01.29.20 agenda Page 1 of 5 EASTPORT-SOUTH MANOR CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION Cheryl Hack, President ● Michael Byrnes, Vice President Marion Diener ● Francesco G. Ferraro ● Donald Fox ● Jeffrey Goldhammer ● Danielle Warsaw Sharon P. Murray, District Clerk Stuart Berman, District Treasurer Joseph A. Steimel, Superintendent of Schools Adam Frankel, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Timothy Laube, Assistant Superintendent for Business & Operations Linda A. Weiss, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel & Student Support Services MEETING AGENDA January 29, 2020 Board Meeting Room 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRESENTATIONS A. Student Ambassadors B. Field Trips ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES A. January 15, 2020 Regular Meeting REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS – SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – 1 ST INVITATION Please Note: This is the opportunity for persons who wish to speak or who have written letters to the board regarding topics that are included on this agenda. Speakers are asked to keep their comments brief, and to speak for no longer than five minutes. AREAS OF OPERATION A. Business Report 1. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve budget transfers for the 2019/2020 school year in the amount of $482,500.00. 2. Approval of Treasurer’s Reports for November 2019 3. Smart Bond Update
Transcript
01.29.20 agenda Page 1 of 5
EASTPORT-SOUTH MANOR CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION
Cheryl Hack, President ● Michael Byrnes, Vice President
Marion Diener ● Francesco G. Ferraro ● Donald Fox ● Jeffrey Goldhammer ● Danielle Warsaw Sharon P. Murray, District Clerk Stuart Berman, District Treasurer
Joseph A. Steimel, Superintendent of Schools
Adam Frankel, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Timothy Laube, Assistant Superintendent for Business & Operations
Linda A. Weiss, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel & Student Support Services
MEETING AGENDA January 29, 2020 Board Meeting Room 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRESENTATIONS
A. Student Ambassadors B. Field Trips
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES
A. January 15, 2020 Regular Meeting
REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS – SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – 1ST INVITATION Please Note: This is the opportunity for persons who wish to speak or who have written letters to the board regarding topics that are included on this agenda. Speakers are asked to keep their comments brief, and to speak for no longer than five minutes. AREAS OF OPERATION
A. Business Report
1. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve budget transfers for the 2019/2020 school year in the amount of $482,500.00. 2. Approval of Treasurer’s Reports for November 2019 3. Smart Bond Update
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B. Personnel Report 1. Resignations – 3 2. Leave of Absence – 7 3. Appointments a. Teacher – 2 b. Teaching Assistant – 2 c. Permanent Substitute – 5 d. Per Diem Substitute – 2 e. Civil Service - 4 4. Extra Curricular Activities - 5 5. Supplemental Pay – 4 6. Student Teacher/Observer/Internship – 2 C. Curriculum Report
OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS
A. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the school calendar for the 2020/2021 school year. B. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the continuation of the Senior Citizens and Person with Disabilities and Limited Income Exemptions, as per Chapters 186, 187 and 252 of the Laws of 2006:
MAXIMUM INCOME UNDER $29,000 50%$29,001 TO $29,999 45%$30,000 TO $30,999 40%$31,000 TO $31,999 35%$32,000 TO $32,899 30%$32,900 TO $33,799 25%$33,800 TO $34,699 20%$34,700 TO $35,599 15%$35,600 TO $36,499 10%$36,500 TO $37,399.99 5%
C. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the continuation of the Volunteer Firefighters and surviving spouse and Ambulance Workers and surviving spouse Tax Exemption for the Towns of Brookhaven, Southampton and Riverhead, effective March 1, 2020.
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D. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the continuation of the Gold Star Parents Exemption pursuant to Real Property Tax Law 458-a, subdivision 7, paragraph (b), effective March 1, 2020.
E. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the continuation of the Veterans Tax Exemption, pursuant to Real Property Tax Law 458-a, subdivision 2, paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), effective March 1, 2020. F. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the continuation of the Cold War Veterans Tax Exemption, pursuant to Real Property Tax Law 458-b, subdivision 2, effective March 1, 2020. G. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the Health & Welfare Services Agreement with West Islip School District for the 2019/2020 school year for health services for ESM district students who are attending parochial school in their school district and authorizes the Board President or designee to sign on behalf of the District. H. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the amended Intermunicipal Agreement with Riverhead CSD for providing transportation for certain ESM resident students attending BOCES at Sequoya High School, Holtsville, for the 2019/2020 school year and authorizes the Board President or designee to sign on behalf of the District. I. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the proposal submitted by ECC Technologies for the services of coordinating E-Rate funding requirements and Form 471 submission and authorizes the Board President or designee to sign on behalf of the District. J. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education accept the donation of $1,000.00 from ESM Community for the Arts, Inc., to cover partial transportation costs of a field trip to Shubert Threatre to see “To Kill a Mocking Bird” on April 12, 2020, with said funds to be allocated to the ESM JSHS Student Council Activity Fund. K. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education accept the donation of $12,733.17 from ESM Community for the Arts, Inc. to cover the cost of play stipends for Eastport Elementary and Dayton Avenue Elementary, and
FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approve budget adjustments for the 2019/2020 school year as follows:
L. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education accept the donation of $1,643.81 from Square1Art, LLC to cover the cost of art supplies for a specific art project at Eastport Elementary School, and
FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approve a budget adjustment for the 2019/2020 school year as follows:
Account Code A2020.450-EP-0000 $1,643.81
M. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education declare the following vehicle as obsolete: 2006 Chevrolet SLV Stake Truck – VIN No. 1GBJK34G56E152864.
N. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education declare the following equipment as obsolete as they are broken beyond repair:
O. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education award Bid No. 19-20 040, Carrier Chiller Repair and Parts Replacement Bid to Industrial Cooling Air Conditioning Service (ICACS), the lowest responsible bidder, and authorizes the Board President or designee to sign on behalf of the District. P. Discussion - Committees
STUDENT SERVICES
A. Acknowledge and accept decisions that have already been made from the Committees on Special Education.
POLICY
A. Second Reading – Policy No. 5100, Student Attendance B. Second Reading – Policy No. 5710, Violent and Disruptive Incident Reporting
• Warrants including Revenue Budget Status & Appropriation Status Reports as of 1/24/2020 • Claims Audit Report for November and from Cerini & Associates
ESM PRIDE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – SECOND INVITATION DATES TO REMEMBER February 7th ESM PTSO Parents Night Out – 6:00 PM @ JSHS February 9th EES/TAS PTO Father-Daughter Dance @ East Wind February 10th ESMCA Meeting – 7:00 PM February 11th ESM Music Booster Club Meeting – 7:00 PM February 12th SM PTA Meeting – 10:00 AM @ DAS Board of Education Meeting – 7:00 PM Executive Session anticipated to begin at 6:00 PM February 13th SEPTO Meeting – 7:00 PM @ EES February 17th to SCHOOLS & OFFICES CLOSED – Mid-Winter Recess February 21st ADJOURNMENT
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Regular Board of Education Meeting January 15, 2020
A regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Eastport-South Manor Central School District, Suffolk County, New York, was held in the Board Meeting Room, Eastport-South Manor Jr. Sr. High School, Manorville, New York on January 15, 2020. Board of Education Members present: Mr. Michael Byrnes, Mrs. Marion Diener, Mr. Francesco Ferraro, Mr. Donald Fox, Mr. Jeffrey Goldhammer, Mrs. Cheryl Hack, Mrs. Danielle Warsaw (left at 6:30 p.m.). Also Present: Joseph A. Steimel, Superintendent of Schools, Adam Frankel, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction; Timothy Laube, Assistant Superintendent for Business & Operations; Linda Weiss, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel & Accountability; Sharon P. Murray, District Clerk. EXECUTIVE SESSION MOTION made by Michael Byrnes, seconded by Danielle Warsaw for the Board to enter into executive session at 5:45 p.m. for the purpose of discussing negotiations.
Vote: Yes – 7, No – 0 MOTION made by Michael Byrnes, seconded by Francesco Ferraro for the Board to reconvene to public session at 7:00 p.m.
Vote: Yes – 6, No – 0, Absent - 1 The meeting was convened with the Pledge by Board President Cheryl Hack. PRESENTATIONS Student Ambassadors Cecilia Yat, Maksymillian Kruc, Sarah Dunn, John Sepe and Cooper Nedvin
reported on the current events and accomplishments at the JSHS.
