A bill permitting the adoption of a new school board policy option passed the legislature this session and with its passing immediately becomes state law.
Senate Bill 168 authorizes a school board to adopt policies regarding students who are registered sex offenders and included an emergency clause, which means it is permissible for a school board to draft and adopt a policy, if they so choose, at this time.
ASBSD has amended our sample policy JFCL: Student Registered Sex Offenders as a result of SB 168’s passage.
“With the new law in place, we’ve amended our student registered sex offender policy, which only applies to students who have been adjudicated by the court and are ordered to register as a sex offender,” ASBSD Director of Policy & Legal Services Jessica Filler said.
Filler also noted the sample policy allows an appeal of the school’s placement decision to the superintendent and school board.
“In addition, the policy puts the obligation on the parent or guardian to notify the school in the event their child is registered as a sex offender,” Filler said.
“We recommend this policy be placed in the student handbook so that parents and students are aware of this policy and their responsibility to notify the school.”
The sample policy and regulation can be found online through ASBSD’s Policy Services website. 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. Once logged in, you will need to answer simple security question.
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.
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.
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).