Seneca Township High School District 160 Board of Education Policy Committee Met July 7.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
A meeting of the Policy Committee was held at 4:30 p.m. The meeting was called to order with the following members present: Tiffany Biros and Ron Frye. Also present: Mike Coughlin, and Dan Stecken.
Absent: Jason Eltrevoog
A.- Public Comment
There was no public comment.
B. PRESS Policies
a. Mr. Stecken discussed the updated PRESS Policies from the June Issue 107 PRESS Policy Updates.
1. Policy 2:240: Board Development-Mr. Stecken presented the optional footnote language of "Words Importing Gender." It was agreed that the optional wording would remain optional moving forward.
2. Policy 5:10: General Personnel - Mr. Stecken discussed Public Act 101- 656 imposed new obligations on Illinois employers, including school districts, who want to rely on criminal convictions to disqualifyan applicant. School districts must provide written notice to applicants/employees to challenge the accuracy of the conviction record. The changes include equal employment opportunity; hiring processes, and notices of hiring decisions based on conviction record.
3. Policy 6:160: Instruction of English Language Learners - Mr. Stecken discussed the required additional committee: " ... (3) participate and serve on the District's Transitional Bilingual Education Programs Parent
Advisory Committee." Mr. Coughlin added that the district already includes parents in this process.
4. Policy 7:345: SOPPA - Mr. Stecken discussed the ongoing legal requirements and updates to SOPPA and complimented Mr. Harig's work 0::1 getting the district in line with these new legal requirements on student privacy.
5. Policy 2:10: School District Governance - Mr. Stecken discussed the change to the Open Meetings Act to include quorums that could be done digitally.
6. Mr. Stecken mentioned that the PRESS update included a 5-year review of many policies that included brief cosmetic, minor language, and minor reference changes.
C. Beginning of the 21-22 School Year:
1. Mr. Stecken presented a Board Resolution document that has been circulated amongst Superintendents and Board members throughout Illinois. This document calls for local controls as opposed to waiting for the state to issue mandates or decrees on handling of COVID-19. Board President Frye stated that he supported local controls and local decisions to handle the pandemic and that Seneca Township High School does not have the same problems that Chicago has. Mr. Frye also mentioned that the powers in Springfield do not know what the district had to do to stay open in the 2020-21 school year. Mrs. Biros discussed the local level decisions impacting all of the STHS area schools and the difference it made to the students to be in school every J single day. Mr. Coughlin mentioned the SAAG meetings where STHS, SGS, MVK, and Milton Pope worked in coordination to have uniformity in plans. It was decided that Mr. Stecken would contact each B::>ard of Education 1rtember to discuss this resolution by email and then by phone call if necessary.
F. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 5:33 p.m.
https://www.senecahs.org/vimages/shared/vnews/stories/60d343039c34d/Policy%20Min%20July%202021.pdf
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