MINUTES The minutes for the December 11, 2019 regular meeting were accepted.
REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS • Thank you to the Manorville Fire Department for helping us at Dayton Avenue to repair the ropes for the
flag pole. The current chief, two former chiefs and an ESM graduate who brought the bucket truck and were able to have our flag flying once again.
• Would like to thank Senator LaValle and Assemblyman Thiele for meeting with the Legislative Committee members where there were good conversations regarding the current issues and the hopes we had for our district.
• The holiday concerts were amazing and would like to thank all of the conductors, faculty, staff and students who worked so hard.
• South Street students and staff were able to provide holiday assistance to 16 local families and a special
thanks to Mrs. Gardella for organizing this effort.
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• South Street had a Holiday Sing-Along where students, faculty and staff shared in a holiday sing along
and dance party.
• Tuttle Avenue participated in the Fundations training this week which was well received.
• Tuttle Avenue Kdg. students used their new I-Pads for their first I-Ready benchmark assessment.
• Many students at Tuttle Avenue have written letters to soldiers thanking them for their service. The letters are going to sent to the base where the husband of one of our staff members is stationed.
• Eastport and Dayton held their annual Spelling Bees and congratulations to all winners and participants.
• Last Thursday & Friday, students at Eastport participated in an authentic Egyptian Marketplace where
they created homemade goods that could be traded with their classmates which helped reinforce what they are learning in their studies of ancient Egypt.
• Eastport’s newest community project is collecting pull tabs off soda cans for the Ronald McDonald House
which they will be saving all year so collect and send them over.
• Senior Zach Redding won the Eastern States in wrestling this weekend. He defeated the #2 wrestler in the country! He was also named Outstanding Wrestler.
• Girls Basketball is 6-2 and in contention for the League V Championship.
• Girls Bowling needs one more victory to qualify for the County Championships.
• Congratulations to the following Fall teams who were awarded the NYS Team Scholar Athlete Award:
Girls Cross Country, Boys Cross Country, Field Hockey, Boys Golf, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Girls Tennis, Boys Volleyball, Girls Volleyball.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None. AREAS OF OPERATION
BUSINESS REPORT Budget Transfer MOTION made by Michael Byrnes, seconded by Francesco Ferraro for the Board of Education to approve budget transfers for the 2019/2020 school year in the amount of $61,650.00, as follows:
Vote: Yes – 6, No – 0, Absent - 1
From Account Code Description Amount To Account Code Description AmountA2611.200.00.0000 A/V EQUIPMENT 61,650.00$ A2630.490.00.0000 COMPUTER 61,650.00$
TOTAL TRANSFERS 61,650.00$ 61,650.00$
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Treasurer’s Reports MOTION made by Francesco Ferraro, seconded by Donald Fox for the Board of Education to approve the Treasurer’s Reports for October 2019.
Vote: Yes – 6, No – 0, Absent - 1 HUMAN RESOURCES MOTION made by Donald Fox, seconded by Jeffrey Goldhammer for the Board of Education to approve a consent agenda for the following personnel matters:
Vote: Yes – 6, No – 0, Absent - 1 Resignation
NAME AREA REASON EFFECTIVE Baerenklau, Nicholas Teacher Assistant To accept another position in district
1/8/20
Terwilliger, Semra Teacher Assistant Personal 12/20/19 *Resigned before beginning
Leave of Absence
NAME AREA REASON EFFECTIVE
Employee #3464
Teacher Aide 6.5 (TAS) FMLA 12/12/19-3/24/20 *Extension of original leave
Matton, Kelly Elementary Teacher (EES) Personal 9/3/19-6/26/20 *Extension of original leave
McNeill, Carol Drivers Education Proctor Fall 2019-2020
$88.24/hr
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Reis, Michelle Drivers Education Proctor Fall 2019-2020
$81.59/hr
Skoldberg, Karen Drivers Education Proctor Fall 2019-2020
$88.24/hr
Scala, Amy Drivers Education Proctor Fall 2019-2020
$84.02/hr
Sorensen, Alyssa Drivers Education Proctor Fall 2019-2020
$45.45/hr
Student Teacher/Observer/Internship
NAME AREA SCHOOL EFFECTIVE
Brennin, Destanee Speech Pathology Adelphi 1/21/20-5/20/20 Hesselbirg, Erika Special Education St. Joseph’s College 1/16/20-6/26/20 Koerner, Krystin Elementary St. Joseph’s College 12/13/19-12/17/19 Nicholson, Jessica Special Education St. Joseph’s College 1/16/20-3/30/20 Nicholson, Jessica Special Education St. Joseph’s College 3/1/20-5/31/20 Pino, Gianna Physical Education Cortland 1/27/20-5/1/20
CURRICULUM REPORT Mr. Frankel and Dr. Christie presented a Review of Student Data: Student Performance Grades 3-12. OLD BUSINESS None. NEW BUSINESS Consent Agenda MOTION made by Michael Byrnes, seconded by Jeffrey Goldhammer for the Board of Education to approve a consent agenda and adopt the following resolutions:
