Table of Contents
- Buildings & Grounds Notifications
- Child Abuse Hotline Notification
- Code of Conduct
- Districtwide School Safety Plan
- Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)
- Education of Students in Foster Care
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
- Food Services Policies
- Inclement Weather/Weather Emergencies
- Foil Requests
- Notice of Nondiscrimination
- Smart Schools Investment Plan
- Student Handbook
- Technology Plan
Buildings & Grounds Notifications
Asbestos
In accordance with the Federal EPA Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), all public and private K-12 schools in the United States are required to inspect their facilities for asbestos. An additional requirement of the regulations is that parents and staff are to be informed that the inspection was done. A copy of the AHERA management plan is in the Main Office and available for your inspection. For additional information or questions, contact Chris Harris, Head Building Maintenance Worker at the Edwards-Knox Central School or call (315) 562-8131 ext. 25526.
Pesticide Use and Integrated Pest Management
What is Integrated Pest Management?
IPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current and comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interactions with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means that pose the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment. IPM programs take advantage of all pest management options possible which include but are not limited to the judicious use of pesticides. Understanding pests’ needs is essential in implementing IPM effectively. Pests seek habitats that provide basic needs such as air, moisture, food, and shelter. Pest populations can be prevented or controlled by creating inhospitable environments by removing some of the basic elements pests need to survive or by simply blocking their access into buildings. In the event that these actions are not effective, IPM may require that pests be managed by other methods such as traps, vacuums, biological controls, or pesticides. This notice is to inform you of the Integrated Pest Management Program of this school.
Schools are required to maintain a list of staff and parents who wish to receive 48-hour prior written notification of pesticide applications at relevant facilities and procedures on how to register with the school to be on a list for notification.
The E-KCS representative for our IPM Plan is Chris Harris, Head Building Maintenance Worker. To be placed on a list to receive 48-hour notice of pesticide application, please contact Chris Harris.
Child Abuse Hotline Notification
If you suspect a child is being abused or maltreated (neglected), report it by calling 1-800-342-3720, a toll-free 24-hour hotline operated by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local police department.
Learn more about reporting child abuse and maltreatment/neglect (via NYS Child Protective Services).
Code of Conduct
The Edwards-Knox Board of Education is committed to providing a safe and orderly school environment where students may receive and district personnel may deliver quality educational services without disruption or interference. Responsible behavior by students, teachers, coaches, other district personnel, parents and other visitors is essential to achieving this goal and will be enforced.
The district has definite expectations for conduct on school property and at school functions. These expectations are based on the principles of respect/tolerance, citizenship, character, honesty and integrity.
In accordance with the Dignity for All Students Act, School District policy and practice must ensure that no student is subject to discrimination or harassment, based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender/gender identity or sex by school employees or students on school property, on a school bus, or at a school function.
The Board of Education recognizes the need to clarify these expectations for acceptable conduct on school property, to incorporate the possible consequences of unacceptable conduct, and to carryout discipline when necessary, and to ensure that discipline is administered promptly and fairly.
View the District Code of Conduct.
View the District Code of Conduct Summary.
Districtwide School Safety Plan
Emergencies in schools are paramount issues that must be addressed in an expeditious and effective manner Schools stand at risk from a wide variety of acts of violence, natural, and manmade disasters. To address these threats, the State of New York has enacted the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) law. Project SAVE is a comprehensive planning effort that addresses prevention, response, and recovery with respect to a variety of emergencies in schools.
The Edwards-Knox School District supports the SAVE Legislation and intends to facilitate the planning process. The Superintendent of Schools encourages and advocates on-going district-wide cooperation and support of Project SAVE.
View the Building Level & District Level Emergency Response Plan.
Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)
The Dignity Act (DASA) prohibits the harassment and discrimination of students by students and school personnel. The students have the right to be protected from intimidation, harassment, or discrimination based on actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, or religious practice, sex, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability, by employees or students on school property or at a school-sponsored event function or activity. The students have the responsibility to respect one another and treat others fairly in accordance with the District Code of Conduct and the provisions of the Dignity Act, to conduct them in a manner that fosters an environment that is free from intimidation, harassment, or discrimination, and to report any incidents of intimidation, harassment, or discrimination.
