School Board Policy Revisions: Update from Dec. 19, 2024

At the Alexandria City School Board meeting on December 19, 2024, the School Board amended nine policies and one regulation, the superintendent revised two regulations and established one new regulation. The following is a summary of the key changes, additional details are available on BoardDocs.

DAB - Operating Fund Balance

• Five-Year Review
• Standard Changes
• Added headings to improve readability
• Removed the requirement for the annual review of policy and procedures

DGC - School Activity Funds

DGC-R - Student Activity Funds Manual

• Five-Year Review
• Added that vending machine proceeds are not part of the nutrition fund
• Clarified the responsibilities for monthly reporting and preparation for the annual audit
• Transitioned DGC-R from a regulation to a stand-alone document

DLB - Salary Deductions

• Five-Year Review
• Updated the list of deductions, so it is comprehensive
• Revised the reference to note that details about deductions provided to employees
• Relocated some content about the 403b and 457 plans to GBOA - Voluntary Retirement Savings Program

DM - Cash in School Buildings

• Five-Year Review
• Minor grammatical correction

DO - Non-Locally Funded Programs

• Five-Year Review
• Standard Changes
• Minor rewording to align with the Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) model
• Content reordered to improve readability

EA - Support Services

• Five-Year Review
• Standard changes
• VSBA alignment - expands the scope to provide efficient and cost-effective support services for schools
• Changed the title to Non-Instructional Support Services to better reflect the content of the policy

EBCD-R - School Closures and Essential Personnel Regulations

• Five-Year Review
• Requested update
• Updated Facilities and Operations Essential Personnel to reflect organizational chart changes

EDC - Authorized Use of School Division-Owned Facilities and Materials

• Five-Year Review
• Minor rewording to improve readability

EI - Insurance Management

• Five-Year Review
• Standard changes
• Minor rewording to align with the Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) model

GAB-R3 - Email Signature

• New regulation
• Places into governance the required and optional elements of staff email signatures

GBOA - Voluntary Retirement Savings Program

• Requested review
• Content related to the School Board’s ability to discontinue plans relocated from DLB - Salary Deductions

IIBEA-R3 - Student Use of Personal Mobile Devices

• Required change due to the establishment of the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) Guidance for Cell Phone-Free Education document (VDOE guidance).
• Added definitions from the VDOE guidance.
• Smart watches are now treated the same as cell phones, per VDOE guidance.
• Required that devices be stored ‘bell-to-bell’ at all levels, per VDOE guidance.
  • Removed staff discretion to use cell phones as part of the instructional program at all levels.
  • Removed permission to use cell phones during passing periods/lunch for high school.
• Removed permission to use cell phones on school grounds for elementary schools without parental permission.
• Added that exceptions must be part of an established plan (504, IEP, health care, etc.), per VDOE guidance.
• Added school-sponsored events and non-building instructional activities to the table, as required under VDOE guidance.
• Added “breadcrumbs” to the table to improve readability.
• Added a reference to the VDOE Cell Phone guidance document.

ACPS has over 400 policies and regulations which are systematically revised prior to being presented to the School Board for information. The revision process includes alignment with the associated Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) model policy, alignment with the Code of Virginia, an equity review, a legal review, revisions by a team of staff members, a Senior Leadership Team review and a School Board Governance Committee review. Public input on proposed revisions is taken at School Board Governance Committee meetings and during regular School Board meetings.