School board policy committee reviews new policies & changes

JACKSON, Tenn. — From drones to religion, local school leaders met Wednesday to discuss new and changing policies for the Jackson-Madison County School System.

The Jackson-Madison County School Board policy committee met for nearly three hours discussing new policies and changes to existing policies.

The committee discussed emergency policy changes now that every school in the district has an automated external defibrillator, or AED, on site.

“We shall conduct a drill so that in the event that we have an emergency students are aware, and if a teacher says, ‘Go get the AED,’ a student would know where to go,” Annette Wilson, coordinated school health administrator for JMCSS, said.

Also on the day’s agenda was a new policy and drone technology.

“With our advancement of STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — I see an opportunity where students will create,” Superintendent Dr. Verna Ruffin said.

The one policy discussed Wednesday that was not passed on to the board concerns the religious content in courses. There are no changes to the current policy. The updated policy will clarify what the school district is already teaching.

“We’re not teaching religion, but we are teaching the significance of religion for different time periods in history, and I think that’s very relevant,” Ruffin said.

“And so there has been some controversy with parents who have indicated that they don’t want their students to be exposed to that, so that’s where you’ll see those types of policies come down from the state,” Leader of Elementary Education Bryan Chandler said.

Some policy changes also addressed bullying and suicide prevention.

“Because we are aware nationally that there is an awareness of bullying and what harassment might look like in schools, and we want our students and our staff to be very safe, so that policy aligns with that, and also suicide prevention,” Ruffin said.

All of the new policies and changes will be voted on by the school board at their next meeting.