RFP Staff
♦ The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education met on Thursday July 10th at 4 p.m. at the administrative offices at 110 S. Long St. in East Spencer.
Yesterday’s school board meeting was highlighted by an emotionally charged public comment period focused on the clashing perspectives of Christian fundamentalists and persons supporting the Gay-Straight Alliance after school support clubs. After public comment, a debate ensued between school board members on Policy 6-8, a set of Rowan-Salisbury School policies regarding non-curriculum afterschool clubs. Curriculum clubs are the Algebra Club, the French Club, and Young Nuclear Physicist’s club. Non-curriculum clubs are clubs such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Junior Civitans clubs, and the Gay-Straight Alliance clubs.
Policy 6-8 remains unchanged, permitting the Gay-Straight Alliance support clubs to continue to meet after school.
With legal input from school system attorney Kenneth Soo about current federal and state laws, the school board came to understand that if they did not permit the Gay-Straight Alliance to meet, they would also have to end other after-school non-curriculum clubs. Of particular clout in this discussion was the Federal Equal Access Law which rules that all student clubs are to be treated equally. Sidestepping this law could stop federal funding to a school district. The school board chose not to toss the baby out with the bathwater.
As a result of an opt-in clause added to Policy 6-8, all clubs will now require parental consent forms to be filled out prior to a child attending afterschool clubs.
The board also reviewed district policies regarding technology including employee use of social media, internet safety, and the responsible use of technology.
