April 28, 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 next item on our agenda this evening is the annual Public Hearing on the Lincoln Public Schools Student Fees Policy 5520. Before we begin the hearing, I would like to note that staff has recommended changes to only to Appendix "1" of the current policy and all of those proposed changes are set forth as an attachment at agenda item 10.3.4 for this meeting for anyone who wishes to review or comment on them.
 
I would first ask staff to give a brief report on the amount of money collected and use of waivers for the prior year.

For those interested in speaking during this public hearing, the same guidelines apply as to public comment. Speakers should complete the blue contact card and present it to a staff prior to speaking. Speakers have a maximum of five minutes to speak. The Board does not engage in conversation with the speakers, but listens carefully to the comments as part of its collection of information for consideration of agenda items.
 
With that, I hereby open this public hearing before the Board of Education of Lincoln Public Schools. This hearing is being conducted under the provisions of the Nebraska Public Elementary and Secondary Student Fee Authorization Act and other Nebraska laws.

The purpose of this hearing is to receive input regarding proposed Policy 5520 and Appendix "1". The input received in this hearing will be taken into consideration by the Board when we take action on proposed Policy 5520 and Appendix "1".
 
Would the first person wishing to speak please come forward now?
 

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.  Administrator Certificated Employees:
          Elections - 1
  
b.  Certificated Employees:
         Elections - 20
         Change of Status - 2
         Leave of Absence - 43
         Separations - 208
  
c.  Substitute Certificated Employees:
         Elections - 9
         Change of Status - 2
         Separations - 18

d.  Classified Employees:
          Elections - 13
          Change of Status - 2
          Leave of Absence - 2
          Separations - 83

Other:
e.  Approval of LPS Benefits Plans
f.  Settlement Agreement: Lynn-Darrell Berry, Jr.

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 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 436852, 436105, 236846 and 436965 (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: 

March 15, 2020, 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 2020-21 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, 2020, 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
232660                             Crete
436242                             Norris

Proposal  
That the Board approves the requests for option out for the 2020-21 school year.

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.

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Rationale:  The Board of Education of Lincoln Public Schools annually reviews and approves Policy 5520 to ensure that its policy is in accordance with the Public Elementary and Secondary Student Fees Authorization Act.

The district’s general policy is to provide for the free instruction in school in accordance with the Nebraska Constitution and state and federal law.  This generally means that the district’s policy is to provide free instruction for courses that are required by state law or regulation and to provide the staff, facility, equipment, and materials necessary for such instruction without charge or fee to the students.

The district does provide activities, programs, and services to children that extend beyond the minimum level of constitutionally required free instruction. Students and their parents have historically contributed to the district’s efforts to provide such activities, programs, and services. The district’s general policy is to continue to encourage and to the extent permitted by law, to require such student and parent contributions to enhance the educational program provided by the district.

Explanation
Revisions to Policy 5520 reflect changes to fees and the fee waiver eligibility to address changes in cost while remaining in compliance with all applicable laws.

Proposal
That the Board discuss revisions to Policy 5520 and Appendix 1.

Rationale: 

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Rationale:  The U.S. Department of Education through Title VI of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides funds to fulfill the federal government’s responsibility to the Indian people for the education of Indian children. These funds support the goal of ensuring programs that serve Indian children are of the highest quality and provide for not only the basic elementary and secondary educational needs, but also the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of these children.

Lincoln Public Schools has received federal funds for services for Native American students since the mid-1980’s.  The following table reflects an annual student count and the grant award amount received in recent years.  Grant award amounts vary by year according to the total amount of Indian Education funds available at the federal level and are not based only on the number of students per program.
 

School Year	Student Number	Amount Awarded
2014-15	553	$133,660
2015-16	606	$148,737
2016-17	611	$146,179
2017-18	585	$138,292
2018-18	572	$151,709
2019-20	526	$139,941
2020-21	558	$149,006

*Indicates count from February 2020.

Explanation
Lincoln Public Schools Indian Education program will provide support to Native American students in grades PK-12 in the 2020-21 school year. Native American students are enrolled in all schools across the district representing about 60 tribes as designated by the parent. Estimated funding from Title VI for 2020-21 is $149,006, based on the February student count. Decisions regarding the use of these funds are made in consultation with the Native American Advisory Committee.

Proposal
That the Board approve the submission of the required application of the Indian Education grant to the U.S. Department of Education for $149,006. No district-funding match is required.

This grant application is due May 21, 2020.

Rationale: 

1. Regular Instructional Program:  2020-21 Rates

2. Specialized Services for Special Education Programs:

Rationale: 

• Management, maintenance, and toner of high speed copiers, multifunction devices, printers, and documents
• Accountability by way of detailed reporting of print/copy activities throughout the district
• Cost management by provisioning for printing/copying at each building as well as the electronic submission and routing of documents to higher volume devices offering lower cost
• The infrastructure necessary to transition document processes to a digital environment
• Reduction in school workload by allowing them to offload document production to the Print Center
• A sustainable replacement cycle for all devices

Rationale:  Lincoln Public Schools reviews policies on an on-going basis and updates policies to ensure that they accurately reflect the ever-changing work of the district.
Explanation
The revisions to Policy 5360 are recommended by the Student Learning Committee and reflect concerns raised by Board members as well as the public concerning the availability of directory information.

In addition to the Policy revisions, it is proposed the following be added to the Important Information Handbook (before the list of groups who made requests the previous year):


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 approve revisions to Policy 5360.

 

Rationale: 

Rationale:  May 26: Board Meeting, LPSDO, 6:00 p.m.

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.