OLEAN Changes to policies regarding the dress code, water bottles and disciplinary process are highlighted in the Olean City School District Code of Conduct 2023-24.
The Board of Education on Tuesday approved the revised code, which includes a dozen changes discussed at several stakeholder meetings over the past few months.
Dr. Genelle Morris, district superintendent, said many areas of concern raised during the meetings were discussed and addressed with stakeholders, including students, staff, parents and the community, and reached a consensus . Revising the code is an annual process, she noted.
Morris said the ultimate goal is to best adjust our code of conduct this year so that it best reflects the expectations we have for our staff and students for the coming year.
Jennifer Palaszynska-Mellott, assistant principal of the high school, reviewed some of the highlights of the changes to the school board's code.
The code previously omitted a specific size of purses that students could carry with them, leaving it up to the discretion of the building principal. The code now limits the size of bags such as pencil cases or purses to four inches by eight inches by three inches.
We set the parameters to make it simple and straightforward, Palaszynska-Mellott said.
Another notable change to the dress code is the ban on wearing blankets or similar items as outerwear during class hours. Palaszynska-Mellott said it was raised at a stakeholders meeting that students at other schools were wearing flags around their shoulders, and it was decided the flags were prohibited by code.
It was also noted that outerwear worn as tops should be aligned with the individual's armpits. Palaszynska-Mellott said they gave an anatomical designation and in a way that did not discriminate against people of different sizes.
Regarding controlled substances, Palaszynska-Mellott said the code used to refer to tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs was not allowed. Because marijuana and THC are now legal in New York, she said they had to remove them and say they are still not allowed in school even though for those over 21, they are allowed in the community. This change was made everywhere it applied in the code of conduct.
Although students are still allowed to bring water bottles with them to class, metallic and opaque models are now not allowed in grades four through twelve. Palaszynska-Mellott said the code states that only water should be carried in clear, permitted bottles during the school day. In Kindergarten through third grade, allowing bottled water is at the discretion of the teacher.
The code previously listed laws regarding juvenile delinquency and juvenile advocates, which Palaszynska-Mellott said generally tends to change over time depending on the administration and state government. She said a web link is included in the code that links to the latest updates to state law regarding age and what to do on a case-by-case basis.
They can simply go to this link rather than staying outside of class hours, she added.
Other updates include the definition of a superintendent hearing, the process for requesting a classroom observation, and the consequence matrices at the end of the code of conduct.
For elementary schools, restorative conversations and detentions removed across all matrices, Palaszynska-Mellott said. In middle school, conflicts between students were added and detention times were updated to match the schedules of the school day. In high school, a referral to Cattaraugus County for a fourth controlled substance offense was added. For middle and high schools, the ban on participating in, encouraging, photographing or recording a violent event in class or on school grounds has been added.