Vote: Yes – 6, No – 0, Absent - 1 Special Education Service Agreement BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the Special Education Service Agreement with Dr. Sepideh Homayoonfar, Psy.D, for professional services in pediatric neuropsychology and authorizes the Board President or designee to sign on behalf of the District. Nassau BOCES Cooperative Bidding Program WHEREAS, the Board of Education of the Eastport-South Manor Central School District of New York State (the “School District”) wishes to participate in a Cooperative Bidding Program conducted by the Board of Cooperative Education Services of Nassau County (“Nassau BOCES”) for the purchase of various commodities and/or services as authorized by and in accordance with the Education Law and General Municipal Law, Section 119-0; and WHEREAS, the District, more particularly, wishes to participate in the joint cooperative bids as listed below:
Bid #18/19-064 Computer Hardware, Software, Supplies and Parts
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Bid #19/20-028 Computer Hardware, Software, Supplies and Parts NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the School District hereby appoints Nassau BOCES as its representative and agent in all matters related to the Cooperative Bidding Program, including but not limited to responsibility for drafting or specifications, advertising for bids, accepting and opening bids, tabulating bids, reporting the results to the School District and making recommendations thereon, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Nassau BOCES is hereby authorized to award cooperative bids on behalf of the School District to the bidder deemed to be the lowest responsible bidder meeting the bid specifications and otherwise complying with Article 5-A of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York relating to public bids and contracts and to enter into contracts for the purchase of the commodities and/or services as authorized herein, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the School District hereby authorizes its School Business Administrator or his/her designee on behalf of the School District to participate in cooperative bidding conducted by Nassau BOCES and if requested to furnish Nassau BOCES an estimated minimum number of units that will be purchased and such other documents and information which may be reasonably necessary or useful in conducting the Cooperative Bidding Program, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the School District agrees to assume its equitable share of the administrative costs of the cooperative bidding program and all of its obligations and responsibilities pursuant to any contract that may be awarded by Nassau BOCES on behalf of the School District. Overnight Field Trip – Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the overnight field trip for the Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team to compete in Orlando, Florida from April 4, 2020 to April 7, 2020, at no cost to the district. Donation & Budget Adjustment – South Manor PTA BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education accept the donation of $210.02 from the South Manor PTA which covers the cost of nurses, transportation and admission fees to A Christmas Carol with Dayton Avenue Elementary School on December 6, 2019 at Theatre Three, and FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approve a budget adjustment for the 2019/2020 schoolyear as follows:
Account Code A2110.400-DA-TRIP $210.02 Memorandum of Understanding - SCOD BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the Memorandum of Understanding with the Suffolk County Policy Department for the placement of School Resource Officers within the school district for the 2019/2020 school year and authorizes the Board President or designee to sign on behalf of the District. Retention of Coverage Counsel MOTION made by Marion Diener, seconded by Francesco Ferraro for the Board of Education to adopt the following resolution: BE IT RESOLVED, the Board of Education of the Eastport-South Manor CSD hereby appoints Schwartz, Conroy, Hack, P.C. in connection with the insurance coverage analysis relevant to the lawsuit captioned Coe v. Eastport-South Manor CSD, et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-05327, and
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Board of Education of the Eastport-South Manor CSD hereby authorizes the commencement of a declaratory judgment proceeding against CAN Insurance Company should they continue to deny coverage to the District in connection with the aforementioned lawsuit. Discussion - Fees charged to community groups for building use on weekends. The Board agreed to not
charge for weekend fees to community groups. Discussion – Budget for Food – example Honor Roll Breakfast. The Board agreed to restore this as a
budget line item for each building. Discussion – School Lunch Service – running out of “Advertised Meal” food during the period/school day Discussion – BOE Committees Discussion – Cyber Safety – Removing emails from district website. How to proceed with BOE email.
