PHOENIX — The Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) is giving students more of a say in what happens at their schools. The board voted unanimously Thursday night to adopt what’s called a "Student Bill of Rights."
District leaders say the Student Bill of Rights is a document that will soon live in the student and family handbook. It spells out the responsibilities, freedom and code of conduct for students, discussing how students should treat themselves and others.
There are nine declarations on the Student Bill of Rights, discussing students’ choice, protection of privacy, fairness, safety and support, use of voice, involvement, discipline, self-management and ability and opportunity to participate in school-sponsored activities.
The document and declarations were written mostly by students with the help of adults.
PXU says it received feedback from more than 10,000 students, parents and staff about what should be included. About 8,000 of those responses came from students, translating to about 30% of the student population, said Laura Telles, the district’s chief achievement officer.
“The Student Bill of Rights is not designed to be a tool for disciplinary reasons. It’s designed to be a tool for advocacy and setting a standard for behavior for our students,” Telles said.
Telles, who helped spearhead the creation, said they believe they’re one of the first high school districts in the nation to develop and adopt a document like that.
“It teaches students advocacy for themselves, so see something, say something. If they see that a peer is not being treated well or they themselves are not being treated well, it gives them an opportunity to have a voice and relate it to something they have, in real-time, they helped create,” Telles said.
One concern that came up, before approval, from a teacher in the district and parent talked about the privacy of students, what students tell staff and how parents may or may not be involved.
“The language implies through omission of any words of parent or guardian that there could be sensitive information that could potentially and deliberately be kept from parents,” the educator said in public comment.
However, the district reassured parents and staff that they worked with legal counsel in creating the Student Bill of Rights and follows the federal, state and local laws.
“It doesn’t replace FERPA or mandatory reporting. It doesn’t replace parent rights,” Telles told the community.
The Student Bill of Rights came after the district voted to bring back school resource officers, being a stipulation in approving that back over the summer. The district says the document is just another layer to add to their school safety measures.
The nine declarations on the Student Bill of Rights are detailed here.
With the approval, the district will train staff and roll out a campaign to let students know of their rights in the coming weeks.
