Due to meet March 3 in their once a month workshop, the board members of ISD 833 will cover many topics.

Among them are both the routine (like policy reviews), and others like the Virtual Learning Academy and long-range facilities updates.

A second public meeting will return to workshop business this March 24 for formal approval, while a short examination of workshop materials posted to the school website allows for a preview.

As to the otherwise routine policy review, up for the month of March are a total of seven, listed by the numbers 504, 507, 513, 517, 518, 529, and 532 respectively.

The policies under review for March range from Student Dress and Appearance (504) to Corporal Punishment (507), all the away to Staff Notification of Violent Behavior (529), with no changes for the other four policies. So what’s potentially in store policy wise, pending board review and approval?

Minor changes, at least to Student Dress and Appearance. Classed under the heading and then subheadings of 504.II.C.1, the only change to the Student Dress and Appearance policy would see “business environment” struck from the text, such that the revised policy paragraph shall read as follows: “Clothing that is unacceptable in a school. Procedures for implementing this policy shall be applied in a non-discriminatory fashion.”

The policy as such endeavors to address clothing deemed inappropriate. The policy goes on to include in such definition clothing that bears a message “lewd, vulgar, or obscene,” along with that “promoting products or activities that are illegal for minors,” along with that which is held to communicate a derogatory message, including but not limited to one that is racist, sexist, or evidences gang membership or affiliation, among other inappropriate outfits.

Next for review and listed under the “Corporal Punishment” heading, are recommended changes that would add a note from the MSBA model policy along with cross references from same. MBSAstands for Minnesota School Boards Association, while the stated cross references added are to MBSA model policies 414 and 415, these referencing mandated reporting of child neglect or physical or sexual abuse, but also mandated reporting of the maltreatment of vulnerable adults. Closing out the policy review for March, is the policy for staff reporting of violent behavior by students, this one a single word shift, with the command form “shall” being replaced by the indicative “will” in 529. II.A, no other changes being made. Mandated reporting as such, is not optional, being mandated.

As for the virtual learning academy from March 3, little is available, the packet link merely stating that, “Principal Gram will share information about the online schooling platform,” no other details being specified.

As for the long-range facilities update, it might have to wait for March 24, as the school board is due to be presented with a single option to address the needs for the next 10 years as recommended by the steering committee, but that option is not specified in the March 3 meeting packet materials.

No further narrowing from the previous two choices was elaborated at www.sowashco.org/facilityplanning as of press time.