The Upper Darby School District Board of School Directors approved a package of policy updates at its Nov. 12 meeting, adopting changes to policies on tobacco and vaping, controlled substances, pregnant and parenting students, hazing, bullying and cyberbullying, and the school calendar.

Director Neil Desnoirs, chairing the policy discussion, said the changes were intended to bring district policy into compliance with recent state law and regulatory changes. "If these changes are approved by the board during this meeting, they will be adopted and implemented," Desnoirs said during the meeting.

Why it matters: The updates respond to Pennsylvania legislative changes and to 2024 Title IX regulations, and they alter both disciplinary language and how the district can structure instructional time. Among the changes described to the board were removal of references to a marketed product (JUUL) from the tobacco policy, clarifying controlled-substances language, and amending the school-calendar policy so the district may meet minimum instructional time by days or by hours per newly enacted state law.

Board discussion and action: Desnoirs summarized the changes and explained they corrected prior omissions and implemented statutory updates. The board then moved and seconded adoption of the policy report; the motion carried. The board did not record a roll-call vote in the spoken record included in the meeting transcript.

What the changes say: According to the board summary, Policy 2-22 (tobacco and vaping products) was updated following PA Act 33 of 2023 to remove references to product brand names and to align with the amended school code. Policy 2-27 (controlled substances and paraphernalia) received clarifying edits for comprehension and compliance. Policies 2-34 (pregnant/parenting students), 2-47 (hazing) and 2-49 (bullying/cyberbullying) were updated to align with 2024 Title IX regulations. Policy 8-03 (school calendar) was revised to reflect PA Act 56 of 2023, which allows districts to meet minimum instructional time either by a specified number of days or by minimum hours for different grade levels.

What the board did not record on the public audio: The transcript shows the motion was moved and seconded and that the motion carried; the spoken record does not include an itemized roll-call tally of individual yes/no votes.

Next steps: With adoption at tonight’s meeting, district administration will implement the revised policies and publish the updated language in board documents as required. The board and administrators indicated the changes will be reflected in BoardDocs and be available to the public.