School board approves school handbook content, demands enforcement

The Eden Prairie School Board voted 7-0 to approve new content for all school handbooks for the 2024-25 school year at its most recent business meeting on July 22.

Although the district is still finalizing some of the phrasing for the handbooks at the middle and high school levels, key changes include:

• Clarifying grading policies, including around late work, retakes, and redos of summative assignments, and the process of handling incomplete and/or failing grades.
• Implementing stricter consequences for certain disciplinary infractions.
• Clarifying rules around academic integrity, including plagiarism.
• Providing detailed guidelines about the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
• Enforcing stricter rules around cell phone and personal device access and usage during the school day.
• Clarifying dress code policies.
• Explaining district communication procedures during critical incidents.

The finished handbooks are expected to be ready before the start of the new school year, likely in mid-August. Meanwhile, detailed edits in the current draft, which were approved by the board, can be viewed starting on page 12 of the Agendas and Materials from the most recent school board meeting.

School board told district to enforce handbook rules

As they discussed the proposed changes, members of the board told district leaders, including Josh Swanson, the school superintendent, that they believe EP school handbook rules have not been properly enforced in recent years.

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“I’m going to vote for these (handbook rules) and I want them enforced,” board member Charles “CJ” Strehl said. “I want to see change and I want to feel change.” Strehl noted that enforcing the handbook rules links to the board’s ends policies, which are the goals they set for the superintendent and expect him to achieve.

Several board members called out student behavior issues in particular. Board member Dennis Stubbs said that “disrespect and disobedience” by students was a problem and that improving this needs to start with the handbook.

Swanson said the district would work with site leaders, staff, and teachers at each school to ensure they not only understand the changes but also know they are expected to follow the rules to create a safe and positive school culture.

Parents also call for change, rule enforcement

The board’s demands for increased handbook enforcement align with publicly shared feedback from staff, students, and families that many key handbook policies are not being consistently interpreted or applied. Conversations about school discipline, violence and bullying at EP Schools are frequent topics of discussion on social media.

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During the public comment section at the school board business meeting on June 24, several members of the Eden Prairie community with children in EP Schools told the board and superintendent in person that discipline and respect are lacking in the schools.

They expressed concerns over reported violent behavior by students at both CMS and EPHS, adding that a lack of consequences and rule enforcement played a large part in this.

“Why do you even have these policies in place if you’re not requiring school leadership to enforce them?” asked one parent, adding, “We live here for this education and the behavior is getting in the way.”

Several parents also noted that the lack of consequences for poor student behavior is affecting enrollment, a concern previously raised by board members at meetings. Two parents said they are actively considering pulling their students from the district over safety and behavior concerns, adding that they know several other families who either have removed their children or are considering it.