Bullying and hazing are forms of discrimination and harassment.
Types of Harassment Behaviors
Physical
- Hitting / Punching / Tripping
- Kicking / Pushing / Scratching
- Damaging / Stealing Property
Social/Emotional/Relational
- Excluding / Threatening to exclude
- Spreading Rumors / Gossiping
- Ostracizing / Alienating
- Using Threatening Looks or Gestures
- Extortion
Verbal
- Name Calling / Teasing / Taunting
- Making Offensive / Discriminating Remarks
- Verbally Threatening / Intimidating
Cyberbullying
- Use of Internet / Cell Phone / Other Technology to Harass / Intimidate
The Dignity Act applies to behavior on school property (including athletic fields, playgrounds, and parking lots), in school buildings, on a school bus/vehicle, as well as at school-sponsored events or activities.
The Dignity for All Students Act requires each Board of Education appoint district personnel to fill the role of Dignity Act Coordinators. In our district our Director of Student Support and Special Education is the designated DASA contact for handling bullying situations within the school district. It is the responsibility of the coordinator to make sure any harassment complaints regarding DASA are followed up on and handled properly. Our Director of Student Support and Special Education has been trained to recognize and respond effectively to harassment and bullying, and implement strategies to prevent it.
DASA Reporting
If you feel you or someone else has been the target of harassment, bullying, cyber-bullying, and/or discrimination, please use the DASA Complaint Form to report all allegations.
All complaints will be treated in a confidential manner. Anonymous reports may limit our ability to respond to the complaint. A prompt and thorough investigation will be conducted for all incident reports.
Education of Students in Foster Care
The District recognizes the importance of educational stability for students in foster care and will collaborate, as appropriate, with the State Education Department (SED) and the local Department of Social Services (LDSS) to ensure that students in foster care have the same opportunity to achieve at the high-levels as their peers.
View Policy # 7133 – Education of Students in Foster Care.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
School officials may release to the media, for public relations purposes, a variety of student information, including: a student’s name, address, telephone number, academic interest, participation in sports or other activities, awards received, future educational plans, names of parent(s) and student photo. By law, officials must also release secondary school students’ names, addresses and telephone numbers to military recruiters or institutions of higher education.
Parents must notify their child’s school principal annually in writing if they do not want such information released to the entities noted above. Unless notification is put in writing by a parent, the same information may also be used in district publications, including the district newsletter and on the district website.
The Edwards-Knox Central School District is committed to protecting the privacy interests of its students and to maintaining the confidentiality of student records in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).
Parents or eligible students have the following rights:
- The right to inspect and review your child’s education record within 45 days of the day the district receives a request for access.
- The right to request the amendment of your child’s education record if you believe that information contained in their record is inaccurate, misleading or in violation of their rights of privacy.
- The right to consent to the disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education record, except to the extent permitted under FERPA.
- Notice of refusal must be received by September 30 and should be sent to:
Erin Woods, Superintendent
Edwards-Knox Central School
2512 County Route 24
Hermon, New York 13652
If notice of refusal is not received by this date the District may release such information to an outside group without individual consent. If you have refused to release this information in previous years, you still need to renew your refusal every year.
FERPA defines student directory information as the following:
- Name;
- Address;
- Email address;
- Telephone listing;
- Date/Place of Birth;
- Major/Field of Study;
- Participation in officially recognized activities and/or sports;
- Weight and height of athletic team members;
- Dates of attendance;
- Degrees and/or awards received;
- Most recent previous educational agency/institution attended;
- Photograph;
- Grade level; and
- Enrollment status.
File a Complaint
Written complaints of FERPA violations may be directed to:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C., 20202-5920
Foil Requests
The Freedom of Information Law, effective January 1, 1978, reaffirms your right to know how your government operates. It provides rights of access to records reflective of governmental decisions and policies that affect the lives of every New Yorker. The law preserves the Committee on Open Government, which was created by enactment of the original Freedom of Information Law in 1974.
Learn more about the Freedom of Information Law.
View Policy # 3310 – Access to Public Records.
