BOZEMAN — The June 14th Bozeman School Board meeting wasn’t very long but it covered a lot of topics including updating policies concerning student equity.
CASEY BERTRAM, CO-SUPERINTENDENT: “We’re going to be looking at policy 3610 and 3610P. We’re also going to be talking about some revisions to 3210P,” said Casey Bertram, co-superintendent for the Bozeman School District.
The district was very clear on how they defined the term.
“Equity means that each student regardless of race, color or national origin, ancestry, sex, ethnicity, language barrier, religious belief, physical or mental handicap or disability, economic or social condition, actual or potential marital or parental status, gender or sexual orientation will have access to the opportunities, resources, and support they need to attain their full potential,” Bertram said.
School leaders focused on different programs and policies to close the achievement gap like the Student Inclusion and Resiliency Initiative, which is a student drop-out prevention program.
“It’s not giving something up but the more that we can make Tier 1 available to all students… that’s why it’ll benefit everybody,” said Trustee Lei-Anna Bertelson.
There wasn’t any public comment surrounding the equity discussion. In fact, there was only one public comment throughout the entire meeting, and it was on a non-agenda item.
“I am certainly concerned about the critical race theory being talked about all over. It seems like a solution without a problem," said one concerned parent. "I think a lot of folks are looking to make a big blanket judgment on ‘ban this, this is terrible’. That seems like a really big government kind of solution for a problem that doesn’t exist.”
Co-Superintendent Bertram specified the equity discussion is not in relation to the critical race theory being talked about nationally.
In certain areas, the revisions provide a more inclusive definition of the subjects it is referring to. For the specific changes, visit here.
The last Bozeman school board meeting for this year is scheduled for Monday, June 28.
