Annual Notifications

In accordance with federal regulations, Alexandria School District has management plans documenting the location and condition of all known or assumed asbestos containing building materials (ACBM) in the school building.  Every six months, the ACBM is visually inspected by licensed Minnesota asbestos inspectors.  The Alexandria Schools management plan is available for public inspection at the district office during normal office hours. Trevor Peterson is the designated person responsible for maintaining the asbestos management plans for the district. He can be reached at (320) 762-2141 ext. 4206 with any questions.

The Alexandria Public School District complies with the all state and federal equity laws. Links to these laws can be found on the MN Department of Education website:

Assurance of Compliance Equity Laws

Regular school attendance is directly related to success in academic work, benefits students socially, provides opportunities for important communications between teachers and students, and establishes regular habits of dependability. For detailed information, see Policy 503 - Student Attendance.

The school district is committed to providing a safe and respectful learning environment for all students. Acts of bullying, in any form, by either an individual student or a group of students, are prohibited on school district property, at school-related functions or activities, on school transportation, and by misuse of technology. For detailed information, see Policy 514 - Bullying Prohibition.

Riding the school bus is a privilege, not a right. The school district’s general student behavior rules are in effect for all students on school buses, including nonpublic and charter school students. The school district will not provide transportation for students whose transportation privileges have been revoked.

The school district is committed to transporting students in a safe and orderly manner. To accomplish this, student riders are expected to follow school district rules for waiting at a school bus stop and for riding on a school bus. For additional details, see Policy 709 - Student Transportation Safety.

Directory information that may be released to the public, including military recruiters, without prior parent or adult student consent includes:

• Student's name
• Photograph
• Date and place of birth
• Major field of study
• Dates of attendance
• Grade level
• Enrollment status
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Weight and height of members of athletic teams
• Degrees, honors and awards received
• Most recent educational agency or institution attended by the student
• Parent's name(s), email address and telephone number

Parents who do not want any or all of the above directory information released must submit this request in writing to their child's building principal. In compliance with state law, anyone who requests data must first meet with a school administrator to discuss the use of the information and will incur any costs associated with obtaining the information. For more detailed information, see Policy 515 - Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records.

Misbehavior by students can disrupt the learning process for many other students. In addition, students must learn to practice good safety habits, value academic honesty, respect the rights of others and obey the law. For detailed information on the Student Code of Conduct and consequences for violations, see Policy 506 - District-Wide Student Discipline.

The school district recognizes that students and employees have the right to express themselves on school property. This protection includes distributing non-school-sponsored material, subject to school district regulations and procedures, at a reasonable time and place and in a reasonable manner. For detailed information, see Policy 505 - Distribution of Non-school-Sponsored Materials on School Premises by Students and Employees.

The school district will seek criminal history background checks for all applicants who receive an offer of employment with the school district. The school district also will seek criminal history background checks for all individuals, except enrolled student volunteers, who are offered the opportunity to provide athletic coaching services or other extracurricular academic coaching services to the school district, regardless of whether compensation is paid. These positions include, but are not limited to, all athletic coaches, extracurricular academic coaches, assistants and advisors. The school district may elect to seek criminal history background checks for other volunteers, independent contractors and student employees.

The policy of the school district is to provide equal educational opportunity for all students. The school district does not discriminate on the basis of one or more of the following: race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, parental status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, including gender identity and expression or age. The school district also makes reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. This commitment is expressed in the board-approved equal educational opportunity policy in the following areas:

• The school district prohibits the harassment of any individual for any of the categories listed above
• This policy applies to all areas of education including academics, coursework, co-curricular and extra curricular activities or other rights or privileges of enrollment
• It is the responsibility of every school district employee to comply with this policy conscientiously
• Any student, parent or guardian having any questions regarding this policy should discuss it with the appropriate school district official as provided by policy
• A copy of the district's grievance procedure for complaints of discrimination is available at all district buildings main offices, the district office and attached to Policy 521 - Student Disability Nondiscrimination

Materials that are part of the basic educational program are provided with state, federal, and local funds at no charge to a student. Students expected to provide their own pencils, pens, paper, erasers, notebooks, and other personal items. Students may be required to pay certain other fees or deposits, including (not an inclusive list):

• Admission fees or charges for extracurricular activities, where attendance is optional and where the admission fees or charges a student must pay to attend or participate in an extracurricular activity are the same for all students, regardless of whether the student is enrolled in a public or a home school.
• Cost for materials for a class project that exceeds minimum requirements and is kept by the student.
• Security deposits for the return of materials, supplies, or equipment.
• Personal physical education and athletic equipment and apparel.
• Items of personal use or products that a student has an option to purchase such as student publications, class rings, annuals, and graduation announcements.
• Field trips considered supplementary to the district’s educational program.
• Admission fees or costs to attend or participate in optional extracurricular activities and programs.
• Voluntarily purchased student health and accident insurance.
• Use of musical instruments owned or rented by the school district.
• A school district-sponsored driver or motorcycle education training course.
• Transportation to and from school for students living within two miles of school.
• Transportation of students to and from optional extracurricular activities or post-secondary instruction conducted at locations other than school.
• Technology

Students will be charged for technology, textbooks, workbooks, and library books that are lost or destroyed. The school district may waive a required fee or deposit if the student and parent/guardian are unable to pay.

