Proposed Changes to Neutrality Polices and Harassment, Violence and Discrimination Policy: Wednesday evening, the school board agenda was posted and it includes proposed changes to the Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy (SOCP), the Religious Activities Policy, and the Harassment, Violence and Discrimination Policy (HVDP). Board members say this is an attempt to clarify these policies for staff like us.
To view the specific proposal of changes to the SOCP and Religious Activities policy, visit http://tinyurl.com/cqgkfz5 ; to view the HVDP changes, visit http://tinyurl.com/d7onufw.
In short, the changes include changing the SOCP and Religious Activities Policy to a Controversial Topics Policy similar to ones used in Wayzata and some other districts. The focus of the policy would shift from being neutral about sexual orientation and religion to being unbiased about controversial topics. In the HVDP, significant changes include adding protections for gender nonconforming behavior, perceived membership in a protected class, and association or advocacy for those who are LGBT.
Your Ideas: The school board will need to hear from those of us who will be working with these policies every day. They may set up opportunities for public comment, but until then, let’s start the discussion ourselves. As a union, we plan set up a time for educators to come together and talk about the proposals – we will figure out the exact date(s) next week. We have set up a survey for you to leave comments at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AHPolicyChanges as well. We will use this feedback to decide our next steps and will share the main ideas with the school board.
