CHENEY — School district officials have taken steps towards adopting a policy most districts in the state apparently have, but Cheney lacks — a policy on civility.
At the school board’s March 10 meeting, Assistant Superintendent Tom Arlt briefly outlined proposed Policy 5117, which lays out a definition of what constitutes “uncivil conduct.” The policy lists what is considered “uncivil conduct,” provides context for when language that might be expressing controversial or differing viewpoints could become uncivil and a process for dealing with individuals when the conduct occurs.
Arlt said a civility policy is not generally required by the state school district’s advisory body, the Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA).
“It’s a policy common to and currently adopted by most districts around the state,” Arlt said. “Some were adopted as early as 2010.”
The policy is applicable not only to students, but staff, volunteers and community members participating in district activities. It also urges individuals who feel they have been subjected to uncivil conduct to “resolve their concerns through simple, direct or assisted communications with the person(s) at the source of the concern.”
The list of actions that can be considered uncivil conduct under the policy is long. It includes directing vulgar, obscene or profane gestures or words at an individual, taunting or jeering or inciting others to do so, interrupting another person who is speaking at an appropriate time and place, gossiping about others when that gossip is detrimental to the work environment, using personal epithets and several described forms of physical encounters designed to intimidate individuals.
The policy also allows for free expression and exchange of controversial or differing viewpoints, and is not intended to deprive someone of their freedom of speech and expression so long as “the ideas are presented in a respectful manner and at a time and place that are appropriation,” and that “such expression does not materially disrupt, and may not be reasonably anticipated to disrupt, the education process.”
As such, the policy is very similar to a policy adopted by the Snoqualmie Valley School District in May 2014. It’s also similar to policies adopted by the Mercer Island School District and the Issaquah School District.
According to a story in Education World, neither school district adopted a civility policy as a result of a specific incident. Officials at both districts said they had heard of instances where communications between staff and parents had become strained and unproductive as a result of perceived uncivil conduct.
“The media and popular culture seem to exemplify the angry argument as the model of communication,” Bill Keim, Mercer Island’s Superintendent of Schools, told Education World. “We don’t think that’s productive. We want to show that people can disagree but do it civilly.”
Arlt noted that civility is part of the Washington School Personnel Association’s required training for its staff.
“District civility policies are referenced in that required training,” he added.
The district’s proposed civility policy also references Policy 5011, “Harassment of District Staff Prohibited.”
As a first reading, the board took no action on adopting the policy, and will likely take it up again for adoption at the March 24 meeting.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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