{ "chronic-absence": { "domain": "chronic-absence", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 204 Attendance", "receipt": "[15] \n\nSchool Attendance Improvement Conference \n If the student incurs additional unexcused absences after the issuance of the Notice of Illegal Absences, and a School Attendance Improvement Conference was not previously held, the district shall schedule a School Attendance Improvement Conference and notify the person in parental relation in writing and by telephone of the date and time.", "section": "204 Attendance", "finding": "Missing 10 percent or more of school days lowers achievement and engagement from kindergarten on, and the share of students chronically absent nearly doubled after the pandemic. Controlled studies show that early, supportive, family-facing responses (mailed and texted attendance information, caseworkers who remove material barriers, structured adult mentoring) cut chronic absence by roughly 8 to 23 percent at modest cost, while no rigorous US study shows that fines, prosecution or court referral improve attendance.", "standard": "Policy requires monthly identification of every student at or trending toward 10 percent absence, a documented supportive family contact and barrier assessment before any penalty, a written plan at Tier 2 and case management at Tier 3, and quarterly public reporting by building and subgroup; court or truancy referral is permitted only after the supportive steps are documented.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Eklund K, Burns MK, Oyen K, DeMarchena S, McCollom EM (2022). Addressing chronic absenteeism in schools: a meta-analysis of evidence-based interventions. School Psychology Review 51(1):95-111.", "doi": "10.1080/2372966X.2020.1789436", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2020.1789436" }, { "ref": "Li D, Singh S, Jeldi N, Chang S, Zhu M, Dailey K, Karabukayeva A, Cai C (2026). What works to keep students in school? A meta-analysis of interventions to reduce school absenteeism. Behavioral Sciences 16(5):697.", "doi": "10.3390/bs16050697", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16050697" }, { "ref": "Rogers T, Feller A (2018). Reducing student absences at scale by targeting parents' misbeliefs. Nature Human Behaviour 2(5):335-342.", "doi": "10.1038/s41562-018-0328-1", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0328-1" }, { "ref": "Robinson CD, Lee MG, Dearing E, Rogers T (2018). Reducing student absenteeism in the early grades by targeting parental beliefs. American Educational Research Journal 55(6):1163-1192.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831218772274", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831218772274" }, { "ref": "Lasky-Fink J, Robinson CD, Chang HN, Rogers T (2021). Using behavioral insights to improve school administrative communications: the case of truancy notifications. Educational Researcher 50(7):442-450.", "doi": "10.3102/0013189X211000749", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X211000749" }, { "ref": "Guryan J, Christenson S, Cureton A, Lai I, Ludwig J, Schwarz C, Shirey E, Turner MC (2021). The effect of mentoring on school attendance and academic outcomes: a randomized evaluation of the Check & Connect program. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 40(3):841-882.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.22264", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22264" }, { "ref": "Sokol R, Degli Esposti M, Victor BG, Kernsmith P, Medina Del Toro V, Heinze J, Portugal J, Grinnell R, Gernaat E (2025). A school-based material needs intervention for chronic absenteeism: a state-wide staggered interrupted time series analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 80(3):174-181.", "doi": "10.1136/jech-2025-224567", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2025-224567" }, { "ref": "Maynard BR, McCrea KT, Pigott TD, Kelly MS (2012). Indicated truancy interventions: effects on school attendance among chronic truant students. Campbell Systematic Reviews 8(1).", "doi": "10.4073/csr.2012.10", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2012.10" }, { "ref": "Mazerolle L, Antrobus E, Bennett S, Eggins E (2017). Reducing truancy and fostering a willingness to attend school: results from a randomized trial of a police-school partnership program. Prevention Science 18(4):469-480.", "doi": "10.1007/s11121-017-0771-7", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-017-0771-7" }, { "ref": "Gottfried MA (2014). Chronic absenteeism and its effects on students' academic and socioemotional outcomes. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk 19(2):53-75.", "doi": "10.1080/10824669.2014.962696", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/10824669.2014.962696" }, { "ref": "Dee TS (2024). Higher chronic absenteeism threatens academic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121(3):e2312249121.", "doi": "10.1073/pnas.2312249121", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2312249121" }, { "ref": "Gubbels J, van der Put CE, Assink M (2019). Risk factors for school absenteeism and dropout: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 48(9):1637-1667.", "doi": "10.1007/s10964-019-01072-5", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01072-5" }, { "ref": "Cook PJ, Dodge KA, Gifford EJ, Schulting AB (2017). A new program to prevent primary school absenteeism: results of a pilot study in five schools. Children and Youth Services Review 82:262-270.", "doi": "10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.09.017", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.09.017" }, { "ref": "Heppen JB, Kurki A, Brown S (2020). Can texting parents improve attendance in elementary school? A test of an adaptive messaging strategy. NCEE 2020-006. Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education.", "doi": null, "url": "https://ies.ed.gov/use-work/resource-library/report/evaluation-report/can-texting-parents-improve-attendance-elementary-school-test-adaptive-messaging-strategy" }, { "ref": "Balfanz R, Byrnes V (2012). The importance of being in school: a report on absenteeism in the nation's public schools. Everyone Graduates Center, Johns Hopkins University.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FINALChronicAbsenteeismReport_May16.pdf" }, { "ref": "Attendance Works (2024). 3 tiers of intervention: a multi-tiered system of support for attendance.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/addressing-chronic-absence/3-tiers-of-intervention/" } ], "clause": "204 Attendance\n\nChronic absence shall mean missing 10 percent or more of enrolled days, excused or unexcused. Principals shall review attendance data at least monthly and identify each student chronically absent or missing three or more days in any 20-day period. Within 10 school days of identification, staff shall make a documented, supportive two-way contact with the family, in its preferred language, stating days missed, asking what makes attendance hard and offering help, without threatening penalties. A student still chronically absent after that contact shall receive within 20 school days a written attendance plan developed with the family, naming a staff member for weekly follow-up. A student missing 20 percent or more, or not improving under a plan, shall be assigned a case manager to assess transportation, health, housing, food, safety and school climate barriers and connect the family with services. No student shall be referred to truancy court, cited, fined, suspended, excluded from activities or denied credit for absence until the contact, plan and assessment are documented in the student information system. The Superintendent shall report quarterly to the Board, by school, grade and subgroup, the chronic absence rate, the share of identified students contacted within 10 school days, attendance plans opened and truancy referrals filed, and post each report on the district website within 30 days.", "clause_source": "written" }, "early-literacy": { "domain": "early-literacy", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (academics and access)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "Systematic, explicit phonics instruction in K-1 raises word reading, spelling and comprehension by a moderate amount (about 0.4 SD) and is the only reading-disability treatment whose efficacy is confirmed in randomized trials; curriculum-based screening in K-2 predicts later reading well enough to find at-risk readers early. State 'science of reading' laws raise high-stakes elementary reading scores by a small amount so far, mainly where the policy is comprehensive, and the gains on low-stakes NAEP are not yet statistically clear.", "standard": "The policy shall require that core K-3 reading instruction be explicit and systematic in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, shall prohibit three-cueing as the primary word-reading strategy, and shall require a valid universal screener three times a year in K-3 with intervention for every student flagged at risk.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Ehri LC, Nunes SR, Stahl SA, Willows DM (2001). Systematic phonics instruction helps students learn to read: Evidence from the National Reading Panel's meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research 71(3):393-447.", "doi": "10.3102/00346543071003393", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543071003393" }, { "ref": "National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read. NIH Publication 00-4769.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/smallbook" }, { "ref": "Galuschka K, Ise E, Krick K, Schulte-Korne G (2014). Effectiveness of treatment approaches for children and adolescents with reading disabilities: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS ONE 9(2):e89900.", "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0089900", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0089900" }, { "ref": "Suggate SP (2016). A meta-analysis of the long-term effects of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension interventions. Journal of Learning Disabilities 49(1):77-96.", "doi": "10.1177/0022219414528540", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219414528540" }, { "ref": "Wanzek J, Stevens EA, Williams KJ, Scammacca N, Vaughn S, Sargent K (2018). Current evidence on the effects of intensive early reading interventions. Journal of Learning Disabilities 51(6):612-624.", "doi": "10.1177/0022219418775110", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219418775110" }, { "ref": "January SA, Klingbeil DA (2020). Universal screening in grades K-2: A systematic review and meta-analysis of early reading curriculum-based measures. Journal of School Psychology 82:103-122.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jsp.2020.08.007", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2020.08.007" }, { "ref": "Westall J, Cummings A (2023). The effects of early literacy policies on student achievement. EdWorkingPaper 23-788, Annenberg Institute at Brown University.", "doi": "10.26300/w9tj-dd21", "url": "https://edworkingpapers.com/ai23-788" }, { "ref": "Novicoff S, Dee TS (2025). The achievement effects of scaling early literacy reforms. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 48(2):589-612.", "doi": "10.3102/01623737251349178", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737251349178" }, { "ref": "Torgerson C, Brooks G, Gascoine L, Higgins S (2018). Phonics: reading policy and the evidence of effectiveness from a systematic 'tertiary' review. Research Papers in Education 34(2):208-238.", "doi": "10.1080/02671522.2017.1420816", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2017.1420816" }, { "ref": "Bowers JS (2020). Reconsidering the evidence that systematic phonics is more effective than alternative methods of reading instruction. Educational Psychology Review 32(3):681-705.", "doi": "10.1007/s10648-019-09515-y", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09515-y" } ], "clause": "No. ___ SECTION: PROGRAMS TITLE: READING INSTRUCTION, KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 3\n\nThe Board directs that core reading instruction in kindergarten through grade 3 shall be explicit and systematic in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Instructional materials that direct students to identify words primarily from pictures, context or syntax, known as three-cueing, shall not be adopted as core or intervention materials. The Superintendent shall administer a universal reading screener with published classification accuracy to every student in kindergarten through grade 3 within the first thirty (30) school days of the school year and again in the winter and spring windows. Any student identified as at risk shall begin a documented, evidence-based intervention within fifteen (15) school days of the screening, and the student's parent or guardian shall be notified in writing within the same period. All teachers of reading in kindergarten through grade 3 and all elementary principals shall complete a Board-approved structured-literacy training within two (2) years of hire. The Director of Curriculum shall report to the Board each November and each June the screening participation rate, the share of students at risk by school and subgroup, the share of at-risk students receiving intervention within fifteen (15) school days, and third-grade state ELA results.", "clause_source": "written" }, "exclusionary-discipline": { "domain": "exclusionary-discipline", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 233 Suspension and Expulsion", "receipt": "Exclusion From School - Suspension \n\nThe principal or person in charge of the school may suspend any student for disobedience or misconduct for a period of one (1) to ten (10) consecutive school days and shall immediately notify the parent/guardian and the Superintendent in writing when the student is suspended.", "section": "233 Suspension and Expulsion", "finding": "Out-of-school suspension lowers the suspended student's own math and reading achievement (Philadelphia student panel with instrumental variables), and attending a school with a one standard deviation higher suspension rate raises the chance of adult arrest and incarceration by 15 to 20 percent (North Carolina boundary-change natural experiment). Reforms that ended suspension for minor nonviolent conduct raised achievement and attendance in New York City and Chicago, while reforms that cut suspensions without a replacement behavior system lowered achievement and raised absences for most students in Los Angeles and Philadelphia.", "standard": "Out-of-school suspension is limited to conduct that endangers persons or seriously disrupts instruction after documented alternatives, is barred for defiance, dress code, tardiness and attendance offenses, is capped in length, continues instruction during exclusion, and is reported annually with disparity ratios by building.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Bacher-Hicks A, Billings SB, Deming DJ (2024). The school-to-prison pipeline: long-run impacts of school suspensions on adult crime. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 16(4):165-193.", "doi": "10.1257/pol.20230052", "url": null }, { "ref": "Lacoe J, Steinberg MP (2019). Do suspensions affect student outcomes? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 41(1):34-62.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373718794897", "url": null }, { "ref": "Sorensen LC, Bushway SD, Gifford EJ (2022). Getting tough? The effects of discretionary principal discipline on student outcomes. Education Finance and Policy 17(2):255-284.", "doi": "10.1162/edfp_a_00341", "url": null }, { "ref": "Craig AC, Martin DC (2025). Discipline reform, school culture and student achievement. The Economic Journal 136(675):1029-1065.", "doi": "10.1093/ej/ueaf081", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hinze-Pifer R, Sartain L (2018). Rethinking universal suspension for severe student behavior. Peabody Journal of Education 93(2):228-243.", "doi": "10.1080/0161956X.2018.1435051", "url": null }, { "ref": "Pope NG, Zuo GW (2023). Suspending suspensions: the education production consequences of school suspension policies. The Economic Journal 133(653):2025-2054.", "doi": "10.1093/ej/uead011", "url": null }, { "ref": "Lacoe J, Steinberg MP (2018). Rolling back zero tolerance: the effect of discipline policy reform on suspension usage and student outcomes. Peabody Journal of Education 93(2):207-227.", "doi": "10.1080/0161956X.2018.1435047", "url": null }, { "ref": "Steinberg MP, Lacoe J (2018). Reforming school discipline: school-level policy implementation and the consequences for suspended students and their peers. American Journal of Education 125(1):29-77.", "doi": "10.1086/699811", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hwang N, Domina T (2021). Peer disruption and learning: links between suspensions and the educational achievement of non-suspended students. Education Finance and Policy 16(3):443-463.", "doi": "10.1162/edfp_a_00308", "url": null }, { "ref": "Carrell SE, Hoekstra M, Kuka E (2018). The long-run effects of disruptive peers. American Economic Review 108(11):3377-3415.", "doi": "10.1257/aer.20160763", "url": null }, { "ref": "Noltemeyer AL, Ward RM, Mcloughlin C (2015). Relationship between school suspension and student outcomes: a meta-analysis. School Psychology Review 44(2):224-240.", "doi": "10.17105/spr-14-0008.1", "url": null }, { "ref": "Rosenbaum J (2020). Educational and criminal justice outcomes 12 years after school suspension. Youth and Society 52(4):515-547.", "doi": "10.1177/0044118x17752208", "url": null }, { "ref": "Mittleman J (2018). A downward spiral? Childhood suspension and the path to juvenile arrest. Sociology of Education 91(3):183-204.", "doi": "10.1177/0038040718784603", "url": null }, { "ref": "Valdebenito S, Gaffney H, Arosemena-Burbano F, et al. (2025). School-based interventions for reducing disciplinary school exclusion: an updated systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews 21(4).", "doi": "10.1002/cl2.70063", "url": null }, { "ref": "Welsh RO, Little S (2018). The school discipline dilemma: a comprehensive review of disparities and alternative approaches. Review of Educational Research 88(5):752-794.", "doi": "10.3102/0034654318791582", "url": null }, { "ref": "American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health (2013). Out-of-school suspension and expulsion. Pediatrics 131(3):e1000-e1007.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2012-3932", "url": null }, { "ref": "US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (2023). Student Discipline and School Climate in U.S. Public Schools, 2020-21 Civil Rights Data Collection.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.ed.gov/media/document/crdc-discipline-school-climate-reportpdf-21409.pdf" } ], "clause": "233 Suspension and Expulsion - Out-of-School Suspension\n\nOut-of-school suspension shall be used only when a student's presence poses a danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of serious disruption to instruction, and only after the building principal has documented the less restrictive interventions attempted under the district's tiered behavior system. No student shall be suspended out of school for defiance, disrespect, dress code, tardiness, truancy or other attendance-related conduct. A single out-of-school suspension shall not exceed five school days except for conduct for which state or federal law requires a longer exclusion. Every suspended student shall receive assignments and instruction during the exclusion and a re-entry meeting with a staff member on the first day of return. Each building principal shall report monthly to the Superintendent the number of suspensions, days lost and the offense category for each, by race, disability status, sex and English learner status. The Superintendent shall publish to the Board by September 30 of each year a report for the prior school year showing suspensions and expulsions per 100 students by building and student group, the risk ratio for Black students and for students with disabilities, and the corrective plan for any building whose risk ratio exceeds 2.0. The Board shall review this policy against that report at a public meeting each October.", "clause_source": "written" }, "dual-enrollment-and-early-college": { "domain": "dual-enrollment-and-early-college", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (academics and access)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "Two independent lottery-based randomized studies of early college high schools (North Carolina, followed 17 years, and the AIR national study, followed six years past graduation) find higher high school graduation, college enrollment, and degree completion, with very large effects on associate degrees and bachelor's gains for low-income and first-generation students. A Tennessee RCT of a dual-credit math course shifted students from remedial to precalculus and AP math and from two-year to four-year colleges, though it did not raise overall college enrollment. The What Works Clearinghouse rates dual enrollment as having positive effects on degree attainment, credit accumulation, and completing school.", "standard": "Every high school shall offer dual enrollment with a public college partner at no cost to students, with automatic eligibility for students meeting an objective threshold, transportation and textbooks provided, and participation and credit outcomes reported annually by student group; districts of sufficient size shall operate or partner with an early college pathway.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Edmunds JA, Unlu F, Phillips V, Glennie E, Mulhern C (2024). The Impact of Early Colleges on Postsecondary Performance and Completion. AERA Open 10.", "doi": "10.1177/23328584241290772", "url": null }, { "ref": "Edmunds JA, Unlu F, Furey J, Glennie E, Arshavsky N (2020). What Happens When You Combine High School and College? The Impact of the Early College Model on Postsecondary Performance and Completion. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 42(2):257-278.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373720912249", "url": null }, { "ref": "Edmunds JA, Unlu F, Glennie E, Bernstein L, Fesler L, Furey J, Arshavsky N (2017). Smoothing the Transition to Postsecondary Education: The Impact of the Early College Model. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 10(2):297-325.", "doi": "10.1080/19345747.2016.1191574", "url": null }, { "ref": "Song M, Zeiser K, Atchison D, Brodziak de los Reyes I (2021). Early College, Continued Success: Longer-Term Impact of Early College High Schools. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 14(1):116-142.", "doi": "10.1080/19345747.2020.1862374", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hemelt SW, Schwartz NL, Dynarski SM (2020). Dual-Credit Courses and the Road to College: Experimental Evidence from Tennessee. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 39(3):686-719.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.22180", "url": null }, { "ref": "An BP (2013). The Impact of Dual Enrollment on College Degree Attainment: Do Low-SES Students Benefit? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 35(1):57-75.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373712461933", "url": null }, { "ref": "Rosen R, Alterman E, Dixon M (2026). The P-TECH Model: Secondary and Postsecondary Findings From an Evaluation in New York City. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.", "doi": "10.3102/01623737261467381", "url": null }, { "ref": "Xu D, Solanki S, Fink J (2021). College Acceleration for All? Mapping Racial Gaps in Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment Participation. American Educational Research Journal 58(5):954-992.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831221991138", "url": null }, { "ref": "What Works Clearinghouse (2017). Dual Enrollment Programs: Intervention Report. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.", "doi": null, "url": "https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/671" } ], "clause": "No. 1XX\nSECTION: PROGRAMS\nTITLE: DUAL ENROLLMENT AND EARLY COLLEGE\n\nThe Board shall maintain a written agreement with at least one accredited public college under which every district high school offers dual-credit courses, on the high school campus or online, in general education subjects that transfer to the Commonwealth's public universities. Tuition, fees, textbooks, and transportation for dual-credit courses shall be paid by the district or the partner college, and no student shall be charged.\n\nAny student who meets the partner college's placement standard or the state standard on the high school assessment shall be eligible. Principals shall notify eligible students and their parents or guardians in writing by March 1 for the following school year.\n\nThe district shall operate, or partner with, at least one early college pathway in which students may earn an associate degree or 60 transferable credits by the end of grade 12 or 13. When the pathway is oversubscribed, enrollment shall be determined by lottery.\n\nThe Director of College and Career Readiness shall report to the Board by November 1 each year on dual-credit participation, courses passed, credits earned and credits transferred, and early college enrollment and completion, disaggregated by school, race, ethnicity, income, English learner status, and disability status, together with postsecondary enrollment of the prior graduating class as reported by the National Student Clearinghouse.", "clause_source": "written" }, "high-dosage-tutoring": { "domain": "high-dosage-tutoring", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (academics and access)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "Across 96 randomized trials, tutoring raises achievement by about 0.29 SD, with the largest effects when teachers or paraprofessionals tutor, sessions run at least three days a week, and tutoring happens during the school day. Post-pandemic programs run at district scale have produced much smaller gains (0.04 to 0.09 SD in reading and no math effect in Nashville), and a 263-trial reanalysis puts the realistic effect of large, test-targeted programs at 0.16 to 0.22 SD.", "standard": "Every student below benchmark on the district assessment shall be scheduled for tutoring in groups of four or fewer, at least three sessions a week of 30 minutes or more, during the school day, with a consistent trained tutor, and the district shall track delivered dosage and report it by school and student group.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Nickow A, Oreopoulos P, Quan V (2024). The Promise of Tutoring for PreK-12 Learning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence. American Educational Research Journal 61(1):74-107.", "doi": "10.3102/00028312231208687", "url": null }, { "ref": "Nickow A, Oreopoulos P, Quan V (2020). The Impressive Effects of Tutoring on PreK-12 Learning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence. NBER Working Paper 27476.", "doi": "10.3386/w27476", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kraft MA, Schueler BE, Falken G (2026). What Impacts Should We Expect From Tutoring at Scale? Exploring Meta-Analytic Generalizability. Review of Educational Research.", "doi": "10.3102/00346543261446660", "url": null }, { "ref": "Guryan J, Ludwig J, Bhatt MP, Cook PJ, Davis JMV, Dodge K, et al. (2023). Not Too Late: Improving Academic Outcomes among Adolescents. American Economic Review 113(3):738-765.", "doi": "10.1257/aer.20210434", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kraft MA, Falken GT (2021). A Blueprint for Scaling Tutoring and Mentoring Across Public Schools. AERA Open 7.", "doi": "10.1177/23328584211042858", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kraft MA, Edwards DS, Cannata M (2024). The Scaling Dynamics and Causal Effects of a District-Operated Tutoring Program. EdWorkingPaper 24-1030, Annenberg Institute at Brown University.", "doi": "10.26300/zcw7-4547", "url": null }, { "ref": "Dietrichson J, Bog M, Filges T, Klint Jorgensen AM (2017). Academic Interventions for Elementary and Middle School Students With Low Socioeconomic Status: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research 87(2):243-282.", "doi": "10.3102/0034654316687036", "url": null } ], "clause": "No. ___ SECTION: PROGRAMS TITLE: TUTORING\n\nAuthority\nThe Board directs that each student who scores below the district benchmark on the fall or winter interim assessment in reading or mathematics shall be enrolled in tutoring in accordance with this policy.\n\nGuidelines\nTutoring shall be provided in groups of no more than four (4) students, for no fewer than three (3) sessions per week of at least thirty (30) minutes each, and shall be delivered during the regular school day. Each group shall be served by a consistent tutor who has completed district training and who uses district-approved materials aligned to the core curriculum. Tutoring shall not be offered solely on an opt-in, on-demand, or outside-school-hours basis.\n\nThe building principal shall record the sessions scheduled and the sessions delivered for each tutored student.\n\nReporting\nThe Superintendent shall report to the Board by December 15 and by June 15 each year the number and share of eligible students tutored, the average sessions delivered per week, tutor consistency, and the assessment growth of tutored students compared with similar non-tutored students, disaggregated by school, race, ethnicity, income, English learner status, and disability status.", "clause_source": "written" }, "pbis-restorative": { "domain": "pbis-restorative", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (discipline and climate)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "School-wide PBIS has the strongest evidence of any discipline framework: a meta-analysis of 29 group studies including seven RCTs finds small-to-medium reductions in discipline referrals and gains in achievement, and the five-year Maryland RCT found children in PBIS schools 33 percent less likely to receive an office referral with fewer suspensions. Restorative practices are promising but mixed: the Pittsburgh RCT cut days lost to suspension 36 percent against 18 percent in controls and narrowed racial gaps, but did not improve achievement and worsened it in grades 6 to 8, while the Maine middle school RCT found no significant intent-to-treat effects.", "standard": "Every building operates a school-wide tiered behavior support system named in policy, with a leadership team, taught expectations, data review at least monthly, Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, annual fidelity assessment with a recognized instrument, and public reporting of referrals, exclusions and fidelity by building; restorative practices are adopted as a complement with the same reporting.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Lee A, Gage NA (2020). Updating and expanding systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the effects of school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports. Psychology in the Schools 57(5):783-804.", "doi": "10.1002/pits.22336", "url": null }, { "ref": "Bradshaw CP, Mitchell MM, Leaf PJ (2010). Examining the effects of schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports on student outcomes: results from a randomized controlled effectiveness trial in elementary schools. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions 12(3):133-148.", "doi": "10.1177/1098300709334798", "url": null }, { "ref": "Bradshaw CP, Waasdorp TE, Leaf PJ (2012). Effects of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports on child behavior problems. Pediatrics 130(5):e1136-e1145.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2012-0243", "url": null }, { "ref": "Horner RH, Sugai G, Smolkowski K, et al. (2009). A randomized, wait-list controlled effectiveness trial assessing school-wide positive behavior support in elementary schools. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions 11(3):133-144.", "doi": "10.1177/1098300709332067", "url": null }, { "ref": "Lee J, Watson K, Yang HW (2026). Positive enough? A meta-analysis on positive behavior support for young children. Journal of Research in Childhood Education.", "doi": "10.1080/02568543.2025.2612590", "url": null }, { "ref": "Augustine CH, Engberg J, Grimm GE, et al. (2018). Can Restorative Practices Improve School Climate and Curb Suspensions? An Evaluation of the Impact of Restorative Practices in a Mid-Sized Urban School District. RAND Corporation, RR-2840-DOJ.", "doi": "10.7249/RR2840", "url": "https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2840.html" }, { "ref": "Acosta J, Chinman M, Ebener P, et al. (2019). Evaluation of a whole-school change intervention: findings from a two-year cluster-randomized trial of the Restorative Practices Intervention. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 48(5):876-890.", "doi": "10.1007/s10964-019-01013-2", "url": null }, { "ref": "Darling-Hammond S, Fronius TA, Sutherland H, et al. (2020). Effectiveness of restorative justice in US K-12 schools: a review of quantitative research. Contemporary School Psychology 24(3):295-308.", "doi": "10.1007/s40688-020-00290-0", "url": null }, { "ref": "Lodi E, Perrella L, Lepri GL, Scarpa ML, Patrizi P (2022). Use of restorative justice and restorative practices at school: a systematic literature review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(1):96.", "doi": "10.3390/ijerph19010096", "url": null }, { "ref": "Valdebenito S, Gaffney H, Arosemena-Burbano F, et al. (2025). School-based interventions for reducing disciplinary school exclusion: an updated systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews 21(4).", "doi": "10.1002/cl2.70063", "url": null }, { "ref": "Maynard BR, Farina A, Dell NA, Kelly MS (2019). Effects of trauma-informed approaches in schools: a systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews 15(1-2):e1018.", "doi": "10.1002/cl2.1018", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kellam SG, Brown CH, Poduska JM, et al. (2008). Effects of a universal classroom behavior management program in first and second grades on young adult behavioral, psychiatric, and social outcomes. