A number of intertwined policies pertaining to bullying, student discipline and co-curricular requirements are under review in Naperville School District 203. Restorative discipline and the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom are among the disparate contemporary concepts included in the draft documents.
An advisory committee comprised of teachers, students, parents, caregivers, and others has been hashing over three specific policies and has offered up recommendations to the board of education, which had a preliminary review at a meeting on Monday, May 6, with more reviews on the horizon.
What’s driving the policy reviews at D203
At the recent meeting, District 203’s board of education had a first reading of Policy 7.180: Preventing Bullying, Intimidation and Harassment; Policy 7.190: Student Discipline; and Policy 7.240: Co-Curricular Code of Participation.
The impetus for the three policy reviews is based on multiple factors. State law requires all Illinois public school districts review student behavior policies with input from an advisory committee. The Illinois Association of School Boards’ Policy Reference Education Subscription Service, or PRESS, has also provided language updates.
District 203 receives numerous policies in a given year through PRESS, and most are approved without any additions from the board. However, these three policies, as proposed, include customization that officials say is reflective of local feedback.
Board members, administrators, and several students all weighed in on the District 203-specific components of the policies during a lengthy discussion at the recent meeting.
Speaking specifically to the co-curricular policy and the protocols within the document, board member Kristin Fitzgerald said, “We really do want to motivate our students, wherever they are, whatever anyone else is doing, at any time, to uphold those standards.”
Bullying statistics shared from last school year
Chala Holland, assistant superintendent for administrative services, shared districtwide bullying statistics from the 2022-23 school year before delving into the proposed policy changes, which include tweaks to how reports are addressed and a clear provision parents and guardians be notified of any instances that do occur.
District 203’s current system is robust, Holland said, but is subject to ongoing modification as committee feedback is submitted from one year to the next.
“We have a pretty powerful structure, where anyone who reports an incident of bullying, intimidation and harassment, our principals and our building administrators launch an investigation immediately,” Holland said. “We have a whole process that unfolds.”
This past school year, Holland said a total of 167 bullying offenses or allegations were reported in the district. The reports were based on a range of classifications, including gender, disability, sexual orientation, and racial, color or national origin.
This past school year, the number of reports in junior high rose, while the numbers in high school declined.
“It might be asked, ‘Why?’” Holland said. “We are still trying to figure that out.”
Restorative practices and AI
During the recent policy reviews, two contemporary topics working their way through the contemporary culture vernacular emerged as talking points in District 203.
The concept of restorative practices during a student offense has been weighed as an option as discipline is handed down to students. These tools can be used to help students understand the impact of their actions, focusing on conflict resolution and building relationships.
Caleb Lewis, a junior at Naperville North High School, was among the students who served on the advisory committee that reviewed the policies.
“In our conversations, we felt it necessary that we highlight the principle of not exposing a student who may have committed an unwise choice … highlighting that they are better than what they have done, and not necessarily branding them by the decision that they made,” Lewis said.
C.J. Getting, a junior at Naperville Central High School, spoke to the board about the committee’s take on AI.
“We really view generative AI as a learning tool, the same way you may have calculators or other tools in the classroom,” Getting said. “This policy really struck the perfect balance for the committee, allowing us to enhance that learning, rather than detract from it.”
District 203’s board plans to continue discussing the proposed policies at the next meeting on May 20, though action is not anticipated on that date.
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