School board trustees approve policy changes

Havre school board members approved district policy changes during Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting, one of which specifies the meaning of cultural-appropriate clothing.

“The language (in the policy) gave us more guidance on what’s appropriate,” District Superintendent Andy Carlson told trustees before they voted.

The cultural-dress policy, largely aimed at accommodating Native American students, allows students to wear items like beads, or other similar culturally relevant items, on graduation caps, while also including guidelines aimed at prohibiting abuse of the policy. Examples of abuse would be any student wearing things related to sex or violence, Carlson had said.

Another policy change allows students who haven’t met the attendance requirements but know the subject matter to pass the class. If the student can prove he or she knows the topic by passing a test, they can move on. Carlson has said the policy allows leeway for students in extraordinary circumstances.

Trustee Ed Hill asked Carlson if the policy would, for example, apply to a student with 20 absences. If the teacher agrees, yes it can, Carlson said.

While Montana has some of the strictest staff licensing requirements, the new licensing policy now allows administrators, such as superintendents, who have worked five years in another state, to work in Montana as administrators. The policy would apply only to administrators and not teachers.

“If you need to hire a superintendent, you could hire a superintendent out of state as long as they have five years administrative experience,” Carlson said.

Although it hasn’t been an issue in Havre, the military student policy allows students in military families to enroll in school more fluidly, the point being to make the transition of military students easier, since military families sometimes move around more frequently.

Another new policy will allow money to be borrowed from other designated funds if applied to safety-related expenses.

A policy to keep opioid antagonist medication in school clinics has already been passed as legislative law, Carlson said, but trustees Tuesday approved school nurses to give the anti-opioid drugs.

“We have to have a nurse who’s willing to do that,” Carlson said.

Carlson said Tuesday and a meeting a month ago that this may be something “we may” utilize.

Havre Middle School Assistant Principal Jeremiah Nitz gave an area report about the state of the school.

“Things at Havre Middle School are much status-quo,” he said.

Attendance has gone up slightly, he said, at 93.38 percent, he won’t be satisfied until that number is near 100 percent.

School administrators are also working to improve student performance and well-being, with training in the “Great 8 Effective Practices” classroom methods and surveys filled out by staff and students so the school can be better informed of what’s working and what can be improved.

“We’re going to change the climate by telling every kid they belong,” he said.