District equity policy revisions underway

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e Douglas County school board considered a plethora of policy changes, including proposed revisions to the equity and parent engagement policies from board President Mike Peterson.

For more than a year the board has been discussing potential changes to the district’s equity policy, but the April 25 special meeting was the rst time actual language revisions were discussed.

ough the board didn’t vote on any changes, the conversation kicked o the editing process, which will continue at a May 8 work session.

Peterson drafted changes to the equity policy that would expand the de nition of diversity, add metrics for success and allow the superintendent to seek resources beyond the Equity Advisory Council to implement the policy.

Much of the original policy remains in tact.

Peterson said his changes focused on clearing up ambiguity, de ning educational equity in Douglas County and providing speci c goals. He added that the community survey results on the equity policy guided his suggestions. e discussion opened with concerns from board members Elizabeth Hanson and Susan Meek about the process. Hanson said she believed the board wasn’t following the process it had laid out in the February 2022 resolution directing the superintendent to recommend changes to the policy since Peterson drafted the new language.

“ e rst (intent) was to presume positive intent, keep elements of the original policy, but commit to continuous improvement,” he said.

She added that Kane and district sta have not put forth speci c recommendations to change the policy, so she doesn’t support revisions.

“We have heard from both our community and our superintendent that there are no implementation barriers that they can easily and readily point out in the policy and based on the assurance that we gave our community that we were going to follow this process, we can’t change course at this point,” she said. “If we change course at this point, we are creating a lot of mistrust within our community.”

Hanson motioned for the board to rea rm the original equity policy, but it failed 4-2, with the majority of the board attesting they were following an appropriate process.

Board member David Ray was absent.

“ is is not a special, magical policy that we cannot touch or amend,” Peterson said. “It is ultimately up to this board, at any point, to decide to amend, improve, rescind, replace or dispose of any policy we see t.”

Board members Christy Williams, Kaylee Winegar and Becky Myers also indicated they still support changing the policy.

After Hanson’s motion failed, Meek said she took issue with the board having a rst reading of a policy before a work session, when it will presumably be rewritten. e only feedback from other board members on the parent engagement changes came from Meek, who said she felt they should be in a separate policy.

“To me, why would we have a rst reading and then go into a work session, which is intended to change the document,” she said.

She motioned to table the rst reading until after the work session and the board agreed unanimously with the understanding that Peterson’s suggestions would be the starting place at the May 8 work session.

In addition to Peterson’s proposed updates to the equity policy, he also o ered changes to the district’s parent and family engagement policy. e changes include a section outling ‘parental rights and expectations,’ which uses exact wording from the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism’s website page on school trust. e Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism is a conservative group whose Douglas County members have opposed the equity policy.

Peterson told Colorado Community Media that the language similarities were a coincidence. During the meeting, he said the suggestions were informed by parent feedback.

Other suggested language says the district will not compel speech against someone’s values or beliefs and will abide certain parental decisions, such as opting in or out of testing or curriculum and consenting to mental health counseling for their students.

“I really don’t think the parent’s rights and expectations belong in this policy because the way the policy is stated. e purpose of this policy is about connecting and engaging with parents,” she said. “I absolutely support parent’s rights and I think if we want to look at a separate policy that talks about rights, that would make more sense to me.” e proposed changes to the other policies were drafted by district sta as part of the implementation plan for the equity policy, which Superintendent Erin Kane presented on April 25.

Changes were also proposed for the district’s policies on bullying, student mental health services, selection of controversial learning resources, textbook and curriculum adoption, instructional resources and student wellness.

Minor changes are suggested for the student wellness, textbook and curriculum adoption, controversial learning material and instructional resources policies. Potential updates to the bullying and student mental health services policies are more extensive.

All of the policy changes will be voted on at the board’s May meeting.