The Board agreed to have one email that will go to the District Clerk who will then distribute to the Board. Discussion – Climate Survey Discussion – Mandatory (State Law) Vaccinations STUDENT SERVICES Acknowledge receipt and review of recommendations from the Committees on Special Education. POLICY First Reading – Policy No. 1500, Community Use of School Facilities First Reading – Policy No. 6700 & 6700-R, Purchasing BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS Legislative Committee – The meeting with Senator LaValle and Assemblyman Thiele went very well.
They are both valuable contacts for the district. COMMUNICATIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT • Warrants including Revenue Budget Status & Appropriation Status Reports as of 1/10/2020; Claims Audit
Report for November and from Cerini & Associates
ESM PRIDE Mr. Ferraro will be stepping down from the ESMSA Executive Board as he believes it is the ethical thing
to do with also being a board of education member. We would like to thank him for all of his hard work with ESMSA.
Mr. Ferraro wanted to say how “blown away” he was with the Stuff-A-School Project. It was his first time
attending and was so proud of how hard the students and staff work and the musical performances were outstanding!
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Please come to the Night of 1,000 Strings at it is a night you won’t forget!
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Steven Doyle ADJOURNMENT MOTION made by Donald Fox, seconded by Marion Diener for the Board to adjourn the meeting at 9:26 p.m.
STUDENT ATTENDANCE NOTE: A comprehensive policy on student attendance is required by Commissioner’s regulations §104.1. However, the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was recently reauthorized and modified by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), and these changes are likely to impact school district attendance policies.
Under McKinney-Vento, school districts already had to develop, review and revise policies to remove barriers to the retention of homeless students in school. Under ESSA, that must now include addressing barriers to retention due to absences. In practical terms, this may mean that if a homeless student is experiencing absences (which many homeless students do, due to the difficulties of homelessness), and the district’s attendance policy creates barriers to retention in school due to those absences (e.g., actions that have the effect of discouraging school retention, such as suspension, denial of course credit, removal from school, court involvement, or perhaps denial of participation in extracurricular activities), that would likely no longer be permitted as a condition of receiving federal funding. This is not to say that homeless students should be permitted to skip class or school just by virtue of being homeless, in violation of the state’s compulsory education law. Rather, care should be taken to do everything possible to keep homeless students in school, rather than push them away. We are awaiting amended state regulations in response to ESSA. These changes may further impact district responsibilities, and the associated policies. We will continue to monitor the situation and issue further Updates, if necessary. Additionally, under ESSA, note that there is a greater emphasis on the responsibilities of school districts to enroll and transport students to their school of origin or school of current location. Greater assistance to homeless students to get to school may help reduce absences.
The Board of Education recognizes that regular school attendance is a major component of academic success. Through implementation of this policy, the Board expects to minimize the number of unexcused absences, tardiness, and early departures (referred to in this policy as “ATEDs”), encourage full attendance by all students, maintain an adequate attendance recordkeeping system, identify patterns of student ATEDs and develop effective intervention strategies to improve school attendance. Notice To be successful in this endeavor, it is imperative that all members of the school community are aware of this policy, its purpose, procedures and the consequences of non-compliance. To ensure that students, parents, teachers and administrators are notified of and understand this policy, the following procedures shall be implemented. NOTE: Commissioner’s regulations require that parents/guardians receive a plain language summary of this policy at the beginning of the school year, and take other steps deemed necessary to promote understanding of the policy by students and parents. The other bullets below offer examples of additional steps that may be taken.
1. A plain language summary of this attendance policy will be included in student handbooks and will be reviewed with students at the start of the school year.
2. A plain language summary of this attendance policy will be available on the district website.
3. Parents will receive a plain language summary of this policy by mail at the start of the school year. Parents will be asked to acknowledge that they have received, read and understand the policy.
4. When a student is absent, tardy, or leaves early from class or school without excuse, designated staff member(s) will notify the student’s parent(s) by phone and mail of the specific ATED, remind them of the attendance policy, and review ATED intervention procedures with them.