Records Access Officer
The Edwards-Knox Central School District’s Records Access Officer is:
Angela Gollinger
Edwards-Knox Central School District
2512 County Route 24
Hermon, NY 13652
The Records Access Officer can be reached at (315) 562-8130.
Appeals Officer
The Edwards-Knox Central School District’s Appeals Officer is:
Erin E. Woods, Superintendent of Schools
Edwards-Knox Central School District
2512 County Route 24
Hermon, NY 13652
The Appeals Officer can be reached at (315) 562-8130.
Inclement Weather/Weather Emergencies
During times of inclement weather, the district will use the following radio and television stations to broadcast school delays, closures and cancellations:
Radio Stations
- WPDM
- YES-FM/WPAC/Q102.9
- 790WTNY I Z93 I Froggy 97
Television Stations
- 7NEWS
- Newswatch50-WWTI-TV
- YNN
Parents and guardians will be notified via telephone by our automated system (ParentSquare) about school delays, closures, cancellations, as well as other school events.
Food Services Policies
Meal Charging & Prohibition Against Meal Shaming
It is the District’s goal to provide students with access to nutritious no- or low-cost meals each school day and to ensure that a student whose parent/guardian has unpaid meal charges is not shamed or treated differently than a student whose parent/guardian does not have unpaid meal charges.
View Policy # 5660 – Meal Charging and Prohibition Against Meal Shaming.
Notice of Nondiscrimination
Edwards-Knox Central School District does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX and its regulations.
Inquiries about Title IX may be referred to Edwards-Knox Central School District’s Title IX Coordinator, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, or both. The Title IX Coordinator contact is:
Erin Woods
Superintendent of Schools
Phone (315) 562-8130 ext. 25532.
Reporting / Making a Complaint
To report information about conduct that may constitute sex discrimination or make a complaint of sex discrimination under Title IX, please contact the Title IX Coordinator.
Informal Resolution
In lieu of resolving a complaint through Edwards-Knox Central School District’s Title IX grievance procedures, the parties may instead elect to participate in an informal resolution process. Edwards-Knox does not offer informal resolution to resolve a complaint that includes allegations that an employee engaged in sex-based harassment of an elementary school or secondary school student, or when such a process would conflict with Federal, State, or local law.
Supportive Measures
Edwards-Knox will offer and coordinate supportive measures as appropriate to restore or preserve that person’s access to Edwards-Knox’s education program or activity or provide support during Edwards-Knox’s Title IX grievance procedures or during the informal resolution process.
For complaints of sex-based harassment, these supportive measures may include, as deemed reasonable by Edwards-Knox, one or more of the following:
- Counseling;
- Restrictions on contact;
- Leaves of absence;
- Extensions of deadlines; or
- Adjustments or change in assignment(s).
Edwards-Knox may modify or terminate any supportive measures if Edwards-Knox determines that such measures are no longer reasonable, are no longer necessary, or are no longer effective.
Definitions related to Title IX Sex Discrimination (106.2)
Section 106.2 of the 2024 amendments includes a number of definitions. When those defined terms are used, they have the meaning set forth in § 106.2.
Complainant means:
- A student or employee who is alleged to have been subjected to conduct that could constitute sex discrimination under Title IX or its regulations; or
- A person other than a student or employee who is alleged to have been subjected to conduct that could constitute sex discrimination under Title IX or its regulations and who was participating or attempting to participate in the recipient’s education program or activity at the time of the alleged sex discrimination.
Complaint means an oral or written request to the recipient that objectively can be understood as a request for the recipient to investigate and make a determination about alleged discrimination under Title IX or its regulations.
Disciplinary sanctions means consequences imposed on a respondent following a determination under Title IX that the respondent violated the recipient’s prohibition on sex discrimination.
Party means a complainant or respondent.
Relevant means related to the allegations of sex discrimination under investigation as part of these grievance procedures. Questions are relevant when they seek evidence that may aid in showing whether the alleged sex discrimination occurred, and evidence is relevant when it may aid a decision-maker in determining whether the alleged sex discrimination occurred.
