Chapter VIII
School and Community
8.01 Public Information
The Smyth County schools are operated for the benefit of the students enrolled in the public school system. The citizens of the county financially support the operation of the public schools and are entitled to be kept informed regarding the educational program provided for the instruction of all students. The superintendent and members of the school board staff will use all available means of communication to keep the public informed with respect to the program, achievements, needs, and objectives, and other matters relative to the operation of schools. All professional personnel are available to confer with parents and interested citizens on any matter relating to the educational program.
8.02 News Media
The news media have an important role in informing the people about their public schools. The school board encourages attendance at board and community meetings by the members of the news media. The superintendent is authorized to coordinate with media representatives in getting timely and accurate information about activities and developments in the school system to the community. However, the release of confidential information and/or the interruption of the educational processes by representatives of the news media is prohibited.
8.03 Meetings of the People
It shall be the duty of the Smyth County School Board to call meetings of the people of Smyth County for consultation when deemed necessary in the interest of the school system. The superintendent, chairman of the board, and/or other members of the board shall attend. The chairman shall preside or may designate another member or the superintendent to preside.
8.04 School-Community Associations
The Smyth County School Board believes that careful planning is essential for developing quality educational programs and that public involvement is a fundamental component of meaningful planning for our schools. Under the leadership of the principal each school will establish a P.T.O. and/or a parent/community advisory committee to assist with the planning of the educational program. At a minimum, quarterly meetings shall be held and minutes of each meeting shall be submitted to the superintendent of schools.
It is the policy of the Smyth County School Board to cooperate with parent-teacher associations and advisory committees which seek to advance programs designed to improve educational opportunities for all children consistent with the Code of Virginia and regulations of the State Board of Education.
8.05 Community Agencies
The Smyth County School Board will cooperate with all non-profit and non-partisan agencies in promoting the general public interest and the educational welfare of the pupils such as social service, recreation, health, safety, fire, civil defense, and law enforcement.
8.06: Deleted
8.07
Publication of Reports
(15.1-162, 22.1-68, 22.1-70)
For information and fiscal planning purposes, a
brief synopsis of the budget shall be published in the local newspaper, and
notice given of one or more public hearings, at least seven days prior to the
date set for the hearing, at which time any citizen of the county shall have the
right to attend and state his/her views thereon.
8.08
Public Complaints/Grievances
Any student, employee, or any other individual
or group experiencing a problem or having a grievance involving complaints of
discrimination, unfairness, etc., shall direct the complaint to the principal of
the school involved. If a satisfactory solution is not reached, the complaint
may then be referred to the division superintendent. The matter may then be
placed on the agenda of the board if the superintendent and complainant are
unable to reach a satisfactory solution to the problem. Grievances concerning
gender bias under Title IX and Section 504 may be directed to the respective
coordinators for first step resolution. Follow up appeals may then be made to
the superintendent and then to the school board as needed. All due process
procedures under Title IX and Section 504 shall be followed.
8.09
Right of Appeal
Any party of legitimate interest who may feel
aggrieved by the action of Smyth County School Board, may, within thirty days
after such action, file a complaint in writing to the division superintendent of
schools. If the superintendent within ten days after the receipt of the
complaint cannot satisfactorily adjust same, the superintendent shall, within
five days thereafter, at the request of any party in interest, grant an appeal
to the court of record of Smyth County or the judge thereof in vacation who
shall decide finally all questions at issue. The school boards' action on
questions of discretion shall be final unless the board has exceeded its
authority or has acted incorrectly.
8.10
School Visitors
Parents and interested citizens may visit the
Smyth County schools, with prior notice given to the respective principal, to
observe the instructional program and related activities. Parents are
especially encouraged to visit the schools on scheduled days for conferences
with teachers, special school programs and projects, parent-teacher meetings,
and "back to school" nights.
In order to insure minimum disturbance of the
instructional program, all visitors are requested to first report to the
principal of the school. Parents who wish to have special conferences with a
teacher are requested to schedule in advance such conferences through the
principal of the school.
8.11
Community Use of School Facilities
(22.1-131, 22.1-132)
See Chapter III, Section 3.13 for policy on use
of buildings/grounds. The same policy will apply for this section.
8.12
Community Use of Equipment
No equipment assigned to any school is to be
loaned, rented, or used for other than school purposes. Exceptions must be
authorized by the superintendent with the approval of the school board.
8.13
Interruptions in the School Day
Students and teachers are to be protected from
outside intrusions that disrupt instruction and regular school activities. No
student or teacher is to be interrupted from class except in case of an
emergency, and then only after receiving permission from the principal.
