Special Schools for St. Louis County committee reviews J- and L-series policies, implements MSBA updates and holds HAR pending negotiations
June 27, 2026 | SPECL. SCH. DST. ST. LOUIS CO., School Districts, Missouri
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The Chair opened the June meeting of the Special Schools for St. Louis County board policy committee to continue its alphabetic review of district policies, focusing on J- and L-series items and quarterly Missouri School Boards' Association (MSBA) updates.
The committee received a tallied overview: 38 J-series policies required no change, five needed major edits, 21 had minor edits for grammar or alignment to current practice, one was recommended for rescind/relocation and four were held pending legal guidance. "This matches the MSBA recommendation," the Chair said when describing the JFCJ revision that plugs in updated language about what constitutes a weapon.
Why it matters: several of the J-series changes affect student safety and health protocols. The committee discussed separating interview and search procedures: the policy labeled JFG will now address only searches of students, while interview rules remain in a separate policy. "I'm delighted to see this separated out," said a committee member, endorsing the distinction.
Members also reviewed three health-related J policies updated after consultation with the district nursing department to align with the Missouri Nurse Practice Act and guidance from the Missouri Board of Nursing. Dr. Kuni raised detailed wording and formatting questions about the proposed health-services regulation, asking whether the phrase "director of health services and nursing administration" was intended as a single title or a grouping; the Chair clarified the intention was to allow either the director of health services or, if unavailable, an assistant director to act in that role and acknowledged the wording needed to be corrected. The committee member also flagged punctuation in the physical-examinations language (for example, list formatting for "vision, hearing, and dental").
The committee reviewed MSBA's quarterly recommendations and agreed to implement selected items, including replacing the word "comprehensive" with "continuous" in places tied to MSBA's broader m-sub-6 phrasing on continuous improvement. The Chair noted MSBA language must sometimes be adapted to the district's dual system of operating both its own buildings and programming in partner districts.
On JHGR (neglect and mandated reporting), Dr. Kuni pressed a policy concern: Missouri lacks state-level confidentiality protections for mandated reporters. "We still don't have it in Missouri, and I think that's goofy," he said, noting prior conversations with Bill Gamble and MSBA. The Chair said the committee lacks authority to change state law and that the language in question was MSBA suggested text carried over into the district draft.
A committee member raised the question of whether corporal punishment has ever been used; the Chair responded that corporal punishment is not an approved discipline practice in Special Schools for St. Louis County but noted MSBA must account for some Missouri districts where state law allows it.
Labor-relations item: the district reported a request from union partner SDNEA to revert to the earlier version of regulation HAR until negotiations on bargaining language are completed. The Chair described the request as reasonable and said there were no substantive district objections to reinstating the previous HAR as an interim measure; committee members signaled agreement.
The committee did not take formal board votes during the session but identified next steps: correct wording/formatting identified in health-service regulations, carry forward MSBA-aligned edits where appropriate, and provisionally restore HAR until negotiations conclude. The Chair said the next meeting will address K-series (community involvement) and G-series (personnel) policies and thanked Wendy Pendergrass for her service on what the Chair said would be her last board policy committee meeting.
The committee adjourned with no formal motions or recorded votes taken during this meeting.
The committee received a tallied overview: 38 J-series policies required no change, five needed major edits, 21 had minor edits for grammar or alignment to current practice, one was recommended for rescind/relocation and four were held pending legal guidance. "This matches the MSBA recommendation," the Chair said when describing the JFCJ revision that plugs in updated language about what constitutes a weapon.
Why it matters: several of the J-series changes affect student safety and health protocols. The committee discussed separating interview and search procedures: the policy labeled JFG will now address only searches of students, while interview rules remain in a separate policy. "I'm delighted to see this separated out," said a committee member, endorsing the distinction.
Members also reviewed three health-related J policies updated after consultation with the district nursing department to align with the Missouri Nurse Practice Act and guidance from the Missouri Board of Nursing. Dr. Kuni raised detailed wording and formatting questions about the proposed health-services regulation, asking whether the phrase "director of health services and nursing administration" was intended as a single title or a grouping; the Chair clarified the intention was to allow either the director of health services or, if unavailable, an assistant director to act in that role and acknowledged the wording needed to be corrected. The committee member also flagged punctuation in the physical-examinations language (for example, list formatting for "vision, hearing, and dental").
The committee reviewed MSBA's quarterly recommendations and agreed to implement selected items, including replacing the word "comprehensive" with "continuous" in places tied to MSBA's broader m-sub-6 phrasing on continuous improvement. The Chair noted MSBA language must sometimes be adapted to the district's dual system of operating both its own buildings and programming in partner districts.
On JHGR (neglect and mandated reporting), Dr. Kuni pressed a policy concern: Missouri lacks state-level confidentiality protections for mandated reporters. "We still don't have it in Missouri, and I think that's goofy," he said, noting prior conversations with Bill Gamble and MSBA. The Chair said the committee lacks authority to change state law and that the language in question was MSBA suggested text carried over into the district draft.
A committee member raised the question of whether corporal punishment has ever been used; the Chair responded that corporal punishment is not an approved discipline practice in Special Schools for St. Louis County but noted MSBA must account for some Missouri districts where state law allows it.
Labor-relations item: the district reported a request from union partner SDNEA to revert to the earlier version of regulation HAR until negotiations on bargaining language are completed. The Chair described the request as reasonable and said there were no substantive district objections to reinstating the previous HAR as an interim measure; committee members signaled agreement.
The committee did not take formal board votes during the session but identified next steps: correct wording/formatting identified in health-service regulations, carry forward MSBA-aligned edits where appropriate, and provisionally restore HAR until negotiations conclude. The Chair said the next meeting will address K-series (community involvement) and G-series (personnel) policies and thanked Wendy Pendergrass for her service on what the Chair said would be her last board policy committee meeting.
The committee adjourned with no formal motions or recorded votes taken during this meeting.
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