Board reviews C-9 data governance policy, facilities master plan

Members of the Board of Education met on July 17 for the monthly meeting and discussed a variety of new business.

After reviewing the month’s financial statements, board members approved previous minutes and new personnel. The board also approved the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) membership renewal and updated their C-9 data governance policy. 

The policy, which is reviewed annually, has been edited to read “digital code” in lieu of “software.” Under this new terminology, programs including extensions, plug-ins and downloads are encompassed in the policy, said Donna Williamson with Mountain Brook Schools.

Additional revisions to the C-9 data governance policy included removing HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) from the policy since it does not typically cover high school students and instead listing FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) as part of the regulations, as well as revising the MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) portion of the policy for software companies to read “MOA or equivalent” as long as the sites are vetted.

The board voted to table this discussion for one month to allow for community input.

Facilities director Tommy Prewitt also requested to move forward with creating an updated master plan for the system’s facilities since the last assessment was done in 1994. The new assessment would serve as a “road map for facility planning” for the next five to 10 years, Prewitt said, and could help identify projects for schools and draft preliminary budgets for renovations.

Prewitt requested Simonton Swaika Black Architects to complete the assessment, which the board approved.

The next board meeting is on Aug. 14 and students return to school on Aug. 15.