Keystone attorney advises board on Title IX policy, procedures

At the Oct. 17 meeting of the Keystone Academy board of directors, board attorney Candace Sorenson of CS3 Law, explained revised federal Title IX Grievance Procedures and the Pregnancy and Related Conditions Policy.
She also presented a 127-page Revised Board Policy that she had prepared.
After a long discussion, the board took no action on the Revised Grievance Procedures and tabled the Revised Board Policies.
The Pregnancy and Related Conditions Policy was approved as amended. The line added was, “to the extent school staff is employed by educational service provider the educational provider will comply.”
She explained that since National Heritage Academies is the provider, it will comply with the law.
Sorenson said the changes in Title IX standards of sexual harassment has changed and mainly depends on how school officials handle such cases. But Keystone has to be in compliance.
It’s about protection for students and staff members who are pregnant and it’s based on gender, she said.
“It depends on what happens in the election,” she said of interpretation of the law, noting that might change.
Keystone board president Steve Harsant asked if boys can play in girls sports.
Sorenson said is not finalized. And when asked what would happen if Keystone was found to be noncompliant, Sorenson said federal funding could be lost.
She said nothing in the policies address this boys on girls question. She said Title IX is the law and how that is interpreted is not set. She said four months ago the interpretation was fundamentally different than it is today because it became political.
She said there is case of Moms in the court to present this.
NHA representative Andrew Roth said generally disputes don’t happen in K-8 schools, but in the high schools.
Sorenson reminded the board that Keystone doesn’t have any employees because they are hired by NHA.
She said the board doesn’t take action on practices and procedures and if board members prefer they can take no action now and bring it back to the next meeting.
If they change with the election, NHA can change the practices and procedures without bringing it back to the board.
She said under law the local public bodies must set their own policies.
President Harsant said Keystone has different rules in its parent/student handbook than the Revised Board Policies Sorenson had prepared. He said there are no electronic devices on school property or school functions, unless authorized by the principal for specific reasons.
Sorenson said she could take out what she had put in, based on what other schools do, and insert the Keystone language banning the devices.
Principal Jorvonna Drain said this 127-page Revised Board Policy needs to be reviewed because she enforces the rules set in the handbook, which was approved a few months earlier. She especially likes the new attendance policy which works for Keystone.
“I’ve just noticed those two and there may be others,” Principal Drain said.
Sorenson said nobody wants to go through 127 pages of legal jargon, but it’s import to have school policies. She said in the past the attorneys had gotten the new handbooks for review and they have no way of knowing if anything has been changed. She was told she could check out the current handbook on the website.
It was decided for Sorenson to review the handbook and Drain to review the new board policies. Sorenson said she will revise the policy to mirror the handbook.
Sorenson said NHA will approve this policy anyway, since they already have a policy in place and this is not inconsistent with the law.
Roth said he is not asking the board to approve the policy.
In other business at the one-hour-21-minute meeting, the board:
• Approved the 2024-25 Board Funds Budget, including the items usually done one at a time throughout the year: $2,000 for perfect attendance awards; $1,500 for the School Store; $13,000 for coaches and athletic director; $5,000 for teacher recognition and leadership; and $750 for electronic tuners for the band. Harsant had asked Drain to submit these requests all at once;
• Approved $4,500 for staff Christmas marketing;
• Heard Roth announce that his wife gave birth to their first child on Oct. 1. Ramona Dorothy Roth was 7 pounds, 6 ounces;
• Heard Roth explain that the Wayne County RESA Enhanced Millage request on the ballots in Wayne County for the Nov. 5 election do not list Keystone as one of the schools that will get the funds for students. He said they don’t put the charter schools on the list, but by the time they make the final list Keystone will be on it;
• Heard Principal Drain announce that the school raised $425 for the Susan B. Komen Foundation and through its partnership with Bank of America, the donation was tripled to $1,275. She also announced they have a new social worker who will start Nov. 13. There are no employee vacancies. She said Keystone has 21 more students this year than last;;
• Learned according to NHA studies Keystone continues to academically outperform the local district in every grade level and every subject area. In addition it is outperforming the closest schools and the State of Michigan. Harsant asked if the chart he saw meant Van Buren Schools were only 27% proficient in all grades and subjects, and Drain said that was comparing the elementary grades and Owen and McBride. Keystone goes through eighth grade and has an overall proficiency rating of 57% last school year;
• Heard Roth say he will have the final figures for ESSER funds in January, but the $70,967 left to spend in November has gone for tutors; and
• Heard Roth report that J.C. Huizenga, who founded NHA, was not available for the Oct. 21 date first set for the brief celebration to honor Vesta Losen after her retirement as Keystone board president last May. He said Huizenga would like to come and so the date was reset for Nov. 18, if possible.