Below are the Leon County School news briefs from the October 8th, 2024, meeting. The Board heard from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office related to the School Resource annual report for the 2023-2024 school year. This marks the 42nd year of the collaboration between LCSO and LCPS. The report provides an overview of the unit and the cost of the program (valued at $3.4 million). The school resource deputy program has been implemented in 18 primary schools, and 23 school resource deputies have instructed 445 programs to 26,400 students across the county. One of the programs main goals for the previous year was to decrease arrests in lieu of civil citations and divergence programs. Board member Alva Smith made a presentation related to a program called “The Big Book Give.” Smith explained that she is promoting the program which is asking the community to donate books for use in classrooms. A recent presentation revealed that there is a large disparity in the number of books available to students in classrooms at some schools. The Board approved an agreement between Leon County Schools and the Leon County Board of Commissioner’s to award $79,610 for the 2024-2025 LCS Driver’s Education Program.  The Board unanimously passed item 19.01, a recommendation from the Superintendent to approve amendments to Policy 2520. This amendment states that the Superintendent must provide notice to the Department of Education of State-adopted instructional materials that will be requisitioned for usage in Leon County. The Board unanimously approved item 19.02, a recommendation from the Superintendent to approve amendments to Policy 2552.01. This amendment states that a resident of the county who is not a parent or guardian of a student with access to School District materials may not object to more than one material per month in accordance with State Board rules. The Board unanimously approved item 19.03, a recommendation from the Superintendent to approve amendments to Policy 2460 (Exceptional Student Education). This amendment says that resolution meetings will occur prior to due process actions and should include relevant members of the IEP (Individualized Educational Program) team. The Board unanimously approved item 19.04, a recommendation from the Superintendent to approve amendments to Policy 2440. This amendment includes revisions to a policy that include additional language for administering the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program at the district level for students enrolled under F.S. 1002.53(3)(b) in a public school summer prekindergarten program. The Board unanimously approved item 19.05, a recommendation from the Superintendent to approve amendments to Policy 2371 (Hope Scholarships). This amendment includes language changes to notify the parents of the eligibility of their students for the Hope Scholarship to attend a private school under F.S 1002.394 and 1002.395.