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BRIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCHOOL-BASED SITE COUNCIL 55 Middleby Road, Lexington, MA 02421 781-861-2510 JUNE 1, 2018 MEETING MINUTES APPROVED SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 PRESENT: Lynnette Allen, Lucia Brower, Meg Colella,Allison Gullingsrud, Kimberly Hensle Lowrance, Melanie Tanionos, and Shawn Wood. ABSENT: Amelia Brower, Megan Brown, Erin Cerat,Jon Cunha, Kristen Gray,Amy Kvaal, Ruth Litchfield, Huan Liu, Zeba McGibbon, Beth Murnaghan, Sejal Petal, Deirdre Schadler, and Debbie Side. The meeting opened at 8 AM in the Bridge Elementary School Library. The first order of business was the approval of the March and April 2018 meeting minutes. They were unanimously approved. The next order of business was to discuss the discipline process at LPS, in light of the recent discussion (at School Committee, online, and in the media) about MA Department of Education statistics that indicate children of color and children with disabilities are suspended at a higher rate than white children (without disabilities) in Lexington. Meg provided some background on this issue. The data has been consistent for the last six years and are focused on the middle and high school level. The Town's Civil Rights Committee had been looking at the discipline process at LPS, as has the LPS administration. There was back and forth between the Committee and LPS about creating a survey to gather feedback on this issue from parents and guardians. In the end, LPS did not sign off on the Committee's survey but did agree to distribute it for them. Unfortunately,when it was sent out,the recipients' email addresses were viewable (instead of being sent via bcc). This was a violation of their privacy, and it also drew attention to the fact that the survey was going out only to parents and guardians of children of color and children with disabilities rather than all parents and guardians of LPS students. The survey was withdrawn,but not before upsetting many people. The School Committee is looking into the matter, and it is a top priority of the incoming superintendent.A retreat with senior administrative staff, including the new superintendent and school principals, is scheduled for the summer. Discipline—both the policy and how it is implemented—is on the agenda. According to Meg,there are no district-wide criteria for a suspension (both in-school and out-of-school suspensions); suspending a child is at the discretion of the principal. One SBC member pointed out that this is in contrast to the process for getting an IEP for a student; for that, clear guidance has been established so parents, students, and LPS staff understand the process of obtaining necessary supports. 1