1 THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PHILADELPHIA POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APRIL 28, 2022 MINUTES A Policy Committee meeting was held on April 28, 2022 via Zoom virtual meeting platform. The meeting was convened at 4:00 pm. Co-Chair Dr. McColgan called the roll and made announcements concerning recording, copyright, participation in, and viewing of the meeting. Committee Members present: Dr. Maria McColgan (Co-Chair - remotely), Joyce Wilkerson (Co-Chair), Julia Danzy (remotely) , Reginald Streater, and Cecelia Thompson (remotely) Other Board Members Present: Leticia Egea-Hinton, Lisa Salley District Liaisons Present: Alicia Prince Co-Chair Dr. McColgan announced that she would be stepping down from the Board of Education effective May 6, 2022. Co-Chair Dr. McColgan also announced that Board Member Reginald Streater would begin serving as the co-chair of the policy committee effective immediately.
The minutes of the November 4, 2021 meeting of the Policy Committee were considered for approval by Committee members. A voice vote approved the minutes of the meeting by a vote of: Yes: 5 and No: 0. Co-Chair Streater stated that the minutes have been approved and are posted to the committee’s webpage. Co-Chair Streater announced the following eleven (11) policies that will be reviewed by the committee at the meeting: ○ Policy 102 - Multiracial, Multicultural, and Gender Education (Eliminate) ○ Policy 103 - Nondiscrimination in School and Classroom Practices ○ Policy 104 - Nondiscrimination in Employment Practices (Eliminate) ○ Policy 138 - English Language Development/Bilingual Education Program ○ Policy 139 - Supporting Language Accessibility for Parents and Guardians Whose Primary Language is Not English (NEW) ○ Policy 248 - Harassment and Discrimination - Students ○ Policy 313 - Evaluation of Professional Employees ○ Policy 348 - Harassment and Discrimination - Employees
2 ○ Policy 701 - Facilities Planning (Eliminate) ○ Policy 714 - Facilities Rightsizing ○ Policy 803 - School Calendar Co-Chair Streater invited Alicia Prince, Chief of Staff to provide brief remarks and updates on the proposed changes made to the policies listed on the agenda. Ms. Prince provided an overview of the agenda noting that District staff revised seven policies, created one policy, and identified three policies for proposed elimination by the Board of Education. Ms. Prince highlighted Policy 102 - Multiracial, Multicultural, and Gender Education and shared that the District is recommending Policy 102 for elimination because the content included in the policy is already captured in policies 105 (Curriculum Development), 107 (Adoption of Planned Instruction), 112 (Comprehensive School Counseling Program), and 304 (Employment of District Staff), among other policies. Thus, Policy 102 is duplicative. In the fall of next school year, the District will put forth an
Equity Framework policy, which will also capture many of the ideas set forth in Policy 102. Board Members asked clarifying questions to better understand how the spirit of Policy 102 is embedded in other policies within the manual. Board Members request that the District reconsider the elimination of Policy 102. Ms. Prince highlighted Policy 138 - English Language Development/Bilingual Education Program and introduced Policy 139 - Supporting Language Accessibility for Parents and Guardians Whose Primary Language is Not English (NEW). Ms. Prince invited Jenna Monley, Deputy Chief of Family and Community Engagement to provide a presentation on Policy 139 and its implementation throughout the district. Board Members asked questions to understand how vendors who provide translation services are held accountable as well as the role the Family and Community Engagement Office has in the implementation of this policy.
Ms. Prince noted that the following four policies were updated in compliance with changes to Title IX and guidance from the US Department of Education: Policy 103 - Nondiscrimination in School and Classroom Practices, Policy 248 - Harassment and Discrimination - Students, Policy 348 - Harassment and Discrimination - Employees. Ms. Prince invited Michelle Chapman, Deputy Chief of Employee and Labor Relations, to provide additional information regarding the employee appeal process as it relates to Policy 348. Ms. Prince also highlighted Policy 313 - Evaluation of Professional Employees and answered questions from those in attendance to better understand how employees are engaged in the evaluation process. Ms. Prince invited Leta Garner Johnson, Executive Director of Educator Effectiveness to answer questions and provide clarification around the proposed changes being made to Policy 313. Ms. Prince highlighted the proposed changes to Policy 714 - Facilities Rightsizing and Policy 803 -
School Calendar answered clarifying questions from Board Members as well as members in attendance. Board Members asked clarifying questions to understand which stakeholder groups are included in the engagement process regarding Policy 803 and when the calendar is typically available for students and families.
3 Co-Chair Streater facilitated the public participation portion of the meeting. Kerry Smith, parent/guardian, expressed concerns and unexpected consequences for students and families throughout the District in the event that policy 102 be eliminated. The committee made a final recommendation that the following policies be sent to the full Board for review at the May 26, 2022 Action Meeting: ○ Policy 102 - Multiracial, Multicultural, and Gender Education (Eliminate) ○ Policy 103 - Nondiscrimination in School and Classroom Practices ○ Policy 104 - Nondiscrimination in Employment Practices (Eliminate) ○ Policy 138 - English Language Development/Bilingual Education Program ○ Policy 139 - Supporting Language Accessibility for Parents and Guardians Whose Primary Language is Not English (NEW) ○ Policy 248 - Harassment and Discrimination - Students ○ Policy 313 - Evaluation of Professional Employees ○ Policy 348 - Harassment and Discrimination - Employees
○ Policy 701 - Facilities Planning (Eliminate) ○ Policy 714 - Facilities Rightsizing ○ Policy 803 - School Calendar Co-Chair Streater provided an overview of all requests and feedback provided regarding policies on the agenda: ○ Policy 348 - Harassment and Discrimination - Employees - Board Members requested that the District add additional language to clarify the lack of an appeals process. ○ Policy 139- Supporting Language Accessibility for Parents and Guardians Whose Primary Language is Not English (NEW) - Board Members requested that the definition of “language access” be added to the policy. Co-Chair Streater invited Ms. Prince to share any last remarks. Co-Chair Streater thanked all who attended and announced that the meeting was adjourned. Meeting adjourned at 6:44 pm.