Students must meet all course credit requirements and graduation standards, as established by the state and the school board, in order to graduate from Alexandria Public Schools, see policy for complete details. Parents may opt out of the statewide assessments for their student(s) by completing the form and returning it to the school district office.

The school district strives to maintain a learning and working environment free from harassment and violence on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, age, marital status, familial status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation or disability. The school district prohibits any form of harassment or violence on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, gender, age, marital status, familial status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation or disability. Detailed information can be found in Policy 413 - Harassment and Violence.

Hazing is prohibited. No student will plan, direct, encourage, aid or engage in hazing. Students who violate this rule will be subject to disciplinary action pursuant to Policy 506 - District-Wide Student Discipline. For additional details, see Policy 526 - Hazing Prohibition.

The Alexandria School District has a written indoor air quality (IAQ) management plan that describes our on-going effort to monitor and improve the air quality in our buildings. Trevor Peterson is our IAQ coordinator, responsible for seeing that the management plan is implemented to prevent as many IAQ problems as possible and to quickly respond to any IAQ problems that may arise. The plan is available to the public during normal school hours. If you have any questions or concerns regarding indoor air quality, please contact Trevor Peterson at (320) 762-2141 ext. 4206.

In Alexandria Public Schools, we are committed to ensuring that every family has equitable access to information. Our Language Access Plan is designed to remove language barriers by providing translation and interpretation services, empowering families who prefer to communicate in a language other than English to engage in their children's education. This plan supports our learning community by ensuring families can participate in school communications, events, and decision-making processes, creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

The Alexandria School District will follow the recommendations of the Minnesota Department of Health’s “Lead Contamination Control in School Drinking Water Guidance Manual.” The Alexandria School District completed lead in water testing of all potable water sources in 2024. The Alexandria School District followed Minnesota Department of Health’s protocol in the reduction of any water sources found to be above action levels of lead. There are no known sources of water above the recommended action level for lead. Testing will be completed every 5 years. The results of testing are available upon request.

Under Minnesota law, school lockers are school district property. At no time does the school district relinquish its exclusive control of lockers provided for students' convenience. School officials may inspect the interior of lockers for any reason at any time, without notice, without student consent and without a search warrant.

Students' personal possessions within a school locker may be searched only when school officials have a reasonable suspicion that the search will uncover evidence of a violation of law or school rules. As soon as practicable after the search of a student's personal possessions, the school officials will provide notice of the search to students whose lockers were searched, unless disclosure would impede an ongoing investigation by police or school officials.

The school district is committed to inclusive education and providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. The school district does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, parental status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, including gender identity and expression or age in its programs and activities. The school board has designated Jessie Hjelle, Director of Human Resources, 1410 S. McKay Ave., Ste. 201, Alexandria, MN, 320-762-2141, ext. 4204 as the district's human rights officer to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination.

NondiscriminationNotice.pdf

The school district will give notice to teachers and other appropriate school district staff before students with a history of violent behavior are placed in their classrooms. Prior to giving this notice, district officials will inform the student’s parent or guardian that the notice will be given. The student’s parents/guardians have the right to review and challenge their child’s records, including the data documenting the history of violent behavior. For more information, see Policy 529 - Staff Notification of Violent Behavior by Students.

If a parent requests it, the school district will provide information regarding the professional qualifications of his/her child’s classroom teachers, including, at a minimum, the following:

1. whether the teacher has met state qualifications and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction;
2. whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional licensing status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived;
3. the baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree;
4. whether the student is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

In addition, the school district will provide parents with information as to the level of achievement of their child in each of the state academic assessments. The school district will provide notice to parents if their child has been assigned to, or taught for four or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who is not highly qualified.

A Minnesota state law went into effect in the year 2000 that requires schools to inform parents and guardians if they apply certain pesticides on school property.

Specifically, this law requires schools that apply these pesticides to maintain an estimated schedule of pesticide applications and to make the schedule available to parents and guardians for review or copying.

State law also requires that you be told that the long-term health effects on children from the application of such pesticides or the class of chemicals to which they belong may not be fully understood.