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 95(Suppl 1):S5-S28.", "doi": "10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.01.004", "url": null } ], "clause": "No. 2__ PUPILS: POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORTS\n\nThe district shall operate Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a school-wide multi-tiered behavior support system, in every building. Each principal shall maintain a building leadership team that meets at least monthly to review discipline data, shall ensure school-wide behavioral expectations are taught to all students each semester, and shall maintain functioning Tier 2 and Tier 3 teams providing Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, including function-based behavior intervention plans, for students who do not respond to Tier 1 supports. Restorative practices, including restorative conferences and circles, shall be adopted in every building as a complement to the tiered system, not as a substitute for it. Each school shall complete the Tiered Fidelity Inventory or another Board-approved recognized fidelity instrument by May 1 each year. The Superintendent shall coach any school scoring below 70 percent at Tier 1 and shall budget at least two years of external coaching for any school newly adopting the system. By September 30 each year the Superintendent shall report to the Board and publish on the district website, for the prior school year, by building and by race, disability status and sex, office discipline referrals, out-of-school suspensions and other exclusions per 100 students, fidelity scores, and the use and outcomes of restorative conferences and other restorative practices, and shall present a corrective plan for any building whose referral risk ratio for Black students or students with disabilities exceeds 2.0.", "clause_source": "written" }, "school-based-mental-health": { "domain": "school-based-mental-health", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 820 Suicide Awareness, Prevention, & Response", "receipt": "School safety and security training for employees may include suicide awareness.[9] \n Additional professional development in suicide risk screening and/or assessment and crisis intervention shall be provided to specialized staff and school behavioral health professionals such as school crisis response/intervention team members, threat assessment team members, designated administrators, school coun", "section": "820 Suicide Awareness, Prevention, & Response", "finding": "Mental health services delivered in school by school staff reduce student mental health problems (Hedges g = 0.39 across 43 controlled trials with 49,941 elementary students; g = 0.76 for targeted services), and placing licensed clinicians in schools raised treatment use 8 percent and cut self-reported suicide attempts about 15 percent across 263 Minnesota schools. Counselors have causal effects: an additional counselor reduces disciplinary incidents and raises achievement (Carrell and Hoekstra), individual counselors move graduation and college attendance as much as teachers do (Mulhern), and one more high school counselor raises four-year college enrollment by up to 10 points in a regression-discontinuity design. Universal suicide prevention programs that teach help-seeking (YAM in the SEYLE trial, SOS) roughly halve new suicide attempts, but the largest Sources of Strength trial found no overall reduction and harm where fidelity was poor.", "standard": "Every school meets or has a funded plan to reach 250 students per counselor, 500 per school psychologist and 250 per school social worker; every school has a licensed mental health clinician on site at least weekly through district staff or a community partner; secondary students are screened annually for depression with parental consent and a same-week referral pathway; every secondary school runs an evidence-based suicide prevention program with annual fidelity monitoring and a written postvention protocol.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Sanchez AL, Cornacchio D, Poznanski B, Golik AM, Chou T, Comer JS (2018). The effectiveness of school-based mental health services for elementary-aged children: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 57(3):153-165.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jaac.2017.11.022", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.11.022" }, { "ref": "Golberstein E, Zainullina I, Sojourner A, Sander MA (2024). Effects of school-based mental health services on youth outcomes. Journal of Human Resources 59(S):S256-S281.", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.1222-12703R2", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.1222-12703R2" }, { "ref": "Carrell SE, Hoekstra M (2014). Are school counselors an effective education input? Economics Letters 125(1):66-69.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econlet.2014.07.020", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2014.07.020" }, { "ref": "Reback R (2010). Schools' mental health services and young children's emotions, behavior, and learning. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 29(4):698-725.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.20528", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.20528" }, { "ref": "Mulhern C (2023). Beyond teachers: Estimating individual school counselors' effects on educational attainment. American Economic Review 113(11):2846-2893.", "doi": "10.1257/aer.20200847", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20200847" }, { "ref": "Hurwitz M, Howell J (2014). Estimating causal impacts of school counselors with regression discontinuity designs. Journal of Counseling and Development 92(3):316-327.", "doi": "10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00159.x", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00159.x" }, { "ref": "Kearney C, Akos P, Domina T, Young Z (2021). Student-to-school counselor ratios: A meta-analytic review of the evidence. Journal of Counseling and Development 99(4):418-428.", "doi": "10.1002/jcad.12394", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12394" }, { "ref": "Wasserman D, Hoven CW, Wasserman C, et al. (2015). School-based suicide prevention programmes: The SEYLE cluster-randomised, controlled trial. Lancet 385(9977):1536-1544.", "doi": "10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61213-7", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61213-7" }, { "ref": "Schilling EA, Aseltine RH, James A (2016). The SOS Suicide Prevention Program: Further evidence of efficacy and effectiveness. Prevention Science 17(2):157-166.", "doi": "10.1007/s11121-015-0594-3", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-015-0594-3" }, { "ref": "Wyman PA, Brown CH, LoMurray M, et al. (2010). An outcome evaluation of the Sources of Strength suicide prevention program delivered by adolescent peer leaders in high schools. American Journal of Public Health 100(9):1653-1661.", "doi": "10.2105/AJPH.2009.190025", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.190025" }, { "ref": "Wyman PA, Cero I, Brown CH, et al. (2023). Impact of Sources of Strength on adolescent suicide deaths across three randomized trials. Injury Prevention 29(6):474-481.", "doi": "10.1136/ip-2023-044944", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1136/ip-2023-044944" }, { "ref": "Wyman PA, Cero I, Pisani AR, et al. (2025). Impact of the Sources of Strength peer leader program on suicide attempt rates in 40 high schools: A hybrid effectiveness-implementation cluster randomized trial. School Mental Health.", "doi": "10.1007/s12310-025-09802-w", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-025-09802-w" }, { "ref": "Sekhar DL, Schaefer EW, Waxmonsky JG, et al. (2021). Screening in high schools to identify, evaluate, and lower depression among adolescents: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open 4(11):e2131836.", "doi": "10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.31836", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.31836" }, { "ref": "Kuyken W, Ball S, Crane C, et al. (2022). Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of universal school-based mindfulness training compared with normal school provision in reducing risk of mental health problems and promoting well-being in adolescence: The MYRIAD cluster randomised controlled trial. Evidence-Based Mental Health 25(3):99-109.", "doi": "10.1136/ebmental-2021-300396", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmental-2021-300396" }, { "ref": "Harvey LJ, White FA, Hunt C, Abbott M (2023). Investigating the efficacy of a Dialectical behaviour therapy-based universal intervention on adolescent social and emotional well-being outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy 169:104408.", "doi": "10.1016/j.brat.2023.104408", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2023.104408" }, { "ref": "Foulkes L, Stringaris A (2023). Do no harm: Can school mental health interventions cause iatrogenic harm? BJPsych Bulletin 47(6):349-351.", "doi": "10.1192/bjb.2023.9", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2023.9" }, { "ref": "American School Counselor Association. School counselor roles and ratios (recommended ratio 250:1; national average 372:1 in 2024-25).", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/School-Counselor-Roles-Ratios" }, { "ref": "National Association of School Psychologists. Shortage of school psychologists (recommended ratio 1 psychologist per 500 students).", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.nasponline.org/research-and-policy/policy-priorities/critical-policy-issues/shortage-of-school-psychologists" } ], "clause": "820. Suicide Awareness, Prevention, & Response\n\nThe Superintendent shall staff each school at no more than 250 students per counselor, 500 per school psychologist and 250 per social worker, and for any school above a ratio present to the Board by March 1 annually a funded plan to reach it within three years.\n\nEvery school shall have a licensed mental health clinician, district-employed or from a contracted community provider, on site at least one day weekly, and offer students referred for a mental health concern an initial appointment within 10 school days.\n\nEach secondary school shall offer annual universal screening for depression and suicide risk by validated instrument with parental consent; give elevated-risk students same-day follow-up by a licensed professional; refer students found to need services to school-based or community services within the same week; deliver an evidence-based suicide prevention program listed by a recognized registry; and maintain a written postvention protocol for responding to a suicide death or attempt.\n\nThe Director of Student Services shall approve each postvention protocol, document program adherence each semester, suspend any component not delivered as designed, and report to the Board by November 1 annually: staffing ratios by building; students served by an on-site licensed clinician, in number and share; the share screened; the share referred who began services; time to first appointment; suspension rates; and fidelity findings.", "clause_source": "written" }, "curriculum-materials": { "domain": "curriculum-materials", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 108 Adoption of Textbooks", "receipt": "The adoption of new textbooks and materials, including software, shall be handled in the following manner: \n The Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment shall make available to the subject area teacher sample books and materials, including software, from several publishing companies.", "section": "108 Adoption of Textbooks", "finding": "Which textbook a district adopts can move achievement as much as many costlier reforms: in California the best-performing elementary math series outscored its rivals by 0.05 to 0.08 SD at near-zero marginal cost, a randomized IES trial found differences of 4 to 7 percentile points between first and second grade math curricula, and a field experiment giving teachers high-quality off-the-shelf lessons raised math achievement by 0.06 SD at about 6 dollars per student. Effects depend on the specific materials and their use with aligned professional development; districts' formal adoption processes rarely examine evidence of effectiveness.", "standard": "The district shall adopt core instructional materials for each subject and grade through a published process that requires an independent quality review, consideration of effectiveness evidence, a classroom pilot, and a curriculum-specific professional development plan, and shall maintain a public inventory of materials in use with achievement tracked after each adoption.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Koedel, C., Li, D., Polikoff, M. S., Hardaway, T., & Wrabel, S. L. (2017). Mathematics Curriculum Effects on Student Achievement in California. AERA Open 3(1).", "doi": "10.1177/2332858417690511", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858417690511" }, { "ref": "Koedel, C., & Polikoff, M. (2017). Big bang for just a few bucks: The impact of math textbooks in California. Evidence Speaks Reports 2(5). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/es_20170105_polikoff_evidence_speaks.pdf" }, { "ref": "Jackson, C. K., & Makarin, A. (2018). Can Online Off-the-Shelf Lessons Improve Student Outcomes? Evidence from a Field Experiment. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 10(3):226-254.", "doi": "10.1257/pol.20170211", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20170211" }, { "ref": "Agodini, R., Harris, B., Thomas, M., Murphy, R., & Gallagher, L. (2010). Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings for First and Second Graders. NCEE 2011-4001. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences.", "doi": null, "url": "https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20114001/" }, { "ref": "Bhatt, R., & Koedel, C. (2012). Large-Scale Evaluations of Curricular Effectiveness: The Case of Elementary Mathematics in Indiana. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 34(4):391-412.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373712440040", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373712440040" }, { "ref": "Blazar, D., Heller, B., Kane, T. J., Polikoff, M., Staiger, D. O., Carrell, S., Goldhaber, D., Harris, D. N., Hitch, R., Holden, K. L., & Kurlaender, M. (2020). Curriculum Reform in the Common Core Era: Evaluating Elementary Math Textbooks Across Six U.S. States. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 39(4):966-1019.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.22257", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22257" }, { "ref": "Taylor, J. A., Getty, S. R., Kowalski, S. M., Wilson, C. D., Carlson, J., & Van Scotter, P. (2015). An Efficacy Trial of Research-Based Curriculum Materials With Curriculum-Based Professional Development. American Educational Research Journal 52(5):984-1017.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831215585962", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831215585962" }, { "ref": "Polikoff, M. S., Campbell, S. E., Rabovsky, S., Koedel, C., Le, Q. T., Hardaway, T., & Gasparian, H. (2020). The formalized processes districts use to evaluate mathematics textbooks. Journal of Curriculum Studies 52(4):451-477.", "doi": "10.1080/00220272.2020.1747116", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2020.1747116" }, { "ref": "Kaufman, J. H., Doan, S., & Fernandez, M. P. (2021). The Rise of Standards-Aligned Instructional Materials for U.S. K-12 Mathematics and English Language Arts Instruction. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.", "doi": "10.7249/RRA134-11", "url": "https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA134-11" }, { "ref": "Steiner, D. (2017). Curriculum Research: What We Know and Where We Need to Go. Washington, DC: StandardsWork, for the Knowledge Matters Campaign.", "doi": null, "url": "https://standardswork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sw-curriculum-research-report-fnl.pdf" } ], "clause": "108. Adoption of Textbooks\n\nDelegation of Responsibility\n\nThe Superintendent shall maintain and post on the district website an inventory of the core instructional materials in use in every subject and grade, showing the adoption year and the independent quality rating of each program.\n\nGuidelines\n\nCore instructional materials shall be adopted only through a process that includes an independent standards-alignment and quality review, such as EdReports or the state review; a written summary of available effectiveness evidence for each finalist; a pilot of at least one (1) semester in at least two (2) schools with teacher and student feedback; and a curriculum-specific professional development plan providing at least twenty (20) hours of training to every teacher using the materials in the first year.\n\nCore instructional materials shall be reviewed at least every six (6) years.\n\nTeachers shall use the adopted core program as the primary instructional resource and may supplement it. Supplemental materials used for more than twenty percent (20%) of instructional time in a course shall be reported to the building principal.\n\nThe Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum shall report to the Board by August 31 of each year on the inventory, the share of classrooms using the adopted core program as the primary resource as determined by the annual teacher survey and walkthroughs, the curriculum professional development hours delivered, and the achievement and growth in each subject for three (3) years following each adoption.", "clause_source": "written" }, "mtss-rti": { "domain": "mtss-rti", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (academics and access)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "The components of a tiered system work when they are done well: K-3 supplemental reading interventions average about 0.4 SD across dozens of rigorous studies, early K-2 screeners predict later reading, and a randomized trial shows that starting intervention immediately after screening beats waiting a semester (d = 0.36). The one large evaluation of RtI as schools actually ran it (Balu et al. 2015, 146 schools in 13 states) found that first graders just below the cutoff who were pulled into Tier 2 or 3 scored lower in spring than peers just above it, with no effect in grades 2 and 3.", "standard": "The policy shall name the screener, the screening windows, the timeline from flag to intervention, the minimum dosage of Tier 2 and Tier 3 instruction delivered in addition to core instruction, the progress-monitoring interval and the decision rule for moving students between tiers.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Balu R, Zhu P, Doolittle F, Schiller E, Jenkins J, Gersten R (2015). Evaluation of Response to Intervention Practices for Elementary School Reading. NCEE 2016-4000. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education.", "doi": null, "url": "https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20164000/" }, { "ref": "Gersten R, Jayanthi M, Dimino J (2017). Too much, too soon? Unanswered questions from national Response to Intervention evaluation. Exceptional Children 83(3):244-254.", "doi": "10.1177/0014402917692847", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402917692847" }, { "ref": "Fuchs D, Fuchs LS (2017). Critique of the national evaluation of Response to Intervention: A case for simpler frameworks. Exceptional Children 83(3):255-268.", "doi": "10.1177/0014402917693580", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402917693580" }, { "ref": "Gersten R, Haymond K, Newman-Gonchar R, Dimino J, Jayanthi M (2020). Meta-analysis of the impact of reading interventions for students in the primary grades. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 13(2):401-427.", "doi": "10.1080/19345747.2019.1689591", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2019.1689591" }, { "ref": "Wanzek J, Vaughn S, Scammacca N, Gatlin B, Walker MA, Capin P (2016). Meta-analyses of the effects of Tier 2 type reading interventions in grades K-3. Educational Psychology Review 28(3):551-576.", "doi": "10.1007/s10648-015-9321-7", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9321-7" }, { "ref": "Wanzek J, Stevens EA, Williams KJ, Scammacca N, Vaughn S, Sargent K (2018). Current evidence on the effects of intensive early reading interventions. Journal of Learning Disabilities 51(6):612-624.", "doi": "10.1177/0022219418775110", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219418775110" }, { "ref": "Al Otaiba S, Connor CM, Folsom JS, Wanzek J, Greulich L, Schatschneider C, Wagner RK (2014). To wait in Tier 1 or intervene immediately: A randomized experiment examining first-grade response to intervention in reading. Exceptional Children 81(1):11-27.", "doi": "10.1177/0014402914532234", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402914532234" }, { "ref": "January SA, Klingbeil DA (2020). Universal screening in grades K-2: A systematic review and meta-analysis of early reading curriculum-based measures. Journal of School Psychology 82:103-122.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jsp.2020.08.007", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2020.08.007" }, { "ref": "Jenkins JR, Hudson RF, Johnson ES (2007). Screening for at-risk readers in a Response to Intervention framework. School Psychology Review 36(4):582-600.", "doi": "10.1080/02796015.2007.12087919", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2007.12087919" }, { "ref": "Gersten R, Compton D, Connor CM, Dimino J, Santoro L, Linan-Thompson S, Tilly WD (2009). Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades. IES Practice Guide NCEE 2009-4045. What Works Clearinghouse.", "doi": null, "url": "https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/3" }, { "ref": "Burns MK, Appleton JJ, Stehouwer JD (2005). Meta-analytic review of responsiveness-to-intervention research: Examining field-based and research-implemented models. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 23(4):381-394.", "doi": "10.1177/073428290502300406", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/073428290502300406" } ], "clause": "No. [to be assigned] Section: Programs Title: Multi-Tiered System of Support Fairview School District\n\nEvery school shall operate a multi-tiered system of support in reading, mathematics and behavior, using [name of screener], with published classification accuracy, as each area's universal screener. The Superintendent shall screen every kindergarten through grade 8 student within the first 30 school days and in winter and spring windows published before each year. An at-risk student shall begin school-logged Tier 2 intervention within 15 school days of screening. Tier 2 shall provide at least three 30-minute small-group sessions weekly and Tier 3 at least five 30-minute sessions weekly in groups of three or fewer, added to core instruction, never replacing it. Tier 2 and 3 students shall be progress-monitored at least every two weeks. At least every six weeks the student support team shall review each student's data and record its decision: at the screener's grade-level benchmark, exit to the lower tier; on track to meet it by the next window, continue; below it, intensify. A student not responding after two cycles shall be referred for special education evaluation; no school shall require tiered intervention before a parent-requested evaluation proceeds. Each December and June the Director of Student Services shall report to the Board screening participation per window, share at risk, share of at-risk students with intervention logged within 15 school days, progress-monitoring frequency per Tier 2 and 3 student, share of Tier 2 students exiting to Tier 1 within a semester, and special education referral and identification rates by school and race.", "clause_source": "written" }, "class-size": { "domain": "class-size", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 126 Class Size", "receipt": "Authority \n\nThe administration is to determine the size of classes in the District which will produce the optimum educational benefit for the students.", "section": "126 Class Size", "finding": "The Tennessee STAR experiment shows that classes of 13 to 17 students in K-3 raise test scores by about 4 percentile points in the first year and roughly 1 point a year after, with larger gains for Black students and students on free lunch, and the same students were 2.7 percentage points more likely to attend college. Large-scale rollouts deliver less than the experiment because they dilute teacher quality and cost a great deal per student.", "standard": "The policy shall set a numeric K-3 class-size cap (not above 20 students, or 22 with a full-time aide), shall apply the cap first in the highest-poverty schools, and shall pair any class-size reduction with a certification requirement for the teachers hired to meet it.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Krueger AB (1999). Experimental estimates of education production functions. Quarterly Journal of Economics 114(2):497-532.", "doi": "10.1162/003355399556052", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1162/003355399556052" }, { "ref": "Chetty R, Friedman JN, Hilger N, Saez E, Schanzenbach DW, Yagan D (2011). How does your kindergarten classroom affect your earnings? Evidence from Project STAR. Quarterly Journal of Economics 126(4):1593-1660.", "doi": "10.1093/qje/qjr041", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjr041" }, { "ref": "Dynarski S, Hyman J, Schanzenbach DW (2013). Experimental evidence on the effect of childhood investments on postsecondary attainment and degree completion. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 32(4):692-717.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.21715", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21715" }, { "ref": "Jepsen C, Rivkin S (2009). Class size reduction and student achievement: The potential tradeoff between teacher quality and class size. Journal of Human Resources 44(1):223-250.", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.44.1.223", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.44.1.223" }, { "ref": "Fredriksson P, Ockert B, Oosterbeek H (2013). Long-term effects of class size. Quarterly Journal of Economics 128(1):249-285.", "doi": "10.1093/qje/qjs048", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjs048" }, { "ref": "Angrist JD, Lavy V (1999). Using Maimonides' rule to estimate the effect of class size on scholastic achievement. Quarterly Journal of Economics 114(2):533-575.", "doi": "10.1162/003355399556061", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1162/003355399556061" }, { "ref": "Filges T, Sonne-Schmidt CS, Nielsen BCV (2018). Small class sizes for improving student achievement in primary and secondary schools: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews 14(1):1-107.", "doi": "10.4073/csr.2018.10", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2018.10" }, { "ref": "Hoxby CM (2000). The effects of class size on student achievement: New evidence from population variation. Quarterly Journal of Economics 115(4):1239-1285.", "doi": "10.1162/003355300555060", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1162/003355300555060" }, { "ref": "Leuven E, Lokken SA (2020). Long-term impacts of class size in compulsory school. Journal of Human Resources 55(1):309-348.", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.55.2.0217.8574R2", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.55.2.0217.8574R2" }, { "ref": "Schanzenbach DW (2014). Does Class Size Matter? Policy brief. National Education Policy Center, Boulder CO.", "doi": null, "url": "https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/does-class-size-matter" } ], "clause": "126. CLASS SIZE\n\nKindergarten through grade 3 general education classes shall not exceed twenty (20) students, or twenty-two (22) students when a full-time instructional aide is assigned to the class for the entire school day.\n\nWhere staffing or space does not permit every school in the District to meet this cap in a given school year, the Superintendent shall meet the cap first in the schools with the highest share of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals.\n\nTeachers hired to meet this cap shall hold full state certification for the grade taught.\n\nThe Superintendent shall report to the Board by October 31 of each year, by school, the average and maximum class size for each grade K-3, the number of sections exceeding the cap and the reason for each, and the share of K-3 teachers without full certification.\n\nAny section exceeding the cap after October 31 shall require written Board approval.", "clause_source": "written" }, "cte-pathways": { "domain": "cte-pathways", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 115 Vocational Technical Education", "receipt": "Purpose \n\nThe Board shall provide a program of vocational technical education in order to prepare students for gainful employment as skilled workers or technicians in recognized, new and emerging occupations, to prepare students for enrollment in postsecondary education programs, and to assist students in choosing meaningful career pathways.", "section": "115 Vocational Technical Education", "finding": "Structured CTE pathways, meaning multi-year sequences with employer partners, work-based learning, and a credential, raise graduation and earnings in causal studies: the MDRC career academies RCT found earnings 11 percent higher eight years after high school (17 percent for young men), Massachusetts and Connecticut regression-discontinuity studies find 7 to 10 point gains in on-time graduation and, in Connecticut, 32 percent higher quarterly earnings for men, and New York City's lottery-based P-TECH evaluation found associate degree completion up 5 percentage points with dual enrollment more than doubled. Effects come from depth in one field, not scattered introductory courses, and are concentrated among young men.", "standard": "Every high school shall offer at least one multi-year CTE pathway aligned to a regional high-wage field with an employer partner, work-based learning, dual credit, and an industry credential; admission to oversubscribed pathways shall be by lottery or objective criteria, and completion and post-graduation outcomes shall be reported by student group.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Kemple JJ, Willner CJ (2008). Career Academies: Long-Term Impacts on Labor Market Outcomes, Educational Attainment, and Transitions to Adulthood. MDRC.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.mdrc.org/work/publications/career-academies-long-term-impacts-work-education-and-transitions-adulthood" }, { "ref": "Dougherty SM (2018). The Effect of Career and Technical Education on Human Capital Accumulation: Causal Evidence from Massachusetts. Education Finance and Policy 13(2):119-148.", "doi": "10.1162/edfp_a_00224", "url": null }, { "ref": "Brunner EJ, Dougherty SM, Ross SL (2023). The Effects of Career and Technical Education: Evidence from the Connecticut Technical High School System. Review of Economics and Statistics 105(4):867-882.", "doi": "10.1162/rest_a_01098", "url": null }, { "ref": "Rosen R, Alterman E, Dixon M (2026). The P-TECH Model: Secondary and Postsecondary Findings From an Evaluation in New York City. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.", "doi": "10.3102/01623737261467381", "url": null }, { "ref": "Rosen R, Alterman E, Treskon L, Parise L, Dixon M, Wuest C (2023). P-TECH 9-14 Pathways to Success: Implementation, Impact, and Cost Findings from the New York City P-TECH 9-14 Schools Evaluation. MDRC.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.mdrc.org/work/publications/p-tech-9-14-pathways-success" }, { "ref": "Kreisman D, Stange K (2020). Vocational and Career Tech Education in American High Schools: The Value of Depth Over Breadth. Education Finance and Policy 15(1):11-44.", "doi": "10.1162/edfp_a_00266", "url": null }, { "ref": "Ecton WG, Dougherty SM (2023). Heterogeneity in High School Career and Technical Education Outcomes. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 45(1):157-181.", "doi": "10.3102/01623737221103842", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hemelt SW, Lenard MA, Paeplow CO (2019). Building bridges to life after high school: Contemporary career academies and student outcomes. Economics of Education Review 68:161-178.