ELPS Board votes on outside sex ed vendors, Social Media Rules for District Employees

Outside vendors are again allowed to present sex education programs at East Lansing schools. The Board of Education Monday night rescinded their earlier motion banning anyone not employed by the School District from being a part of the sex education classes.

The vote was unanimous and there was no discussion on the issue by the Board.

The original motion followed outcry from parents last spring after Alice Dreger, historian of sexuality and mother of a high school student (disclosure: Dreger is ELi's publisher) live tweeted a presentation in her son’s high school sex education class. The presentation from the SMART program included advocacy for abstinence-only education and contained factual errors and misleading information. The SMART program is associated with Pregnancy Services of Greater Lansing, a Christian ministry.

Since the early summer, a Sex Education Advisory Board has been meeting to discuss the current sex ed curriculum. They will be interviewing all groups that wish to present sex ed lessons to East Lansing students. Previous groups making presentations have included Planned Parenthood, the East Lansing Police Department and EVE (End Violent Encounters) as well as SMART.

The motion passed Monday requires all outside speakers to be “first vetted and approved by the Sex Education Advisory Board and the SEAB recommended vendors/contractors approved by the Board of Education.” The advisory board will provide the names of all approved vendors before the beginning of each school year.

The Board also unanimously approved a motion setting conditions on employees’ use of social networking.

“All uses of the District’s Technology Resources must be in support of education, and shall be consistent with the purposes, goals, and policies of the School District. All users shall conduct themselves in a responsible, ethical, moral, and polite manner, and must abide by all local, state, and federal laws. While the District has filtering technology and protection measures in place, the technology user accepts the responsibility of adhering to high standards of conduct and the terms and conditions set forth in this policy,” the motion read.

Violating the social networking policy “may result in disciplinary action, including the possibility of termination and/or legal authorities.” To ensure the policy is followed, the superintendent and principals will conduct internet searches to see if teachers or other staff have posted inappropriate materials online. They also will be monitoring staff and teachers’ interactions with students online and via text to ensure “proper fraternization.”

This is a new policy designed to reflect the increase in use of social media, said Board Chair Nell Kuhnmuench.

“There is a much broader use of social media since we had a policy. This is an effort to cover that,” said Kuhnmuench.

 Montgomery Smith

In other action:

• Tabled by 5-2 a motion to approve a contract for $26,200 to sample drinking water and undertake a lead analysis from Materials Testing Consultants. A single faucet at Glencairn Elementary School has been found to have high levels of lead. It is no longer in use and the District is working to find and remove the source of that lead. The contract includes testing 613 fixtures in eight buildings. After a lengthy discussion, the Board decided there were too many questions on how exactly the contractor would test the water. Several members had concerns that the problems with water testing in Flint may be replicated in East Lansing. Trustees Hillary Henderson and Kate Powers voted against tabling the motion, preferring to move forward on testing with no further delay.
• Superintendent Robyne Thompson announced that $16,000 has been reallocated for additional supervision during afternoon recesses at all the elementary schools. Each school is allowed to add three hours per day to pay for para-professionals to supervise recess, effective immediately.
• Scheduled a panel discussion on the student achievement gap with faculty at the MSU College of Education for 7 p.m. March 29 at the high school. Panel members include Drs. Dorinda Carter Andrews, Terry Flennaugh and David Stroupe. The public is encouraged to attend.
• Discussed the status of the pending bond vote. Kuhnmuench told the Board that “a great deal of work needs to be done. Some of us would still like to see a November 2016 election but that doesn’t seem realistic at this point.” Thompson agreed, adding that “my opinion is that we are not ready and that the timing isn’t right based on a number of things.” However, the Board risks lower turnout and higher costs by moving the bond motion to a non-presidential election year, said Trustee Kath Edsall.
• Unanimously approved $29,063 to purchase a 2016 Ford F-250 4x4 truck with a snow plow. It would replace a 1994 GMC Sierra truck in poor repair.
• East Lansing High School senior Montgomery Smith has won her second gold medal award for art in the 2016 West Central Michigan Regional Scholastic Art Awards. She is dual enrolled in both the high school and Kendall College of Art and Design. She won a gold award in 2015 and also a silver award this year along with the gold. The 17-year-old plans to study chemical engineering with a minor of graphic design.
• The East Lansing Junior Black Student Union presented “A Walk in Black History” poster to the Board, which will be on display 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. Tuesday Feb. 23 in the MacDonald Middle School foyer. The poster shows the story of “untold and unrecognized people in black history.”
• Heard a presentation from students and educators from the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, a college readiness program.