NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Here’s the latest on New Hanover County Schools temporarily implementing a new policy relating to what can and cannot be displayed in district classrooms.
While the policy revisions are still awaiting board approval, on Tuesday the district’s policy committee met. The purpose of Tuesday’s committee meeting was to adjust the language within the proposed policy change.
WWAY most recently reported that Policy 7300 would limit all displays on school grounds to representations of school mascots, North Carolina, the United States, and approved curriculum.
Tuesday’s discussion clarifies the policy change would not impact the ability for teachers to display “school sponsorships, school related events, and family pictures” in their classroom.
New Hanover County School Board Vice Chair Melissa Mason, who also serves as the Chair of the Policy Committee, said this change will limit distractions in the classroom.
“I think as a school system, it’s important that we are ensuring that we are focusing on academics and hopefully this policy will prevent possible distractions for our students and really support the academics,” Mason said.
Mason said she is in favor of the policy change. She said it will help to put the focus on increasing standardized testing scores which is a priority for the district right now.
At the most recent board of education meeting, members voted 4-3 to implement a temporary policy change. A final vote on the policy is expected at the board’s June 7th meeting.