.

Rationale:  Lincoln Public Schools regulation 5460.1 and Nebraska state law provides that if a student has been expelled from any public or private school, and the student has not completed the terms or time period of the expulsion, the student shall not be permitted to enroll in this school district until the expulsion period from such other school has expired, unless the Lincoln Board of Education approves by a majority vote the enrollment of such student prior to expiration of the expulsion period. Student number 279933 (for purposes of confidentiality we are using an assigned number) has filed the proper application and has requested enrollment. 

Explanation 
The Department of Student Services has reviewed the application and the background information on the student and is recommending that the application be approved and that the student be enrolled in the Lincoln Public Schools Expelled Student Program for the remainder of this school year, subject to such terms and conditions as imposed by the Director of Student Services and all program rules and regulations until the term or time period of the original underlying expulsions are completed.                                                 
Proposal 
That the Board approves the application and all recommendations of the Department of Student Services.

Rationale:  *The Lincoln Board of Education is empowered to act on any item listed on the Agenda at any time during the meeting, irrespective of the time or order listed. Pages listed, or further detail, are available upon request. The Open Meetings Act requires and the intention of the Board is that agenda items be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the meeting. The Lincoln Board of Education  Board releases its agenda well in advance of most meetings and desires that all interested persons are fully informed. Any interested person who has a question or needs clarification about the sufficiency of a descriptive item should contact the Office of the Superintendent of Schools.

Rationale: 
Explanation When a formal request is made to Student Services for education records containing directory information, the request will be reviewed by the Director of Student Services or designee and decisions on fulfilling the request will be made based on the type of information requested, the purpose of the request for the information, and a screening of the requester if appropriate.

Proposal
That the Board discuss revisions to Policy 5360.

 

Rationale: 

1. constructing, furnishing and equipping a high school near the northwest area of the District and a high school near the southeast area of the District;
2. constructing an elementary school near the northeast area of the District;
3. constructing, furnishing, equipping, renovating, remodeling and repairing Park Middle School and Everett Elementary School;
4. constructing, furnishing, equipping, renovating, remodeling and repairing focus program facilities, early childhood facilities and athletic and activity facilities;
5. constructing, furnishing, equipping, renovating, remodeling and repairing various District facilities, additions and infrastructure throughout the District; and
6. acquiring sites and constructing related infrastructure improvements for school facilities of the District.

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Rationale:  Lincoln Public Schools proposes to write a competitive application to the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), within the U.S. Department of Justice. This application is in response to the School Violence Prevention Program Grant.  This program is designed to provide funding to improve security at schools and on school grounds through the following strategies: coordination with local law enforcement; training for local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence against others and self; placement and use of deterrent equipment; and acquisition and installation of technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency.

Explanation
In addition to the district threat assessment team, LPS utilizes many procedures and systems in order to ensure the safety of students and staff. These include regular drills to prepare for emergencies, security cameras at all high schools, the use of Standard Response Protocol established for the district, crisis response plans at each school, and an active partnership with local law enforcement and safety experts to help inform our work. An additional layer of support that would strengthen the district’s safety protocols is enhanced digital monitoring technology.

Increasingly, students use digital environments like the Google Suite of web applications to create and revise documents in addition to collaborating with teachers and fellow students. As is common in any learning environment, some of the interaction is social. While teachers are very adept at creating and maintaining safe learning environments in their physical classrooms, digital learning environments pose new challenges, particularly when students continue to interact in them outside the classroom.

Digital monitoring platforms make it possible to ensure students’ "voices" in the Google environment are heard just as they would be in a traditional classroom. While such platforms use the latest technology methods to review content, they use human staff review and alert school staff to indications of existing or contemplated unsafe behavior.  The district will apply for grant funds to purchase a real-time web-filtering platform for digital monitoring of district-sponsored content.

Proposal
That the Board approve the submission of the School Violence Prevention Grant application for up to $500,000 for a 36-month period. There is a 25% match requirement, which will be provided through existing district threat assessment team staff time as in-kind contribution.

The grant application is due April 8, 2020.
 

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Rationale:  March 26: SSKI Board Meeting, City County Chambers, 12:15 pm
April 1: Chamber Coffee, Facebook Live, 8:00 am
April 14: Board Meeting, LPSDO, 6:00 pm

Rationale: 

In keeping with Board Policy 8420:

1. Persons speaking during Public Comment will be called forward individually by the Board Chair to the location identified for such purpose. 
2. A time limit of five minutes will be allotted for any speaker. At the discretion of the chair, the speaker may be allotted additional time. Board members may share, address or consider comments from the public during public comment, at the end of public comment or when related business is on the agenda.
3. Each individual speaking to the Board will be required to identify himself or herself prior to giving public comment. A "Record of Appearance" card is provided for this purpose.
4. Persons wishing to appear will be heard in the order in which the Chair of the meeting determines appropriate.
5. In cases where more than one person wishes to speak on the same topic, their presentations to the Board may, at the discretion of the chair, be grouped together by topic.
6. If the number of people wishing to speak under the public participation portions of the agenda is large, the chair may rule that a public hearing be scheduled or the discussion be limited on the issue in question.
7. Persons speaking to the Board during public comment may make printed materials available to the Board but may not use any other form of media.

If at any time persons appearing before the Board exceed the time limitations set forth in this policy or on the agenda or if persons appearing before the Board or who are present at the Board meeting or public hearing become abusive in language or behavior, it shall be the responsibility of the chair to declare that person or persons out of order and to refuse permission to continue to address the Board, require a change in behavior and may require the person or persons to leave the premises of the Board meeting.

Rationale: 

Explanation
At this point, it is appropriate for the Board to meet in closed session for one of the stated matters and/or any other permissible closed session matters in compliance with the law.

Rationale:  The Lincoln Board of Education is authorized by state statute to hold closed sessions.  Closed sessions may be held when clearly necessary for the protection of the public interest or for the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of an individual.  Reasons that meet this standard include but are not limited to:  (a) strategy sessions with respect to collective bargaining, real estate matters, pending litigation, or litigation which is imminent as evidenced by communication of a claim or threat of litigation to or by the public body; (b) discussion regarding deployment of security personnel or devices; (c) investigative proceedings regarding allegations of criminal misconduct; (d) evaluation of the job performance of a person when necessary to prevent needless injury to the reputation of a person and if such person has not requested a public meeting; and (e) legal advice.