The Examiner U-46 News FeedDist. U-46 Board approves code changes, other items By Seth Hancock
The Board of Education in School District U-46 unanimously approved changes to the Student Code of Conduct among others items at its meeting on Monday, May 20.
All votes on the evening were 6-0, board member John Devereux was absent.
The code has created controversy recently, but the item was approved under the consent agenda with no debate.
The 60-page document had changes made to 35 pages according to a memo from John Heiderscheidt, director of safety and culture.
Included in the code was language identifying when and where the code applies to students which includes at home and off school grounds according to Heiderscheidt who said it “applies to social media comments” despite there being no objective standards cited in the code to define what social media activity could be deemed worthy of consequences.
A lack of any clear standards led to a split vote last year when changes were approved as former board members Phil Costello and Jeanette Ward voted no. Ward said at the time the code is full of “undefined, subjective terminology and unaccompanied by objective academic standards.”
Last year via memo, the district stated that “equity” is their guide in making changes to the code, and Heiderscheidt said the code uses a “positive discipline philosophy” with an emphasis on “relationships and community above rules and regulations.” The district also continues to divide students by subgroups with consequences to actions possibly being based on one’s group rather than a student’s action.
In opposing last year’s changes, Ward said: “Justice should be colorblind. If a student does the crime, they should do the time regardless of what color they are otherwise chaos will ensue…. Bullying should be prohibited period without the necessity to call out every disparate group of people.”
Costello said: “When we talk about violence or notable student actions, whether it’s good or bad, I would prefer that they not be gender-based or any other based. We’re putting them in boxes, and I find that a little bit taking a step backwards as opposed to we’re all created equal…. I think that we should really focus on what they’re producing rather than… their backgrounds. Ethnicity in one case, religious beliefs or whatever, what they’ve accomplished and what their potential is and address that rather than who they are.”
Despite the controversial aspects, parents can’t opt out of the code the district stated: “Parents and students must agree to such rules.”
The board also approved a renewal of an intergovernmental agreement with the Elgin Police Department allowing them access to live video feeds from district schools. A change to the agreement now allows the police access to archived video footage as well.
According to a memo from Heiderscheidt, the police can access video if police assistance was asked for by a school, if the police “receive a call from any person regarding suspected criminal activity on or around the school,” if there’s an active alarm, if there’s a report on school property of a hazard (human or natural) and to “facilitate a tactical advantage view due to police response to a potentially dangerous situation.”
The board approved of a plan from the Kane County Teacher’s Credit Union to create an affinity card program which will offer “debit and credit cards aligned to each of our five comprehensive high schools. These proposed cards, called ‘affinity cards,’ will carry each high school’s logo and school color,” according to a memo from Mary Fergus, director of school and community relations.
Fergus added: “This partnership aims to leverage school pride among current high school families, alumni and community members while also generating approximately $25,000 for the Foundation within the first year, based on current U-46-related cardholders served through KCT and past historical data on such arrangements. Over the course of five years, that estimate increases to nearly $400,000.”
The board also approved a resolution allowing the district to intervene in commercial property tax appeals as well as a personnel report and worker’s compensation cases which included two new positions.
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