JACKSON BOARD CAUTIOUS ON SAFE SCHOOLS ACT

JACKSON -- The Missouri Safe Schools Act takes effect today, and the Jackson School District wants to be ready with the necessary changes. But school administrators don't want to be too hasty.

"We want to make sure that we make solid decisions, not something that is ill-considered or not considered enough," said Assistant Superintendent Fred Jones.

The Jackson Board of Education tabled the proposed policy changes until the issue could be studied further. However, final adoption of the new policies should come by the end of September.

The Missouri Safe Schools Act was passed in the spring and creates new safety standards for school districts. It also allows school officials more access to student discipline information and criminal records. Until now, most discipline records had been private and didn't transfer among districts.

The law requires school districts to make discipline policy changes at the beginning of the school year. "We feel like that within the month of September will be in the parameter of the intent of the legislation," Jones said.

However, the Jackson School District couldn't make any changes until now because the district didn't receive the proposed policy changes or information until a week before classes began.

"There's been no opportunity for input from the parents or faculty," said superintendent Dr. Howard Jones.

Building principals met Tuesday to discuss possible changes to the current policies and decided that more time was needed to study the issue. Updating the entire discipline policy section of the student handbook is a possibility, Jones said.

In addition to changes in the discipline policies and sharing information among districts, the Safe Schools Act allows districts to establish a policy for distributing student medications.

Although Jackson nurses and teachers are administering student medications, the official school policy prohibits it. School nurses and administrators are developing a policy to outline the guidelines for taking medicine at school.

"It fits in with Safe Schools and is in the best interest of our students," Dr. Jones said.

Board member Jack Knowlan Jr., agreed: "We need something that outlines the procedure and then follow that policy. It won't prevent accidents. It will be a balancing act."