5. A back-to-school event will be held at the beginning of each school year to emphasize that every day of attendance counts, explain this policy, and stress the parent’s responsibility for their ensuring their children’s attendance.
6. School newsletters and publications will include periodic reminders of the components of this policy.
7. The district will provide a copy of the attendance policy and any amendments thereto to faculty and staff. New staff will receive a copy upon their employment.
8. All faculty and staff will meet at the beginning of each school year to review the attendance policy to clarify individual roles in its implementation.
9. Copies of this policy will also be made available to any community member, upon request.
NOTE: Commissioner’s regulations require that the district provide a copy of its attendance policy, and amendments, to faculty and staff, and that new staff receive a copy upon employment. Although not required, it is good practice to review the policy with faculty and staff at the beginning of each school year. The regulations further require that copies be made available to any community member upon request. The bullets below address these requirements.
NOTE: The bullet below is intended to address educational neglect. • The district will share this policy with local Child Protective Services (CPS) to ensure a
common understanding of excused and unexcused ATED’s and to work toward identifying and addressing cases of educational neglect.
Excused and Unexcused Absences NOTE: The Commissioner’s regulations require that the school board determine which absences, tardiness and early dismissals will be excused and which will not be excused. The listing below may be modified to reflect your district’s practices. One way districts can improve retention of homeless students due to absences is to permit absence due to homelessness. In this way, any penalties that would accrue for unexcused absences would not be imposed for absences due to homelessness. It would be up to school
administrators to determine the validity of this excuse, as they must do for any other type of excuse. However, rather than including homelessness as a blanket excusal, we suggest explicitly including circumstances related to homelessness that could be approved by the building administrator. If the district does not include absences due to homelessness in its list of excused absences, then care must be taken throughout the rest of the policy to exempt homeless students from negative consequences of unexcused absences. Excused ATEDs are defined as absences, tardiness, and early departures from class or school due to personal illness, death in the family, impassable roads or weather, religious observance, quarantine, required court appearances, attendance at health clinics (documented by a doctor’s note), approved college visits, approved cooperative work programs, military obligations, or such other reasons as may be approved by the appropriate building administrator (including, but not limited to, absences due to circumstances related to homelessness). NOTE: If your district has a strong military presence among students and their families, the Board may wish to consider adding the following language to the paragraph above. The items in bold, including the number of days permitted, can be determined by the Board. “Students whose parent or legal guardian has been called for military deployment, is on leave from, or is returning from a combat zone or combat support may be excused an additional five [5] days, but work must be made up according to the rules applicable to other excused absences. Parents must notify the [Building Principal] no less than three [3] days before the intended absences and each case will be approved on a case by case basis by the [Building Principal].” All other ATEDs are considered unexcused absences. NOTE: Although not specifically required by federal law, homeless liaisons must ensure that homeless unaccompanied youth (i.e., a homeless child not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian) have opportunities to meet the state’s academic standards, and that all homeless children have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in school. Therefore, we suggest that the homeless liaison assist with providing or obtaining absence documentation. All ATEDs must be accounted for. It is the parent’s responsibility to notify the school office within 24 hours of the ATED and to provide a written excuse upon the student’s return to school. For homeless students, the homeless liaison will assist the student in providing or obtaining documentation if needed. General Procedures/Data Collection NOTE: Attendance must be recorded at least once daily for students in grades K-8. If students are dismissed from school grounds during a lunch period, then attendance must be recorded a second time upon the student’s scheduled return.
For students in grades 9-12, attendance must be recorded during each period of instruction, except that it is not necessary to record attendance during each class if the student does not change classrooms. Where a secondary student does not change classrooms, attendance must be recorded as indicated for students in K-8, i.e., once or twice.
1. Attendance will be taken during each class period.
2. At the conclusion of each class period or school day, all attendance information shall be compiled and provided to the designated staff member(s) responsible for attendance.
3. The nature of an ATED shall be coded on a student’s record. 4. Student ATED data shall be available to and should be reviewed by the designated school
personnel in an expeditious manner. 5. Where additional information is received that requires corrections to be made to a
student’s attendance records, such correction will be made immediately. a. Notice of such a change will be sent to appropriate school personnel subject to
applicable confidentiality rules. 6. Attendance data will be analyzed periodically to identify patterns or trends in student
absences. If patterns emerge, district resources will be targeted to understand and eliminate barriers to attendance.
