Policy Information
Board Policy
Board of Education Policy
A full record to the adopted Lakewood Local School District Board Policies are located online at the link below.
LInk to Board Policies
Safety
Title IX
TITLE IX
We are committed to providing an equal opportunity to education for all students at Lakewood Local Schools. One of the ways we do that is by complying with all Federal laws and regulations prohibiting discrimination, and with all requirements of the US Department of Education.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is the landmark federal law that bans sex discrimination in schools, whether it is in curricular, extra-curricular or athletic activities.
Title IX states: “No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid.”
To support our efforts in this area, there are designated roles:
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IX Coordinator - HCS Administrator that administers title IX policy, investigations, and decisions.
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IX Decision Maker – Person who makes determinations on title IX investigation results, and/or appeals of decisions.
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IX Investigator – Person who conducts the title IX investigation.
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IX Report Writer – Person who writes the report related to the investigation and the decision made following the investigation.
Each person attends training to be able to execute their role effectively in support of our students.
Additionally, teachers are trained on protecting students and employees from sexual harassment through Public School Works each year.
Title IX Coordinator:
Belinda Hohman
Director of Special Programs
bhohman@lakewoodlocal.org
Attendance
IMPORTANT ABSENCE INFORMATION
In December 2016, the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 410. This bill is intended to define and prevent excessive absenteeism (including late arrivals and early dismissals) and to outline procedures schools must take to track and intervene when attendance issues arise.
The most important thing for you to understand is that schools are now required to track student attendance in terms of hours instead of days. When a student is absent between 8:50 and 3:15, those minutes will accumulate into hours eventually reaching one of two levels of absenteeism: Habitual Truancy or Excessive Absenteeism.
Habitual Truancy is defined as:
- Absent 30 or more consecutive
hours without a legitimate excuse
- Absent 42 or more hours in one school month
without a legitimate excuse
- Absent 72 or more hours in one school year
without a legitimate excuse
Excessive Absence is defined as:
- Absent 38 or more hours in one school month
with or without a legitimate excuse
- Absent 65 or more hours in one school year
with or without a legitimate excuse
According to the Ohio Revised Code, legitimate excuses can include:
- Personal illness
- Death of a relative
- Illness in the family
- Quarantine of the home
- Medical/dental appointments
- Pre-approved absences
- Observance of a religious holiday
- Medical leave ordered by a doctor
- Emergency
Additional Attendance Resources
- Attendance Works
- House Bill 410
Ohio Department of Education document on absence and tardiness.
Please note that the total hours of absences, whether legitimate or not will accumulate and trigger contact from the school regarding either Habitual Truancy or Excessive Absenteeism when the limits stated above are met. An intervention team, including parents, must then work to create and implement an absence intervention plan to improve attendance and avoid a possible referral to the juvenile court system.
Click Ohio Department of Education Absence reference.