The School Committee once again carefully scrutinized the Middle School and Minot Forest handbooks for the 2015 - 2016 school year at its meeting last Wednesday night.

The Committee specifically took issue with language in the "Code of Conduct" sections of both handbooks. At its July 8 meeting, the Committee had decided to delay approving the handbooks, so Minot Forest Principal Joan Seamans and Middle School Principal Dan Minkle could have more time to work on them.

The Committee agreed the wording in the Middle School's "Code of Conduct" section was “confusing” for parents who may not understand the breakdown of how a child is disciplined, based on what Middle School Principal Dan Minkle described as a “hierarchy of offenses.”

“A lot of things are left up to interpretation, which leaves parents with a lot of questions about the discipline the children are receiving,” Committee Secretary Rhonda Veugen said.

Minkle explained that “the decision wouldn’t be made in isolation by the principal.”

“It would be made with the parent, the guidance counselor, and, if I were doing it, the student him or herself,” Minkle said.

Though Veugen said she “love[d] the language” of the Minot Forest handbook, she expressed concern over the lack of clarity regarding privacy when it came to discipline.

“If another child does something to my child, privacy requires us to keep the discipline and conversation … private, but I don’t think anywhere we are describing that to a parent, and they are kind of lost,” Veugen said. “They are automatically jumping to the conclusion that nothing happened.”

Veugen also echoed the Committee’s sentiments regarding parent involvement in last meeting’s discussion of the handbooks.

“When we are taking a look at the rest of the sections around school discipline … whenever possible, we should require parent involvement,” Veugen said.

After making a number of recommendations, the Committee ultimately approved both handbooks for the 2015 - 2016 school year. The handbooks will be given to students at school, Superintedent Kimberly Shaver-Hood said.

After approving both the handbooks, the Committee also approved several new clubs for both the Middle School and High School, and approved John W. Decas Elementary School’s roof repair and boiler replacement to be presented at October’s Town Meeting.