Exceptions to the above may be made by the principal with the approval of the
superintendent when, in their judgment, the best interests of the educational
process will be served.
8.14
Public Announcements
The superintendent and/or the principal is
authorized to arrange for announcements in the schools regarding community
programs and scheduled activities or events which have educational or
recreational value.
8.15
School Publications and News Releases
School publications which are for general
distribution should be edited under faculty supervision to assure acceptable
standards of content and journalism.
News releases by the schools are encouraged as
a means of informing the public of programs, activities, and accomplishments.
8.16
Soliciting Advertisements
School organizations must secure approval from
the principal before soliciting advertisements from merchants and business
establishments.
The school board is to be kept informed on the
frequency of such solicitations.
8.17
Fund Raising Campaigns
Principals and teachers shall hold to a minimum
the number of fund raising activities involving students. All such activities
shall have the prior approval of the principal. Principals shall report all
fund raising activities to the superintendent for annual review. Reasonable
charges may be made for athletic contests, plays, and other school sponsored
programs. All such programs shall have the approval of the principal. School
sponsored door-to-door fund raising by elementary grade students is prohibited.
8.18
Distribution of Literature
Neither school board personnel nor students may
distribute or circulate any material or information which endorses, or implies
endorsement of a commercial product or endeavor. The principal shall confer
with the superintendent if there is a question about the propriety of complying
with a request.
8.19
Circulation of Materials in Schools
The circulation of materials or information in
the schools which endorses, or implies endorsement of, a commercial product or
endeavor is prohibited. When such requests are made, they should be directed to
the principal and the superintendent.
8.20
Recommendations
While in the performance of assigned
responsibilities, school personnel are not to make recommendations concerning
the performance of professional service. Persons making such requests should be
referred to the appropriate professional association.
8.21
Private Schools
The school board and superintendent will work
cooperatively with private schools in all matters of common interest unless
expressly prohibited by Virginia law or Regulations of the State Board of
Education.
8.22
Federal Programs
Federal funds for educational purposes are
acceptable if conditions controlling their availability are consistent with
local board policies, the Code of Virginia, and regulations of the State
Department of Education.
8.23
Booster Clubs
Booster clubs separate from the school can be
organized for the benefit and support of school activities. In order for a
parent/community group to be recognized as a booster support group for a school
organization or activity, it must indicate to school officials (A) that it is a
public service organization incorporated under Virginia law with a copy of the
charter, constitution, and/or by-laws of operation on file at the school and/or
(B) that it meets the following minimum business regulations:
1. A written constitution is on file at the
school.
2. Public meetings open to the full
membership are held at least twice a year.
3. There is an annual election of officers by
the full membership present at a public meeting.
4. A semi-annual financial report is made to
the full membership and to the school principal.
5. The club officers follow appropriate
accounting practices in handling money raised. Procedures for receipts,
deposits, requisitions, vouchers, checking, and auditing must be according to
accepted accounting practices. All funds received for booster club projects
must be collected by club members and must be receipted by the treasurer.
School board employees (i.e. teachers, coaches, principals, secretaries, etc.)
shall not collect booster club money except to transfer checks or receipted
amounts from a donor to the booster club treasurer.
Booster clubs are to be organized as a
community affiliate of the school. Effective two-way communication between the
boosters' club and school officials is required. The line of communication
between the school and the booster club is between the club officers and the
school principal's designated liaison (the coach, athletic director, band
director, teacher, etc.).
The school liaison will have the responsibility
of keeping appropriate school officials informed about booster activities.
Projects having major impact upon school facilities or school programs must
receive authorization from the school principal.
8.24
Directories
Directories of teachers and presently enrolled
students shall not be released for commercial or political purposes. However,
school officials will cooperate with outside agencies to make information
available to teachers and students if such information has educational value.
In accordance with the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2002, military recruiters are entitled to receive the name, address
and telephone listing of juniors and seniors in high school.
The principal of the school may permit the
furnishing of or may furnish the names and addresses of pupils who have
terminated their enrollment for the purpose of informing former pupils of the
educational and career opportunities available to them.
Criteria for Directory Information, as
established by the Smyth County School Board, will be published annually in the
Code of Student Conduct and Attendance.
8.25
Requests for Information
The Smyth County School Board is committed to
full compliance with Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act and shall process all
requests for information in accordance with the following procedures:
1.
Access to Records
a.
Official records subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act shall be open to inspection and copying during the regular office hours of
the Smyth county Public Schools’ central office.
b.
When practicable, the official records within the definition contained in
the Virginia Code 2.1-341 shall be available on demand at the central office.
c.
