School Committee Meeting

The Amesbury School Committee meeting focused on student-safety policy, staffing and operations updates, and community input. Public comment and the CPAC (special education parent advisory) presentation centered on the proposed JKAA policy (timeout, seclusion, and physical restraint), urging stronger trauma-informed language, clear DESE-compliant definitions, guaranteed CPAC involvement in procedures, and accessible documentation for families. Administration and the Director of Student Services described recent building-space audits, a detailed professional-development plan (including multi-part trauma-informed training through Mass Partnerships for Youth and sessions with Dr. Alex Hirschberg), weekly principal reviews of potential timeout/seclusion spaces, and a commitment to post procedures and include them in handbooks.

On votes, the committee unanimously adopted the JKAA policy as presented with added clarifications on parent notification timelines and procedural posting; it also unanimously authorized the surplus and disposal of three district vans deemed unroadworthy and accepted two donations totaling $5,000 for the Windrush Therapeutic Writing Program. Other topics discussed included superintendent updates on hiring, athletic field/turf work and expected seasonal impacts, childcare discussions with the YMCA, the Student Advisory Council’s preparation for a bell-to-bell phone policy at the high school, CPAC plans (including an August workshop on mental health resources), and scheduling for subcommittee and joint education items such as a forthcoming regionalization report presentation. The meeting closed with routine consent actions and scheduling of the next meeting.