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2018.08.005", "url": null } ], "clause": "No. 115 Vocational Technical Education\n\nEach high school shall offer no fewer than two career and technical education programs of study. Each program shall consist of a sequence of at least three courses in one field identified as high-wage and in demand in the most recent regional labor market analysis and shall have a named employer or industry partner, an aligned dual-credit agreement with a public college, a paid or credit-bearing work-based learning placement available to every concentrator by grade 12, and preparation for an industry-recognized credential whose exam fee the district shall pay. Seats in an oversubscribed program shall be assigned by lottery or published objective criteria, not by staff recommendation. No student shall be placed in a program of study as a substitute for the college-preparatory course sequence. By December 1 each year, the Director of Career and Technical Education shall report to the Board, using Perkins V accountability data, the number of concentrators and completers by program, credentials earned, work-based learning placements, dual credits earned, the graduation rate of concentrators, and employment or postsecondary enrollment of the prior cohort, disaggregated by school, race, ethnicity, income, English learner status, disability status and sex, and shall recommend closing or redesigning any program whose completers show no employment or enrollment advantage for two consecutive years.", "clause_source": "written" }, "family-engagement": { "domain": "family-engagement", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 918 District-Wide Parental Involvement", "receipt": "Address the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through at least annual parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, frequent reports to parents on their children's progress, reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in the child's class and observation of classroom activities, and ensuring regular two-way, meaningful commu", "section": "918 District-Wide Parental Involvement", "finding": "Randomized trials show that specific, frequent, two-way teacher-to-family communication about a child's own effort, attendance and missed work raises engagement and achievement: daily teacher messages increased homework completion 40 percent, weekly one-sentence notes cut course failure 41 percent, automated missed-assignment alerts cut course failures 27 percent, and parent-school meetings in France reduced truancy and discipline sanctions by about 0.15 SD. Meta-analyses of family-school partnership programs find small to moderate positive associations with achievement (r about 0.12 for involvement overall; about 0.3 SD for structured programs), strongest for communication about schoolwork and parental expectations rather than attendance at events.", "standard": "Policy sets a measurable district-wide expectation (not only Title I schools) of at least two individualized two-way contacts per family per year about the child's own progress, attendance and missed work, in the family's preferred language, logged in the student information system; requires default enrollment of all families in progress alerts; and requires annual public reporting of contact rates, conference participation and family survey results by school and subgroup.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Kraft MA, Dougherty SM (2013). The effect of teacher-family communication on student engagement: evidence from a randomized field experiment. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 6(3):199-222.", "doi": "10.1080/19345747.2012.743636", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2012.743636" }, { "ref": "Kraft MA, Rogers T (2015). The underutilized potential of teacher-to-parent communication: evidence from a field experiment. Economics of Education Review 47:49-63.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.04.001", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.04.001" }, { "ref": "Bergman P (2021). Parent-child information frictions and human capital investment: evidence from a field experiment. Journal of Political Economy 129(1):286-322.", "doi": "10.1086/711410", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1086/711410" }, { "ref": "Bergman P, Chan EW (2021). Leveraging parents through low-cost technology: the impact of high-frequency information on student achievement. Journal of Human Resources 56(1):125-158.", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.56.1.1118-9837R1", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.56.1.1118-9837R1" }, { "ref": "Avvisati F, Gurgand M, Guyon N, Maurin E (2014). Getting parents involved: a field experiment in deprived schools. Review of Economic Studies 81(1):57-83.", "doi": "10.1093/restud/rdt027", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdt027" }, { "ref": "Smith TE, Sheridan SM, Kim EM, Park S, Beretvas SN (2020). The effects of family-school partnership interventions on academic and social-emotional functioning: a meta-analysis exploring what works for whom. Educational Psychology Review 32(2):511-544.", "doi": "10.1007/s10648-019-09509-w", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09509-w" }, { "ref": "Castro M, Exposito-Casas E, Lopez-Martin E, Lizasoain L, Navarro-Asencio E, Gaviria JL (2015). Parental involvement on student academic achievement: a meta-analysis. Educational Research Review 14:33-46.", "doi": "10.1016/j.edurev.2015.01.002", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.01.002" }, { "ref": "Hill NE, Tyson DF (2009). Parental involvement in middle school: a meta-analytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement. Developmental Psychology 45(3):740-763.", "doi": "10.1037/a0015362", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015362" }, { "ref": "Jeynes W (2012). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of different types of parental involvement programs for urban students. Urban Education 47(4):706-742.", "doi": "10.1177/0042085912445643", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085912445643" }, { "ref": "York BN, Loeb S, Doss C (2019). One step at a time: the effects of an early literacy text-messaging program for parents of preschoolers. Journal of Human Resources 54(3):537-566.", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.54.3.0517-8756R", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.54.3.0517-8756R" }, { "ref": "Doss C, Fahle EM, Loeb S, York BN (2019). More than just a nudge: supporting kindergarten parents with differentiated and personalized text messages. Journal of Human Resources 54(3):567-603.", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.54.3.0317-8637r", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.54.3.0317-8637r" }, { "ref": "Bergman P, Lasky-Fink J, Rogers T (2020). Simplification and defaults affect adoption and impact of technology, but decision makers do not realize it. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 158:66-79.", "doi": "10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.04.001", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.04.001" }, { "ref": "Gubbels J, van der Put CE, Assink M (2019). Risk factors for school absenteeism and dropout: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 48(9):1637-1667.", "doi": "10.1007/s10964-019-01072-5", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01072-5" }, { "ref": "Eklund K, Burns MK, Oyen K, DeMarchena S, McCollom EM (2022). Addressing chronic absenteeism in schools: a meta-analysis of evidence-based interventions. School Psychology Review 51(1):95-111.", "doi": "10.1080/2372966X.2020.1789436", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2020.1789436" }, { "ref": "Elementary and Secondary Education Act Section 1116, Parent and family engagement, 20 U.S.C. 6318 (as amended by ESSA 2015).", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/6318" } ], "clause": "918. District-Wide Parental Involvement\n\nEach school shall make at least two documented two-way contacts with the family of every enrolled student each school year, the first by October 31 and the second by March 31, about that student's own attendance, progress and missed work. A two-way contact shall be a phone call, in-person or video conference, home visit or text exchange in which the family responds; a newsletter, mass message or automated call shall not count. Each contact shall be made in the family's preferred language and logged in the student information system with the date, mode, language and topic. The district shall enroll every family by default in weekly progress alerts covering absences, missing assignments and grades below the passing threshold, with opt-out available, and shall verify each family's phone number and language preference at enrollment and each August. Each school shall hold at least one scheduled conference per student per year, offered at two or more times including one outside working hours, with interpretation on request. The Superintendent shall report to the Board by each November 30, by school and subgroup, the share of students whose families received two logged two-way contacts in the prior year, conference participation, alert enrollment, and annual family survey results administered in the district's top five home languages, and shall publish it on the district website.", "clause_source": "written" }, "indoor-air-and-heat": { "domain": "indoor-air-and-heat", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (health and wellbeing)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "Heat cuts learning: across 10 million PSAT retakers, each 1 degree F hotter school year reduced that year's learning by about 1 percent in schools without air conditioning, and air conditioning offset nearly all of it; hot school days fall hardest on Black and Hispanic students and explain roughly 5 percent of the racial achievement gap. Poor ventilation costs attendance and scores: in 162 California classrooms each additional 1 L/s per person of outdoor air cut illness absence 1.6 percent, a 140-classroom study found math scores rose 0.5 percent per L/s-person up to the 7.1 L/s-person standard and a further 0.5 percent per degree C cooler within 20 to 25 C, and a double-blind crossover experiment found 3 to 7 percent more correct answers when outdoor air rose from 1.7 to 6.6 L/s-person.", "standard": "Every occupied classroom is kept between 68 and 78 F during instruction, every classroom is ventilated at or above the ASHRAE 62.1 outdoor air rate with MERV-13 filtration and continuous CO2 monitoring held below 1,000 ppm, and the district has a written heat response plan with a trigger temperature, cooling priorities and a capital plan to air-condition every classroom.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Park RJ, Goodman J, Hurwitz M, Smith J (2020). Heat and learning. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 12(2):306-339.", "doi": "10.1257/pol.20180612", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20180612" }, { "ref": "Park RJ (2022). Hot temperature and high-stakes performance. Journal of Human Resources 57(2):400-434.", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.57.2.0618-9535R3", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.57.2.0618-9535R3" }, { "ref": "Park RJ, Behrer AP, Goodman J (2021). Learning is inhibited by heat exposure, both internationally and within the United States. Nature Human Behaviour 5(1):19-27.", "doi": "10.1038/s41562-020-00959-9", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-00959-9" }, { "ref": "Graff Zivin J, Hsiang SM, Neidell M (2018). Temperature and human capital in the short and long run. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 5(1):77-105.", "doi": "10.1086/694177", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1086/694177" }, { "ref": "Cho H (2017). The effects of summer heat on academic achievement: A cohort analysis. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 83:185-196.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jeem.2017.03.005", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2017.03.005" }, { "ref": "Mendell MJ, Eliseeva EA, Davies MM, et al. (2013). Association of classroom ventilation with reduced illness absence: A prospective study in California elementary schools. Indoor Air 23(6):515-528.", "doi": "10.1111/ina.12042", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12042" }, { "ref": "Haverinen-Shaughnessy U, Moschandreas DJ, Shaughnessy RJ (2011). Association between substandard classroom ventilation rates and students' academic achievement. Indoor Air 21(2):121-131.", "doi": "10.1111/j.1600-0668.2010.00686.x", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2010.00686.x" }, { "ref": "Haverinen-Shaughnessy U, Shaughnessy RJ (2015). Effects of classroom ventilation rate and temperature on students' test scores. PLOS ONE 10(8):e0136165.", "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0136165", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136165" }, { "ref": "Petersen S, Jensen KL, Pedersen ALS, Rasmussen HS (2016). The effect of increased classroom ventilation rate indicated by reduced CO2 concentration on the performance of schoolwork by children. Indoor Air 26(3):366-379.", "doi": "10.1111/ina.12210", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12210" }, { "ref": "Wargocki P, Porras-Salazar JA, Contreras-Espinoza S (2019). The relationship between classroom temperature and children's performance in school. Building and Environment 157:197-204.", "doi": "10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.04.046", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.04.046" }, { "ref": "Wargocki P, Porras-Salazar JA, Contreras-Espinoza S, Bahnfleth W (2020). The relationships between classroom air quality and children's performance in school. Building and Environment 173:106749.", "doi": "10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106749", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106749" }, { "ref": "Fisk WJ (2017). The ventilation problem in schools: Literature review. Indoor Air 27(6):1039-1051.", "doi": "10.1111/ina.12403", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12403" }, { "ref": "Gaihre S, Semple S, Miller J, Fielding S, Turner S (2014). Classroom carbon dioxide concentration, school attendance, and educational attainment. Journal of School Health 84(9):569-574.", "doi": "10.1111/josh.12183", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12183" }, { "ref": "Stafford TM (2015). Indoor air quality and academic performance. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 70:34-50.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jeem.2014.11.002", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2014.11.002" }, { "ref": "ASHRAE. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1, Ventilation and acceptable indoor air quality (classroom outdoor air rate: 10 cfm per person plus 0.12 cfm per square foot).", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/bookstore/standards-62-1-62-2" }, { "ref": "ASHRAE (2023). ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 241, Control of infectious aerosols (equivalent clean airflow target of 20 L/s per person for classrooms in infection risk management mode).", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/bookstore/ashrae-standard-241-control-of-infectious-aerosols" } ], "clause": "No. ___\nSECTION: PROPERTY\nTITLE: CLASSROOM TEMPERATURE AND AIR QUALITY\n\nThe Board directs that every occupied classroom shall be maintained at a temperature between 68 and 78 degrees F during instructional time. When a classroom cannot be held at or below 82 degrees F, the building principal shall relocate instruction to a cooled space, and no student shall be taught in a room at or above 88 degrees F.\n\nThe Director of Facilities shall install a continuous carbon dioxide monitor in every classroom, shall operate ventilation systems to supply at least the outdoor air rate in ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1 with filters rated MERV-13 or higher, and shall investigate and correct any classroom whose carbon dioxide level exceeds 1,000 ppm for more than 10 percent of occupied hours in a month.\n\nBy September 30 of each year, the Director of Facilities shall report to the Board the classrooms without mechanical cooling, the number of instructional hours above 78 degrees F by building during the prior year, the monthly carbon dioxide exceedance rate by building, filter replacement records, and a prioritized capital plan to provide cooling and code-rate ventilation in every classroom. The Superintendent shall include that plan in the annual capital budget request.", "clause_source": "written" }, "instructional-coaching": { "domain": "instructional-coaching", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 333 Professional Development", "receipt": "Authority \n\nContinuing professional study and inservice training for administrative, professional and support employees are prerequisites for professional development, enhanced ability to complete responsibilities and maintaining certification.", "section": "333 Professional Development", "finding": "A meta-analysis of 60 causal studies finds that one-on-one instructional coaching improves teaching practice by 0.49 SD and student achievement by 0.18 SD, far more than the one-off workshops that make up most district professional development, which show no achievement effect in large randomized trials. Effects shrink as programs scale (programs over 100 teachers: 0.34 SD practice, 0.10 SD achievement) and depend on coaches observing real lessons and giving specific feedback in cycles over a year.", "standard": "District professional development shall be organized around sustained, content-specific coaching cycles for teachers in their first three years and for any teacher rated below effective, with coach caseloads of no more than 20 teachers, and the district shall report coaching dosage and teacher growth annually.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Kraft, M. A., Blazar, D., & Hogan, D. (2018). The Effect of Teacher Coaching on Instruction and Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of the Causal Evidence. Review of Educational Research 88(4):547-588.", "doi": "10.3102/0034654318759268", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318759268" }, { "ref": "Allen, J. P., Pianta, R. C., Gregory, A., Mikami, A. Y., & Lun, J. (2011). An Interaction-Based Approach to Enhancing Secondary School Instruction and Student Achievement. Science 333(6045):1034-1037.", "doi": "10.1126/science.1207998", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1207998" }, { "ref": "Kraft, M. A., & Blazar, D. (2017). Individualized Coaching to Improve Teacher Practice Across Grades and Subjects: New Experimental Evidence. Educational Policy 31(7):1033-1068.", "doi": "10.1177/0895904816631099", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904816631099" }, { "ref": "Blazar, D., & Kraft, M. A. (2015). Exploring Mechanisms of Effective Teacher Coaching: A Tale of Two Cohorts From a Randomized Experiment. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 37(4):542-566.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373715579487", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373715579487" }, { "ref": "Kraft, M. A., & Hill, H. C. (2020). Developing Ambitious Mathematics Instruction Through Web-Based Coaching: A Randomized Field Trial. American Educational Research Journal 57(6):2378-2414.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831220916840", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831220916840" }, { "ref": "Campbell, P. F., & Malkus, N. N. (2011). The Impact of Elementary Mathematics Coaches on Student Achievement. The Elementary School Journal 111(3):430-454.", "doi": "10.1086/657654", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1086/657654" }, { "ref": "Lynch, K., Hill, H. C., Gonzalez, K. E., & Pollard, C. (2019). Strengthening the Research Base That Informs STEM Instructional Improvement Efforts: A Meta-Analysis. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 41(3):260-293.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373719849044", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373719849044" }, { "ref": "Garet, M. S., Heppen, J. B., Walters, K., Parkinson, J., Smith, T. M., Song, M., Garrett, R., Yang, R., & Borman, G. D. (2016). Focusing on Mathematical Knowledge: The Impact of Content-Intensive Teacher Professional Development. NCEE 2016-4010. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences.", "doi": null, "url": "https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20164010/" }, { "ref": "Jacob, R., Hill, H., & Corey, D. (2017). The Impact of a Professional Development Program on Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching, Instructional Practice, and Student Achievement. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 10(2):379-407.", "doi": "10.1080/19345747.2016.1273411", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2016.1273411" }, { "ref": "Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective Teacher Professional Development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.", "doi": "10.54300/122.311", "url": "https://doi.org/10.54300/122.311" } ], "clause": "Section 333. Professional Development: Instructional Coaching\n\nThe Superintendent shall employ instructional coaches at a ratio of no more than one coach to twenty teachers served. Every teacher in the first three years of service and every teacher rated below effective on the most recent evaluation shall receive at least eight coaching cycles per year. Each cycle shall consist of a classroom observation, a written feedback conference within five school days, and a follow-up observation.\n\nCoaches shall hold no evaluative role and shall not share observation notes with evaluators. Coaches shall log each cycle in the district professional development system.\n\nNo more than twenty-five percent of district-provided professional development hours in any year shall be delivered as single-session workshops without classroom follow-up.\n\nThe Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning shall report to the Board by September 30 of each year the following: coaching cycles completed per teacher by school; coach caseloads; the share of professional development hours delivered as coaching; change in observed instructional practice scores of coached teachers; and student growth of coached teachers compared with uncoached teachers.\n\nThe Board shall review coaching staffing against that report before adopting the following year's budget.", "clause_source": "written" }, "start-time": { "domain": "start-time", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 804 School Day", "receipt": "The Superintendent shall develop guidelines which allow students to enter and leave schools under exceptional conditions so that variances with the normal school schedule may be accommodated.", "section": "804 School Day", "finding": "Adolescent circadian timing shifts later, and middle and high schools that start at or after 8:30 a.m. get measurably more sleep from students; a Seattle district-wide delay of nearly an hour produced 34 more minutes of sleep per night, a 4.5 percent rise in median grades and better attendance, and a Florida time-zone natural experiment found each hour of later start relative to sunrise raised adolescent math scores by 0.08 SD. Meta-analyses and a Cochrane review agree on the sleep and attendance effects; achievement effects are positive but smaller and less consistent.", "standard": "Instruction in every school serving any of grades 6 through 12 begins no earlier than 8:30 a.m., and the policy names who reports compliance and by when.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Adolescent Sleep Working Group, Committee on Adolescence, Council on School Health, American Academy of Pediatrics (2014). School start times for adolescents. Pediatrics 134(3):642-649.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2014-1697", "url": null }, { "ref": "Dunster GP, de la Iglesia L, Ben-Hamo M, Nave C, Fleischer JG, Panda S, de la Iglesia HO (2018). Sleepmore in Seattle: Later school start times are associated with more sleep and better performance in high school students. Science Advances 4(12):eaau6200.", "doi": "10.1126/sciadv.aau6200", "url": null }, { "ref": "Heissel JA, Norris S (2018). Rise and shine: The effect of school start times on academic performance from childhood through puberty. Journal of Human Resources 53(4):957-992.", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.53.4.0815-7346R1", "url": null }, { "ref": "Carrell SE, Maghakian T, West JC (2011). A's from Zzzz's? The causal effect of school start time on the academic achievement of adolescents. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 3(3):62-81.", "doi": "10.1257/pol.3.3.62", "url": null }, { "ref": "Bowers JM, Moyer A (2017). Effects of school start time on students' sleep duration, daytime sleepiness, and attendance: a meta-analysis. Sleep Health 3(6):423-431.", "doi": "10.1016/j.sleh.2017.08.004", "url": null }, { "ref": "Minges KE, Redeker NS (2016). Delayed school start times and adolescent sleep: A systematic review of the experimental evidence. Sleep Medicine Reviews 28:86-95.", "doi": "10.1016/j.smrv.2015.06.002", "url": null }, { "ref": "Marx R, Tanner-Smith EE, Davison CM, et al. (2017). Later school start times for supporting the education, health, and well-being of high school students. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 7:CD009467.", "doi": "10.1002/14651858.CD009467.pub2", "url": null }, { "ref": "Wheaton AG, Chapman DP, Croft JB (2016). School start times, sleep, behavioral, health, and academic outcomes: A review of the literature. Journal of School Health 86(5):363-381.", "doi": "10.1111/josh.12388", "url": null }, { "ref": "Lenard M, Morrill M, Westall J (2020). High school start times and student achievement: Looking beyond test scores. Economics of Education Review 76:101975.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.101975", "url": null }, { "ref": "Groen JA, Pabilonia SW (2019). Snooze or lose: High school start times and academic achievement. Economics of Education Review 72:204-218.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.05.011", "url": null }, { "ref": "Bastian KC, Fuller SC (2018). Answering the bell: High school start times and student academic outcomes. AERA Open 4(4):1-14.", "doi": "10.1177/2332858418812424", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hafner M, Stepanek M, Troxel WM (2017). Later school start times in the U.S.: An economic analysis. RAND Corporation, RR-2109.", "doi": "10.7249/RR2109", "url": "https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2109.html" } ], "clause": "804 School Day\n\nGuidelines\n\nThe instructional day for students in grades 6 through 12 shall begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. in every district school. No district school shall require student attendance at a zero period, assembly or mandatory activity before that time.\n\nBy March 1 of each year, the Superintendent shall present to the Board a schedule report listing the first-bell time of every building for the coming school year, the number and percentage of secondary students whose instructional day begins before 8:30 a.m., and the transportation plan and cost needed to comply with this policy.\n\nThe Superintendent shall include in the annual student wellness report the median school-night sleep hours reported by secondary students on the district climate survey, together with chronic absence and first-period tardy rates by building.\n\nAny building unable to comply shall be named in the schedule report with a dated plan to comply within one school year.", "clause_source": "written" }, "summer-and-extended-learning-time": { "domain": "summer-and-extended-learning-time", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 124 Summer School", "receipt": "Purpose \n\nIt is the policy of the Board that the district may conduct a summer program of remedial and enrichment instruction at the primary level, intermediate level, middle school level, and high school level for resident students of this district.", "section": "124 Summer School", "finding": "Voluntary summer programs with at least five weeks and three hours of daily academic instruction produce modest gains for students who attend regularly: a meta-analysis of 37 studies finds +0.10 SD in math, a meta-analysis of 41 summer reading interventions finds significant reading gains concentrated among low-income children, and the RAND five-district randomized study found a near-term math benefit after one summer with persistent math and language arts advantages for high attenders after two. Extending the regular school day for literacy in low-performing Florida schools raised reading 0.05 SD in a regression-discontinuity design.", "standard": "The district offers a free summer program of at least five weeks with at least three hours of daily academic instruction by certified teachers, prioritized for students below grade level, and reports attendance and achievement growth for attenders each year.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Lynch K, An L, Mancenido Z (2023). The impact of summer programs on student mathematics achievement: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research 93(2):275-315.", "doi": "10.3102/00346543221105543", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kim JS, Quinn DM (2013). The effects of summer reading on low-income children's literacy achievement from kindergarten to grade 8: A meta-analysis of classroom and home interventions. Review of Educational Research 83(3):386-431.", "doi": "10.3102/0034654313483906", "url": null }, { "ref": "Augustine CH, McCombs JS, Pane JF, Schwartz HL, Schweig J, McEachin A, Siler-Evans K (2016). Learning from summer: Effects of voluntary summer learning programs on low-income urban youth. RAND Corporation, RR-1557-WF.", "doi": "10.7249/RR1557", "url": "https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1557.html" }, { "ref": "McCombs JS, Augustine CH, Pane JF, Schweig J (2020). Every summer counts: A longitudinal analysis of outcomes from the National Summer Learning Project. RAND Corporation, RR-3201-WF.", "doi": "10.7249/RR3201", "url": "https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3201.html" }, { "ref": "Figlio D, Holden KL, Ozek U (2018). Do students benefit from longer school days? Regression discontinuity evidence from Florida's additional hour of literacy instruction. Economics of Education Review 67:171-183.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2018.06.003", "url": null }, { "ref": "Patall EA, Cooper H, Allen AB (2010). Extending the school day or school year: A systematic review of research (1985-2009). Review of Educational Research 80(3):401-436.", "doi": "10.3102/0034654310377086", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kidron Y, Lindsay J (2014). The effects of increased learning time on student academic and nonacademic outcomes: Findings from a meta-analytic review. REL 2014-015. Washington, DC: Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia, Institute of Education Sciences.", "doi": null, "url": "https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/appalachia/pdf/REL_2014015.pdf" }, { "ref": "Atteberry A, McEachin A (2021). School's out: The role of summers in understanding achievement disparities. American Educational Research Journal 58(2):239-282.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831220937285", "url": null }, { "ref": "von Hippel PT, Hamrock C (2019). Do test score gaps grow before, during, or between the school years? Measurement artifacts and what we can know in spite of them. Sociological Science 6:43-80.", "doi": "10.15195/v6.a3", "url": null }, { "ref": "Fitzpatrick MD, Grissmer D, Hastedt S (2011). What a difference a day makes: Estimating daily learning gains during kindergarten and first grade using a natural experiment. Economics of Education Review 30(2):269-279.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.09.004", "url": null } ], "clause": "124 Summer School\n\nThe district shall offer each summer, at no charge, an academic summer program of at least five (5) weeks, with at least three (3) hours per day of reading and mathematics instruction taught by certified teachers, together with enrichment, meals and transportation. Priority in enrollment shall be given to students scoring below grade level on the spring interim assessment, students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, English learners and students with disabilities.\n\nThe program shall set an attendance goal of at least twenty (20) days for each enrolled student. Program staff shall contact the family of any student who is absent two (2) consecutive days.\n\nThe Superintendent shall report to the Board by October 15 of each year the number of students enrolled; the percentage attending twenty (20) or more days, by building and by subgroup; and the spring-to-fall assessment change for students who attended twenty (20) or more days compared with eligible students who did not enroll.\n\nAny extended-day or extended-year program adopted by the district shall state its added instructional minutes, the content taught in those minutes and the staff assigned to them, and shall be included in the same report with its fall-to-spring growth comparison.", "clause_source": "written" }, "community-schools": { "domain": "community-schools", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 146 Student Services", "receipt": "STUDENT SERVICES \n\nAuthority \n Title 22 \n Sec. 4.13, 12.41 \n\nThe Board shall approve a written plan for implementing a comprehensive and integrated K-12 program of student services, based on the needs of students.", "section": "146 Student Services", "finding": "Quasi-experimental evaluations of the two largest community school systems find consistent gains in attendance and behavior and smaller, slower gains in achievement: New York City's 2014 initiative cut chronic absence by 7 to 8 percentage points, raised graduation 4.9 points over three years and credits earned by 1.3 per year, reduced disciplinary incidents in elementary and middle schools, and raised grade 3-8 math by 0.13 SD only in year three with no ELA effect; California's 2022 grantee cohort cut chronic absence about 30 percent and suspensions about 15 percent relative to matched schools with math +0.06 SD and ELA +0.05 SD in the first year. Longitudinal studies of City Connects, the best-studied integrated-support model, show higher middle-school test scores and roughly half the odds of high school dropout for students served in elementary school.", "standard": "Policy defines the community school strategy by its four pillars (integrated student supports, expanded learning time, family and community engagement, collaborative leadership), requires each designated school to have a funded full-time coordinator, an annual needs assessment, a universal student support review, and a lead partner agreement, and requires annual reporting of attendance, discipline and achievement against matched comparison schools.