On Board Online • June 8, 2020

By Sal Prividera
Special Correspondent

Get ready for pomp and unusual circumstances.

Since Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on May 1 that school buildings would remain shuttered for the rest of the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, school officials have been scrambling to create alternatives to traditional commencement ceremonies.

On Board Online • June 8, 2020

By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief

As the nation mourns the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and protesters call for defunding of police, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and some superintendents are calling for attention to the underlying issue of fairness in American society, including school systems.

On Board Online • June 8, 2020

Robert S. Schneider
NYSSBA Executive Director

It is important that the voices of the education community be heard when our state government makes decisions involving public education. Exhibit One: the costly and cumbersome school budget vote and board election process imposed by the governor's executive order. It is critical that state level policymakers hear - loudly and clearly - the voice of school board members and other stakeholders before they make decisions that affect schools.

On Board Online • June 8, 2020

By Kendra McQuilton

In light of the George Floyd protests, your school board may be re-examining district efforts involving diversity and inclusion. Have you considered your district's dealings with businesses?

The average school district spends 11% of its budget on purchased services, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

On Board Online • June 8, 2020

By Kate Gaffney
Senior Staff Counsel

The U.S. Department of Education recently issued final Title IX regulations that for the first time codify rules specifically pertaining to sexual harassment. The regulations serve to implement Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments - a federal civil rights statute which prohibits school districts, as recipients of federal funding, from engaging in practices or activities that discriminate on the basis of sex, including sexual harassment.

On Board Online • June 8, 2020

By Kate Gaffney
Senior Staff Counsel

The questions and answers below provide an overview of the regulatory process for reporting, investigating and making determinations regarding allegations of sexual harassment.

Generally, districts have an overall responsibility to address allegations of sexual harassment in accordance with the final Title IX regulations going into effect on Aug. 14, 2020.

On Board Online • May 18, 2020

By Jeffrey S. Handelman
Director of Human Resources and Operations

With schools physically shuttered but still responsible for educating students for the remainder of the year, it is essential that students feel valued and connected to their schools, according to the authors of books on school culture. You might call it the strategy of love.

On Twitter, educators across the nation have been encouraging each other to show love for students in postings using the hashtag #MaslowBeforeBloom.

On Board Online • May 18, 2020

Fred Langstaff
NYSSBA President

While we often say that hindsight is 20/20, we do not need to wait for the passage of time to know that this year's graduating seniors are living in historic times.

With schools closed through the end of the academic year, seniors and their families have had to accept the fact that many cherished, once-in-a-lifetime events - the senior prom, special ceremonies, and, yes, commencement - cannot take place as usual in the midst of a global public health crisis.

On Board Online • May 18, 2020

By Paul Heiser
Senior Research Analyst

As is the case in many school districts, not all students in the Peru school district have access to the internet at home. So when the governor ordered schools across the state to close because of the coronavirus pandemic, offcials in the Clinton County school district had to figure out a way to make sure all students had broadband access.

"We used our essential staff and made calls to the home of every student to see what their technology capabilities were in their homes," Peru Superintendent Thomas Palmer told On Board.

On Board Online • May 18, 2020

By Angela Marshall

How are special education students experiencing the school shutdown? While every student is different, consider Jason (not his real name), a 19-year-old student from Long Island.

Since the age of 5, he has attended the Carman Road School in Massapequa, which serves students with multiple disabilities including students with physical and developmental impairments as well as students with autism spectrum disorders, aged 5 to 21.