April 23, 2026 at 7:00 PM - Bethel Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  Jen Variale was awarded the Rising Star Award for the State of Connecticut by the Connecticut Associate of School Business Officials (CASBO)

Rationale:  Kerry Collins received donations from:
Donors Choose — $121.15
Book Dedication Funds — $102.99
Maureen Collins, Norwalk, CT — $100.00

These donations will be used for replacement books to support Rockwell Library lessons.

Rationale:  Annually in the Fall, schools present their school improvement plans, based on a Theory of Action.  In the spring, they do a follow-up session on the success and challenges in the implementation of those action steps.  Data that is available will also be presented.  A final SIP with all data will be provided to the BOE in the spring.  

Berry and Rockwell End of Year SIP

Rationale:  Email from Hassan Awward (3/24/26) - Eid dates

Rationale:  (Please note:  The Board welcomes Public Participation and asks that speakers please limit their comments to 2 minutes.  Speakers may offer objective comments of school operations and programs that concern them.  The Board will not permit any expression of personal complaints or defamatory comments about Board of Education personnel and students, nor against any person connected with the Bethel Public School System.)

Rationale:  Monthly Data  -  We include in the BOE agenda the monthly data as requested by the BOE.  

Rationale: 

We are bringing forward a new course and curriculum in our CTE program, AP Cybersecurity.  AP Cybersecurity is a broad introduction to the field of cybersecurity that aligns closely with a standard first-year college introductory cybersecurity course.

Students learn about common threats and vulnerabilities and how those combine to create risk. Students study how individuals and organizations manage risk and how risk can be mitigated. Students explore specific vulnerabilities, attacks, and mitigations, and detection measures across a variety of domains, including physical spaces, computer networks, devices, data, and applications. Throughout the course, students consider the impact of cybersecurity on individuals, organizations, societies, and governments.

This course expands our computer science offerings at BHS which include:

• AP Computer Science A- focuses on Java

• AP Computer Science Principles- broader focused on networking, computing, etc. 

• Computer Science- theory and fundamentals 

• Desktop and Web Design- HTML & CSS Programming

• Python 1

• Python 2

• Robotics- C++ Programming

 

We will be sending a teacher for training in June. 

All costs associated with the new course, the platform and the training, will be purchased through our Perkins grant.

AP Cybersecurity Curriculum
 

Rationale:  As required by our audit of our School Lunch Program, the District Wellness Committee reviewed the STUDENT WELLNESS AND NUTRITION policy.   The District Wellness Committee is comprised of district staff members and input was provided by parents and students.  There are some minor-suggested revisions made by the committee for your review.  

Rationale:  This is one of three new policies that are required by law (2025 session).  We were waiting for a model policy from Shipman and Goodwin before presenting it to the Board of Education for review.  The policy had input from Mrs. Donna Burns, Director of Instructional Technology and our Library Media Specialists.  The policy outlines the procedures the Department uses to curate a collection and maintain them based on legal requirements and guidance developed by the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians.  

POLICY REGARDING LIBRARY COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE

Rationale:  This is the second of three new policies that are required by law.  This policy provides guidelines for any challenge associated with library materials.  The policy is also a model from our district attorney, Shipman and Goodwin.  The policy is in compliance with the new state law. Again, it was developed with input from Mrs. Burns and our library media specialists.  

POLICY REGARDING LIBRARY MATERIAL REVIEW AND RECONSIDERATION

Rationale:  This is the third and last policy that is required by law.  Again, it was developed through review of model polies from Shipman and Goodwin by Mrs. Burns and our Library Media Specialist.  This is a new policy.  This policy outlines our guidelines for determining library displays and programs.  

POLICY REGARDING LIBRARY DISPLAYS AND PROGRAMS

Rationale:  Over the past several years, the Board has been updating policies in each series.  We are now at the 5000 series.  This was a simple, quick policy to review.  There was only one minor change, that working papers are obtained in the School Counseling Office.  

WORKING PAPERS

Rationale:  There is one subtle change to the food service policy and a more substantial change to the regulation.  The changes to the regulation include the inability to apply funds from the a la cart menu to the account balance and prohibiting staff from being able to charge for meals.  

Rationale:  This is a recommended policy adjustment from the Connecticut Associations of Boards of Education.  We shared the revisions with Mark Caron, our Director of Athletics.  The revisions suggested are in response to negative behavior exhibited by adults in events, but more specifically, athletic events.  This behavior has led to coaches quitting and has inflicted emotional damage to our students.  In the past, we have prohibited individuals from attending events, if behavior warrants it.  This policy would reinforce prior actions and give notice to individuals who might be exhibiting bad behavior.  Although I did not strike it in the model policy.   The Board may not want to be the final step in the appeal process and make decisions by the Superintendent binding.  It is not a statutory  requirement.  

Rationale:  We never changed the policy when the age of enrollment changed in 2023 to reflect the age of attendance to be 5 by September 1st.  With the passing of the revisions this session and being signed into law by the Governor, the requirement for school districts to provide a waiver process is gone effective 2027.   We believe it is only fair to families that are in the current process of completing it, but effective July 1st 2027, implement the September 1st date as fixed without a waiver process. This is the law.  

Rationale:  This policy needed to be updated for a number of reasons, all reflecting updates to laws.  First, the policy needed to be adjusted for the new definition of challenging behavior.  Second, adjustments for cannabais, as it no longer considered a controlled substance.  There are language changes prohibiting bias and hate crimes related to protective class.  There are also shifts for students who are deemed to meet the criteria for homelessness. 

Rationale:  Consistent with our previous communications, the district continues to adapt to the evolving needs of the special education population.  We have strategically reallocated funds to bolster in-district programming, in order to provide higher quality, more cost effective services to our students.  To date, the resulting budget transfers account for 1.16% of the overall budget.

Rationale:  The district remains on track to maintain expenditures within the approved annual budget. As of the end of the third quarter, total expenditures amounted to $39,877,975, representing 68% of the total budget. While this percentage is consistent with historical trends, the administration anticipates an increase in the fourth quarter due to the scheduled year-end contractual payouts for certified staff.

Rationale: 

The district is actively exploring a joint initiative with the town to integrate AI-driven stop-arm safety technology on district buses. We are in the process of scheduling multi-vendor demonstrations to determine the most effective solution. Furthermore, as our current transportation contract is set to expire on June 30, 2027, we are preparing to initiate a formal competitive bidding process this coming fall.

Rationale:  This agenda item is for BOE representatives to give updates from EdAdvance (RESC Board) and Parks and Recs Commission if needed.  

Rationale:  Per contract, when a teacher requests to take off a full year for child-rearing, it needs to be approved by the Board of Education.  We support this request for child-rearing leave.  Just as a matter of understanding process, this is an unpaid leave.