Seattle School Board Wants to Change Closure Policy

This BAR (Board Action Report) is from the upcoming regular school board meeting next Wednesday, November 18th, starting at 4:30 pm. On the agenda is this BAR - 

Approval of revisions to Board Policy No 6883, School and Instructional Site Closures

This comes from Director Joe Mizrahi and states (partial):

The attached revisions to Board Policy 6883, School and Instructional Site

Closures better align the District's policy with RCW 28A.335.020 and the

Washington State School Directors' Association's model policy. The proposed

revisions:


• Allow for the Board to hold public hearings earlier in the school closure

process by removing the 30-day waiting period


• Continue to require that hearings for each school be held in the geographic

region or school facility itself, where possible.


• Continue to require a final proposal and final public hearing before the

Board decision.


• Place authority with the Superintendent for instructional site closures, and

require that notice be provided to students, staff, families, and the Board.

The proposed revisions are intended to allow the Board to hear from the

community regarding proposed school closures at the earlier possible time

allowed under state law, while maintaining the number and structure of public

hearings.


The revisions also provide clarity on the ability of the Superintendent to determine

where instruction happens in our schools and programs.


Below the BAR is a clean revision of the policy followed by a redline version so you can compare. 


I urge all interested parties to read these proposed revisions carefully. 


The Board is introducing this and voting on it that night which is not the general way they treat BARs. 

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