The Lingleville School Board approved updates to local policy and the student handbook during the regular meeting Jan. 22.
The majority of changes were made so the district falls in line with state guidelines.
Under local policy, the school clarified that board members can fill out public information requests in the same way for others and the law for mandatory child abuse/neglect reporting is dropped from 48 hours to 24 hours.
LISD also clarified shared spaces under SB8, the state ‘bathroom bill’ which went into effect Dec. 4. The law restricts multi-occupancy bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing facilities to individuals based on their sex assigned at birth which bans coaches of opposite genders from entering locker rooms with their players for half-time pep talks. LISD Superintendent DeeCee McDougal said TEA has yet to give guidance but Lingleville is restricting coaches of opposite genders from the locker rooms and dedicating areas like hallways or the foyer for coaches to talk to their teams.
McDougal said the district’s coaches are on board and have already been talking to their players in public spaces set aside for halftime.
The school dress code is also being updated in the student handbook after complaints were issued about the restriction of dreadlocks, mohawks and pony tails on male students. (Those restrictions have been in effect for many years.)
McDougal said a number of school districts throughout the state had similar complaints issued due to cultural sensitivity barring students from certain groups where these hairstyles are more traditional. McDougal said it was likely the complaints were not local but the code now reflects that the district takes cultural values into consideration.
The board members present (minus the absent Jay Procter and Andrew Grimm) unanimously approved a budget amendment for the final purchase of the new school bus. It was reported that $100,000 of the $185,000 purchase was taken out of grants and reserves.
Alexa Garrison, Dean of Students, also briefed the board on TEA assessment, local accessment progress and the Texas Academic Performance Report rankings (where Lingleville scored an 88). Garrison highlighted successes within the district and said through utilization of resources like the IXL software, they are pushing for students to do even better.