Unless otherwise specified by the superintendent, inspection of records
shall take place at the central office of Smyth County Public Schools, and shall
not be removed from the site. Copies may be requested in lieu of or at the time
of inspection, subject to the changes listed below. Nonexempt records
maintained in an electronic database shall be produced in any tangible medium or
format identified by the requester that is regularly used in the ordinary course
of business by Smyth County Public Schools, including posting the records on a
website or delivering the records through an electronic mail address provided by
the requester.
d.
One of the following forms of identification must be presented, or a
photocopy thereof must be provided, before any person shall be allowed to
inspect any records or receive copies of any records:
i.
Press identification identifying requester as a representative of a
newspaper or magazine with circulation in the commonwealth, or of a radio or
television station broadcasting in or into the Commonwealth, OR
ii.
Driver’s License or other official photo identification showing that
requester is a citizen of the Commonwealth.
e.
The Superintendent or a designee shall be present during inspection or
copying of records. A record of each inspection shall be made, using form
KBA-F2.
2.
Request Procedures
a.
Request for access to records shall be made with reasonable specificity.
b.
Requests shall be directed to the Smyth County Public Schools central
office at: 121 Bagley Circle, Suite 300, Marion, Virginia 24354. Phone
276-783-3791.
c.
Requesters should make their requests using Form KBA-F1. Requests
received at the central office via telephone shall be transcribed onto Form
KBA-F1 by central office staff. Written requests other than on Form KBA-F1
shall be appended to a copy of the form by central office staff, who shall fill
out as much of the form as possible.
d.
Building office personnel shall provide Form KBA-F1 and a copy of this
regulation upon request to any person interested in obtaining access to records,
and shall instruct the requester to direct the request to the central office.
Telephone inquiries shall be redirected to the central office. Any written
requests received by building personnel shall be immediately forwarded to the
central office, with a notation indicating the date and time the request was
received.
3.
Responding to Requests
a.
Promptly, but in all cases within five (5) working days of the request,
one of the following written responses shall be provided to the requester:
i.
The records shall be made available to the requester for inspection, or
copies thereof may be provided in lieu of inspection.
ii.
The requested records will be entirely withheld because their release is
prohibited by law or because the Virginia Freedom of Information Act gives their
custodian discretion to withhold them. A written explanation identifying with
reasonable particularity the volume and subject matter of the withheld records,
and with respect to each category withheld, referencing the Code section
containing the specific applicable exemption(s) shall be included.
iii.
The requested records will be provided in part and withheld in part
because the release of part of the records is prohibited by law or the custodian
has exercised discretion to withhold a portion of the records. A written
explanation identifying with reasonable particularity the subject matter of the
withheld portions and referencing, with respect to each category of withheld
records, the specific Code section(s) which authorize the withholding of the
records, shall be included.
iv.
If the status of the records cannot be determined within the five-day
period, or if it is practically impossible to provide the records within the
five-day periods, the requester shall be notified of this fact and of the
specific conditions which make a response within the five-day period
impossible. Such notice shall be provided within five working days of the
requests, and one of the three preceding responses shall be provided within an
additional seven-day period.
b.
The five-day period shall begin on the first working day following the
day the request is received by the central office or by a building office, and
shall end at the close of business on the fifth working day following receipt of
the request. Any time that elapses between the time the requester is notified
of an advance cost determination pursuant to the procedures detailed below and
the time that the requester responds to that notice shall not be counted in
calculating the five work days.
4.
Processing of Requests
a.
The superintendent or a designee shall, after receiving a request,
promptly make an initial determination as to whether the requested records are
fully disclosable, partially disclosable, fully exempt, or if more time will be
needed.
b.
If the Superintendent or designee is unsure whether the requested
documents are disclosable or exempt, legal advice shall be promptly sought.
c.
If the Superintendent or designee is uncertain whether the requested
records exist or where they may be located, efforts shall be promptly initiated
to locate the records or determine whether they exist.
d.
If the requested records are fully or partially disclosable, the
Superintendent or a designee shall promptly consult with central office staff to
determine the cost involved to assemble the records for inspection and copying.
Where portions of individual records must be redacted prior to inspection and
copying, the cost of doing this shall also be taken into account. Search time
will be charged by the quarter hour and will depend upon the staff member(s)
involved in the search and computer time used, if any. Additional charges may
be made for copying of documents. Charges are not to exceed actual cost.
8.26: Deleted
8.27
Volunteers/Chaperones
(Code of Virginia 22.1-296.4)
Effective July 1, 1997, all
volunteers/chaperones shall complete the request for search form and pay a fee
for the search to be made. The search shall remain on file for the
school/fiscal year and must be renewed each/fiscal year the volunteer/chaperone
wishes to work with the school system.