The Elizabeth School District Board of Education approved a revised policy governing student interviews, interrogations, searches and arrests (policy JIH) at its Oct. 28 business meeting after an extended working-session discussion.

The working-session discussion brought together Tyler, the district's director of safety, and Chief Engel of the Elizabeth Police Department to clarify the policy's two-part structure: school responsibilities (interviews and reasonable-suspicion, noncustodial searches and discipline) and law-enforcement involvement (probable-cause custodial interrogation and criminal investigation). "The first half of the policy is more specific to school responsibilities. The second half is where it's broken down more so for when law enforcement becomes much more involved," Tyler told the board during the working session.

Board members and staff agreed to several specific provisions: parental-notification language was tightened but retains narrow statutory exceptions (for example, where child-abuse reporting makes parent contact inappropriate); student requests related to sexual-assault crimes may trigger confidentiality rights under Colorado law; and the district will document any interview or search using a JIE form (formerly a paper exhibit but now to be made available electronically in the district Google domain).

Chief Engel emphasized the operational difference between school searches and police searches: "We work within probable cause while the school works within reasonable-suspicion," he said, adding that law enforcement must follow statutory rules for custodial interrogation. Board members said the board's intent is to prevent routine disciplinary matters from becoming criminal matters except where statutory thresholds (serious bodily harm, risk to public safety, or a parent's decision to press charges) are met.

During the business meeting the board voted 3'1 to adopt the policy on its third and final reading: Director Fletcher voted No; Directors Hunt, Olson and Powell voted Aye. The board also approved creating and maintaining an official written form (JIE) for documenting searches and interviews.

The policy revision will be posted in the district policy set and the administration said it would return the finalized exhibit/form for recordkeeping to the board for administrative implementation details.