Remedies means measures provided, as appropriate, to a complainant or any other person the recipient identifies as having had their equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity limited or denied by sex discrimination. These measures are provided to restore or preserve that person’s access to the recipient’s education program or activity after a recipient determines that sex discrimination occurred.
Respondent means a person who is alleged to have violated the recipient’s prohibition on sex discrimination.
Retaliation means intimidation, threats, coercion, or discrimination against any person by the recipient, a student, or an employee or other person authorized by the recipient to provide aid, benefit, or service under the recipient’s education program or activity, for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by Title IX or its regulations, or because the person has reported information, made a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated or refused to participate in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the Title IX regulations.
Sex-based harassment is a form of sex discrimination and means sexual harassment and other harassment on the basis of sex, including on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity, that is:
- Quid pro quo harassment: An employee, agent, or other person authorized by the recipient to provide an aid, benefit, or service under the recipient’s education program or activity explicitly or impliedly conditioning the provision of such an aid, benefit, or service on a person’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct;
- Hostile environment harassment: Unwelcome sex-based conduct that, based on the totality of the circumstances, is subjectively and objectively offensive and is so severe or pervasive that it limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the recipient’s education program or activity (i.e., creates a hostile environment). Whether a hostile environment has been created is a fact-specific inquiry that includes consideration of the following:
- The degree to which the conduct affected the complainant’s ability to access the recipient’s education program or activity;
- The type, frequency, and duration of the conduct;
- The parties’ ages, roles within the recipient’s education program or activity, previous interactions, and other factors about each party that may be relevant to evaluating the effects of the conduct;
- The location of the conduct and the context in which the conduct occurred; and
- Other sex-based harassment in the recipient’s education program or activity; or
- Specific offenses
- Sexual assault meaning an offense classified as a forcible or nonforcible sex offense under the uniform crime reporting system of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
- Dating violence meaning violence committed by a person:
- Who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and
- Where the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors:
- The length of the relationship;
- The type of relationship; and
- The frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship;
- Domestic violence meaning felony or misdemeanor crimes committed by a person who:
- Is a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim under the family or domestic violence laws of the jurisdiction of the recipient, or a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim;
- Is cohabitating, or has cohabitated, with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner;
- Shares a child in common with the victim; or
- Commits acts against a youth or adult victim who is protected from those acts under the family or domestic violence laws of the jurisdiction; or
- Stalking meaning engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to:
- Fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; or
- Suffer substantial emotional distress.
Supportive measures means individualized measures offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, without unreasonably burdening a complainant or respondent, not for punitive or disciplinary reasons, and without fee or charge to the complainant or respondent to:
- Restore or preserve that party’s access to the recipient’s education program or activity, including measures that are designed to protect the safety of the parties or the recipient’s educational environment; or
- Provide support during the recipient’s grievance procedures or during an informal resolution process.
Smart Schools Investment Plan
The Edwards-Knox Central School District’s Smart Schools Investment Plan was produced in accordance with the New York State Smart Schools Bond Act, approved by voters in November 2014. The $2 billion bond act is intended to provide school districts with funding for new educational technology and infrastructure improvements to enhance learning opportunities for all students across the state.
View the Smart Schools Investment Plan on the New York State Education Department website.
Student Handbook
Understanding school policies and expectations is key to student success at Edwards-Knox. The Student Handbook is your go-to resource, outlining rules, responsibilities and rights, along with information on programs and services. Students and families are encouraged to review it every year.
View the Elementary Student Handbook (via Google Drive).
View the High School Student Handbook (via Google Drive).
Technology Plan
Our vision for the use of instructional technology in the district is to foster (for all learners) a community that is student centered; an atmosphere that promotes self motivated life-long learners who are capable of utilizing resources to research, communicate, collaborate, problem solve and explore alternate ways to demonstrate understanding.
- Goal 1: Integrate the New York State Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards. 5
- Goal 2: Implement procedure for the approval of new software and extensions impacted by Ed. Law 2D. 6
- Goal 3: Create a path to allow graduating seniors an opportunity to keep their issued Chromebook device.
View the 2021-2024 Districtwide Technology Plan (via Google Drive).