There was no privilege of the floor.

Non-Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Policy - First Reading

Mr. Romer reported that the policy was developed in collaboration with Ms. Albama and legal counsel in alignment with state and federal laws, including collective bargaining agreements.  The policy combines non-discrimination and harassment elements with appropriate legal citations. 

Ms. Albama clarified that the new policy intentionally uses broad language to cover all protected categories under federal and state law, rather than listing specific ones, in order to avoid creating an exhaustive list that would need constant updates. 

A separate document of procedures for investigating claims will need to be developed. 

Discussion ensued, including the following highlights:

• Need to establish clear procedures for handling discrimination complaints, as current practices are handled on a case-by-case basis without a formal process.
• The importance of creating a standardized procedure that ensures fair and impartial investigation of all reports as current practices involve HR ad legal counsel conducting investigations.

Although the Board has full control over the policy, detailed procedures would be developed separately and not require Board approval. However, given the sensitive nature of the topic, Board members, within the scope of their fiduciary duties to uphold the charter, will have the opportunity to review and understand these procedures.

Mr. Martin added that the Board relies on the Executive Director to communicate any complaints that could impact the charter, similar to how legal matters are handled. Mr. Romer noted that complaint information is already reported in the annual report to the state, providing anonymized patterns and frequency data.

Following discussion, it was agreed to add general references to external reporting resources in the policy while maintaining detailed external contacts in separate student and employee handbooks for a second reading. 

Mr. Romer also announced that the Committee is reviewing policies regarding AI and deepfakes in response to recent guidance from the Commissioner of Education, with potential updates to be considered for future policy revisions.

Withdrawal from School Policy - Second Reading

Mr. Romer reviewed the underlined changes made to the Withdrawal from School Policy, including a) the removal of policy with regard to tenth-grade students; and b) the change in language regarding the conditions for the requirement of a two-parent signature. The committee is still awaiting Commissioner approval for the enrollment policy, which is necessary to enable enrollment of 10th grade students for the upcoming school year.

The Withdrawal policy will be advanced to the Board for its approval.