Board of Education Work Session Summary: January 8

The Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 Board of Education met on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in the Liberty Middle School Auditorium for its monthly work session.  

These are not the official meeting minutes and do not include every detail from the work session but rather a summary to assist the District #7 community. The official minutes can be found on the District #7 Board of Education Board Docs once approved by the Board.  

Policy Review Process 
Superintendent Dr. Patrick Shelton gave an overview of the policy review process for the district. In 2018, District #7 transitioned to using Press Plus for managing policies and documents. Press Plus provides ongoing updates to policies as recommended by legal counsel and legislative actions. 

Policies are periodically reviewed for relevancy, effectiveness, and to consider modifications. This is done at the administrative level by the District Leadership Team. Moving forward, the Board has asked that as policy reviews are done by the District Leadership Team, any policies which define roles within the district are provided to the board with the additional information requested.  

Board Policy Section 7 Review 
Dr. Shelton discussed two policies under Board Policy Section 7, including 7.40, which allows non-public school students, including parochial and homeschool students, to participate in the district’s regular education program on a space available basis and policy 7.60, which defines residency and the process for non-resident students to attend District #7. Recent changes in IHSA bylaws have resulted in the need for District #7 to review these policies for changes as it relates to IHSA eligibility. Based on the discussion in Monday’s meeting, Dr. Shelton will be gathering additional information and will bring any potential policy changes to the policy committee.  

Next Meeting:  
Monday, January 22 – Board of Education Regular Monthly Meeting (7 p.m. at Liberty Middle School) 
Monday, January 22 – Board of Education Policy Committee Meeting (5 p.m. at Liberty Middle School)