School administrators highlighted changes to student handbooks during Thursday’s School Committee meeting — addressing a range of issues including toys, fast food, attendance and suspensions.

Elementary school principals Lauren Dubeau, Matt Cotter and David Brauninger gave a joint presentation, with Cotter noting there are students who use fidget toys who have special education plans and arrangements in place with teachers to do so.

“We also have kids just bringing in toys and squishies, and the dumplings were a hit this year,” Cotter said.

He noted the toys break, crack and “leave stuff all over the bus. … So, we’re just trying to get a handle on what is meant to help kids focus in class and what is just a toy.”

Fidgets need to be approved by staff.

School Committee vice chair Jamie Wronka asked how families could go about getting permission for fidgets for students who need them for support. Cotter said parents can start by contacting the school counselor or teacher.

He said administrators also could help when problem solving is necessary.

Dubeau added administrators are trying to avoid having toys that “burst on the bus” but recognize supportive toys help children “have a more positive, successful bus ride.”

Adding smart glasses to the devices in the “off and away plan” was another change made to the elementary handbook.

Middle school

Hopkinton Middle School Principal Matt Lefebvre noted families are being asked to drop off items for their student (homework, projects, lunches, etc.) between 7:55 a.m. and 10 a.m. to minimize interruptions.

Lefebvre said families should refrain from bringing in fast food (McDonald’s, Taco Bell, pizza, etc.) for their children, noting, “That smell of French fries wafting down the hallways can create a little bit of disruption and excitement in the building.”

He encouraged students instead to access cafeteria food or bring homemade lunches.

Similarly, Lefebvre said there has been an “uptick” of people bringing in “fancy beverages, as we call them in my household — candy bars in a cup” from Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts for their students and “sometimes their student’s friends.”

Caffeinated drinks are not served nor allowed in school, the HMS principal said.

High school

At the high school, Principal Amy Davenport talked about the threshold for absences and tardiness.

Students are expected to have no more than seven unexcused absences per semester (decreased from 10), and when that number is reached, they are subject to consequences, Davenport explained.

Consequences include the loss of junior/senior privileges, parking privileges and eligibility to participate in extracurricular activities.

Seven also was set as the cutoff for tardies to school, she said, and students are subject to restorative practice, a highly structured day or detention if violated.

“The best learning happens when we have the most students in our seats,” Davenport said.

Among other issues, the HHS principal highlighted new language regarding AI generated and digitally manipulated content.

“We haven’t changed practice. We’re really trying to help students understand how we hope to help them navigate this landscape,” she said.

Athletics, student services

Athletic director Ricky Andrade spoke about academic eligibility — noting students must pass four core courses and become ineligible if they are failing two or more per semester. He noted the timing to review monthly eligibility had changed from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1 and from Feb. 1 to March 1 in order to have ample time for grades to be input and students to know how they are doing.

Director of Student Services Helene Desjardins reviewed procedures and protections regarding suspensions and expulsions involving special education students. She clarified “manifestation determination,” whereby the team considers whether the disability causes or has a direct relationship to the conduct or if the conduct is the result of the district’s failure to implement the student’s individualized education program (IEP).

Desjardins also discussed the situations (including possession of illegal drugs, carrying weapons, inflicting serious bodily injury) when the student with special needs can be removed to an interim alternative education setting for not more than 45 days. This action can occur whether or not the behavior is a manifestation of the student’s disability, she said.

School Committee member Nancy Cavanaugh said she felt even one-or-two-day suspensions would impact students with disabilities “disproportionately” to their non-disabled peers.

She said these students are on IEPs “generally related to their ability to access the curriculum.”

“I feel the consequences are much heavier for students who need more school time than less,” Cavanaugh said.

Desjardins responded, “The goal is always to educate students, help them learn from the mistakes [and] put things in the building to help students in lieu of suspensions.”

Superintendent Evan Bishop said the district uses “restorative practices” instead of suspensions whenever possible.

Bishop expressed his thanks to the administrators for their time and effort working on the handbooks.

He said, “It’s meaningful for our students, and I know our staff will be happy about some of the changes as well.”