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Johnston WR, Engberg J, Opper IM, Sontag-Padilla L, Xenakis L (2020). Illustrating the promise of community schools: an assessment of the impact of the New York City Community Schools Initiative. RR-3245-NYCCEO. RAND Corporation.", "doi": "10.7249/RR3245", "url": "https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3245.html" }, { "ref": "Swain W, Leung-Gagne M, Maier A, Rubinstein CF (2025). Community schools impact on student outcomes: evidence from California. Learning Policy Institute.", "doi": "10.54300/541.498", "url": "https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/ca-community-schools-impact-student-outcomes-report" }, { "ref": "Heers M, Van Klaveren C, Groot W, Maassen van den Brink H (2016). Community schools: what we know and what we need to know. Review of Educational Research 86(4):1016-1051.", "doi": "10.3102/0034654315627365", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315627365" }, { "ref": "Maier A, Daniel J, Oakes J, Lam L (2017). Community schools as an effective school improvement strategy: a review of the evidence. Learning Policy Institute and National Education Policy Center.", "doi": null, "url": "https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/community-schools-effective-school-improvement-report" }, { "ref": "Walsh ME, Madaus GF, Raczek AE, Dearing E, Foley C, An C, Lee-St. John TJ, Beaton A (2014). A new model for student support in high-poverty urban elementary schools: effects on elementary and middle school academic outcomes. American Educational Research Journal 51(4):704-737.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831214541669", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831214541669" }, { "ref": "Lee-St. John TJ, Walsh ME, Raczek AE, Vuilleumier CE, Foley C, Heberle A, Sibley E, Dearing E (2018). The long-term impact of systemic student support in elementary school: reducing high school dropout. AERA Open 4(4).", "doi": "10.1177/2332858418799085", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858418799085" }, { "ref": "Dearing E, Walsh ME, Sibley E, Lee-St. John T, Foley C, Raczek AE (2016). Can community and school-based supports improve the achievement of first-generation immigrant children attending high-poverty schools? Child Development 87(3):883-897.", "doi": "10.1111/cdev.12507", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12507" }, { "ref": "Sokol R, Degli Esposti M, Victor BG, Kernsmith P, Medina Del Toro V, Heinze J, Portugal J, Grinnell R, Gernaat E (2025). A school-based material needs intervention for chronic absenteeism: a state-wide staggered interrupted time series analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 80(3):174-181.", "doi": "10.1136/jech-2025-224567", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2025-224567" }, { "ref": "Parise L, Corrin W, Granito K, Haider Z, Somers MA, Cerna O (2017). Two years of case management: final findings from the Communities In Schools random assignment evaluation. MDRC.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.mdrc.org/work/publications/two-years-case-management" }, { "ref": "Biag M, Castrechini S (2016). Coordinated strategies to help the whole child: examining the contributions of full-service community schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk 21(3):157-173.", "doi": "10.1080/10824669.2016.1172231", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/10824669.2016.1172231" } ], "clause": "146. STUDENT SERVICES\n\nThe Board adopts the four-pillar community school strategy: integrated student supports, expanded learning time, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership. The Board shall designate community schools where 60 percent or more of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, English learners or in foster care, and shall fund at each a full-time coordinator employed by the district or a lead partner and approve a signed lead partner agreement.\n\nEach designated school shall assess student, family and neighborhood needs and assets by each October 31 from its first year, shall review every student at least yearly for academic, health, social and material needs, and shall record in the student support system each need and connected service, targeting 90 percent matched to a service within 30 school days. A site leadership team of the principal, coordinator, at least two teachers, at least two parents and a community partner shall meet monthly.\n\nBy December 31 yearly the Superintendent shall report to the Board, per designated school, full-time coordinator staffing, the signed lead partner agreement, the share of students with identified needs served within 30 school days, and chronic absence, suspension, course-passing and state assessment results against the three district schools most similar in enrollment and poverty, and shall present the strategy's per-pupil cost in the annual budget.", "clause_source": "written" }, "extracurricular-access": { "domain": "extracurricular-access", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 123 Interscholastic Athletics", "receipt": "Such standards shall require that each student be covered by the maximum Student Accident Insurance available, or its equivalent, be in good physical condition, be free of injury and shall have fully recovered from illness, as determined by the district's physician, before participating in any interscholastic athletic event.[5] \n\nStudents residing in the district who are receiving a program of hom", "section": "123 Interscholastic Athletics", "finding": "Causal studies find that participation pays: Houston's randomized arts-access initiative (42 schools, more than 10,000 students) reduced disciplinary infractions, raised writing achievement and increased empathy and, for elementary students, school engagement and college aspirations; Title IX's forced expansion of girls' sports raised women's college attendance and employment (Stevenson); German sports-club participation improved grades and health. Longitudinal work (Fredricks and Eccles) links breadth of participation to higher GPA, college enrollment and lower risk behavior. Fees are the main access barrier: average required fees in 2018 to 2019 were $161 for sports, $86 for arts and $46 for clubs, lower-income students are twice as likely not to participate, and only 7% of parents have ever requested a waiver.", "standard": "The district shall guarantee that no student is excluded from any school-sponsored activity for inability to pay, shall grant automatic fee waivers to students eligible for free or reduced-price meals without a separate application, shall provide weekly arts instruction in every elementary grade, and shall report participation by subgroup to the board annually.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Bowen DH, Kisida B (2023). Investigating the Causal Effects of Arts Education. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 42(3):624-647.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.22449", "url": null }, { "ref": "Fredricks JA, Eccles JS (2006). Is extracurricular participation associated with beneficial outcomes? Concurrent and longitudinal relations. Developmental Psychology 42(4):698-713.", "doi": "10.1037/0012-1649.42.4.698", "url": null }, { "ref": "Stevenson B (2010). Beyond the Classroom: Using Title IX to Measure the Return to High School Sports. Review of Economics and Statistics 92(2):284-301.", "doi": "10.1162/rest.2010.11623", "url": null }, { "ref": "Felfe C, Lechner M, Steinmayr A (2016). Sports and Child Development. PLOS ONE 11(5):e0151729.", "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0151729", "url": null }, { "ref": "Zdroik J, Veliz P (2016). The Influence of Pay-To-Play Fees on Participation in Interscholastic Sports: A School-Level Analysis of Michigan's Public Schools. Journal of Physical Activity and Health 13(12):1317-1324.", "doi": "10.1123/jpah.2016-0099", "url": null }, { "ref": "C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health (2019). Pay-to-Participate: Impact on School Activities. March 18, 2019.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.mottpoll.org/sites/default/files/documents/031819_PayToParticipate.pdf" }, { "ref": "Farb AF, Matjasko JL (2012). Recent advances in research on school-based extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Developmental Review 32(1):1-48.", "doi": "10.1016/j.dr.2011.10.001", "url": null } ], "clause": "123 Interscholastic Athletics\n\nGuidelines\n\nNo student shall be denied participation in any school-sponsored athletic, arts, club or other extracurricular activity because of inability to pay a fee, purchase equipment or uniforms, or pay for travel. Any participation fee shall be waived automatically for every student eligible for free or reduced-price meals, every student in foster care or experiencing homelessness, and any other student whose parent or guardian signs a statement of hardship. No separate application shall be required, and waiver status shall not be visible to other students. Each school shall offer at least one no-fee activity option in each of athletics, arts and academic clubs. Each elementary school shall provide at least 60 minutes per week of visual art instruction and 60 minutes per week of music instruction taught by a certified arts teacher. The Superintendent shall report to the Board by November 1 each year the share of students in each school participating in at least one activity, disaggregated by free and reduced-price lunch status, race and grade; the number and value of waivers granted; the fee schedule for every activity; and any activity discontinued in the prior year with the enrollment it had. The Board shall review the fee schedule annually and shall not raise any fee without a public hearing.", "clause_source": "written" }, "grade-retention": { "domain": "grade-retention", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 215 Promotion and Retention", "receipt": "[4] \n\nDelegation of Responsibility \n\nThe Superintendent shall develop procedures for promotion and retention of students which assure that every effort will be made to remediate the student's difficulties before s/he is retained.", "section": "215 Promotion and Retention", "finding": "Regression discontinuity studies of test-based third-grade retention paired with intensive reading intervention (Florida, Indiana, Mississippi) show large short-run reading gains, with Indiana and Mississippi gains persisting into middle school. Long-run evidence is split: Florida retainees reached high school with higher GPAs and less remediation and no graduation penalty, while a 2026 Texas study finds retained third graders were 9 points less likely to graduate and earned 19 percent less at 26, and retention in later grades (Chicago grade 8, Louisiana grade 8) raises dropout and juvenile crime.", "standard": "The policy shall prohibit retention as a stand-alone response, shall require that any retention in grades K-3 be preceded by documented intervention and followed by a written individual reading plan with a different and more intensive program, shall provide good-cause exemptions, and shall prohibit retention in grades 6 through 8 as a consequence of test scores alone.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Schwerdt G, West MR, Winters MA (2017). The effects of test-based retention on student outcomes over time: Regression discontinuity evidence from Florida. Journal of Public Economics 152:154-169.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.06.004", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.06.004" }, { "ref": "Hwang NY, Koedel C (2023). Helping or hurting: The effects of retention in the third grade on student outcomes. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 47(1):65-88.", "doi": "10.3102/01623737231197639", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737231197639" }, { "ref": "Slungaard Mumma K, Winters MA (2023). The Effect of Retention Under Mississippi's Test-Based Promotion Policy. Working paper, Wheelock Educational Policy Center, Boston University.", "doi": null, "url": "https://wheelockpolicycenter.org/high-quality-education/ms-read-by-grade-three/" }, { "ref": "Zhong J (2026). Early grade retention harms adult earnings. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 18(4):276-308.", "doi": "10.1257/app.20230121", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20230121" }, { "ref": "Jacob BA, Lefgren L (2009). The effect of grade retention on high school completion. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 1(3):33-58.", "doi": "10.1257/app.1.3.33", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1257/app.1.3.33" }, { "ref": "Eren O, Depew B, Barnes S (2017). Test-based promotion policies, dropping out, and juvenile crime. Journal of Public Economics 153:9-31.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.07.002", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.07.002" }, { "ref": "Ozek U (2015). Hold back to move forward? Early grade retention and student misbehavior. Education Finance and Policy 10(3):350-377.", "doi": "10.1162/EDFP_a_00166", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1162/EDFP_a_00166" }, { "ref": "Figlio D, Ozek U (2020). An extra year to learn English? Early grade retention and the human capital development of English learners. Journal of Public Economics 186:104184.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104184", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104184" }, { "ref": "Allen CS, Chen Q, Willson VL, Hughes JN (2009). Quality of research design moderates effects of grade retention on achievement: A meta-analytic, multilevel analysis. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 31(4):480-499.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373709352239", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373709352239" }, { "ref": "Jimerson SR (2001). Meta-analysis of grade retention research: Implications for practice in the 21st century. School Psychology Review 30(3):420-437.", "doi": "10.1080/02796015.2001.12086124", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2001.12086124" }, { "ref": "Winters MA (2022). The cost of retention under a test-based promotion policy for taxpayers and students. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 45(4):688-695.", "doi": "10.3102/01623737221138041", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737221138041" } ], "clause": "No. 215 Promotion and Retention\n\nNo student shall be retained in grade solely on the basis of a single test score, and no student shall be retained more than once in grades K-3. Before a student in grades K-3 is retained, the principal shall document that the student received at least one semester of evidence-based intervention beyond core instruction, that the parent or guardian was notified in writing of the risk of retention at least 90 school days before the end of the year, and that a good-cause exemption review was completed for students with disabilities, English learners with fewer than two years of instruction, and students already retained. Every retained student shall receive a written individual reading plan, prepared by the principal and the reading specialist before the first day of the repeated year, that assigns a different core program or a highly rated teacher, at least 90 minutes of daily reading instruction, and progress monitoring every two weeks. Students in grades 6 through 8 shall not be retained on the basis of test scores. The Superintendent shall report to the Board each September the number of students retained the prior year by grade, school, race, disability and English learner status, the share with a completed intervention record, and the reading proficiency and attendance of students retained two years earlier.", "clause_source": "written" }, "lockdown-and-active-shooter-drills": { "domain": "lockdown-and-active-shooter-drills", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (safety)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "Announced, procedure-only lockdown drills paired with training raise students' and staff's sense of preparedness and correct execution (classroom procedural accuracy up 27 percentage points after training) without raising measured anxiety, and students in one district reported less fear and lower perceived risk after drills. High-intensity simulations with actors, gunfire or deception are a different intervention: a 114-school interrupted time series of 54 million social media posts found anxiety and stress up 42 percent and depression up 39 percent after active shooter drills, and the American Academy of Pediatrics calls for ending children's participation in high-intensity drills and prohibiting deception.", "standard": "The policy shall require lockdown drills to be announced in advance to staff, students and families, to teach the procedure without simulated gunfire, actors, props or deception, to be developmentally adjusted and accommodate students with disabilities and trauma histories, to include a debrief, and to be observed and reported annually; student participation in any high-intensity simulation shall be prohibited.", "citations": [ { "ref": "ElSherief M, Saha K, Gupta P, Mishra S, Seybolt J, Xie J, O'Toole M, Burd-Sharps S, De Choudhury M (2021). Impacts of school shooter drills on the psychological well-being of American K-12 school communities: a social media study. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 8:315.", "doi": "10.1057/s41599-021-00993-6", "url": null }, { "ref": "Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association (2020, updated 2024). The Impact of Active Shooter Drills in Schools.", "doi": null, "url": "https://everytownresearch.org/report/the-impact-of-active-shooter-drills-in-schools/" }, { "ref": "Schildkraut J, Nickerson AB (2020). Ready to respond: effects of lockdown drills and training on school emergency preparedness. Victims and Offenders 15(5):619-638.", "doi": "10.1080/15564886.2020.1749199", "url": null }, { "ref": "Schildkraut J, Nickerson AB (2022). Effects of lockdown drills on students' fear, perceived risk, and use of avoidance behaviors: a quasi-experimental study. Criminal Justice Policy Review 33(8):787-813.", "doi": "10.1177/08874034221089867", "url": null }, { "ref": "Nickerson AB, Schildkraut J (2021). State anxiety prior to and after participating in lockdown drills among students in a rural high school. School Psychology Review 53(6):619-631.", "doi": "10.1080/2372966X.2021.1875790", "url": null }, { "ref": "Schildkraut J, Nickerson AB, Ristoff T (2020). Locks, lights, out of sight: assessing students' perceptions of emergency preparedness across multiple lockdown drills. Journal of School Violence 19(1):93-106.", "doi": "10.1080/15388220.2019.1703720", "url": null }, { "ref": "Schildkraut J, Greene-Colozzi E, Nickerson AB, Florczykowski A (2023). Can school lockdowns save lives? An assessment of drills and use in real-world events. Journal of School Violence 22(2):167-182.", "doi": "10.1080/15388220.2022.2162533", "url": null }, { "ref": "Zhe EJ, Nickerson AB (2007). Effects of an intruder crisis drill on children's knowledge, anxiety, and perceptions of school safety. School Psychology Review 36(3):501-508.", "doi": "10.1080/02796015.2007.12087936", "url": null }, { "ref": "Dickson MJ, Vargo KK (2017). Training kindergarten students lockdown drill procedures using behavioral skills training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 50(2):407-412.", "doi": "10.1002/jaba.369", "url": null }, { "ref": "Huskey MG, Connell NM (2021). Preparation or provocation? Student perceptions of active shooter drills. Criminal Justice Policy Review 32(1):3-26.", "doi": "10.1177/0887403419900316", "url": null }, { "ref": "Moore-Petinak N, Waselewski M, Patterson BA, Chang T (2020). Active shooter drills in the United States: a national study of youth experiences and perceptions. Journal of Adolescent Health 67(4):509-513.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.06.015", "url": null }, { "ref": "Schonfeld DJ, Rossen E, Woodard D, et al., American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention and Council on School Health (2020). Participation of children and adolescents in live crisis drills and exercises. Pediatrics 146(3):e2020015503.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2020-015503", "url": null }, { "ref": "National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of School Resource Officers, Safe and Sound Schools (2021). Best Practice Considerations for Armed Assailant Drills in Schools.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-safety-and-crisis/systems-level-prevention/best-practice-guidance-for-school-safety-and-lockdown-drills" } ], "clause": "No. ___ SECTION: OPERATIONS TITLE: LOCKDOWN DRILLS\n\nEach school in the district shall conduct lockdown drills at the frequency required by state law. Every drill shall be announced to staff, students and families at least one school day in advance and again immediately before it begins, and shall practice the lockdown procedure only. No drill in which students participate shall use simulated gunfire, weapons, actors posing as attackers, theatrical injuries, or any statement that the event is real. Students with disabilities, students with known trauma histories, and students in pre-kindergarten through grade 2 shall receive accommodations set in advance by the school counselor and the building administrator. A parent may excuse a student from any drill. Each drill shall be observed by an administrator using a procedural checklist and shall be followed by a classroom debrief the same day. The Director of Safety shall report to the Board by June 30 of each year the number, type and date of drills held in each school, procedural accuracy results, counseling contacts in the week following each drill, and the drill-related items from the annual climate survey.", "clause_source": "written" }, "math-acceleration-and-tracking": { "domain": "math-acceleration-and-tracking", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (academics and access)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "The evidence favors objective, transparent placement into accelerated math with instructional support, and cuts against both extremes. Placing moderately prepared students into Algebra I in eighth grade without extra support lowered their pass rates and later math course completion in North Carolina and reduced tenth grade math scores in California's push for algebra for all; placing students by an objective prior-achievement rule in Wake County removed race and income from placement decisions, and a randomized Dee and Huffaker study found that putting below-grade-level ninth graders into Algebra I with teacher training raised grade 11 math achievement by up to 0.2 SD. Delaying algebra for everyone, as San Francisco did, cut AP math participation 15 percent at first and left ethnoracial gaps unchanged.", "standard": "Math placement shall use published objective criteria from multiple measures, place every student who meets them in the accelerated course with parent opt-out, provide a supported path (double period, tutoring, or summer bridge) for students near the cutoff, and never bar a readiness-qualified student from Algebra I in eighth grade.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Dougherty SM, Goodman JS, Hill DV, Litke EG, Page LC (2015). Middle School Math Acceleration and Equitable Access to Eighth-Grade Algebra: Evidence From the Wake County Public School System. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 37(1S):80S-101S.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373715576076", "url": null }, { "ref": "Dougherty SM, Goodman JS, Hill DV, Litke EG, Page LC (2017). Objective course placement and college readiness: Evidence from targeted middle school math acceleration. Economics of Education Review 58:141-161.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.04.002", "url": null }, { "ref": "Clotfelter CT, Ladd HF, Vigdor JL (2015). The Aftermath of Accelerating Algebra: Evidence from District Policy Initiatives. Journal of Human Resources 50(1):159-188.", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.50.1.159", "url": null }, { "ref": "Domina T, McEachin A, Penner A, Penner E (2015). Aiming High and Falling Short: California's Eighth-Grade Algebra-for-All Effort. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 37(3):275-295.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373714543685", "url": null }, { "ref": "Allensworth E, Nomi T, Montgomery N, Lee VE (2009). College Preparatory Curriculum for All: Academic Consequences of Requiring Algebra and English I for Ninth Graders in Chicago. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 31(4):367-391.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373709343471", "url": null }, { "ref": "Cortes KE, Goodman JS, Nomi T (2015). Intensive Math Instruction and Educational Attainment: Long-Run Impacts of Double-Dose Algebra. Journal of Human Resources 50(1):108-158.", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.50.1.108", "url": null }, { "ref": "Dee TS, Huffaker E (2026). Accelerating Opportunity: The Effects of Instructionally Supported Detracking. American Educational Research Journal 63(2):307-350.", "doi": "10.3102/00028312251408539", "url": null }, { "ref": "Huffaker E, Novicoff S, Dee TS (2025). Ahead of the Game? Course-Taking Patterns Under a Math Pathways Reform. Educational Researcher 54(2):91-102.", "doi": "10.3102/0013189x241309642", "url": null }, { "ref": "Card D, Giuliano L (2016). Can Tracking Raise the Test Scores of High-Ability Minority Students? American Economic Review 106(10):2783-2816.", "doi": "10.1257/aer.20150484", "url": null } ], "clause": "No. ___ SECTION: PROGRAMS TITLE: MATHEMATICS PLACEMENT AND ACCELERATION\n\nThe Superintendent shall publish, by March 1 each year, the objective criteria used to place students in accelerated mathematics in grades 6 through 9. Criteria shall rely on at least two measures of prior achievement, including the most recent state assessment, and shall not rely on teacher recommendation alone. Every student who meets the criteria shall be placed in the accelerated course for the following year unless a parent or guardian opts out in writing after written notice of eligibility. The district shall offer Algebra I in grade 8 at every middle school and shall provide a supported placement, such as a double period, scheduled tutoring, or summer bridge, for students within one standard error of the cutoff and for any student placed in Algebra I below grade level. Students shall be reassessed for placement at least once each school year, and no placement decision made in grade 6 shall limit course access in later grades. The Superintendent shall report to the Board by October 15 each year on placement rates by school and student group, the share of eighth graders completing Algebra I with a passing end-of-course score, Algebra I repeat rates, and the share of graduates completing calculus or statistics, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, income, English learner status, and disability status.", "clause_source": "written" }, "one-to-one-devices-and-edtech": { "domain": "one-to-one-devices-and-edtech", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 109 Resource/Supplementary Materials", "receipt": "Ensure that the Board's budgetary allotment for resource materials is efficiently spent and wisely distributed throughout the instructional program.", "section": "109 Resource/Supplementary Materials", "finding": "Giving every student a device does not by itself raise achievement: the large randomized One Laptop per Child trial and the Swedish 1:1 rollout found no effect on test scores, and the Swedish study found losses for children of less-educated parents. Gains appear only where the device carries targeted software (computer-assisted learning, especially in math) and teachers get sustained support; the one positive US district study (Mooresville) found no short-run effect and +0.13 SD in math after several years alongside changed teaching practice.", "standard": "The district shall not purchase or renew a 1:1 device program or instructional software above a set dollar threshold without a written evidence review, a named instructional purpose, a teacher training plan and a usage-and-outcome report to the board each year, and shall retire products whose usage or results do not meet the stated purpose.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Zheng B, Warschauer M, Lin CH, Chang C (2016). Learning in One-to-One Laptop Environments: A Meta-Analysis and Research Synthesis. Review of Educational Research 86(4):1052-1084.", "doi": "10.3102/0034654316628645", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hull M, Duch K (2019). One-to-One Technology and Student Outcomes: Evidence From Mooresville's Digital Conversion Initiative. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 41(1):79-97.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373718799969", "url": null }, { "ref": "Escueta M, Nickow AJ, Oreopoulos P, Quan V (2020). Upgrading Education with Technology: Insights from Experimental Research. Journal of Economic Literature 58(4):897-996.", "doi": "10.1257/jel.20191507", "url": null }, { "ref": "Cristia J, Ibarraran P, Cueto S, Santiago A, Severin E (2017). Technology and Child Development: Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 9(3):295-320.", "doi": "10.1257/app.20150385", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hall C, Lundin M, Sibbmark K (2021). A laptop for every child? The impact of technology on human capital formation. Labour Economics 69:101957.", "doi": "10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101957", "url": null } ], "clause": "109 Resource/Supplementary Materials\n\nBefore the district purchases or renews any student device program or any instructional software license with an annual cost above $25,000, the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, subject to the approval of the Superintendent, shall present to the Board a written review stating: (a) the instructional purpose and the grades and subjects served; (b) the best available evidence of effect on student outcomes, with citations; (c) the teacher training and technical support to be provided; and (d) the usage and outcome measures that shall decide renewal.\n\nThe Director of Technology shall report to the Board by February 1 and August 1 each year, for every licensed product, the share of licensed students active in the prior semester, the median minutes of use per active student, and the total cost per active student.\n\nThe Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment shall report to the Board by October 1 each year the achievement of exposed cohorts against the pre-adoption baseline, disaggregated by subgroup.\n\nAny product with fewer than fifty percent (50%) of licensed students active in two consecutive semesters shall not be renewed without a vote of the Board.\n\nDevices shall be configured so that instructional use, not device possession, is the measured outcome.", "clause_source": "written" }, "recess": { "domain": "recess", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (health and wellbeing)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "Daily recess is associated with better classroom behavior and attention: in a national sample of 11,000 third graders, children with at least one daily recess of 15 or more minutes had better teacher-rated class behavior, a within-subject experiment found fourth graders more on task and less fidgety on recess days, and a cluster-randomized trial of a structured-recess program (Playworks) in 27 to 29 schools reduced teacher-reported bullying and exclusion and cut transition time back to learning. The AAP and CDC state that recess is a necessary break and should not be withheld as punishment or to complete work.", "standard": "Every elementary student receives at least 20 minutes of daily supervised recess, scheduled separately from physical education and lunch, which no staff member may withhold as a disciplinary consequence or to complete academic work.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Council on School Health, American Academy of Pediatrics (2013). The crucial role of recess in school. Pediatrics 131(1):183-188.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2012-2993", "url": null }, { "ref": "Barros RM, Silver EJ, Stein REK (2009). School recess and group classroom behavior. Pediatrics 123(2):431-436.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2007-2825", "url": null }, { "ref": "Jarrett OS, Maxwell DM, Dickerson C, Hoge P, Davies G, Yetley A (1998). Impact of recess on classroom behavior: Group effects and individual differences. Journal of Educational Research 92(2):121-126.", "doi": "10.1080/00220679809597584", "url": null }, { "ref": "Beyler N, Bleeker M, James-Burdumy S, Fortson J, Benjamin M (2014). The impact of Playworks on students' physical activity during recess: Findings from a randomized controlled trial. Preventive Medicine 69(Suppl 1):S20-S26.", "doi": "10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.10.011", "url": null }, { "ref": "Fortson J, James-Burdumy S, Bleeker M, Beyler N, London RA, Westrich L, Stokes-Guinan K, Castrechini S (2013). Impact and implementation findings from an experimental evaluation of Playworks: Effects on school climate, academic learning, student social skills and behavior. Mathematica Policy Research and John W. Gardner Center, Stanford University.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.playworks.org/report/impact-and-implementation-findings-from-an-experimental-evaluation-of-playworks/" }, { "ref": "London RA, Westrich L, Stokes-Guinan K, McLaughlin M (2015). Playing fair: The contribution of high-functioning recess to overall school climate in low-income elementary schools. Journal of School Health 85(1):53-60.", "doi": "10.1111/josh.12216", "url": null }, { "ref": "Rhea DJ, Rivchun AP (2018). The LiiNK Project: Effects of multiple recesses and character curriculum on classroom behaviors and listening skills in grades K-2 children. Frontiers in Education 3:9.", "doi": "10.3389/feduc.2018.00009", "url": null }, { "ref": "Massey WV, Thalken J, Szarabajko A, Neilson L, Geldhof J (2021). Recess quality and social and behavioral health in elementary school students. Journal of School Health 91(9):730-740.", "doi": "10.1111/josh.13065", "url": null }, { "ref": "Brez C, Sheets V (2017). Classroom benefits of recess. Learning Environments Research 20(3):433-445.", "doi": "10.1007/s10984-017-9237-x", "url": null }, { "ref": "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and SHAPE America (2017). Strategies for recess in schools. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services.", "doi": null, "url": "https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/43773" } ], "clause": "No. ___ SECTION: 200 PUPILS TITLE: ELEMENTARY RECESS\n\nThe Board recognizes that daily recess supports the health and learning of elementary students. Every student in kindergarten through grade 5 shall receive at least twenty (20) minutes of supervised, unstructured recess each school day. Recess shall be held outdoors when weather permits and shall be scheduled in addition to physical education and separate from the seated lunch period.\n\nRecess shall not be withheld, shortened or assigned as a consequence for behavior, incomplete work, tardiness or missed assignments. No staff member shall require a student to complete academic work during recess.\n\nA student may be removed from recess only for an immediate safety risk. Any such removal shall be recorded in the student information system the same day, with the reason for the removal.\n\nEach building principal shall certify the building recess schedule to the Superintendent by September 15 of each year.\n\nThe Superintendent shall report to the Board by November 1 of each year the daily recess minutes for each elementary building, the number of recorded recess removals by building and reason, and the correction plan for any building providing fewer than twenty (20) minutes of daily recess.", "clause_source": "written" }, "rigor-access": { "domain": "rigor-access", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (academics and access)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "When districts automatically place every student who meets an objective readiness threshold into the next advanced course, with parent opt-out instead of opt-in, advanced course enrollment rises and gaps by race and income narrow without lowering grades or graduation; Washington's Academic Acceleration policies raised the chance of taking any advanced course by about 5 percent district-wide and more among proficient students who had been passed over. Effects on later college enrollment and persistence from the high school version of the policy are null so far.", "standard": "The policy shall name an objective readiness threshold, require automatic enrollment of every student who meets it in the next most rigorous course offered, allow only written parent opt-out, and require annual public reporting of participation and success by student group.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Austin M, Backes B, Goldhaber D, Li D, Streich F (2025). Leveling Up: An Academic Acceleration Policy to Increase Equity in Advanced High School Course Taking. American Educational Research Journal 62(1):136-179.", "doi": "10.3102/00028312241282793", "url": null }, { "ref": "Austin M, Mbekeani P, Backes B, Chen B, Goldhaber D (2026). High School Academic Acceleration and Early Postsecondary Outcomes: Evidence from Washington State. CALDER Working Paper 341-0826.", "doi": null, "url": "https://caldercenter.org/sites/default/files/2026-08/CALDER-WP-341-0826.pdf" }, { "ref": "Dougherty SM, Goodman JS, Hill DV, Litke EG, Page LC (2015). Middle School Math Acceleration and Equitable Access to Eighth-Grade Algebra: Evidence From the Wake County Public School System. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 37(1S):80S-101S.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373715576076", "url": null }, { "ref": "Dougherty SM, Goodman JS, Hill DV, Litke EG, Page LC (2017). Objective course placement and college readiness: Evidence from targeted middle school math acceleration. Economics of Education Review 58:141-161.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.04.002", "url": null }, { "ref": "Card D, Giuliano L (2016). Universal screening increases the representation of low-income and minority students in gifted education. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113(48):13678-13683.", "doi": "10.1073/pnas.1605043113", "url": null }, { "ref": "Smith J, Hurwitz M, Avery C (2017). Giving College Credit Where It Is Due: Advanced Placement Exam Scores and College Outcomes. Journal of Labor Economics 35(1):67-147.", "doi": "10.1086/687568", "url": null }, { "ref": "Jackson CK (2014). Do College-Preparatory Programs Improve Long-Term Outcomes? Economic Inquiry 52(1):72-99.", "doi": "10.1111/ecin.12040", "url": null }, { "ref": "Xu D, Solanki S, Fink J (2021). College Acceleration for All? Mapping Racial Gaps in Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment Participation. American Educational Research Journal 58(5):954-992.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831221991138", "url": null } ], "clause": "No. ___ SECTION: PROGRAMS TITLE: AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT IN ADVANCED COURSEWORK\n\nEach student who meets or exceeds the state standard on the most recent state assessment in English language arts, mathematics, or science, or who earns a grade of B or higher in the prerequisite course, shall be enrolled in the next most rigorous level of coursework offered by the district in that subject, including honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and dual-credit courses, for the following term. Enrollment shall not depend on a teacher recommendation, application, or test fee. A student shall be placed in an alternative course only when a parent or guardian submits a written opt-out after receiving written notice of the student's eligibility. Building principals shall provide the notice by June 1 for the following school year. The Superintendent shall report to the Board by October 15 each year the number of eligible students, the number enrolled, the number opted out, and advanced course completion and exam pass rates, each disaggregated by school, race, ethnicity, income, English learner status, and disability status, and shall publish the report on the district website.", "clause_source": "written" }, "special-education-inclusion": { "domain": "special-education-inclusion", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 113 Special Education", "receipt": "Guidelines \n\nThe program to which each student with a disability is assigned shall be one that provides an appropriate education, seeks to assure success in learning, and offers the least restrictive environment, in accordance with federal and state regulations.", "section": "113 Special Education", "finding": "Receiving special education services causally raises achievement and attainment for students with disabilities (Texas: removing services lowered high school completion and college enrollment; NYC and Texas: entering special education raised test scores by roughly 0.1 SD), and large correlational and meta-analytic literatures find that students with disabilities who spend most of the day in general education classrooms do better academically with no detectable cost to their peers (d = 0.35 for students with general learning difficulties; peers d = 0.12 to null). Co-teaching shows a medium positive effect in a 2021 meta-analysis. The causal evidence on placement itself, as opposed to services, is thin and contested, so the best-supported policy is a documented, data-driven least restrictive environment decision for each student rather than a placement quota in either direction.", "standard": "Every placement decision shall start from the general education classroom with supplementary aids and services, document in the IEP the specific reasons a more restrictive setting is required, and be reviewed against the student's academic and behavioral data at least annually; the district shall report placement and outcome data for students with disabilities by school each year.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Hehir, T., Grindal, T., Freeman, B., Lamoreau, R., Borquaye, Y., & Burke, S. (2016). A Summary of the Evidence on Inclusive Education. Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates, for Instituto Alana.", "doi": null, "url": "https://alana.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/A_Summary_of_the_evidence_on_inclusive_education.pdf" }, { "ref": "Cole, S. M., Murphy, H. R., Frisby, M. B., Grossi, T. A., & Bolte, H. R. (2020). The Relationship of Special Education Placement and Student Academic Outcomes. The Journal of Special Education 54(4):217-227.", "doi": "10.1177/0022466920925033", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466920925033" }, { "ref": "Gilmour, A. F. (2018). Has Inclusion Gone Too Far? Weighing Its Effects on Students With Disabilities, Their Peers, and Teachers. Education Next 18(4).", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.educationnext.org/has-inclusion-gone-too-far-weighing-effects-students-with-disabilities-peers-teachers/" }, { "ref": "Gilmour, A. F., Fuchs, D., & Wehby, J. H. (2019). Are Students With Disabilities Accessing the Curriculum? A Meta-Analysis of the Reading Achievement Gap Between Students With and Without Disabilities. Exceptional Children 85(3):329-346.", "doi": "10.1177/0014402918795830", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402918795830" }, { "ref": "Ballis, B., & Heath, K. (2021). The Long-Run Impacts of Special Education. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 13(4):72-111.", "doi": "10.1257/pol.20190603", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20190603" }, { "ref": "Schwartz, A. E., Hopkins, B. G., & Stiefel, L. (2021). The Effects of Special Education on the Academic Performance of Students with Learning Disabilities. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 40(2):480-520.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.22282", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22282" }, { "ref": "Hurwitz, S., Perry, B., Cohen, E. D., & Skiba, R. (2020). Special Education and Individualized Academic Growth: A Longitudinal Assessment of Outcomes for Students With Disabilities. American Educational Research Journal 57(2):576-611.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831219857054", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219857054" }, { "ref": "Hanushek, E. A., Kain, J. F., & Rivkin, S. G. (2002). Inferring Program Effects for Special Populations: Does Special Education Raise Achievement for Students with Disabilities? Review of Economics and Statistics 84(4):584-599.", "doi": "10.1162/003465302760556431", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1162/003465302760556431" }, { "ref": "Krämer, S., Möller, J., & Zimmermann, F. (2021). Inclusive Education of Students With General Learning Difficulties: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research 91(3):432-478.", "doi": "10.3102/0034654321998072", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654321998072" }, { "ref": "Szumski, G., Smogorzewska, J., & Karwowski, M. (2017). Academic achievement of students without special educational needs in inclusive classrooms: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review 21:33-54.", "doi": "10.1016/j.edurev.2017.02.004", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.02.004" }, { "ref": "King-Sears, M. E., Stefanidis, A., Berkeley, S., & Strogilos, V. (2021). Does co-teaching improve academic achievement for students with disabilities? A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review 34:100405.", "doi": "10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100405", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100405" }, { "ref": "Solis, M., Vaughn, S., Swanson, E., & McCulley, L. (2012). Collaborative models of instruction: The empirical foundations of inclusion and co-teaching. Psychology in the Schools 49(5):498-510.", "doi": "10.1002/pits.21606", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21606" }, { "ref": "Theobald, R. J., Goldhaber, D. D., Gratz, T. M., & Holden, K. L. (2019). Career and Technical Education, Inclusion, and Postsecondary Outcomes for Students With Learning Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities 52(2):109-119.", "doi": "10.1177/0022219418775121", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219418775121" }, { "ref": "Gilmour, A. F., & Henry, G. T. (2018). A Comparison of Teacher Quality in Math for Late Elementary and Middle School Students With and Without Disabilities. The Elementary School Journal 118(3):426-451.", "doi": "10.1086/696140", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1086/696140" } ], "clause": "113 Special Education\n\nThe IEP team shall first consider placement in the general education classroom with supplementary aids, services and specially designed instruction, and shall document in the IEP the specific supports tried or considered and the data showing why the student cannot be educated satisfactorily in that setting before recommending any more restrictive placement. No student shall be placed in a separate class or school on the basis of disability category, availability of staff or administrative convenience. Each co-taught section shall be staffed by a general educator and a certified special educator for the full instructional period, with weekly common planning time scheduled by the building principal. The Director of Special Education shall review each placement in a setting of less than 40 percent general education at least annually against the student's progress data and shall report to the Board by November 1 of each year, by school, disability category, race and English learner status: educational environment percentages, state assessment achievement and growth, graduation and dropout rates, suspension rates, and the number of placement reviews that resulted in a less restrictive placement. The Superintendent shall ensure that every teacher assigned to a co-taught section receives at least 12 hours of training each year in specially designed instruction and co-teaching.", "clause_source": "written" }, "teacher-induction-and-mentoring": { "domain": "teacher-induction-and-mentoring", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (staffing and instruction)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "The one large randomized trial (Glazerman et al. 2010, 1,009 teachers in 17 districts) found that two years of comprehensive induction raised student achievement in the teachers' third year (+4 percentile points reading, +8 math; about 0.11 and 0.20 SD) but one year did not, and neither version changed retention. Nationally representative surveys and a field experiment on structured peer pairing find that first-year mentoring, common planning time and collaboration predict lower attrition and that pairing low-performing teachers with high-performing colleagues raised their students' achievement by about 0.12 SD.", "standard": "Every teacher in the first two years of service shall receive a trained mentor in the same subject or grade band with scheduled release time, weekly contact in year one, common planning time, and structured observation with feedback; the district shall track retention and mentor contact and report both annually.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Glazerman, S., Isenberg, E., Dolfin, S., Bleeker, M., Johnson, A., Grider, M., & Jacobus, M. (2010). Impacts of Comprehensive Teacher Induction: Final Results from a Randomized Controlled Study. NCEE 2010-4027. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences.", "doi": null, "url": "https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20104027/" }, { "ref": "Ingersoll, R. M., & Strong, M. (2011). The Impact of Induction and Mentoring Programs for Beginning Teachers: A Critical Review of the Research. Review of Educational Research 81(2):201-233.", "doi": "10.3102/0034654311403323", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311403323" }, { "ref": "Ronfeldt, M., & McQueen, K. (2017). Does New Teacher Induction Really Improve Retention? Journal of Teacher Education 68(4):394-410.", "doi": "10.1177/0022487117702583", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487117702583" }, { "ref": "Smith, T. M., & Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). What Are the Effects of Induction and Mentoring on Beginning Teacher Turnover? American Educational Research Journal 41(3):681-714.", "doi": "10.3102/00028312041003681", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312041003681" }, { "ref": "Rockoff, J. E. (2008). Does Mentoring Reduce Turnover and Improve Skills of New Employees? Evidence from Teachers in New York City. NBER Working Paper 13868.", "doi": "10.3386/w13868", "url": "https://www.nber.org/papers/w13868" }, { "ref": "Papay, J. P., Taylor, E. S., Tyler, J. H., & Laski, M. E. (2020). Learning Job Skills from Colleagues at Work: Evidence from a Field Experiment Using Teacher Performance Data. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 12(1):359-388.", "doi": "10.1257/pol.20170709", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20170709" }, { "ref": "Helms-Lorenz, M., van de Grift, W., & Maulana, R. (2016). Longitudinal effects of induction on teaching skills and attrition rates of beginning teachers. School Effectiveness and School Improvement 27(2):178-204.", "doi": "10.1080/09243453.2015.1035731", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2015.1035731" }, { "ref": "Carver-Thomas, D., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2017). Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.", "doi": "10.54300/454.278", "url": "https://doi.org/10.54300/454.278" } ], "clause": "No. ___ SECTION: EMPLOYEES TITLE: TEACHER INDUCTION PROGRAM\n\nThe Superintendent shall operate a two-year induction program for every teacher new to the profession and a one-year induction program for every teacher new to the district. Before the first student day, each inductee shall be assigned a mentor who holds certification in the same subject or grade band, has at least three years of effective ratings, and has completed district mentor training of no fewer than fifteen (15) hours. Mentors shall receive a stipend and at least two release periods per month for observation and feedback. Principals shall schedule common planning time for each inductee and mentor at least weekly in year one and twice monthly in year two. Mentors shall log contact hours monthly in the district system. The Director of Human Resources shall report to the Board by October 31 of each year the one-year, three-year and five-year retention of new hires by school and by induction participation, the mean mentor contact hours per inductee, the share of inductees assigned a same-subject mentor, and the results of the annual inductee survey. The Board shall review program funding against that report at its November meeting.", "clause_source": "written" }, "school-nurses-and-health-services": { "domain": "school-nurses-and-health-services", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (health and wellbeing)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "A full-time registered nurse in every school pays for itself: the Massachusetts cost-benefit study found $2.20 in avoided medical costs, teacher time and parent lost wages for every $1 spent. Schools that add a full-time nurse show lower illness absence, with the clearest gains for students with asthma (23 percent fewer days missed with a full-time versus part-time nurse in Toledo; fewer illness absences and emergency visits after San Jose added full-time nurses), but the attendance evidence is quasi-experimental, integrative reviews rate it weak, and no study shows a nurse effect on test scores.", "standard": "Every school building has a licensed registered nurse on site for the full instructional day, every day school is in session, with additional nursing staff assigned from an annual workload and acuity analysis; LPNs and unlicensed health aides work only under RN delegation and supervision.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Wang LY, Vernon-Smiley M, Gapinski MA, Desisto M, Maughan E, Sheetz A (2014). Cost-benefit study of school nursing services. JAMA Pediatrics 168(7):642-648.", "doi": "10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.5441", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.5441" }, { "ref": "Telljohann SK, Dake JA, Price JH (2004). Effect of full-time versus part-time school nurses on attendance of elementary students with asthma. Journal of School Nursing 20(6):331-334.", "doi": "10.1177/10598405040200060701", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405040200060701" }, { "ref": "Rodriguez E, Rivera DA, Perlroth D, Becker E, Wang NE, Landau M (2013). School nurses' role in asthma management, school absenteeism, and cost savings: A demonstration project. Journal of School Health 83(12):842-850.", "doi": "10.1111/josh.12102", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12102" }, { "ref": "Best NC, Oppewal S, Travers D (2018). Exploring school nurse interventions and health and education outcomes: An integrative review. Journal of School Nursing 34(1):14-27.", "doi": "10.1177/1059840517745359", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840517745359" }, { "ref": "Yoder CM (2020). School nurses and student academic outcomes: An integrative review. Journal of School Nursing 36(1):49-60.", "doi": "10.1177/1059840518824397", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840518824397" }, { "ref": "Leach SM, Hollands FM, Stone E, et al. (2022). Costs and effects of school-based licensed practical nurses on elementary student attendance and chronic absenteeism. Prevention Science 23(8):1414-1427.", "doi": "10.1007/s11121-022-01459-0", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01459-0" }, { "ref": "Harris K, Kneale D, Lasserson TJ, McDonald VM, Grigg J, Thomas J (2019). School-based self-management interventions for asthma in children and adolescents: A mixed methods systematic review. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 1:CD011651.", "doi": "10.1002/14651858.CD011651.pub2", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011651.pub2" }, { "ref": "Hill NJ, Hollis M (2012). Teacher time spent on student health issues and school nurse presence. Journal of School Nursing 28(3):181-186.", "doi": "10.1177/1059840511429684", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840511429684" }, { "ref": "Willgerodt MA, Tanner A, McCabe E, Jameson B, Brock D (2024). Public school nurses in the United States: National School Nurse Workforce Study 2.0. Journal of School Nursing 40(5):468-481.", "doi": "10.1177/10598405241253565", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405241253565" }, { "ref": "National Association of School Nurses (2025). Position statement: School nurse workload, essential staffing for safe and equitable student care. Journal of School Nursing 41(5):642-645.", "doi": "10.1177/10598405251360761", "url": "https://www.nasn.org/ps-workload" }, { "ref": "Council on School Health, American Academy of Pediatrics (2016). Role of the school nurse in providing school health services. Pediatrics 137(6):e20160852.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2016-0852", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-0852" } ], "clause": "No. ___ SCHOOL NURSE STAFFING\n\nAuthority\nThe district shall employ at least one full-time registered nurse assigned to each school building for the full instructional day on every day students are present.\n\nDelegation of Responsibility\nThe Coordinator of Health Services, who shall be a registered nurse, shall complete a workload and acuity analysis for each school building by June 30 of each year. The analysis shall be based on the student health conditions, medication and treatment orders, individualized healthcare plans and enrollment in that building. The Superintendent shall assign additional licensed nursing staff to any building where the analysis shows that a single nurse cannot provide safe care.\n\nLicensed practical nurses and health aides shall practice only under the delegation and supervision of a registered nurse.\n\nReporting\nThe Coordinator of Health Services shall report to the Board by October 15 of each year the nursing staff assigned to each building, the results of the workload and acuity analysis, the number of days each building lacked a registered nurse on site, and illness-related absence rates for students with chronic health conditions.", "clause_source": "written" }, "physical-education-minutes": { "domain": "physical-education-minutes", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 246 Wellness", "receipt": "Documented medical conditions and disabilities shall be accommodated during class. \n\n- Safe and adequate equipment, facilities and resources shall be provided for physical education courses. \n\n- Physical education shall be taught by certified health and physical education teachers. \n\n- Appropriate professional development shall be provided for physical education staff. \n\n- Physical education class", "section": "246 Wellness", "finding": "Meta-analyses of experimental studies find that physical activity delivered through physical education improves classroom behavior and academic outcomes, with the gains concentrated in programs that raise the quality and intensity of PE lessons (cognition g 0.38, academic performance g 0.15) rather than in simply adding minutes (academic g 0.09, not significant). Instrumental-variable estimates using state PE mandates show more PE time increases physical activity and lowers obesity among fifth-grade boys without crowding out test scores. SHAPE America's standard is 150 minutes per week in elementary and 225 in secondary school.", "standard": "Every student receives at least 150 minutes per week of PE in elementary and 225 minutes per week in secondary grades, taught by a certified physical educator, with no waivers for athletics or other courses and no PE time withheld as punishment.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Garcia-Hermoso A, Ramirez-Velez R, Lubans DR, Izquierdo M (2021). Effects of physical education interventions on cognition and academic performance outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine 55(21):1224-1232.", "doi": "10.1136/bjsports-2021-104112", "url": null }, { "ref": "Alvarez-Bueno C, Pesce C, Cavero-Redondo I, Sanchez-Lopez M, Garrido-Miguel M, Martinez-Vizcaino V (2017). Academic achievement and physical activity: A meta-analysis. Pediatrics 140(6):e20171498.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2017-1498", "url": null }, { "ref": "Singh AS, Saliasi E, van den Berg V, et al. (2019). Effects of physical activity interventions on cognitive and academic performance in children and adolescents: a novel combination of a systematic review and recommendations from an expert panel. British Journal of Sports Medicine 53(10):640-647.", "doi": "10.1136/bjsports-2017-098136", "url": null }, { "ref": "Donnelly JE, Hillman CH, Castelli D, et al. (2016). Physical activity, fitness, cognitive function, and academic achievement in children: A systematic review. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 48(6):1197-1222.", "doi": "10.1249/MSS.0000000000000901", "url": null }, { "ref": "Cawley J, Frisvold D, Meyerhoefer C (2013). The impact of physical education on obesity among elementary school children. Journal of Health Economics 32(4):743-755.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jhealeco.2013.04.006", "url": null }, { "ref": "Packham A, Street B (2019). The effects of physical education on student fitness, achievement, and behavior. Economics of Education Review 72:1-18.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.04.003", "url": null }, { "ref": "Cawley J, Meyerhoefer C, Newhouse D (2007). The impact of state physical education requirements on youth physical activity and overweight. Health Economics 16(12):1287-1301.", "doi": "10.1002/hec.1218", "url": null }, { "ref": "Lonsdale C, Rosenkranz RR, Peralta LR, Bennie A, Fahey P, Lubans DR (2013). A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions designed to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school physical education lessons. Preventive Medicine 56(2):152-161.", "doi": "10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.12.004", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hollis JL, Williams AJ, Sutherland R, et al. (2016). A systematic review and meta-analysis of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels in elementary school physical education lessons. Preventive Medicine 86:34-54.", "doi": "10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.11.018", "url": null }, { "ref": "SHAPE America (2015). The essential components of physical education. Reston, VA: SHAPE America.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.shapeamerica.org/upload/TheEssentialComponentsOfPhysicalEducation.pdf" } ], "clause": "No. 246 Wellness, Guidelines: Physical Education\n\nThe district shall provide every student in kindergarten through grade 5 at least 150 minutes per week of physical education, and every student in grades 6 through 12 at least 225 minutes per week. Physical education shall be taught by a teacher certified in physical education and shall be designed so that at least half of each class period is spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Recess, athletics, marching band, JROTC and online courses shall not substitute for physical education. Physical education shall not be withheld from a student or assigned as a disciplinary consequence. Elementary students shall additionally receive daily recess in accordance with the Board's policy on recess.\n\nThe Director of Curriculum shall certify each building's physical education minutes by grade and the certification status of each physical education teacher to the Superintendent by September 30 of each year. The Superintendent shall report these figures, the results of at least one observed-activity sample per building, and a dated correction plan for any shortfall to the Board by December 1 of each year.", "clause_source": "written" }, "restraint-and-seclusion": { "domain": "restraint-and-seclusion", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (discipline and climate)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "No outcome study shows that restraint or seclusion improves behavior or learning; the GAO found hundreds of allegations of abuse and death linked to their use in schools between 1990 and 2009, with untrained staff and non-aggressive children with disabilities as the recurring pattern. In 2021-22 about 105,700 students were restrained or secluded, and students served under IDEA were 14 percent of enrollment but 76 percent of those physically restrained and 68 percent of those secluded. A systematic review of 15 studies finds that school-wide prevention approaches reduce the frequency of restraint, but none is an RCT.", "standard": "Seclusion, mechanical restraint, chemical restraint and any restraint that restricts breathing are prohibited; physical restraint is limited to imminent danger of serious physical harm, performed by trained staff, with same-day parent notice, a written incident report, a debrief, a behavior-plan review after repeated use, and quarterly public reporting.", "citations": [ { "ref": "US Government Accountability Office (2009). Seclusions and Restraints: Selected Cases of Death and Abuse at Public and Private Schools and Treatment Centers. GAO-09-719T, May 19, 2009.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-09-719t" }, { "ref": "US Government Accountability Office (2019). K-12 Education: Education Should Take Immediate Action to Address Inaccuracies in Federal Restraint and Seclusion Data. GAO-19-551R, June 18, 2019.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-551r" }, { "ref": "US Government Accountability Office (2020). K-12 Education: Education Needs to Address Significant Quality Issues with its Restraint and Seclusion Data. GAO-20-345, April 21, 2020.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-20-345" }, { "ref": "US Department of Education (2012). Restraint and Seclusion: Resource Document. Washington, DC, May 15, 2012.", "doi": null, "url": "https://sites.ed.gov/idea/idea-files/restraint-and-seclusion-resource-document/" }, { "ref": "US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (2025). 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection: A First Look.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.ed.gov/media/document/2021-22-crdc-first-look-report-109194.pdf" }, { "ref": "Gage NA, Pico DL, Evanovich L (2022). National trends and school-level predictors of restraint and seclusion for students with disabilities. Exceptionality 30(1):1-13.", "doi": "10.1080/09362835.2020.1727327", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hodgkiss B, Harding E (2023). Reducing physical restraint in educational settings: a systematic literature review. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs 23(4):265-277.", "doi": "10.1111/1471-3802.12598", "url": null }, { "ref": "Trader B, Stonemeier J, Berg T, et al. (2017). Promoting inclusion through evidence-based alternatives to restraint and seclusion. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities 42(2):75-88.", "doi": "10.1177/1540796917698830", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kern L, George HP, Evanovich LL, Hodnett JM, Freeman J (2024). A review of U.S. policy guidance and legislation on restraint and seclusion in schools: considerations for improvement. Exceptional Children 90(4):382-397.", "doi": "10.1177/00144029241247032", "url": null }, { "ref": "Mohr WK, Petti TA, Mohr BD (2003). Adverse effects associated with physical restraint. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 48(5):330-337.", "doi": "10.1177/070674370304800509", "url": null }, { "ref": "Scheuermann B, Peterson R, Ryan JB, Billingsley G (2016). Professional practice and ethical issues related to physical restraint and seclusion in schools. Journal of Disability Policy Studies 27(2):86-95.", "doi": "10.1177/1044207315604366", "url": null } ], "clause": "No. ___ Restraint and Seclusion\n\nSeclusion, meaning involuntarily confining a student alone in a space the student cannot leave, and mechanical, chemical, prone and supine restraint, and any hold restricting breathing or pressing on the neck, chest or back, shall be prohibited. Physical restraint shall be used only when a student's behavior poses imminent danger of serious physical harm to the student or others, only by staff holding current Board-approved crisis intervention certification, and only while the danger persists, never as punishment or consequence, for property damage alone or noncompliance. Restraining staff shall notify the principal before the school day ends; the principal shall notify the parent or guardian verbally that day and in writing within one school day. Within two school days a written incident report covering behavior, hold, duration, staff involved, any injury and parent notification shall be filed in the student's record, and the principal shall debrief those staff. After a second restraint in a school year, the student's IEP, Section 504 or behavior support team shall meet within ten school days to revise the behavior intervention plan. The Superintendent shall report quarterly to the Board and publish on the district website by September 30, for the prior school year, restraints by building, disability status, race and sex, injuries, and the Civil Rights Data Collection submission.", "clause_source": "written" }, "water-and-lead": { "domain": "water-and-lead", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (health and wellbeing)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "Lead harms learning at every measured level: in Rhode Island, each 1 ug/dL lower average preschool blood lead cut the chance of scoring substantially below proficient in third-grade reading by about 1 percentage point on a 12 percent base, Swedish and North Carolina natural experiments find the same for school grades, crime and suspensions, and Flint's water crisis lowered math achievement and raised special education classification district-wide. Lead in school water is common: in seven state testing programs 13 to 81 percent of tested schools had at least one outlet above 5 ppb, and 37 percent of US districts that tested found elevated lead, but no study links school-water lead itself to achievement, so testing policy rests on the blood-lead evidence plus prevalence data.", "standard": "Every outlet used for drinking or cooking in every building is tested for lead with first-draw samples at least every 3 years and after any plumbing work, any outlet above 5 ppb is taken out of service within 24 hours until fixed or replaced, results are posted publicly within 30 days, and every building has filtered drinking stations.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Aizer A, Currie J, Simon P, Vivier P (2018). Do low levels of blood lead reduce children's future test scores? American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 10(1):307-341.", "doi": "10.1257/app.20160404", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20160404" }, { "ref": "Aizer A, Currie J (2019). Lead and juvenile delinquency: New evidence from linked birth, school, and juvenile detention records. Review of Economics and Statistics 101(4):575-587.", "doi": "10.1162/rest_a_00814", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_00814" }, { "ref": "Gronqvist H, Nilsson JP, Robling PO (2020). Understanding how low levels of early lead exposure affect children's life trajectories. Journal of Political Economy 128(9):3376-3433.", "doi": "10.1086/708725", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1086/708725" }, { "ref": "Billings SB, Schnepel KT (2018). Life after lead: Effects of early interventions for children exposed to lead. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 10(3):315-344.", "doi": "10.1257/app.20160056", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20160056" }, { "ref": "Sorensen LC, Fox AM, Jung H, Martin EG (2019). Lead exposure and academic achievement: Evidence from childhood lead poisoning prevention efforts. Journal of Population Economics 32(1):179-218.", "doi": "10.1007/s00148-018-0707-y", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-018-0707-y" }, { "ref": "Lanphear BP, Hornung R, Khoury J, et al. (2005). Low-level environmental lead exposure and children's intellectual function: An international pooled analysis. Environmental Health Perspectives 113(7):894-899.", "doi": "10.1289/ehp.7688", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7688" }, { "ref": "Reyes JW (2015). Lead exposure and behavior: Effects on antisocial and risky behavior among children and adolescents. Economic Inquiry 53(3):1580-1605.", "doi": "10.1111/ecin.12202", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12202" }, { "ref": "Hanna-Attisha M, LaChance J, Sadler RC, Champney Schnepp A (2016). Elevated blood lead levels in children associated with the Flint drinking water crisis: A spatial analysis of risk and public health response. American Journal of Public Health 106(2):283-290.", "doi": "10.2105/AJPH.2015.303003", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303003" }, { "ref": "Trejo S, Yeomans-Maldonado G, Jacob B (2024). The effects of the Flint water crisis on the educational outcomes of school-age children. Science Advances 10(5):eadk4737.", "doi": "10.1126/sciadv.adk4737", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adk4737" }, { "ref": "Cradock AL, Barrett JL, Poole MK, Flax CN, Vollmer L, Hecht C (2022). Lead concentrations in US school drinking water: Testing programs, prevalence, and policy opportunities, 2016-2018. American Journal of Public Health 112(S7):S679-S689.", "doi": "10.2105/AJPH.2022.306961", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306961" }, { "ref": "Lambrinidou Y, Triantafyllidou S, Edwards M (2010). Failing our children: Lead in U.S. school drinking water. NEW SOLUTIONS 20(1):25-47.", "doi": "10.2190/NS.022010EOV", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2190/NS.022010EOV" }, { "ref": "Council on Environmental Health, American Academy of Pediatrics (2016). Prevention of childhood lead toxicity. Pediatrics 138(1):e20161493.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2016-1493", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1493" }, { "ref": "US Government Accountability Office (2018). K-12 Education: Lead testing of school drinking water would benefit from improved federal guidance. GAO-18-382.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-18-382" }, { "ref": "US Environmental Protection Agency. 3Ts for reducing lead in drinking water in schools and child care facilities (Training, Testing, Taking Action).", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/3ts-reducing-lead-drinking-water" } ], "clause": "No. 705.1 PROPERTY: Lead Testing of Drinking and Food Preparation Outlets\n\nThe Director of Facilities shall test every outlet used for drinking or food preparation in every district building for lead, using the sampling protocol in the EPA 3Ts guidance. The initial test of every outlet shall be completed by June 30, 2027. Each outlet shall be retested at least once every 3 years and within 90 days after any plumbing repair or replacement affecting it. Any outlet with a result at or above 5 parts per billion shall be removed from service within 24 hours of receipt of the result and shall not be returned to service until replacement or filtration and a follow-up sample below 5 parts per billion. The Director of Facilities shall post all results by outlet on the district website and notify families and staff of each building within 30 calendar days of receipt. The Director of Facilities shall install at least one filtered bottle-filling station certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead on every floor of every building, replace filters on the manufacturer's schedule, and log each replacement. The Director of Facilities shall report to the Board by September 30 of each year the outlets tested, the results, the outlets removed from service and their status, and the filter replacement log.", "clause_source": "written" }, "language-access-for-families": { "domain": "language-access-for-families", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (family and community)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "Federal civil rights law (Title VI, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act and Lau v. Nichols) requires districts to communicate with limited-English parents in a language they understand, and IDEA requires native-language notices and interpreters for special education. Nationally representative data show that immigrant parents report the most barriers to school involvement and that English ability predicts how involved they are; the largest communication RCT that improved attendance (131,312 students) delivered its notices in five languages, and a vendor-funded matched study of a translated two-way messaging platform reports attendance gains concentrated among English learner and Latino families.", "standard": "Policy identifies each family's preferred language at enrollment, translates all vital documents into every language spoken by 5 percent or 1,000 families (whichever is less) and provides free qualified interpretation on request for any language, prohibits reliance on children or untrained staff as interpreters, names a district language access coordinator, and reports delivery rates by language annually.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Turney K, Kao G (2009). Barriers to school involvement: are immigrant parents disadvantaged? Journal of Educational Research 102(4):257-271.", "doi": "10.3200/JOER.102.4.257-271", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3200/JOER.102.4.257-271" }, { "ref": "Kim Y (2009). Minority parental involvement and school barriers: moving the focus away from deficiencies of parents. Educational Research Review 4(2):80-102.", "doi": "10.1016/j.edurev.2009.02.003", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2009.02.003" }, { "ref": "Cheatham GA (2011). Language interpretation, parent participation, and young children with disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education 31(2):78-88.", "doi": "10.1177/0271121410377120", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121410377120" }, { "ref": "OECD (2017). PISA 2015 Results (Volume III): Students' Well-Being. OECD Publishing, Paris.", "doi": "10.1787/9789264273856-en", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264273856-en" }, { "ref": "Lasky-Fink J, Robinson CD, Chang HN, Rogers T (2021). Using behavioral insights to improve school administrative communications: the case of truancy notifications. Educational Researcher 50(7):442-450.", "doi": "10.3102/0013189X211000749", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X211000749" }, { "ref": "TalkingPoints (2025). Boosting attendance and reducing suspensions with TalkingPoints: a two-year quasi-experimental study in a large urban district.", "doi": null, "url": "https://talkingpts.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TalkingPoints-Attendance-Behavior-Improvement-Study-2025.pdf" }, { "ref": "Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974).", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/414/563" }, { "ref": "Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/2000d" }, { "ref": "Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. 1703(f).", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1703" }, { "ref": "Elementary and Secondary Education Act Section 1116(f), 20 U.S.C. 6318(f).", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/6318" }, { "ref": "34 CFR 300.503(c) and 300.322(e), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations on prior written notice and parent participation.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/300.503" }, { "ref": "US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and US Department of Justice (2015). Dear Colleague Letter: English learner students and limited English proficient parents. January 7, 2015. Rescinded August 2025 and retained online for historical purposes.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.colorincolorado.org/guide/dear-colleague-letter-english-learner-students-and-limited-english-proficient-parents-0172015" }, { "ref": "US Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General (2025). Memorandum: Implementation of Executive Order 14224, Designating English as the Official Language of the United States. July 14, 2025.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1407776/dl" } ], "clause": "No. ___ Language Access\n\nEach family's preferred written and spoken language shall be requested at enrollment, confirmed each August and recorded in the student information system. Limited-English parents shall receive free, timely, competent language assistance to participate meaningfully in their child's education. Vital documents, including enrollment forms, handbooks, conduct codes, discipline, attendance, special education, health and emergency notices, consent forms, report cards, progress reports and parent meeting notices, shall be translated into every language of at least 5 percent of families or 1,000 families, whichever is less, and, on request, any other language. A free qualified interpreter shall be provided for any meeting with a limited-English parent, including conferences, discipline hearings, IEP and Section 504 meetings, within five school days of request or sooner where a legal deadline applies, and remotely for unscheduled contacts. No child, nor staff without demonstrated proficiency, shall interpret except in an emergency to arrange one. Machine translation shall serve routine messages only, and vital documents only after proficient-speaker review. The Superintendent shall designate a language access coordinator, post the plan and translated document list on the district website, and report to the Board by October 31 annually: families by preferred language, delivery rates of required notices by language, interpreter requests and fulfillment times, conference and IEP participation of limited-English versus all families, and complaints.", "clause_source": "written" }, "grading-practices": { "domain": "grading-practices", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 213 Assessment of Student Progress", "receipt": "Definition \n\nGrading shall be that system of measuring and recording student progress and achievement which enables the student, parents/guardians and teachers to: learn the student's strengths and weaknesses; plan an educational and vocational future for the student in the areas of the greatest potential for success; and know where remedial work is required.", "section": "213 Assessment of Student Progress", "finding": "Grades measure a mix of academic mastery and behavior and vary widely from teacher to teacher. The causal evidence favors two things: higher grading standards raise learning (Algebra I students of tougher graders learn more and keep the gain in later courses), and a standards-based system with formative feedback and reassessment for full credit raised ninth-grade math test scores by 0.33 SD in a cluster RCT. The specific rules districts fight over, no zeros, 50-percent floors and late-work penalties, have almost no outcome research; the one study of a minimum-grade policy is from a single school.", "standard": "The policy shall require every course to publish, before the first grading period, how grades are computed, shall separate academic achievement from behavior and compliance in the reported grade, shall allow at least one reassessment of a summative standard for credit, and shall not mandate or forbid numeric floors without the district's own grade-to-test data.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Brookhart SM, Guskey TR, Bowers AJ, McMillan JH, Smith JK, Smith LF, Stevens MT, Welsh ME (2016). A century of grading research: Meaning and value in the most common educational measure. Review of Educational Research 86(4):803-848.", "doi": "10.3102/0034654316672069", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316672069" }, { "ref": "Kramer SL, Posner B, Browman A, Lawrence N, Cardichon J (2024). The impacts of a standards-based grading system emphasizing formative assessment, feedback, and re-assessment: A mixed methods, cluster randomized control trial in ninth grade mathematics classrooms. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 18(1):56-87.", "doi": "10.1080/19345747.2023.2287594", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2023.2287594" }, { "ref": "Gershenson S, Holt SB, Tyner A (2024). Making the grade: The effect of teacher grading standards on student outcomes. Contemporary Economic Policy 42(2):305-318.", "doi": "10.1111/coep.12637", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.12637" }, { "ref": "Betts JR, Grogger J (2003). The impact of grading standards on student achievement, educational attainment, and entry-level earnings. Economics of Education Review 22(4):343-352.", "doi": "10.1016/S0272-7757(02)00059-6", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7757(02)00059-6" }, { "ref": "Figlio DN, Lucas ME (2004). Do high grading standards affect student performance? Journal of Public Economics 88(9-10):1815-1834.", "doi": "10.1016/S0047-2727(03)00039-2", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2727(03)00039-2" }, { "ref": "Carey T, Carifio J (2012). The minimum grading controversy: Results of a quantitative study of seven years of grading data from an urban high school. Educational Researcher 41(6):201-208.", "doi": "10.3102/0013189x12453309", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X12453309" }, { "ref": "Carifio J, Carey T (2009). A critical examination of current minimum grading policy recommendations. The High School Journal 93(1):23-37.", "doi": "10.1353/hsj.0.0039", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1353/hsj.0.0039" }, { "ref": "Reeves DB (2004). The case against the zero. Phi Delta Kappan 86(4):324-325.", "doi": "10.1177/003172170408600418", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170408600418" }, { "ref": "Welsh ME, D'Agostino JV, Kaniskan B (2013). Grading as a reform effort: Do standards-based grades converge with test scores? Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice 32(2):26-36.", "doi": "10.1111/emip.12009", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/emip.12009" }, { "ref": "Guskey TR, Link LJ (2019). Exploring the factors teachers consider in determining students' grades. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice 26(3):303-320.", "doi": "10.1080/0969594X.2018.1555515", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2018.1555515" }, { "ref": "Hjorth-Trolle A, Rosenqvist E, Hed H (2021). Grading practices and the social gradient in GPA: Quasi-experimental evidence from Sweden. European Sociological Review 38(3):455-471.", "doi": "10.1093/esr/jcab053", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcab053" }, { "ref": "Feldman J (2018). Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms. Corwin, Thousand Oaks CA.", "doi": null, "url": "https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN9781506391571" } ], "clause": "No. 213 Assessment of Student Progress\n\nGuidelines\n\nEach teacher shall publish to students and parents/guardians, within the first ten school days of each course, the standards the course assesses, the categories and weights used to compute the grade, the reassessment procedure and the late-work procedure.\n\nThe reported academic grade shall reflect achievement on course standards. Attendance, participation, effort and conduct shall be reported separately and shall not reduce the academic grade.\n\nA student who does not meet a standard on a summative assessment shall be permitted at least one reassessment of that standard within the grading period, and the higher score shall count.\n\nLate work submitted within the grading period shall be scored on the same standard as on-time work. Any penalty for lateness shall be reported in the separate conduct or work-habits mark.\n\nTeachers of the same course in the same school shall use a common grading scale and weights.\n\nThe Director of Assessment shall report to the Board each August, by school and course, the correlation between final grades and end-of-course or state test scores, the failure rate by teacher for courses with three or more sections, and the number of grading appeals, and shall recommend revisions to this policy where grades and test results diverge.", "clause_source": "written" }, "homework": { "domain": "homework", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 130 Homework", "receipt": "Purpose \n\nHomework assignments should complement the school instruction.", "section": "130 Homework", "finding": "Homework has a small to moderate positive association with achievement in secondary grades and little or none in elementary grades; the relation runs through how often and how well homework is assigned, not how many hours students spend on it. Beyond roughly ten minutes per grade level per night the returns flatten, stress rises, and the benefit accrues more to higher-income students.", "standard": "The policy shall state maximum nightly homework time by grade band (none required in K-2, no more than ten minutes per grade level through grade 8, no more than two hours total in high school), shall cap homework at a minor share of the academic grade, and shall require that assigned homework be practice of taught material that a student can complete without adult help or paid resources.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Cooper H, Robinson JC, Patall EA (2006). Does homework improve academic achievement? A synthesis of research, 1987-2003. Review of Educational Research 76(1):1-62.", "doi": "10.3102/00346543076001001", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543076001001" }, { "ref": "Fan H, Xu J, Cai Z, He J, Fan X (2017). Homework and students' achievement in math and science: A 30-year meta-analysis, 1986-2015. Educational Research Review 20:35-54.", "doi": "10.1016/j.edurev.2016.11.003", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2016.11.003" }, { "ref": "Bas G, Senturk C, Cigerci FM (2017). Homework and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Issues in Educational Research 27(1):31-50.", "doi": null, "url": "http://www.iier.org.au/iier27/bas.pdf" }, { "ref": "Trautwein U (2007). The homework-achievement relation reconsidered: Differentiating homework time, homework frequency, and homework effort. Learning and Instruction 17(3):372-388.", "doi": "10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.02.009", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.02.009" }, { "ref": "Fernandez-Alonso R, Suarez-Alvarez J, Muniz J (2015). Adolescents' homework performance in mathematics and science: Personal factors and teaching practices. Journal of Educational Psychology 107(4):1075-1085.", "doi": "10.1037/edu0000032", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000032" }, { "ref": "Eren O, Henderson DJ (2008). The impact of homework on student achievement. Econometrics Journal 11(2):326-348.", "doi": "10.1111/j.1368-423X.2008.00244.x", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1368-423X.2008.00244.x" }, { "ref": "Ronning M (2011). Who benefits from homework assignments? Economics of Education Review 30(1):55-64.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.07.001", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.07.001" }, { "ref": "Daw J (2012). Parental income and the fruits of labor: Variability in homework efficacy in secondary school. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 30(3):246-264.", "doi": "10.1016/j.rssm.2012.01.004", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2012.01.004" }, { "ref": "Galloway M, Conner J, Pope D (2013). Nonacademic effects of homework in privileged, high-performing high schools. Journal of Experimental Education 81(4):490-510.", "doi": "10.1080/00220973.2012.745469", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2012.745469" }, { "ref": "Pressman RM, Sugarman DB, Nemon ML, Desjarlais J, Owens JA, Schettini-Evans A (2015). Homework and family stress: With consideration of parents' self confidence, educational level, and cultural background. American Journal of Family Therapy 43(4):297-313.", "doi": "10.1080/01926187.2015.1061407", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/01926187.2015.1061407" } ], "clause": "130 Homework\n\nHomework shall be assigned only to practice or extend material already taught in class and shall be designed so that a student can complete it without adult assistance, without internet access beyond district-provided devices, and without purchased materials.\n\nNo homework shall be required in kindergarten through grade 2 other than nightly reading. Expected homework time in grades 3 through 8 shall not exceed ten minutes per grade level per school night across all subjects. Expected homework time in grades 9 through 12 shall not exceed two hours per school night across all subjects. Department chairs at each secondary school shall coordinate assignment calendars so that the total stays within the limit. No homework shall be assigned over scheduled school breaks.\n\nHomework shall count for no more than ten percent of the academic grade in any course, and missing homework shall not be the sole basis for a failing grade.\n\nThe Superintendent shall survey students and parents each March on reported nightly homework time by grade and shall report the results to the Board by May 31, together with the homework grade weight by course. The Superintendent shall direct principals to correct any school where reported time exceeds the limit.", "clause_source": "written" }, "student-data-privacy": { "domain": "student-data-privacy", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (technology and data)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "Audits find that most school-assigned apps send student data to third parties (Internet Safety Labs: 96% of apps used in a sample of 663 US schools; Human Rights Watch: 146 of 164 government-endorsed products worldwide, 89%, engaged in practices that risked children's rights), and breaches are frequent and large (99 K-12 breaches reported to the GAO sample 2016 to 2020; the December 2024 PowerSchool breach reached tens of millions of student records). There is no outcome research showing that any particular policy reduces harm; the standard rests on federal and state law and professional consensus.", "standard": "No product that collects student data shall be used until a signed agreement is on file that limits collection to the stated educational purpose, bars sale, advertising and model training, requires deletion on request or at contract end, and sets breach notice within 72 hours, and the district shall publish the product inventory and report compliance to the board annually.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Federal Trade Commission (2022). Policy Statement of the Federal Trade Commission on Education Technology and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Adopted May 19, 2022.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/policy-statement-federal-trade-commission-education-technology-childrens-online-privacy-protection" }, { "ref": "Human Rights Watch (2022). How Dare They Peep into My Private Life? Children's Rights Violations by Governments that Endorsed Online Learning during the Covid-19 Pandemic.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/05/25/how-dare-they-peep-my-private-life/childrens-rights-violations-government" }, { "ref": "Internet Safety Labs (2022). 2022 K-12 EdTech Safety Benchmark: National Findings, Part 1. December 13, 2022.", "doi": null, "url": "https://internetsafetylabs.org/resources/reports/2022-k12-edtech-safety-benchmark-national-findings-part-1" }, { "ref": "U.S. Government Accountability Office (2020). Data Security: Recent K-12 Data Breaches Show That Students Are Vulnerable to Harm. GAO-20-644.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-20-644" }, { "ref": "Sallay D, Future of Privacy Forum (2023). Written testimony on Massachusetts H.532 (student data privacy).", "doi": null, "url": "https://fpf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MA-Testimony-H.532.pdf" } ], "clause": "No. ___ Operations: Student Data Privacy and Approved Software\n\nNo employee shall use, or direct students to use, any application, website or service that collects personally identifiable student information unless the Director of Technology has placed it on the approved-software list. A product shall be approved only after the Director of Technology and the Privacy Officer confirm a signed data privacy agreement that: (a) limits collection to data needed for the stated educational purpose; (b) prohibits sale of data, targeted advertising, profiling and use of student data to train or improve vendor products; (c) requires deletion or return of student data within 60 days of a district request or contract end; (d) requires vendor notice to the district within 72 hours of a confirmed breach; and (e) names the subcontractors who will receive data. The Director of Technology shall publish the approved-software list, with the data elements each product collects, on the district website and update it within 30 days of any change. The Privacy Officer shall report to the Board by September 30 each year the number of products reviewed, approved and removed, every breach and the date families were notified, and the status of parent requests to inspect or correct records under FERPA. Teachers shall complete privacy training at least once each year; completion shall be reported with the annual report.", "clause_source": "written" }, "bullying-prevention": { "domain": "bullying-prevention", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 249 Bullying/Cyberbullying", "receipt": "Cyberbullying means an intentional electronic act or series of acts, through the utilization of computers, the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or electronic devices that are directed at another student or students, which occurs in a school setting and/or outside a school setting, that is severe, persistent or pervasive and has the effect of doing any of the following: \n Substantial", "section": "249 Bullying/Cyberbullying", "finding": "Whole-school anti-bullying programs reduce bullying perpetration by about 19 to 20 percent and victimization by about 15 to 16 percent on average across roughly 100 evaluations, with RCT-only estimates smaller (d about 0.15) but still showing mental-health gains. Written policies matter too: students in states whose anti-bullying laws contain the core US Department of Education components had 24 percent lower odds of being bullied and 20 percent lower odds of cyberbullying, and enumerated policies that name sexual orientation and gender identity are associated with lower suicide-attempt risk among LGB youth.", "standard": "The policy shall name a specific evidence-based whole-school program with a written policy and classroom rules, enumerate protected characteristics including sexual orientation and gender identity, require a published reporting channel with an investigation deadline, and require an annual prevalence survey and report to the Board.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Gaffney H, Ttofi MM, Farrington DP (2019). Evaluating the effectiveness of school-bullying prevention programs: An updated meta-analytical review. Aggression and Violent Behavior 45:111-133.", "doi": "10.1016/j.avb.2018.07.001", "url": null }, { "ref": "Gaffney H, Farrington DP, Ttofi MM (2019). Examining the effectiveness of school-bullying intervention programs globally: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Bullying Prevention 1(1):14-31.", "doi": "10.1007/s42380-019-0007-4", "url": null }, { "ref": "Gaffney H, Ttofi MM, Farrington DP (2021). What works in anti-bullying programs? Analysis of effective intervention components. Journal of School Psychology 85:37-56.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jsp.2020.12.002", "url": null }, { "ref": "Fraguas D, Diaz-Caneja CM, Ayora M, et al. (2021). Assessment of school anti-bullying interventions: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. JAMA Pediatrics 175(1):44-55.", "doi": "10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.3541", "url": null }, { "ref": "Ttofi MM, Farrington DP (2011). Effectiveness of school-based programs to reduce bullying: a systematic and meta-analytic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology 7(1):27-56.", "doi": "10.1007/s11292-010-9109-1", "url": null }, { "ref": "Karna A, Voeten M, Little TD, Poskiparta E, Kaljonen A, Salmivalli C (2011). A large-scale evaluation of the KiVa antibullying program: grades 4-6. Child Development 82(1):311-330.", "doi": "10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01557.x", "url": null }, { "ref": "Karna A, Voeten M, Little TD, Alanen E, Poskiparta E, Salmivalli C (2013). Effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying program: grades 1-3 and 7-9. Journal of Educational Psychology 105(2):535-551.", "doi": "10.1037/a0030417", "url": null }, { "ref": "Waasdorp TE, Bradshaw CP, Leaf PJ (2012). The impact of schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports on bullying and peer rejection: a randomized controlled effectiveness trial. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 166(2):149-156.", "doi": "10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.755", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hatzenbuehler ML, Schwab-Reese L, Ranapurwala SI, Hertz MF, Ramirez MR (2015). Associations between antibullying policies and bullying in 25 states. JAMA Pediatrics 169(10):e152411.", "doi": "10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.2411", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hatzenbuehler ML, Keyes KM (2013). Inclusive anti-bullying policies and reduced risk of suicide attempts in lesbian and gay youth. Journal of Adolescent Health 53(1 Suppl):S21-S26.