STARKVILLE — Starkville School District administrators and board members want feedback on several proposed policy changes, including the controversial addition of sex-education curriculum.
At the SSD board meeting in September, 11 policy recommendations from the Mississippi School Boards Association were introduced. Among them were sexual-education curriculum and restrictions on recording board meetings.
The policies are up for discussion and public reading at the next board meeting on Oct. 4, after which the board will have the option to adopt or amend current policies.
Until then, SSD officials encourage feedback on the proposed policies, which are listed on the district’s web site, www.starkville.k12.ms.us.
“We have gone to great lengths to put them out,” said Keith Coble, school board president. “These proposals come from MSBA, and they’re not set in stone. But we do take these recommendations seriously because it could be influenced by things other districts have encountered.”
The Starkville School District doesn’t have a sex-education curriculum and has taught abstinence-only material. SSD did have a grant program called “Abstinence Until Marriage,” but the grant ended last year.
Statewide, abstinence-only has been the standard of choice, if the issue is addressed at all. The state leaves that decision up to the school districts.
This year, state Legislature will make districts choose between “abstinence only” and “abstinence plus,” which would include safe-sex practices, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. The abstinence-plus curriculum would be age appropriate and approved by the Mississippi Department of Education.
SSD Public Information Officer Nicole Thomas said parents must opt in to either sex education course.
Thomas also made the distinction between sex education and what’s taught in health classes, which cover health promotion and disease prevention but aren’t identified as sex education by the MDE.
As with every MSBA proposed policy, state districts have the option to adopt and decline each, with the exception of the new teacher code of ethics and sex-education classes, which are mandated by state Legislature.
MSBA makes recommendations each year based on changes to state law or trends in education.
Administrators and boards may tweak each policy to fit the needs of their district, as MSBA provides just a starting point for drafting policies.
“MSBA is a resource for school board members and superintendents, therefore any assistance we provide districts is a support role,” MSBA Director of Policy/Advocacy Denotris Jackson said.
Board recording policy
SSD will decide in October whether to adopt a policy that could give the board power to regulate meetings, which, by law, are open for people to record video and/or audio.
The new policy would give the board the right to halt any recording that interrupts a meeting or obstructs view of board members. Additionally, all parties involved in the meeting must be notified of the use of recording or photographic equipment prior to the start of meetings.
An attorney general’s opinion from 2005 states “the board may promulgate reasonable rules and policies concerning the recording of meetings.”
Jackson said MSBA has been contacted by boards that have had community members come in and cause disruptions to the meeting process.
SSD hasn’t reported any such disturbances at board meetings.
“I’ve only been here four years, but we haven’t seen any issues,” SSD Interim Superintendent Dr. Beth Sewell said. “I don’t foresee a scenario where we would ever have to (prohibit recording), but that’s why we’re looking for input before the next meeting.”
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