Title IX, disability nondiscrimination and staff protections updated; lactation AR formalizes practices

The policy committee reviewed several nondiscrimination and compliance-related policies and an administrative regulation addressing lactation accommodations.

Superintendent (Speaker 2) said updates to Policy 103 (Title IX/harassment affecting students) realign district language to federal guidance and the 2020 model used for investigations and determinations. Policy 103.1 (nondiscrimination for qualified students with disabilities) includes updated procedural safeguards, complaint and evaluation forms and was last revised in 2019; staff noted the policy was out of its review cycle and expanded procedural protections were added.

On Policy 104 (staff nondiscrimination), the superintendent identified amendments reflecting recent changes to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and Fair Labor Standards Act provisions about breastfeeding accommodations. Mister Holland (Speaker 7) clarified staff eligibility for FMLA: employees with one year of service and 1,250 hours are eligible for up to 12 weeks (480 hours) under FMLA.

An AR (104.2) on reasonable break time and lactation accommodations was presented; staff said the AR formalizes practices already in place and provides guidance on where, when and how accommodations will be made. The committee will return these items to the committee-of-the-whole for further review before formal board readings.