GREENFIELD — The Greenfield School Committee’s Health and Safety Subcommittee will hold a meeting Thursday to discuss a variety of policies and procedures related to student safety.

Committee Chairman Timothy Farrell said the purpose is to find ways to continually improve those programs and policies, and the meeting will include a public comment session.

Topics to be discussed will include the Restorative Justice program, current student disciplinary procedures and protocols, a Wellness Group update, and an introduction to the new Special Education Parent Advisor Group.

“Part of the reason for this meeting is that out of the seven members on the committee, there are four that are new, so part of it is to really focus on professional development for those members,” Farrell said of the meeting. “Having the restorative justice program as an agenda item, for example, is so committee members learn more. It’s a way to get it on the table and have it discussed.”

Farrell said in a statement that the meeting is not being held in direct response to any one specific incident but the overall commitment to better educate the public and committee on health and safety policies, procedures, issues and challenges facing public schools in Greenfield and across the nation.

“It’s not a response to any one event, though there have been a few at the forefront in recent months,” Farrell said. “It’s a way to continue learning as new school committee members building a stronger committee.”

He said when an incident does happen, the public usually comes first to the committee for answers to their questions, but providing the answers isn’t always possible.

“We’re not really at that level, we don’t participate in the discipline, and a lot of the time that’s established by law or procedures in distinct, long-standing policies,” Farrell said. “But as a committee, we can look at and review those procedures and if there are procedures to be changed, we can do that better by understanding what our role is.”

You can reach Tom Relihan at:
trelihan@recorder.com
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On Twitter: @RecorderTom