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.08.010", "url": null }, { "ref": "Meyer IH, Luo F, Wilson BDM, Stone DM (2019). Sexual orientation enumeration in state antibullying statutes in the United States: associations with bullying, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among youth. LGBT Health 6(1):9-14.", "doi": "10.1089/lgbt.2018.0194", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kull RM, Greytak EA, Kosciw JG, Villenas C (2016). Effectiveness of school district antibullying policies in improving LGBT youths' school climate. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity 3(4):407-415.", "doi": "10.1037/sgd0000196", "url": null }, { "ref": "Yeager DS, Fong CJ, Lee HY, Espelage DL (2015). Declines in efficacy of anti-bullying programs among older adolescents: theory and a three-level meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 37:36-51.", "doi": "10.1016/j.appdev.2014.11.005", "url": null }, { "ref": "Modecki KL, Minchin J, Harbaugh AG, Guerra NG, Runions KC (2014). Bullying prevalence across contexts: a meta-analysis measuring cyber and traditional bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health 55(5):602-611.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.06.007", "url": null } ], "clause": "249. Bullying/Cyberbullying\n\nThe district shall implement the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, an evidence-based whole-school program with published controlled evaluations, in every district school. Implementation shall include this policy, posted classroom rules against bullying, information for parents/guardians, and support for students who are targeted. Bullying, including cyberbullying, on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or any other characteristic shall be prohibited. Each building principal shall publish the procedure for reporting bullying, including an anonymous option, in the student handbook and on the school website. The principal shall begin an investigation within two (2) school days of receiving a report and shall document the outcome within ten (10) school days. The Superintendent shall administer the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire, which contains a fixed bullying-victimization item, to all students in grades 3 through 12 each spring. The Superintendent shall report to the Board by October 1 of each year the prevalence of bullying by school, grade and demographic group, the number of reports received, the number investigated within the deadlines stated in this policy, the number substantiated, and the three-year trend.", "clause_source": "written" }, "threat-assessment": { "domain": "threat-assessment", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 236.1 Threat Assessment", "receipt": "[20] [37] [38] [39] \n\nWhen a reported threat also meets the definition of an incident under the Safe Schools Act, in accordance with reporting requirements, the Superintendent or designee shall immediately report required incidents, if not previously reported by district staff, and may report discretionary incidents committed by students on school property, at any school-sponsored activity or on a", "section": "236.1 Threat Assessment", "finding": "Schools that use the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG, formerly the Virginia guidelines) resolve student threats with far less exclusion: in a randomized trial, threatened students in CSTAG schools were about one third as likely to receive a long-term suspension (OR 0.35) and four times as likely to receive counseling, and statewide Virginia comparisons show lower odds of suspension (OR 0.59) and law-enforcement action (OR 0.47) than under generic threat procedures, with almost no threats carried out and no racial disparity in outcomes among assessed students.", "standard": "The policy shall establish a multidisciplinary threat assessment team at every school using a named, evidence-based model (CSTAG or equivalent), require initial and refresher training for every team member, require that the team's default response is support and supervision rather than exclusion, and require annual reporting of case counts, outcomes and demographic referral rates to the Board.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Cornell DG, Allen K, Fan X (2012). A randomized controlled study of the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines in kindergarten through grade 12. School Psychology Review 41(1):100-115.", "doi": "10.1080/02796015.2012.12087378", "url": null }, { "ref": "Maeng JL, Cornell DG, Huang FL (2020). Student threat assessment as an alternative to exclusionary discipline. Journal of School Violence 19(3):377-388.", "doi": "10.1080/15388220.2019.1707682", "url": null }, { "ref": "Cornell D, Maeng JL, Burnette AG, Jia Y, Huang F, Konold T, Datta P, Malone M, Meyer P (2018). Student threat assessment as a standard school safety practice: results from a statewide implementation study. School Psychology Quarterly 33(2):213-222.", "doi": "10.1037/spq0000220", "url": null }, { "ref": "Cornell D, Maeng J, Huang F, Shukla K, Konold T (2018). Racial/ethnic parity in disciplinary consequences using student threat assessment. School Psychology Review 47(2):183-195.", "doi": "10.17105/SPR-2017-0030.V47-2", "url": null }, { "ref": "Maeng JL, Cornell DG, Edwards K (2024). Threat assessment and disparities in school discipline. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management 11(3):186-196.", "doi": "10.1037/tam0000213", "url": null }, { "ref": "Nekvasil EK, Cornell DG (2015). Student threat assessment associated with safety in middle schools. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management 2(2):98-113.", "doi": "10.1037/tam0000038", "url": null }, { "ref": "Cornell DG, Sheras PL, Gregory A, Fan X (2009). A retrospective study of school safety conditions in high schools using the Virginia Threat Assessment Guidelines versus alternative approaches. School Psychology Quarterly 24(2):119-129.", "doi": "10.1037/a0016182", "url": null }, { "ref": "Burnette AG, Datta P, Cornell D (2018). The distinction between transient and substantive student threats. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management 5(1):4-20.", "doi": "10.1037/tam0000092", "url": null }, { "ref": "US Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (2019). Protecting America's Schools: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/Protecting_Americas_Schools.pdf" } ], "clause": "236.1 Threat Assessment\n\nThreat Assessment Team\n\nEach school shall maintain a threat assessment team composed at minimum of an administrator, a school counselor or school psychologist, and a school resource officer or other law enforcement liaison. Team members shall be trained in the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines or another model with published controlled evaluation.\n\nThe team shall classify each threat as transient or substantive and shall develop a written support and supervision plan for every substantive case. The team shall not impose out-of-school suspension, expulsion or law enforcement referral solely because a threat assessment was opened.\n\nEvery team member shall complete initial training before serving on the team and refresher training at least every three (3) years. The Director of Student Services shall maintain the training roster.\n\nThe Superintendent shall report to the Board by September 30 of each year the number of assessments by school, the transient and substantive counts, the disciplinary, law enforcement and counseling outcomes, the referral rate per 1,000 students by race, disability status and gender compared with enrollment, and any threat later carried out.", "clause_source": "written" }, "ai-in-schools": { "domain": "ai-in-schools", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 207 Academic Integrity", "receipt": "In order to avoid plagiarism, the following actions shall be instituted: \n Teachers shall review the definition of plagiarism with their students and the expected ethical behavior on an annual basis.", "section": "207 Academic Integrity", "finding": "Design determines the effect. In a field RCT with nearly 1,000 high-school math students, unrestricted GPT-4 access raised practice scores (+48%) but cut unaided exam scores by 17% relative to no access; a version with guardrails that withheld answers removed the harm. A college physics RCT found a purpose-built AI tutor produced about double the learning gain of active-learning classes in less time, and an essay-writing RCT found gains persisted a week later only when students used the model as a tutor rather than to write for them. The K-12 evidence base is still one school, one subject and a few weeks.", "standard": "The district shall maintain a published list of approved AI tools, each with a stated instructional purpose, a guardrail configuration that withholds direct answers during practice, a data-privacy review and an age gate, shall require every course to state in writing when and how students may use AI, shall prohibit discipline based solely on detection software, and shall report usage and unaided-assessment results to the board annually.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Bastani H, Bastani O, Sungu A, Ge H, Kabakci O, Mariman R (2025). Generative AI without guardrails can harm learning: Evidence from high school mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122(26):e2422633122.", "doi": "10.1073/pnas.2422633122", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kestin G, Miller K, Klales A, Milbourne T, Ponti G (2025). AI tutoring outperforms in-class active learning: an RCT introducing a novel research-based design in an authentic educational setting. Scientific Reports 15.", "doi": "10.1038/s41598-025-97652-6", "url": null }, { "ref": "Contractor Z, Reyes G (2026). Experimental Evidence on the Learning Impact of Generative AI. arXiv:2607.08849 (also NBER / IZA DP 18792).", "doi": null, "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.08849" }, { "ref": "Lehmann M, Cornelius PB, Sting FJ (2024). AI Meets the Classroom: When Does ChatGPT Harm Learning? SSRN working paper.", "doi": "10.2139/ssrn.4941259", "url": null }, { "ref": "Wang J, Fan W (2026). Retraction Note: The effect of ChatGPT on students' learning performance, learning perception, and higher-order thinking: insights from a meta-analysis. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 13.", "doi": "10.1057/s41599-026-07310-z", "url": null }, { "ref": "U.S. Department of Education (2025). Dear Colleague Letter: Use of federal grant funds to support responsible AI integration in education, July 22, 2025.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-issues-guidance-artificial-intelligence-use-schools-proposes-additional-supplemental-priority" } ], "clause": "207 Academic Integrity\n\nThe Superintendent shall maintain and publish a list of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools approved for student and staff use. No tool shall be listed until the Chief Academic Officer and Director of Technology certify in writing that: (a) the tool serves a named instructional purpose; (b) for student practice and homework, the tool is configured to withhold direct answers and prompt student reasoning; (c) the vendor contract meets the district's student data privacy policy, including no use of student inputs for model training; and (d) no student under the vendor's stated minimum age uses the tool. Each teacher shall state in the syllabus, by the tenth instructional day, when and how students may use AI tools for each category of assignment. No student shall be disciplined for AI use based on detection software alone; a finding shall rest on the teacher's review of drafts, process evidence or an oral check. Staff shall not enter personally identifiable student information into any tool not on the list. The Chief Academic Officer shall report to the Board by October 1 annually the list, usage by tool, unaided assessment results in courses using each tool against matched courses, and the number and outcomes of AI-related integrity cases. The Board shall review this policy annually in light of new evidence.", "clause_source": "written" }, "school-police-sros": { "domain": "school-police-sros", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 805.2 School Security Personnel", "receipt": "The district shall employ or contract for at least one (1) full-time school security personnel who has completed the training required by law and this Board policy to be on duty during the school day.[1] \n\nThe district shall certify to the state School Safety and Security Committee annually that it has met the requirements for school security personnel or has received a waiver, in accordance with ", "section": "805.2 School Security Personnel", "finding": "The strongest causal studies agree that placing police in schools increases suspensions, expulsions, police referrals and arrests, with the largest increases for Black students, male students and students with disabilities; a Texas quasi-experiment ties federal school-police grants to a 6 percent rise in middle school discipline, a 2.5 percent drop in high school graduation and a 4 percent drop in college enrollment. Safety effects are mixed: a national regression discontinuity finds SROs reduce some violence but not gun incidents, while a matched COPS-grant study finds no safety gain and more recorded drug and weapon offenses.", "standard": "If the district places law-enforcement officers in schools, the policy shall require a written memorandum of understanding that bars officer involvement in routine discipline, defines the narrow conditions for arrest or referral, requires youth-specific training, and requires annual public reporting of arrests, referrals and use of force by school and demographic group; the Board shall review the data before renewing any officer assignment.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Sorensen LC, Avila-Acosta M, Engberg JB, Bushway SD (2023). The thin blue line in schools: new evidence on school-based policing across the U.S. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 42(4):941-970.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.22498", "url": null }, { "ref": "Gottfredson DC, Crosse S, Tang Z, Bauer EL, Harmon MA, Hagen CA, Greene AD (2020). Effects of school resource officers on school crime and responses to school crime. Criminology and Public Policy 19(3):905-940.", "doi": "10.1111/1745-9133.12512", "url": null }, { "ref": "Weisburst EK (2019). Patrolling public schools: the impact of funding for school police on student discipline and long-term education outcomes. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 38(2):338-365.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.22116", "url": null }, { "ref": "Owens EG (2017). Testing the school-to-prison pipeline. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 36(1):11-37.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.21954", "url": null }, { "ref": "Fisher BW, Hennessy EA (2016). School resource officers and exclusionary discipline in U.S. high schools: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Adolescent Research Review 1(3):217-233.", "doi": "10.1007/s40894-015-0006-8", "url": null }, { "ref": "Fisher BW, Petrosino A, Sutherland H, Guckenburg S, Fronius T, Benitez I, Earl K (2023). School-based law enforcement strategies to reduce crime, increase perceptions of safety, and improve learning outcomes in primary and secondary schools: a systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews 19(4):e1360.", "doi": "10.1002/cl2.1360", "url": null }, { "ref": "Na C, Gottfredson DC (2013). Police officers in schools: effects on school crime and the processing of offending behaviors. Justice Quarterly 30(4):619-650.", "doi": "10.1080/07418825.2011.615754", "url": null }, { "ref": "Devlin DN, Gottfredson DC (2018). The roles of police officers in schools: effects on the recording and reporting of crime. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 16(2):208-223.", "doi": "10.1177/1541204016680405", "url": null }, { "ref": "Peterson J, Densley J, Erickson G (2021). Presence of armed school officials and fatal and nonfatal gunshot injuries during mass school shootings, United States, 1980-2019. JAMA Network Open 4(2):e2037394.", "doi": "10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.37394", "url": null }, { "ref": "Livingston MD, Rossheim ME, Hall KS (2019). A descriptive analysis of school and school shooter characteristics and the severity of school shootings in the United States, 1999-2018. Journal of Adolescent Health 64(6):797-799.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.12.006", "url": null } ], "clause": "805.2 School Security Personnel\n\nMemorandum of Understanding\n\nNo law enforcement officer shall be assigned to a district school except under a written memorandum of understanding approved by the Board and the law enforcement agency and reviewed annually. The memorandum shall provide that officers shall not participate in enforcing the student code of conduct, shall not be called for behavior that would be handled by school staff in the officer's absence, and shall not question a student about a school matter without an administrator present and notification of the parent/guardian, except in an imminent safety emergency.\n\nEach officer shall complete training in adolescent development, de-escalation, disability awareness and implicit bias before assignment and annually thereafter. The School Safety and Security Coordinator shall document completion of this training.\n\nThe Superintendent shall report to the Board by October 15 of each year, and shall publish on the district website, the number of arrests, citations, law enforcement referrals and uses of force in each school for the prior school year, disaggregated by race, disability status and gender, including the share arising from noncriminal conduct. The Board shall review this report before renewing any officer assignment.", "clause_source": "written" }, "teacher-evaluation-and-feedback": { "domain": "teacher-evaluation-and-feedback", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 313 Evaluation of Employees", "receipt": "Purpose \n\nEvaluation is a continuing process in which the administrative, professional and support employees and the respective supervisors cooperatively identify strengths and weaknesses in an individual's job performance.", "section": "313 Evaluation of Employees", "finding": "Well-run evaluation with trained observers and substantive feedback can improve teaching: Cincinnati teachers' students gained about 0.1 SD in math in the years after a rigorous peer evaluation, and Washington DC's IMPACT raised the performance of low-rated teachers by 0.27 SD and pushed the lowest performers out, with their replacements raising achievement. But the 2010s wave of state evaluation reforms, taken as a whole, produced precisely estimated null effects on achievement and attainment, rated fewer than 1 percent of teachers below proficient, and reduced the supply of new teachers.", "standard": "Evaluation shall rest on multiple trained and calibrated observers, at least two observations per year with at least one unannounced, written feedback within five school days, and a growth plan with coaching for any teacher rated below effective; the district shall publish rating distributions and evaluator calibration results annually and shall not use a single test-based measure as more than one third of a rating.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Taylor, E. S., & Tyler, J. H. (2012). The Effect of Evaluation on Teacher Performance. American Economic Review 102(7):3628-3651.", "doi": "10.1257/aer.102.7.3628", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.102.7.3628" }, { "ref": "Dee, T. S., & Wyckoff, J. (2015). Incentives, Selection, and Teacher Performance: Evidence from IMPACT. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 34(2):267-297.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.21818", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21818" }, { "ref": "Adnot, M., Dee, T., Katz, V., & Wyckoff, J. (2017). Teacher Turnover, Teacher Quality, and Student Achievement in DCPS. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 39(1):54-76.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373716663646", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373716663646" }, { "ref": "Kraft, M. A., & Gilmour, A. F. (2017). Revisiting The Widget Effect: Teacher Evaluation Reforms and the Distribution of Teacher Effectiveness. Educational Researcher 46(5):234-249.", "doi": "10.3102/0013189X17718797", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X17718797" }, { "ref": "Bleiberg, J., Brunner, E., Harbatkin, E., Kraft, M. A., & Springer, M. G. (2025). Taking Teacher Evaluation to Scale: The Effect of State Reforms on Achievement and Attainment. Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics 3(3):568-610.", "doi": "10.1086/732837", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1086/732837" }, { "ref": "Steinberg, M. P., & Sartain, L. (2015). Does Teacher Evaluation Improve School Performance? Experimental Evidence from Chicago's Excellence in Teaching Project. Education Finance and Policy 10(4):535-572.", "doi": "10.1162/EDFP_a_00173", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1162/EDFP_a_00173" }, { "ref": "Garet, M. S., Wayne, A. J., Brown, S., Rickles, J., Song, M., & Manzeske, D. (2017). The Impact of Providing Performance Feedback to Teachers and Principals: Final Report. NCEE 2018-4001. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences.", "doi": null, "url": "https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20184001/" }, { "ref": "Stecher, B. M., Holtzman, D. J., Garet, M. S., Hamilton, L. S., Engberg, J., Steiner, E. D., Robyn, A., Baird, M. D., Gutierrez, I. A., Peet, E. D., Brodziak de los Reyes, I., Fronberg, K., Weinberger, G., Hunter, G. P., & Chambers, J. (2018). Improving Teaching Effectiveness: Final Report. The Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching Through 2015-2016. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.", "doi": "10.7249/RR2242", "url": "https://doi.org/10.7249/RR2242" }, { "ref": "Kraft, M. A., Brunner, E. J., Dougherty, S. M., & Schwegman, D. J. (2020). Teacher accountability reforms and the supply and quality of new teachers. Journal of Public Economics 188:104212.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104212", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104212" }, { "ref": "Cullen, J. B., Koedel, C., & Parsons, E. (2021). The Compositional Effect of Rigorous Teacher Evaluation on Workforce Quality. Education Finance and Policy 16(1):7-41.", "doi": "10.1162/edfp_a_00292", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00292" }, { "ref": "Phipps, A. R., & Wiseman, E. A. (2021). Enacting the Rubric: Teacher Improvements in Windows of High-Stakes Observation. Education Finance and Policy 16(2):283-312.", "doi": "10.1162/edfp_a_00295", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00295" } ], "clause": "No. 313 Evaluation of Employees\n\nThe Superintendent shall maintain a teacher evaluation system under which every teacher shall be observed at least twice each year, at least once unannounced, by an evaluator who has completed district observer training and passed an annual calibration exercise against master-scored videos. An evaluator who fails calibration shall not conduct observations until recertified. Each observation shall be followed by a written feedback conference within five school days. No single measure, including any test-based growth measure, shall account for more than one third of a summative rating. A teacher rated below effective shall receive a written growth plan within 20 school days and at least eight instructional coaching cycles during the following year from a coach who is not the evaluator. The Director of Human Resources shall report to the Board by August 31 of each year the distribution of summative ratings by school and evaluator, evaluator calibration results, the number of observations per teacher and the share unannounced, median days from observation to feedback, the correlation between ratings and student growth, and retention by rating level. The Board shall review the reliability of the system against that report each year and shall commission an external review every five years.", "clause_source": "written" }, "english-learner-programs": { "domain": "english-learner-programs", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 138 Limited English Proficiency Program", "receipt": "Purpose \n In accordance with the Board's philosophy to provide a quality educational program to all students and to increase the English language proficiency of students who are English Learners (EL), the district shall provide an appropriate planned instructional program for identified students whose dominant language is not English.", "section": "138 Limited English Proficiency Program", "finding": "Lottery studies show dual-language immersion raises English reading achievement (Portland: +13 percentile points by grade 5 and +22 by grade 8, with no loss in math or science; Charlotte: +0.04 to 0.05 SD per year in math and reading for English learners and non-learners alike) and raises the share of English learners reclassified by grade 6. Regression-discontinuity studies of reclassification show that the rule matters more than the label: reclassifying students on a single lenient test score harmed later outcomes, while multi-measure criteria that keep supports in place removed the harm, and timely reclassification before the grade 5 and grade 8 transitions improved on-time graduation.", "standard": "The district shall offer a dual-language or bilingual program where enrollment supports it, use multiple measures (state proficiency test plus academic performance and teacher input) for reclassification, continue academic monitoring and supports for at least four years after exit, and place English learners in grade-level core content with language support rather than in separate lower-track courses.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Steele, J. L., Slater, R. O., Zamarro, G., Miller, T., Li, J., Burkhauser, S., & Bacon, M. (2017). Effects of Dual-Language Immersion Programs on Student Achievement: Evidence From Lottery Data. American Educational Research Journal 54(1_suppl):282S-306S.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831216634463", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216634463" }, { "ref": "Bibler, A. (2021). Dual Language Education and Student Achievement. Education Finance and Policy 16(4):634-658.", "doi": "10.1162/edfp_a_00320", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00320" }, { "ref": "Umansky, I. M., & Reardon, S. F. (2014). Reclassification Patterns Among Latino English Learner Students in Bilingual, Dual Immersion, and English Immersion Classrooms. American Educational Research Journal 51(5):879-912.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831214545110", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831214545110" }, { "ref": "Valentino, R. A., & Reardon, S. F. (2015). Effectiveness of Four Instructional Programs Designed to Serve English Learners: Variation by Ethnicity and Initial English Proficiency. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 37(4):612-637.", "doi": "10.3102/0162373715573310", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373715573310" }, { "ref": "Robinson-Cimpian, J. P., & Thompson, K. D. (2016). The Effects of Changing Test-Based Policies for Reclassifying English Learners. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 35(2):279-305.", "doi": "10.1002/pam.21882", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21882" }, { "ref": "Cimpian, J. R., Thompson, K. D., & Makowski, M. B. (2017). Evaluating English Learner Reclassification Policy Effects Across Districts. American Educational Research Journal 54(1_suppl):255S-278S.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831216635796", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216635796" }, { "ref": "Pope, N. G. (2016). The marginal effect of K-12 English language development programs: Evidence from Los Angeles schools. Economics of Education Review 53:311-328.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.04.009", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.04.009" }, { "ref": "Johnson, A. (2019). The Effects of English Learner Classification on High School Graduation and College Attendance. AERA Open 5(2).", "doi": "10.1177/2332858419850801", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419850801" }, { "ref": "Umansky, I. M. (2016). Leveled and Exclusionary Tracking: English Learners' Access to Academic Content in Middle School. American Educational Research Journal 53(6):1792-1833.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831216675404", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216675404" }, { "ref": "Umansky, I. M., & Dumont, H. (2021). English Learner Labeling: How English Learner Classification in Kindergarten Shapes Teacher Perceptions of Student Skills and the Moderating Role of Bilingual Instructional Settings. American Educational Research Journal 58(5):993-1031.", "doi": "10.3102/0002831221997571", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831221997571" }, { "ref": "National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017). Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.", "doi": "10.17226/24677", "url": "https://doi.org/10.17226/24677" } ], "clause": "138 Limited English Proficiency Program\n\nGuidelines\nThe Superintendent shall ensure that each English Learner receives a Language Instruction Educational Program that meets the standards of Castaneda v. Pickard and that English Learners are enrolled in grade-level core academic courses with integrated language support. Placement in a course below grade level solely on the basis of English Learner status shall be prohibited. Where at least 20 English Learners who share a home language are enrolled at a grade level, the Superintendent shall offer a dual-language or bilingual program at that grade level or report to the Board the reason it cannot. Reclassification shall require the state English language proficiency assessment plus at least two additional measures, including classroom academic performance and teacher recommendation, and shall not rest on a single test score. The Director of Multilingual Programs shall monitor each reclassified student for four academic years and shall re-enter supports when a reclassified student falls below grade level. By October 15 of each year, the Director of Multilingual Programs shall report to the Board, disaggregated by school, program model, home language and years in program: reclassification rates; the number and share of long-term English Learners; achievement and growth of current and former English Learners; and English Learner enrollment in advanced and core courses. Program models, exit criteria and this report shall be posted on the district website.", "clause_source": "written" }, "hazing-and-athletics-safety": { "domain": "hazing-and-athletics-safety", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 247 Hazing", "receipt": "Students, administrators, teachers, coaches, sponsors, volunteers, and District employees shall be alert to incidents of hazing and shall report such conduct to the building principal.", "section": "247 Hazing", "finding": "Hazing is common in high school (48 percent of students in groups report hazing activities, 17 percent of grade 6 to 12 athletes in one survey, and only 14 percent of hazed students call it hazing), but no controlled study shows that any hazing policy or program reduces hazing; the evidence supports clear definitions, mandatory reporting and consent-does-not-matter language as a standard. For concussion, state remove-from-play and return-to-play laws produced a rise in reported concussions (better identification) followed by falling recurrent-concussion rates about 2.6 years after passage, and mandated preseason heat-acclimatization rules cut exertional heat illness in football by roughly half.", "standard": "The policy shall define hazing by listed behaviors regardless of consent, require every coach, sponsor and student participant to receive annual training, require coaches to report suspected hazing to the principal within 24 hours, and require immediate removal from play after a suspected concussion with written clearance by a licensed health care provider, a preseason heat-acclimatization schedule, and a venue-specific emergency action plan rehearsed annually.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Hoover NC, Pollard NJ (2000). Initiation Rites in American High Schools: A National Survey. Alfred University.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.alfred.edu/about/news/studies/high-school-hazing/" }, { "ref": "Allan EJ, Madden M (2008). Hazing in View: College Students at Risk. University of Maine.", "doi": null, "url": "https://stophazing.org/research/national-study" }, { "ref": "Allan EJ, Madden M (2012). The nature and extent of college student hazing. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health 24(1):83-90.", "doi": "10.1515/ijamh.2012.012", "url": null }, { "ref": "Gershel JC, Katz-Sidlow RJ, Small E, Zandieh S (2003). Hazing of suburban middle school and high school athletes. Journal of Adolescent Health 32(5):333-335.", "doi": "10.1016/s1054-139x(03)00021-1", "url": null }, { "ref": "Diamond AB, Callahan ST, Chain KF, Solomon GS (2016). Qualitative review of hazing in collegiate and school sports: consequences from a lack of culture, knowledge and responsiveness. British Journal of Sports Medicine 50(3):149-153.", "doi": "10.1136/bjsports-2015-095603", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hakkola L, Allan EJ, Kerschner D (2019). Applying utilization-focused evaluation to high school hazing prevention: a pilot intervention. Evaluation and Program Planning 75:61-68.", "doi": "10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2019.05.005", "url": null }, { "ref": "Yang J, Comstock RD, Yi H, Harvey HH, Xun P (2017). New and recurrent concussions in high-school athletes before and after traumatic brain injury laws, 2005-2016. American Journal of Public Health 107(12):1916-1922.", "doi": "10.2105/AJPH.2017.304056", "url": null }, { "ref": "Arakkal AT, Baron AE, Lamb MM, Fields SK, Comstock RD (2020). Evaluating the effectiveness of traumatic brain injury state laws among high school athletes. Injury Epidemiology 7:12.", "doi": "10.1186/s40621-020-00241-6", "url": null }, { "ref": "Gibson TB, Herring SA, Kutcher JS, Broglio SP (2015). Analyzing the effect of state legislation on health care utilization for children with concussion. JAMA Pediatrics 169(2):163-168.", "doi": "10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.2320", "url": null }, { "ref": "Bompadre V, Jinguji TM, Yanez ND, Satchell EK, Gilbert K, Burton M, Conrad EU, Herring SA (2014). Washington State's Lystedt Law in concussion documentation in Seattle public high schools. Journal of Athletic Training 49(4):486-492.", "doi": "10.4085/1062-6050-49.3.30", "url": null }, { "ref": "LaRoche AA, Nelson LD, Connelly PK, Walter KD, McCrea MA (2016). Sport-related concussion reporting and state legislative effects. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 26(1):33-39.", "doi": "10.1097/JSM.0000000000000192", "url": null }, { "ref": "Harvey HH (2013). Reducing traumatic brain injuries in youth sports: youth sports traumatic brain injury state laws, January 2009-December 2012. American Journal of Public Health 103(7):1249-1254.", "doi": "10.2105/AJPH.2012.301107", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kerr ZY, Register-Mihalik JK, Pryor RR, Pierpoint LA, Scarneo SE, Adams WM, Kucera KL, Casa DJ, Marshall SW (2019). The association between mandated preseason heat acclimatization guidelines and exertional heat illness during preseason high school American football practices. Environmental Health Perspectives 127(4):047003.", "doi": "10.1289/EHP4163", "url": null }, { "ref": "Adams WM, Scarneo SE, Casa DJ (2017). State-level implementation of health and safety policies to prevent sudden death and catastrophic injuries within secondary school athletics. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine 5(9):2325967117727262.", "doi": "10.1177/2325967117727262", "url": null } ], "clause": "247. HAZING\n\nProhibited Conduct and Athletic Safety\n\nHazing shall mean any act required as a condition of joining or remaining in any team, club or group that endangers the physical or mental health or safety of a student or subjects a student to humiliation. Such acts shall include physical abuse, forced consumption of any substance, excessive exercise, sleep deprivation, confinement, forced nudity or sexual acts, ridicule or degrading tasks, and coercion to break the law or Board policy. Hazing shall be prohibited regardless of consent.\n\nEvery coach, activity sponsor and student participant shall complete hazing-prevention training each year before the season. Every coach and sponsor shall report suspected hazing to the building principal within 24 hours, and the principal shall report each case to the Superintendent within three school days. Every student athlete and parent or guardian shall sign a hazing and concussion acknowledgment each year.\n\nA student suspected of a concussion shall be removed from practice or play immediately and shall not return until a licensed health care provider trained in concussion management provides written clearance, with a graduated return-to-learn plan coordinated by the school nurse. Preseason practices shall follow the National Athletic Trainers' Association heat-acclimatization schedule. Each athletic venue shall have a written venue-specific emergency action plan rehearsed with local EMS each August, and an automated external defibrillator shall be reachable within three minutes of every practice and competition site.\n\nThe Athletic Director shall report to the Board by July 31 each year the number of hazing reports and substantiated cases by activity, concussions and other serious injuries by sport, compliance with return-to-play clearance, and emergency action plan rehearsal dates by venue.", "clause_source": "written" }, "dress-code": { "domain": "dress-code", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 221 Dress and Grooming", "receipt": "Purpose \n\nThe Board recognizes that each student's mode of dress and grooming is a manifestation of personal style and individual preference.", "section": "221 Dress and Grooming", "finding": "The best causal evidence on uniforms (school fixed effects in a large urban district) finds a modest attendance gain in secondary grades and no effect on achievement or discipline, and national longitudinal data show no behavior or attendance advantage; the evidence that dress rules improve learning is weak. The evidence on enforcement is clearer: GAO's national review found dress codes restrict items typically worn by girls more than boys, strict enforcement in more than four in five predominantly Black schools against about one third of predominantly white schools, informal class removals in 44 percent of codes, and body-measuring rules in 60 percent; Black girls receive disproportionate office referrals for dress code and other subjective infractions.", "standard": "Dress rules are limited to health, safety and the prohibition of hate speech and obscenity, apply identically to all students regardless of sex, do not require measuring bodies or clothing, protect religious and cultural dress and natural hair, and are enforced without removal from instruction or exclusion from school, with enforcement data reported by student group.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Gentile E, Imberman SA (2012). Dressed for success? The effect of school uniforms on student achievement and behavior. Journal of Urban Economics 71(1):1-17.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jue.2011.10.002", "url": null }, { "ref": "Brunsma DL, Rockquemore KA (1998). Effects of student uniforms on attendance, behavior problems, substance use, and academic achievement. Journal of Educational Research 92(1):53-62.", "doi": "10.1080/00220679809597575", "url": null }, { "ref": "Ansari A, Shepard M, Gottfried MA (2022). School uniforms and student behavior: is there a link? Early Childhood Research Quarterly 58:278-286.", "doi": "10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.09.012", "url": null }, { "ref": "Yeung R (2009). Are school uniforms a good fit? Results from the ECLS-K and the NELS. Educational Policy 23(6):847-874.", "doi": "10.1177/0895904808330170", "url": null }, { "ref": "Reidy J (2021). Reviewing school uniform through a public health lens: evidence about the impacts of school uniform on education and health. Public Health Reviews 42:1604212.", "doi": "10.3389/phrs.2021.1604212", "url": null }, { "ref": "Nathan N, McCarthy N, Hope K, et al. (2021). The impact of school uniforms on primary school student's physical activity at school: outcomes of a cluster randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 18:17.", "doi": "10.1186/s12966-021-01084-0", "url": null }, { "ref": "US Government Accountability Office (2022). K-12 Education: Department of Education Should Provide Information on Equity and Safety in School Dress Codes. GAO-23-105348, October 25, 2022.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105348" }, { "ref": "Edwards TK, Marshall C (2020). Undressing policy: a critical analysis of North Carolina (USA) public school dress codes. Gender and Education 32(6):732-750.", "doi": "10.1080/09540253.2018.1503234", "url": null }, { "ref": "Morris EW, Perry BL (2017). Girls behaving badly? Race, gender, and subjective evaluation in the discipline of African American girls. Sociology of Education 90(2):127-148.", "doi": "10.1177/0038040717694876", "url": null }, { "ref": "Baumann C, Krskova H (2016). School discipline, school uniforms and academic performance. International Journal of Educational Management 30(6):1003-1029.", "doi": "10.1108/ijem-09-2015-0118", "url": null }, { "ref": "National Women's Law Center (2018). Dress Coded: Black Girls, Bodies, and Bias in D.C. Schools.", "doi": null, "url": "https://nwlc.org/resource/dresscoded/" } ], "clause": "No. 221 Dress and Grooming\n\nThe district dress code shall be limited to health and safety requirements and to prohibiting clothing that displays obscenity, threats, hate speech, or the promotion of illegal substances or violence. Students shall be permitted religious and cultural dress and head coverings, protective and natural hairstyles, and clothing consistent with their gender identity. No rule shall apply to one sex only or require a staff member to measure any part of a student's body or clothing. Shoulders, collarbones, midriffs and leggings shall not be grounds for discipline. Violations shall be addressed privately and, where available, with a loaner garment. No student shall be removed from class, sent home, assigned in-school or out-of-school suspension, or excluded from any school activity for a violation, and staff shall not comment on a student's body in enforcement. Each principal shall log every intervention, including informal removals, in the student information system. By September 30 each year the Superintendent shall report to the Board the number of interventions for the prior school year by building, race and sex. The Board shall revise any rule whose enforcement rate for Black or female students exceeds twice the rate for white or male students. Any uniform requirement shall provide free uniforms to students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals and shall not be enforced by exclusion from instruction.", "clause_source": "written" }, "corporal-punishment": { "domain": "corporal-punishment", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 218 Student Discipline", "receipt": "Definition \n\nCorporal punishment - a form of physical discipline intended to cause pain and fear, in which a student is spanked, paddled or hit on any part of the body with a hand or instrument.", "section": "218 Student Discipline", "finding": "The meta-analysis specific to school corporal punishment (Visser et al. 2022) finds it associated with more externalizing behavior (r = 0.27, 21 studies, 67,400 children), more internalizing problems (r = 0.16) and lower school performance (r = -0.11, 977,367 children); a propensity-matched sample of young adults from the 19 states where it was legal shows lower high school GPA and more depressive symptoms; the 75-study meta-analysis of physical punishment finds 13 of 17 outcomes significantly worse and none better. No study has found that corporal punishment improves behavior or learning, and no study has found that ending it increases misbehavior.", "standard": "Corporal punishment is prohibited in policy for every student in every setting, with physical force limited to the restraint standard, and the prohibition is communicated to staff and families annually.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Visser LN, van der Put CE, Assink M (2022). The association between school corporal punishment and child developmental outcomes: a meta-analytic review. Children 9(3):383.", "doi": "10.3390/children9030383", "url": null }, { "ref": "Gershoff ET, Grogan-Kaylor A (2016). Spanking and child outcomes: old controversies and new meta-analyses. Journal of Family Psychology 30(4):453-469.", "doi": "10.1037/fam0000191", "url": null }, { "ref": "Gershoff ET, Sattler KMP, Holden GW (2019). School corporal punishment and its associations with achievement and adjustment. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 63:1-8.", "doi": "10.1016/j.appdev.2019.05.004", "url": null }, { "ref": "Heekes SL, Kruger CB, Lester SN, Ward CL (2022). A systematic review of corporal punishment in schools: global prevalence and correlates. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse 23(1):52-72.", "doi": "10.1177/1524838020925787", "url": null }, { "ref": "Gershoff ET (2017). School corporal punishment in global perspective: prevalence, outcomes, and efforts at intervention. Psychology, Health and Medicine 22(sup1):224-239.", "doi": "10.1080/13548506.2016.1271955", "url": null }, { "ref": "Gershoff ET, Font SA (2016). Corporal punishment in U.S. public schools: prevalence, disparities in use, and status in state and federal policy. Social Policy Report 30(1):1-26.", "doi": "10.1002/j.2379-3988.2016.tb00086.x", "url": null }, { "ref": "Font SA, Cage J (2018). Dimensions of physical punishment and their associations with children's cognitive performance and school adjustment. Child Abuse and Neglect 75:29-40.", "doi": "10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.06.008", "url": null }, { "ref": "Elgar FJ, Donnelly PD, Michaelson V, et al. (2018). Corporal punishment bans and physical fighting in adolescents: an ecological study of 88 countries. BMJ Open 8(9):e021616.", "doi": "10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021616", "url": null }, { "ref": "Zolotor AJ, Puzia ME (2010). Bans against corporal punishment: a systematic review of the laws, changes in attitudes and behaviours. Child Abuse Review 19(4):229-247.", "doi": "10.1002/car.1131", "url": null }, { "ref": "Allison MA, Beers N, Peterson JW, AAP Council on School Health (2023). Corporal punishment in schools. Pediatrics 152(3):e2023063284.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2023-063284", "url": null }, { "ref": "Sege RD, Siegel BS, AAP Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (2018). Effective discipline to raise healthy children. Pediatrics 142(6):e20183112.", "doi": "10.1542/peds.2018-3112", "url": null }, { "ref": "US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (2023). Corporal Punishment in Public Schools (Focus on Student Discipline, Part 4 of 5), 2017-18 Civil Rights Data Collection.", "doi": null, "url": "https://civilrightsdata.ed.gov/assets/downloads/Corporal_Punishment_Part4.pdf" }, { "ref": "US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (2025). 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection: A First Look.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.ed.gov/media/document/2021-22-crdc-first-look-report-109194.pdf" }, { "ref": "Cardona MA (2023). Letter from the Secretary of Education to governors and chief state school officers calling for an end to corporal punishment in schools, March 24, 2023.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/key-policy-letters/letter-secretary-cardona-calling-end-corporal-punishment-schools" } ], "clause": "218 Student Discipline\n\nProhibition of Corporal Punishment\n\nNo employee, volunteer or contractor of the district shall administer corporal punishment to any student. Corporal punishment means the deliberate infliction of physical pain as a disciplinary measure, including striking with a hand or object, slapping, pinching, shaking, forced exercise and the withholding of food, water or restroom access. This prohibition shall apply in every district school, program, vehicle and sponsored activity and shall not be waived by parental consent. Physical force shall be used only as permitted by the district's restraint and seclusion policy to prevent imminent physical harm.\n\nDelegation of Responsibility\n\nThe Superintendent shall publish this prohibition in the student handbook and the staff handbook each August and shall report to the Board by September 30 of each year the number of substantiated allegations of corporal punishment in the prior school year, the action taken on each, and the figure submitted to the Civil Rights Data Collection. Any employee who administers corporal punishment shall be subject to discipline up to and including termination, and the Superintendent shall report the incident to the state child protection agency where state law requires.", "clause_source": "written" }, "phones": { "domain": "phones", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 237 Electronic Devices", "receipt": "Guidelines \n Video Games/Music Devices/Headphones/Airpods \n The Board prohibits the use of portable video games, walkman radio/tape players, iPods, MP3, MP4 or other electronic music players, during the instructional day in district buildings.", "section": "237 Electronic Devices", "finding": "Banning phone possession during the school day raises test scores modestly, with the gain concentrated among lower-achieving students (England: +0.07 SD overall, about +0.14 SD for the lowest quintile). Norway's middle-school bans cut bullying for both sexes and improved girls' grades, academic-track placement and mental-health care use, with no average effect on boys; the pooled effect across five European studies is small (d = 0.16) and larger for social wellbeing than for achievement.", "standard": "Students shall keep personal phones and smartwatches powered off and stored away from their person from the first bell to the last bell, with written exceptions limited to documented medical, IEP or Section 504 needs and teacher-directed instructional use, and the district shall report compliance and referral data to the board annually.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Beland LP, Murphy R (2016). Ill Communication: Technology, distraction and student performance. Labour Economics 41:61-76.", "doi": "10.1016/j.labeco.2016.04.004", "url": null }, { "ref": "Abrahamsson S (2026). Smartphone Bans, Student Outcomes and Mental Health. Journal of Human Resources, 0224-13403R2 (online first).", "doi": "10.3368/jhr.0224-13403r2", "url": null }, { "ref": "Kessel D, Hardardottir HL, Tyrefors B (2020). The impact of banning mobile phones in Swedish secondary schools. Economics of Education Review 77:102009.", "doi": "10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.102009", "url": null }, { "ref": "Bottger T, Zierer K (2024). To Ban or Not to Ban? A Rapid Review on the Impact of Smartphone Bans in Schools on Social Well-Being and Academic Performance. Education Sciences 14(8):906.", "doi": "10.3390/educsci14080906", "url": null }, { "ref": "Goodyear VA, Randhawa A, Adab P, et al. (2025). School phone policies and their association with mental wellbeing, phone use, and social media use (SMART Schools): a cross-sectional observational study. The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 101211.", "doi": "10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101211", "url": null }, { "ref": "Carrion Braakman I, Krepel A, Stronkhorst E, Klein T, de Roode J, van de Vrie M, Dirix L (2025). Monitoring landelijke afspraak mobiele telefoons en andere devices in de klas: Eindrapport, eenmeting. Kohnstamm Instituut Rapport 1147 / Oberon, for the Dutch Ministry of Education.", "doi": null, "url": "https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/blg-1206825.pdf" }, { "ref": "Pawlowski CS, Nielsen JV, Schmidt T (2021). A Ban on Smartphone Usage during Recess Increased Children's Physical Activity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(4):1907.", "doi": "10.3390/ijerph18041907", "url": null }, { "ref": "Saffer H (2026). Youth Mental Health and School Smartphone Bans: Early Evidence. NBER Working Paper 35181.", "doi": "10.3386/w35181", "url": null } ], "clause": "No. 237 Electronic Devices\n\nPersonal electronic devices, including phones, smartwatches and earbuds, shall be powered off and stored in a location designated by the building principal, away from the student, from the start of the first scheduled period through the end of the last scheduled period, including passing time and lunch. Exceptions shall be granted only where required by a student's IEP, Section 504 plan or a written medical order on file with the school nurse, or for a specific lesson at the written direction of the teacher. Each school shall provide a telephone through which a parent or guardian can reach a student during the school day. The Superintendent shall report to the Board by October 1 each year the number of device violations by school and grade, the number of exemptions on file, and the results of a fall classroom walkthrough sample. Violations shall be addressed under the district's progressive discipline matrix and shall not result in exclusion from instruction for a first or second offense.", "clause_source": "written" }, "lunch-minutes": { "domain": "lunch-minutes", "verdict": "silent", "where": "New policy (health and wellbeing)", "receipt": null, "section": null, "finding": "Children with fewer than 20 minutes seated to eat consume less of their lunch, especially fruit and vegetables: in a randomized crossover trial, 10 minutes of seated time versus 20 cut fruit consumption by 11 percentage points and vegetables by 14 points, and observational cafeteria studies in Massachusetts and California show the same pattern at scale. CDC guidance is at least 20 minutes seated after being served.", "standard": "Every building schedule provides each student at least 20 minutes seated to eat lunch after being served, and the district measures and reports seated time, not period length.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Burg X, Metcalfe JJ, Ellison B, Prescott MP (2021). Effects of longer seated lunch time on food consumption and waste in elementary and middle school-age children: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open 4(6):e2114148.", "doi": "10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.14148", "url": null }, { "ref": "Cohen JFW, Jahn JL, Richardson S, Cluggish SA, Parker E, Rimm EB (2016). Amount of time to eat lunch is associated with children's selection and consumption of school meal entree, fruits, vegetables, and milk. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 116(1):123-128.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jand.2015.07.019", "url": null }, { "ref": "Gosliner W (2014). School-level factors associated with increased fruit and vegetable consumption among students in California middle and high schools. Journal of School Health 84(9):559-568.", "doi": "10.1111/josh.12188", "url": null }, { "ref": "Price J, Just DR (2015). Lunch, recess and nutrition: Responding to time incentives in the cafeteria. Preventive Medicine 71:27-30.", "doi": "10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.11.016", "url": null }, { "ref": "Hunsberger M, McGinnis P, Smith J, Beamer BA, O'Malley J (2014). Elementary school children's recess schedule and dietary intake at lunch: a community-based participatory research partnership pilot study. BMC Public Health 14:156.", "doi": "10.1186/1471-2458-14-156", "url": null }, { "ref": "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011). School health guidelines to promote healthy eating and physical activity. MMWR Recommendations and Reports 60(RR-5):1-76.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6005a1.htm" } ], "clause": "No. ___ SECTION: PUPILS TITLE: SEATED TIME FOR SCHOOL MEALS\n\nEach building schedule shall provide every student at least twenty (20) minutes of seated time to eat lunch after receiving the meal, and at least ten (10) minutes of seated time for breakfast served at school. Lunch periods shall be scheduled so that no student receives a meal fewer than twenty (20) minutes before the period ends. Elementary buildings shall schedule recess before lunch where the facility permits.\n\nThe Director of Food Services, with each building principal, shall observe serving-line times in every cafeteria at least once each semester and shall report seated lunch minutes by building and lunch period to the Superintendent.\n\nThe Superintendent shall include in the annual wellness report presented to the Board, no later than the Board's first regular meeting in October, the seated lunch minutes by building, the number of buildings not meeting twenty (20) minutes, and a dated correction plan for each such building. The district shall measure and report seated time, not the length of the scheduled meal period.", "clause_source": "written" }, "gifted-identification": { "domain": "gifted-identification", "verdict": "partial", "where": "Amend 114 Programs for Gifted Students", "receipt": "The team will review student achievement, assessments, and data which include: parent and teacher input, IQ test, demonstrated achievements of quantitative and qualitative input (may include student interests, portfolios, academic creativity and critical thinking), standardized testing, rate of retention and acquisition, and early skills development.", "section": "114 Programs for Gifted Students", "finding": "Replacing teacher or parent referral with universal screening of every student, with no change in the eligibility cutoff, raised gifted identification in Broward County from 3.3 to 5.5 percent of second graders, with the largest gains for low-income, Black, Hispanic and English learner students who had been systematically under-referred. Black students with the same test scores are referred less often than White students, especially by non-Black teachers, which is why referral-based systems miss them.", "standard": "Every student shall be screened for advanced learning services with a validated instrument at least once in the primary grades and once in middle school, without a prior referral, using multiple measures and local norms, and identification rates by student group shall be published annually.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Card D, Giuliano L (2016). Universal screening increases the representation of low-income and minority students in gifted education. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113(48):13678-13683.", "doi": "10.1073/pnas.1605043113", "url": null }, { "ref": "Grissom JA, Redding C (2016). Discretion and Disproportionality: Explaining the Underrepresentation of High-Achieving Students of Color in Gifted Programs. AERA Open 2(1).", "doi": "10.1177/2332858415622175", "url": null }, { "ref": "McBee MT, Peters SJ, Miller EM (2016). The Impact of the Nomination Stage on Gifted Program Identification: A Comprehensive Psychometric Analysis. Gifted Child Quarterly 60(4):258-278.", "doi": "10.1177/0016986216656256", "url": null }, { "ref": "Peters SJ, Rambo-Hernandez K, Makel MC, Matthews MS, Plucker JA (2019). Effect of Local Norms on Racial and Ethnic Representation in Gifted Education. AERA Open 5(2).", "doi": "10.1177/2332858419848446", "url": null }, { "ref": "Card D, Giuliano L (2016). Can Tracking Raise the Test Scores of High-Ability Minority Students? American Economic Review 106(10):2783-2816.", "doi": "10.1257/aer.20150484", "url": null }, { "ref": "Bui SA, Craig SG, Imberman SA (2014). Is Gifted Education a Bright Idea? Assessing the Impact of Gifted and Talented Programs on Students. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 6(3):30-62.", "doi": "10.1257/pol.6.3.30", "url": null }, { "ref": "Redding C, Grissom JA (2021). Do Students in Gifted Programs Perform Better? Linking Gifted Program Participation to Achievement and Nonachievement Outcomes. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 43(3):520-544.", "doi": "10.3102/01623737211008919", "url": null } ], "clause": "The district shall administer a validated ability or achievement screener to every student in grade 2 and again in grade 6, and to every student new to the district within one semester of enrollment, at no cost to families and without any requirement of teacher, parent, or self nomination. Eligibility shall be determined from multiple measures and shall use school-level or district-level local norms in addition to national norms, with nonverbal measures and native-language accommodations available for English learners. A student who meets the criteria shall be placed in services within one semester unless a parent or guardian declines in writing. The Director of Advanced Academics shall report to the Board by November 1 each year the percentage of each cohort screened, the number and percentage of students identified and served by school, race, ethnicity, income, English learner status, and disability status, and the representation index for each group, and the Superintendent shall present a corrective plan for any group whose representation index is below 0.8.", "clause_source": "bank", "note": "writer draft rejected: numbers 0.8" }, "student-searches-and-due-process": { "domain": "student-searches-and-due-process", "verdict": "conflicts", "where": "Amend 226 Searches", "receipt": "[3] \n\nThe principal shall be responsible for promptly recording in writing each locker inspection: such record shall include the reason(s) for the search, persons present, objects found and their disposition.", "section": "226 Searches", "finding": "This domain is governed by constitutional standards rather than outcome research: Goss v. Lopez requires notice and an opportunity to respond before any suspension of ten days or less, New Jersey v. T.L.O. permits school searches on reasonable suspicion when justified at inception and reasonable in scope, and Safford v. Redding holds that a search of a student's underwear requires suspicion that the item is dangerous or hidden there. The one federal randomized trial of random drug testing found lower self-reported use among tested students (16 versus 22 percent) with no spillover to untested students, while national correlational studies find no association between testing and student drug use.", "standard": "Policy states the Goss procedures for every short suspension and a formal hearing with written notice, representation, evidence and a written decision for any exclusion beyond ten days; searches require individualized reasonable suspicion documented in writing, strip searches are prohibited, and searches and hearings are logged and reported by student group.", "citations": [ { "ref": "Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565 (1975). Supreme Court of the United States, decided January 22, 1975.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/419/565" }, { "ref": "New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 (1985). Supreme Court of the United States, decided January 15, 1985.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/469/325" }, { "ref": "Safford Unified School District #1 v. Redding, 557 U.S. 364 (2009). Supreme Court of the United States, decided June 25, 2009.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-479.ZS.html" }, { "ref": "Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton, 515 U.S. 646 (1995). Supreme Court of the United States.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/515/646" }, { "ref": "Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, 536 U.S. 822 (2002). Supreme Court of the United States.", "doi": null, "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/536/822" }, { "ref": "James-Burdumy S, Goesling B, Deke J, Einspruch E (2010). The Effectiveness of Mandatory-Random Student Drug Testing. NCEE 2010-4025. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences.", "doi": null, "url": "https://ies.ed.gov/sites/default/files/migrated/nces_pubs/ncee/pubs/20104025/pdf/20104025.pdf" }, { "ref": "Yamaguchi R, Johnston LD, O'Malley PM (2003). Relationship between student illicit drug use and school drug-testing policies. Journal of School Health 73(4):159-164.", "doi": "10.1111/j.1746-1561.2003.tb03596.x", "url": null }, { "ref": "Goldberg L, Elliot DL, MacKinnon DP, et al. (2007). Outcomes of a prospective trial of student-athlete drug testing: the Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification (SATURN) study. Journal of Adolescent Health 41(5):421-429.", "doi": "10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.08.001", "url": null }, { "ref": "Sznitman SR, Romer D (2014). Student drug testing and positive school climates: testing the relation between two school characteristics and drug use behavior in a longitudinal study. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 75(1):65-73.", "doi": "10.15288/jsad.2014.75.65", "url": null } ], "clause": "Before any suspension of ten school days or fewer, the principal or designee shall tell the student the charge, explain the evidence, and give the student an opportunity to present the student's side; where a student's presence poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of disrupting instruction, the student may be removed immediately and this conference shall occur within one school day. Written notice of the suspension, its basis and the appeal procedure shall be sent to the parent or guardian the same day. Any proposed exclusion of more than ten school days or expulsion shall require written notice to the parent at least five school days before a hearing before a hearing officer or Board panel not employed at the referring school, at which the student may be represented, present evidence and witnesses, and question the district's evidence, and a written decision with findings shall issue within five school days of the hearing; for a student with a disability, the manifestation determination required by law shall be completed within ten school days of the decision to remove. A search of a student's person, belongings, locker or vehicle shall require individualized reasonable suspicion, recorded in writing by the staff member before or immediately after the search, that the search will turn up evidence of a violation of law or school rules, and shall be no more intrusive than the suspected violation warrants. No student shall be strip searched or required to remove or expose undergarments by any district employee; where there is reasonable suspicion of an imminent danger to life, the principal shall contact law enforcement. Random or suspicionless searches of lockers may be conducted only under a written annual notice to students and families; the district shall not conduct suspicionless drug testing of students. Each principal shall log every search of a student's person or belongings and every suspension conference in the student information system. The Superintendent shall report to the Board by September 30 each year, for the prior school year and by building, race and disability status, the number of searches, the number of suspensions and expulsions, the share of suspensions with a documented pre-removal conference, the number of appeals and their outcomes, and the number of complaints alleging a search or hearing violation.", "clause_source": "bank", "note": "writer draft rejected: length/em dash" } }