7. Where consistent with other school practices, teachers and staff shall detain students in the hallways who are absent from a class period without excuse and refer the students to the Building Principal.
8. Continuous monitoring will be conducted to identify students who are absent, tardy, or leave class or school early. A student will be considered chronically absent if they miss ten percent or more of the school year. Satisfactory attendance is missing five percent or less of school over the course of the year. If a pattern of ATED’s for an individual student is identified a designated staff person(s) will follow-up in accordance with this policy.
Attendance Incentives The district will design and implement systems to acknowledge a student’s efforts to maintain or improve school attendance. For example: 1. An attendance honor roll shall be maintained and published monthly identifying those
students with perfect attendance as well as those students whose attendance has improved significantly, subject to parental consent and applicable confidentiality rules.
2. At the building and classroom levels, Building Principals and teachers are encouraged to schedule special events (quizzes, game days, debates, etc.) for days of chronically high absenteeism, like Mondays and Fridays.
3. At the classroom levels, teachers are encouraged to assign special responsibilities (distribute and collect materials, lead groups, assist the teacher, etc.) to students who may need extra motivation to come to school.
NYSSBA Sample Policy 5100 Consequences of Excessive ATEDs
A designated staff member(s) will contact the student’s parents and the student’s guidance counselor in the event that a student’s record reveals excessive ATED’s, excused and/or unexcused. Excessive ATED’s is defined as 5 consecutive absences, and/or 5 tardinesses. Such staff member(s) shall remind parents of the attendance policy, explain the ramifications of excessive ATEDs, stress the importance of class attendance and discuss appropriate intervention strategies to correct the situation. Students identified as chronically absent will be considered for a mentor program.
NOTE: Under ESSA, the State must develop a plan to ensure that homeless students do not face barriers to accessing extracurricular activities. While we do not yet know what New York State’s plan will be, we have suggested text below as measures the district can take to retain homeless students in school. Even where a homeless student’s absence is not directly due to their homelessness, it may be good practice to keep homeless students engaged in school, and not deny privileges.
Unexcused ATEDs may result in disciplinary action consistent with the district’s code of conduct. Those penalties may include, for example, detention or denial of the privilege of participating in or attending extracurricular events. However, absences related to homelessness shall not result in negative consequences where the district determines that it would be in the best interests of the student in retaining the student in school.
NOTE: The following paragraph is intended to put a mechanism in place for identifying educational neglect. If there is a particular staff member designated in the district for this purpose, or a particular process, please modify the paragraph accordingly. In addition, the designated staff member will contact local Child Protective Services (CPS) if they suspect that the child is being educationally neglected. The designated staff member will provide CPS with the information necessary to initiate a report. If other staff members suspect education neglect, they must follow the procedures outlined in Board policy and regulation 5460, Child Abuse in a Domestic Setting, and advise the building social worker. Attendance/Grade Policy The Board of Education recognizes an important relationship between class attendance and student performance. Consequently, each marking period a student’s final grade may be based on classroom participation as well as student performance on homework, tests, papers, projects, etc.
Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes. Consistent with the importance of classroom participation, unexcused ATEDs will affect a student’s class participation grade for the marking period. NOTE: The Board has the option of whether or not to adopt a minimum attendance requirement for course credit. If it does, the Board may also choose to distinguish between excused and unexcused ATEDs when counting ATEDs toward that minimum standard, as long as a student
with an excused ATED completes any assigned make-up work. Such requirements are usually applied only at the high school level. The one set forth below is illustrative and the Board may eliminate it or amend it as deems necessary. If the Board wants to adopt a minimum standard of attendance for course credit, it can designate the maximum number of ATEDs a student can accumulate and still receive course credit. The Board can also set forth specifically how tardiness and early departure add up for purposes of determining attendance for course credit.
At the high school level, any student with more than nine unexcused ATEDs for one-half year or 18 unexcused ATEDs for a full year will not receive credit for that course. However, students with properly excused ATEDs may make up the work for each ATED, and those ATEDs will not count toward the minimum attendance standard.
