GARDEN GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT board members (GGUSD photo).

By Lauren DeMaria

The Garden Grove Unified School District’s Board of Education voted Tuesday night to approve the first reading of new and revised board policies, including those relating to students with special family issues.

Tuesday’s session was the board’s final meeting via Zoom teleconferencing.

The next board meeting on Oct. 5 will be in-person and open to the public with a mask mandate. At that time, revisions will be added to the policy if approved by the board after the second reading.

GGUSD is considering making changes to a board policy regarding married, pregnant, and parenting students that has been in place since 2017.

The board acknowledges the responsibilities that married, pregnant, and parenting students encounter and how related responsibilities may meddle with a student’s education and increase their chance of dropping out of school.

“The updates simply strengthen our notification procedures to married, pregnant, and parenting students and provide clarifying language about how their absences may be handled under the law,” said Public Information Officer Abby Broyles.

The changes which will be added to the policy include:

• the district will notify pregnant and parenting students of their rights and options available under the law through the annual school year welcome packets and independent study packets;
• the district shall also annually notify parents/guardians of students at the beginning of the regular school term of the rights and options available to pregnant and parenting students under the law;
• the district shall apply no rule concerning a student’s actual or potential parental, family, or marital status that treats students differently based on sex;
• the pregnant or parenting student is entitled to, but not required to take all or part of eight weeks of parental leave from school to allow care for the infant, and
• a student will not be penalized academically for leave taken and is entitled to opportunities to make up work missed during his/her leave, according to a Board Policy proposal. 

The GGUSD serves most of Garden Grove and parts of Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster.