A parent recently pointed out to the Board that state law includes §
22.1-87, reading:
Any parent, custodian, or legal guardian of a pupil attending the public schools in a school division who is aggrieved by an action of the school board may, within thirty days after such action, petition the circuit court having jurisdiction in the school division to review the action of the school board. Such review shall proceed upon the petition, the minutes of the meeting at which the school board's action was taken, the orders, if any, of the school board, an attested copy of the transcript, if any, of any hearing before the school board, and any other evidence found relevant to the issues on appeal by the court. The action of the school board shall be sustained unless the school board exceeded its authority, acted arbitrarily or capriciously, or abused its discretion.
State Code also specifies, in section
22.1-253.13:7:
C. Each local school board shall ensure that policies are developed giving consideration to the views of teachers, parents, and other concerned citizens and addressing the following:
6. Information about procedures for addressing concerns with the school division and recourse available to parents pursuant to § 22.1-87;
LCPS doesn't currently have a policy pointing out that parents have recourse to the courts regarding School Board actions. A new policy was proposed at the October 6th Legislative & Policy committee meeting and will be presented to the full Board as
Information Item 17.02 on October 13th. proposed new policy is
2-34, Petition for Court Review (PDF).
Any parent, custodian, or legal guardian of a pupil attending Loudoun County Public Schools who is aggrieved by an action of the school board may, within thirty days after such action, petition the circuit court to review the action of the school board. The action of the school board shall be sustained unless the school board exceeded its authority, acted arbitrarily or capriciously, or abused its discretion.
Notice of this provision shall be included in the Students’ Rights and Responsibilities handbook (PDF).
It also shall be included in any letter notification to a student or parent of a decision by the School Board, or a committee thereof, made in accordance with the provisions of Policy §2-20 or §2-27.
The Student Rights and Responsibilities should be renamed Teacher Rights and Student Responsibilities. It appears to have been written by an authoritarian washed out of boot camp without student or parent input.
ReplyDeleteCompare the tone and structure of Fairfax's document with the one from Loudoun. Fairfax's document seems to start with basic respect for parents and children. Loudoun's document seems to imply that every students is a criminal and the rules need to be as broad as possible to make sure administrators can prosecute as many as it wants.
Exhibit A: This year Loudoun eliminated the section explaining the right of students to opt out of the Pledge of Allegiance. The symbolic elimination of a student's right to freedom of conscience illustrates the mindset of the editor of the Student Rights and Responsibilities document.