Trustee Jackie De Angelis opened the District-wide Safety Plan and the Code of Conduct for a public hearing and a 30-day comment period during the board’s annual reorganization meeting on Tuesday.
“This is the same Code of Conduct that was approved last year,” said Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Champ. “We did some good work on updates prior to that, so the version that is before the Board today is the same as what was approved for this past year.” The new cellphone policy is currently not embedded in the Code of Conduct, but the implementation will be clearly stated in the Student Handbook for the 2025-2026 school year, she said.
The Code of Conduct does not yet include any mention of artificial intelligence (AI), an issue for schools everywhere.
“That’s the work we’re doing this summer, going over the Acceptable Use Policy [for AI] and also the guidelines for best practices for students and teachers,” said Assistant Superintendent Claire Comerford. “So, come the beginning of the school year we will be putting out the best practices and communicating that to all teachers and students and eventually that will be integrated to Acceptable Use Policy and also into the Code of Conduct.”
Comerford said the Code of Conduct already addresses issues such as plagiarism and misuse of technology in broad terms.
The Board of Education unanimously voted to maintain the same District-wide Safety Plan and Code of Conduct from last school year and close the brief public hearing.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, the Pelham Examiner asked whether the existing Code of Conduct needed to be amended in any way following the resignation of Siwanoy Elementary School Principal Farid Johnson, who had been on a three-month leave of absence prior to his departure. De Angelis made it clear that issues involving teachers and staff are confidential. “We’re not going to answer a personnel question,” she said. She also said that all the district staff, not just students, must abide by the Code of Conduct.
“The Code of Conduct is basically a document that frames the behavior of all,” said Champ. “It’s aimed towards students but it does apply to all individuals within the school. Did it serve the district well? I think yes. I think if there were some shortcomings in the Code of Conduct whether it was student issue, staff issue any kind of issue community member issue then that would have led us to change it.” Champ stated that the wording used in the Code of Conduct follows New York State regulations, and the Code of Conduct has a weaker influence than Board policy. She also stated that if there were any major issues, Board policy would override the Code of Conduct.
De Angelis, Natalie Marrero and Will Treves, who were re-elected in May, were sworn into office under oath by the District Clerk, Valarie Miller. After the trustees recited their oath, other trustees on the board nominated and voted unanimously for De Angelis to resume her role as president and for Marrero to resume her role as Vice President of the board. The District Clerk, Valarie Miller, was unanimously voted by members of the Board of Education to resume her role as District Clerk, and she was sworn in by De Angelis.
