Board Briefs

Davis School District Board of Education unanimously approved the appointment of Marianne Henderson as the new Director of the Head Start program.

The process of hiring a new director for the Head Start federal program includes approval by the school board. Assistant Superintendent John Zurbuchen introduced Ms. Henderson to the board after thanking and congratulating Dr. Teresa Oster on her retirement.

In speaking to the board of her retirement, Oster said, “It has been such an honor to serve DSD, and to work with my staff.”

Prior to the school board’s approval, Henderson shared with the board her vision and spoke about her desire to continue supporting early education for students of the Davis School District.

“I love to see how children can learn and to see families be successful so that the child can be successful, said Henderson.

Henderson will begin as Head Start Director immediately.

• Policy 1B-025 Student Board Member
• Policy 4I-002 Graduation Requirements/School Credits
• Personnel Report

Dr. Heidi Alder, outside counsel for Davis School District, reported two amendments to the Nondiscrimination Policy and Complaint Procedures for board review and approval.

The first amendment related to the management of complaints. The district policy originally stated that the eight employees and the director of the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) handle and investigate all complaints of discrimination and harassment.

Dr. Alder explained that at the beginning of the school year the OEO was investigating 100 reports per week and "it was clear that it was not feasible for those eight employees to go out to schools and complete all investigations."

The policy change allows for each school's cultural liaison (a current administrative assignment at each school) to conduct investigations of harassment and discrimination. The school administrator will then submit the information to the OEO for review and a final determination of whether discrimination had taken place.

The second change to the policy is to redefine the term harassment. The original definition of the term was defined as "unwanted conduct on the basis of a protected class." The proposed change will create a better distinction between harassment and misconduct.

Policy 11IR-100 1.2:

"The District defines harassment that violates this Policy as objectively offensive conduct based on a person or group’s actual or perceived membership in a Protected Class that given the totality of the circumstances has a negative impact on one or more persons in that Protected Class or has the purpose or effect of creating an unwelcome environment for a reasonable person in that Protected Class. Harassment need not include intent to harm, be directed at a specific person, or involve repeated incidents."

The school board unanimously approved the policy in its correct revision language.

Districts are required to share statistics regarding teen pregnancy, child sexual abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and infections and pornography complaints with their boards of education, as outlined in the Utah State Board of Education’s rule R277-474-5(4)(B).

Dr. Tim Best, Director of Health, Athletics & Physical Education, presented county and statewide data at board meeting.

Teen pregnancy rates are on the decline statewide and in the Davis School District, with 11 teen births in the district in the last year.

In the State of Utah, 18.3% of child sex abuse cases are reported by teachers and staff in the school system.

“DCFS and our educators are the first line of defense for potential warning signs,” said Best, explaining that the more familiar teachers are with signs of abuse, the more they are able to help children in dangerous situations. He emphasized how important it is for students to identify trusted adults in their lives, especially at school, because the majority of child abuse cases in Utah are perpetrated by parents or guardians.

In the 2022-23 school year, there were 485 pornography complaints, which encompasses sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexting and lewd activity. Because this number is a significant increase from the 2020-21 school year’s 71 reports, Board Member Kristen Hogan asked why there was such a large discrepancy in a short time frame.

Best attributed the change to better knowledge of what sexual harassment is and how to report it. With the launch of the district’s Harassment, Discrimination Reporting System (HDRS) and better education on what sexual harassment is, both students and administrators are better able to identify incidents and report them through the proper channels.

Following his presentation, Best presented the names of new members of the Healthy Lifestyles Curriculum Review Committee for board consideration. Appointed by administrators and unanimously approved by the board, Jodi Reid, Marcy Judd and Rebecca Davis will serve two-year terms and review materials and programs that include or address any aspect of human sexuality.