The Jefferson City School District Board of Education's policy committee gave initial approval to modifying a handful of policies at a meeting Monday and voted to take them before the full board at the next regular meeting.
The updates came from the Missouri School Boards' Association to bring policy in line with Missouri statute.
Policy BBE would be updated to reflect an additional 2.5 hours of training that is required for new board members. Prior to the update, 16 hours were required; now 18.5 hours will be required. The policy edits also specify the board will discuss applications for board vacancies and interview candidates in an open session.
Policy GBLB lays out procedures for school districts to follow in providing employment references for former employees. The changes bring the policy in line with a law passed in 2019. According to the policy document, statute now requires districts to seek references from an applicant's last district, if applicable. It also outlines the circumstances in which a district is required to share information about allegations of a staff member's possible sexual misconduct with a student. That information must be shared if the employee left because of allegations of sexual misconduct as described in statute, when the Children's Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services investigates and substantiates such allegations, or when the employee has violated board policy regarding sexual misconduct with a student, as determined by due process. The district must consult the district's attorney before sharing information that falls outside the required parameters.
The committee also gave initial approval to an update on A+ funds in Policy JFCL.
Those policy changes will go before the full board at its next regular meeting.
CLARIFICATION: This article was edited at 9:05 a.m. Oct. 4, 2022, to make it clear that the school board's policy committee was the panel giving initial approval to modifying a handful of policies at Monday's meeting and voting to take them before the full board at the next regular meeting.