To ensure that parents and students are aware of the implications of this minimum attendance requirement, the teacher or other designated staff member(s) will advise the student and contact the parent(s) by telephone and mail at appropriate intervals prior to the student reaching nine or 18 unexcused ATEDs. In implementing the policy set forth above, students who are unable to attend school or a class on a given day due to their participation in a school-sponsored activity (i.e., music lessons, field trips), may arrange with their teachers to make up any work missed. This also applies to any student who is absent, tardy or leaves early from school or a class due to illness or any other excused reason.
All students with an excused ATED are expected upon their return to consult with their teachers regarding missed work.
Only those students with excused ATEDs will be given the opportunity to make up a test or other missed work and/or turn in a late assignment for inclusion in their final grade. Make up opportunities must be completed by a date specified by the student’s teacher for the class in question. Annual Review NOTE: The requirement for annual review is written as it is set forth in Commissioner’s regulations.
The Board shall annually review building-level student attendance records and, if such records show a decline in student attendance, the Board shall revise this comprehensive attendance policy and make any revisions to the plan it deems necessary to improve student attendance. NOTE: We have added appropriate cross-referenced policies and legal citations below. Cross ref: 4710, Grading Systems 5151, Homeless Children 5300, Code of Conduct 5460, Child Abuse in a Domestic Setting Ref: 42 USC §11432(g)(1)(I) (McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act) Education Law §§1709; 3024; 3025; 3202; 3205-3213; 3225 8 NYCRR §§104.1; 175.6 Social Service Law §34-a Adoption date:
NOTE: Section 100.2 (gg)(6) of Commissioner’s Regulations requires the Board to establish local procedures for reporting violent and disruptive incidents by each building or program under its jurisdiction. This policy is designed to satisfy that regulatory responsibility. The policy has been updated to reflect changes in guidance from SED regarding records retention.
The Board of Education is committed to promoting and maintaining the safety of all students, staff and visitors to the schools. Consistent with this commitment and in accordance with state law and regulation, the district shall submit an annual report to the Commissioner of Education regarding violent and disruptive incidents. In addition, the Board shall use this data to assess the safety of its schools and, where appropriate, identify and take steps to improve the safety and security of its students, staff and visitors. NOTE: The last sentence in the paragraph above is optional. Reporting Requirement NOTE: The regulations do not state who is responsible for preparing and submitting the report. The regulations state only that the report needs to be filed with the Commissioner on or before the basic educational data system (BEDS) reporting deadline or such other date determined by the Commissioner. The Board will want to work with the Superintendent and the district’s other administrators to identify who will be responsible for preparing the report and to develop an internal schedule for doing so. The sample policy, as drafted, states that Building Principals will prepare reports on a “regular” basis. The Board may wish to assign this responsibility to others and may wish to insert a more specific timeframe, such as monthly, bimonthly, or per semester. Through the District’s School Management System, each Building Principal shall be responsible for preparing on regular basis a report of all the violent and disruptive incidents that have occurred on school grounds, at a school function, or at a school-sponsored event and forwarding the report to the Superintendent of Schools. The Superintendent or designee shall be responsible for compiling the reports received from the Building Principals into the annual report and submitting the report to the Commissioner. The summary report shall contain all the information required by law and shall be filed with the Commissioner on or before a date set by the Commissioner. The Superintendent shall also present this summary report to the Board at its first meeting following the filing of the report with the Commissioner. The VADIR report is completed after the end of the school year. The Superintendents or designee will present the summary report in September of the following school year.
The district is responsible for assuring that copies of each VADIR report, both individual and summary reports, are retained until the youngest person involved in a reported incident is 27 years old.
NYSSBA Sample Policy 5710
NOTE: If a school has been identified as “persistently dangerous” records may have to be retained permanently. SED recommends that the district contact the State Archives for advice. Confidentiality Any violent or disruptive incident report prepared in accordance with law shall be available for inspection by the State Education Department upon request. All names and other personally identifiable information included in any report shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person for use by any person for purposes other than the reporting purposes in Education Law §2802, except as otherwise authorized by law. NOTE: The confidentiality requirement comes from section 100.2(gg)(7) of the Commissioner’s regulations. Ref: Education Law §2802 (Uniform Violent Incident Reporting System) 8 NYCRR 100.2 (gg) (Uniform Violent Incident Reporting System)
