SD#3 board OKs parental rights policy

A month after tabling a boilerplate version, the Big Horn County School District No 3 board of trustees on Sept. 10 adopted its own version of rules, policies and procedures in response to the parental rights bill passed earlier this year by the Wyoming Legislature.

Senate File 9 required K-12 public schools to “provide parents and guardians notice regarding their children as soon as practicable if there is a change in their child’s education, physical, mental or emotional health or well-being.”  It further required school districts to “adopt policies to reinforce the fundamental right of parents and guardians to make decisions regarding the care and control of their children.”

The legislation states that districts “cannot prohibit parental and guardian involvement in critical decisions involving their child and must provide parents and guardians with access to their child’s records” and “must make any well-being questionnaire or health screening tool available to parents and guardians and obtain consent from the child’s parent or guardian prior to administration.”

In addition, the bill “specifies a process for parents and guardians to resolve complaints and concerns related to the sharing of information relevant to their children or failure by the school districts to adhere to provisions of the act.”

In August, the school board delayed what was supposed to be the second reading of Policy KB (Parental Rights) and Policy KB-R (Parental Rights Complaints Procedures). Among the chief concerns voiced at the time was that the policy, as written, put too much liability on staff members, who already notify parents when they notice changes in their children. 

The board refined the language of the two policies at an Aug. 26 work session and they were unanimously approved at the Sept. 10 meeting.  Mart Hinckley, a trustee, voted in favor, but called the legislation “a bad law” but one with which the district must comply.

Trustee Bill Robertson said “many of the concerns raised in the statute have already been addressed by our district and are already being implemented.” For those reasons, he described as redundant the “framework that statute create for us.”

Chair Bette Rae Jones said, “We put a lot of thought into this.   We, certainly, as a board are in favor of transparency between our educators and families.  Educators are dedicated to the success of kiddos and are also aware of the importance of teaching what our administrators are asking them to teach and going no further than that -- and also trying to involve the family with this education.”

In other Sept. 10 business:

• Trustee Bill Robertson shared a presentation on the districtwide implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS).  He served on the MTSS team along with representatives of the three buildings and administration.

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a framework that helps schools provide academic, behavioral, and social-emotional support to all students. MTSS is designed to ensure that students receive the support they need to succeed, and it’s based on the idea that all students need a bottom layer of support.

• In personnel, the board approved the hiring of Amanda Otto as the GES Student Council sponsor and Em Wilson as the head speech coach at GHS, replacing the now retired Joel Kuper.  Rob Nuttall, the district’s special education compliance coordinator, gained additional responsibility as he was hired to also teach special education at the high school.

The board tabled action on the resignation of high school special education teacher that Nuttall is replacing, Patricia Anderson.  She resigned a week after the school year began, citing “issues in the classroom.”

• Supt. Mark Fritz presented a proposal regarding dropouts that he presented to Brian Farmer, executive director of the Wyoming School Boards Association.  In it, Fritz argued for a change in how home-school students are classified by the state.  Right now, they’re classified as dropouts if they don’t enroll in an academy approved by the state.  Fritz argued they should be considered a transfer.

“Our school district firmly believes that when parents choose to homeschool their children, it is a valid and thoughtful educational choice, not a reflection of our district’s quality or services,” reads the resolution. “Homeschooling should not be classified as a ‘dropout’ from the school system as it is  simply an alternative path for students to pursue academic growth.”

• The board approved the homeschool requests submitted on behalf of 11 students.  They represent six different families and pushed the district’s homeschooled student count to 21.

• At the other end, the district has approved requests for 46 students who live outside the district boundaries to attend Greybull schools.

• Donations from Big Horn Federal totaling $1,750 were approved by the board, with $500 going to the elementary school for the purchase of popcorn and $250 going to the GHS football, volleyball, boys and girls basketball and track programs.

• Business Manager Sara Schlattmann told the board not to worry about, but to be mindful of the decline in enrollment, saying it’s not an issue presently because funding from the state is based on a district’s three-year average.  

The district began the school year with 445 students — 208 at the elementary, 103 at the middle school and 134 at the high school.  The elementary school saw the biggest drop.  With only three students in junior kindergarten, the district opted to offer all-day instead of only half-day preschool to create a merged classroom of 11.  Sarah Good and Amber Vigil are leading the class.  

• The school district received an additional $100,000 in American Rescue Plan ESSER funding. The funding was available because it went unused by other districts.  Supt. Fritz said it could be applied to indirect costs associated with the improvements to the bleachers and crow’s nest.