JISD adopts TASB's policy changes
By GEORGIA PURDY Newsboy Correspondent

The Jasper Independent School District Board of Trustees approved Localized Policy Manual Update 80 at their regular meeting Monday, August 13. Specifically, this includes the Texas Association of School Board's alternative policy regarding House Bill 3678 or the Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act (RVAA).

RVAA mandates that each Texas school district adopt and implement a local policy regarding a limited public forum and voluntary student expression of religious viewpoints. That policy must be in place by the first day of school.

JISD Superintendent Bill Dean said that because the mandate in complicated, the district sought the help of the TASB policy service as well as the district's attorney.

"This is a complicated issue," Dean said. "Our attorney spent hours reviewing the policy to make sure we are in compliance with the law. TASB's alternative policy takes into account what the Legislature intended."

The Board also approved the designation of special education and bilingual education to TEA as acute shortage areas for Jasper Independent School District.

"By designating those, it allows us to add funding for those areas if we need to, and to send existing personnel to school for certification," Dean said.

Additional Board action included approval of the following appointments:

Michael Horn - B.S., Southern Arkansas University, science teacher at Rowe Intermediate School

Mae Lane - M.Ed., Texas A&M University- Commerce, third grade English language arts teacher

Rachel Rawls - B.S., Lamar University, fifth grade language arts teacher at Rowe

Aaron Willoughby - B.S., University of Houston-Clear Lake, science teacher at Jasper Junior High.

The district still has three unfilled positions.