By T. Scott Boatright
It seems like a rite of preparing to begin a new school year — policy revisions.
That’s what faced the Lincoln Parish School Board as it held its monthly August meeting on Tuesday night at the Central School Office.
Assistant School Superintendent John Young said the revisions were being requested due to outcomes of the Regular Session of the 2024 and 2025 Louisiana legislative sessions.
The LPSB unanimously approved all the requested revisions while also waiving a review period so that the new policies will be in effect as parish schools begin the new academic year next week.
Those changes include:
- Instructional Materials: Act 103 of the 2025 Louisiana Legislature revised La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:355 regarding access to instructional materials and adding access to online materials.
- Acceptable Use Policy For School Computer Systems and The Internet — Student Use; JCDAF-Bullying and Hazing (revisions): Act 686 repeals La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:280 which addressed student training for internet and cell phone use. It also removed teacher training on bullying and hazing from§17:416.14, which has been deleted from the Bullying and Hazing policy.
- Student Absences and Excuses: The new language in Section 105 of Bulletin 741 divides absences into three categories: excused absences, unexcused absences, and suspension/expulsion. It also specifies that a student who is absent, including a suspended student, shall be allowed to submit assignments and tests and is eligible to receive the same academic credit and grades originally available when the work is completed satisfactorily and in a timely manner.
- Expulsion: Act 497, effective Aug, 1, 2025, reduces the mandatory time of expulsion from four semesters to two semesters for students in grades 6) through 12 for certain offenses.
- School Wellness: Updates district policy to align with state requirements.
- Child Abuse: Act 195, effective August 1, 2025, revised the Children’s Code Articles 603 and 610, changing the language addressing school resource officers and their reporting procedures. New language provides that any school resource officer that suspects child abuse or neglect or if a mandatory reporter of child abuse reports suspected child abuse to a school resource officer, the school resource officer shall immediately notify the officer’s employing law enforcement agency or the Department of Children and Family Services.
- Behavioral Health Supports for Students: Act 504, effective August 1, 2025, enacted La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:173.1, and requires that each public school make available to each student in grades 3 – 12, a mental health assessment by a “licensed behavioral health provider” so long as it is annually authorized by his/her parent or legal guardian. The Act defines licensed behavioral health providers, and where a list of providers may be located. The assessments shall be provided to the appropriate students at no cost to the School Board.
Before a vote was made on the revisions, Board member George Mack asked if an advisory council was yet in place to help with such decisions as the LPSB had previously discussed.
“We put that out that we wanted members of the community to join,” said Parish Schools Literacy Coordinator Michelle Thrower. “We did have some community members join. We just had our triannual review of our policies, which is why we’re showing that we have some revisions. That came out of that triannual review.
“So, we do have an advisory committee that works with us. Each school also has its own advisory committee made up of parents and community members. One of the things we want to add is students. We want students involved in those advisory committees at each school and school level as well.”