An estimated schedule of pesticide applications is available at the District Office.  Parents of students may request to receive, at their expense, prior notification of pesticide applications made on days other than those specified in the estimated schedule (excluding emergency applications).

Contact Trevor Peterson at (320) 762-2141 ext. 4206 with any questions.

Students will recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America one or more times each week. Any person who does not with to participate in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance for any personal reason may elect not to do so. Students must respect another person's right to make that choice. Students will also receive instruction in the proper etiquette toward, correct display of and respect for the flag. For additional details, see Policy 531 - The Pledge of Allegiance.

The school district recognizes its responsibility in regard to the collection, maintenance and dissemination of pupil records and the protection of the privacy rights of students pursuant to the requirements of federal (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and state (Minnesota Government Data Practices Act) statutes. Therefore, educational records that identify a student, other than directory information, will not be released to the public without written permission of the parent or adult student. Exceptions are explained in Policy 515 - Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records and may be reviewed in principals' offices.

The school district neither promotes nor disparages any religious belief or nonbelief. Instead, the school district encourages all students and employees to have appreciation for and tolerance of each other's views. For additional details, see Policy 609 - Religion and Religious and Cultural Observances.

It is the policy of this school district to protect students with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of disability and to identify and evaluate learners who, within the intent of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), need services, accommodations or programs in order that such learners may receive a free appropriate public education.

In order to fulfill its obligation under Section 504, the Alexandria School District has a policy that states that no discrimination against any student with a disability will knowingly be permitted in any of the programs and practices of the school system.

For this policy, a learner who is protected under Section 504 is one who: has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, including learning; has a record of such impairment; or is regarded as having such impairment.

Student records are classified as public, private, or confidential. State and federal laws protect student records from unauthorized inspection or use and provide parents/guardians and eligible students with certain rights. For the purposes of student records, an “eligible” student is one who is 18 or older or who is enrolled in an institution of post-secondary education. For additional details, see Policy 515 - Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records.

Parents and adult students may request to inspect any education records except those that, by law, are confidential. Copies of records may be obtained at a reasonable fee. For additional information, contact the building principal.

Occasionally, the school district utilizes surveys to obtain student opinions and information about students. For complete information on the rights of parents/guardians and eligible students about conducting surveys, collection and use of information for marketing purposes, and certain physical examinations, see Policy 520 - Student Surveys.

The selection of textbooks and instructional materials is a vital component of the school district’s curriculum. While the school board retains its authority to make final decisions on the selection of textbooks and instructional materials, the school board recognizes the expertise of the professional staff and the vital need of such staff to be primarily involved in the recommendation of textbooks and instructional materials. Accordingly, the school board delegates to the superintendent or designee the responsibility to direct the professional staff in formulating recommendations to the school board on textbooks and other instructional materials.

The superintendent shall be responsible for developing procedures and guidelines to establish an orderly process for the review and recommendation of textbooks and other instructional materials by the professional staff. For additional details, see Policy 606 - Textbooks and Instructional Materials.

School district students and staff have the right to learn and work in an environment that is tobacco free. School policy is violated by any individual's use of tobacco, tobacco-related devices or carrying or using activated electronic delivery devices in a public school, on school grounds, in any school-owned vehicles or at any school events or activities. Students may not possess any type of tobacco, tobacco-related devices or electronic delivery devices in a public school, on school grounds, in any school-owned vehicles or at any school events or activities. Any student who violates this policy is subject to school district discipline. For additional details, see Policy 419 - Tobacco-Free Environment; Possession and Use of Tobacco, Tobacco-Related Devices and Electronic Delivery Devices; Vaping Awareness and Prevention Instruction.

The school district allows the limited use and parking of motor vehicles by students in school district locations as a matter of privilege, not a right. Students may park in the parking lot designated for student parking only.

Patrols and Inspections

• School officials may conduct routine patrols of student parking lots and other school district locations and routine inspections of the exteriors of the motor vehicles of students. Such patrols and inspections may be conducted without notice, without student consent and without a search warrant.

• A search of the Interior of a Student’s Motor Vehicle
  • The interior of a student’s motor vehicle, including the glove and trunk compartments, in a school district location, may be searched when school officials have a reasonable suspicion that the search will uncover a violation of the law and/or school policy or rule. The search will be reasonable in its scope and intrusiveness. Such searches may be conducted without notice, without consent, and without a search warrant. A student will be subject to loss of parking privileges and to discipline if the student refuses to open a locked motor vehicle or its compartments under the student’s control upon a school official’s request.

For more information, see Policy 527 - Student use and Parking of Motor Vehicles; Patrols, Inspections and Searches.

VocationalOpportunitiesAnnualNotification.pdf