Policies of a school district, especially those negotiated with bargaining representatives for the protection of teachers, have the full force and effect of law, and legally bind the school district. Wessington Springs Ed. Assoc. v. Wessington springs Sch. Dist., 467 N.W. 2d 101 (S.D. 1991).
ASBSD has created a new sample policy and accompanying exhibit in response to the newly enacted medical cannabis laws as well as the passage of rules by the State Board of Education Standards and the Legislature’s Rules Review committee related to the administration of medical cannabis in schools.
The new sample policy is JHCDE: Administration of Medical Cannabis to Qualifying Students and the new accompanying policy exhibit is JHCDE-E(1): Medical Cannabis Administration Plan.
ASBSD has also made changes to three existing sample policies to support the major policy change. These three amended policies include:
- JHCD: Administration of Medications to Students:
- Clarifies that a separate policy governs administration of medical cannabis; contains updated language regarding prescription medication labels;
- GBEC: Use of Alcohol, Drugs and Controlled Substances:
- Contains new language related to school employees and medical cannabis and a definition of illegal drugs;
- JFCH: Alcohol and Other Drug Use by Students:
- Expands language related to drugs in schools.
“The new medical cannabis administration policy and medical cannabis administration plan and the three amended policies can provide guidance to school districts in the event there is a request for medical cannabis to be administered to students in the district,” ASBSD Policy and Legal Services Director Jessica Filler said.
These sample policies can be found online through ASBSD’s Policy Services website.
A webinar will be hosted by the S.D. Department of Education and ASBSD, in lieu of the weekly webinar for superintendents, on Thursday, July 29 at 1 p.m. to answer questions regarding the new sample cannabis policy and further discuss the rules related to the administration of medical cannabis in schools. DOE will supply the webinar link and information.
For questions related to the policies, contact Filler at jfiller@asbsd.org or at 605-773-2513.
To access the ASBSD Policy Services website, school board members and administrators must login at http://policy.asbsd.org. Your district’s login and password information has been previously provided to your district’s administration.
Note: For ASBSD member schools who are Online Policy Services subscribers you may access a PDF copy of the modifications made to these policies through your school districts online policy site, simply choose the ASBSD Communications option under the Policies tab.
If you are not able to access the ASBSD Policy Services website, please contact your district’s administration or ASBSD Policy Services Associate Kay Thompson-Tieszen at kay@asbsd.org.