School Board Policy Revisions: Updates from Dec. 5, 2024

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) policy revisions that are adopted by the Alexandria City School Board are available to access on our website, with staff being notified through the ACPS Insider newsletter. These are updates of existing Board policies, and we are informing staff of these changes as they govern school division operations. For more details about the policy revisions adopted by the School Board, please visit the webpage.

At the Alexandria City School Board meeting on Dec. 5, 2024, the School Board amended seven policies and the superintendent revised two regulations. The following is a summary of the key changes, details are available on BoardDocs.

AFA - Evaluation of School Board Operational Procedures

• 5-Year Review
• Standard Changes

BDDF - Voting

• 5-year review
• Standard changes
• Added a provision that votes are only taken at meetings where there is a quorum

BHD - School Board Member Compensation and Benefits

• 5-year review
• Standard changes

BHE - School Board Member Insurance

• 5-year review
• Standard changes
• Added “Liability” to the title to align with the VSBA model policy
• Minor rewording to improve clarity

CMA - School Quality Profiles

• 5-year review
• Standard changes
• Struck reference to IB and Cambridge information as ACPS does not provide these options.
• Changed to title to School Quality Profiles to reflect the content

GCBD-R - Staff Leaves and Absences Regulations

• Requested review
• Added specificity to the existing prohibition on taking leave adjacent to a holiday. The regulation now clarifies this applies on school days and specific actions for employees who do not report to work on these days
• Updated the long term leave section to fully document existing practices
• Transitioned the leave accrual table to bullets for accessible web posting

JFCJ - Written Notification of Violation of School Policies by Students in Alternative Education Programs

• 5-year review
• Standard changes
• VSBA model policy alignment

LA - Education Agency Relations Goals

LA-R - Education Agency Relations Goals Regulations

• 5-year review
• VSBA model policy alignment
• Expanded to scope to include staff, current version only references students
• Retired the regulation as it is redundant with the policy content

ACPS has more than 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 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 Policy Committee review. Public input on proposed revisions is taken at School Board Policy Committee meetings and regular School Board meetings.