Legal & Annual Notices

Tri County Area Schools Board Policies (Neola)

In accordance with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), Tri County Area Schools is required to make this notification annually.

This notice is to inform you that state-approved asbestos inspection and management plans exist for all buildings in the school district.  These plans are in each building’s main office and are available for review.

The management plan contains information regarding the location of all asbestos-containing materials, the condition of the material, and the specific location of any remaining materials.

Detailed re-inspections occur every three years and periodic surveillance is performed every six months. These inspections have confirmed that all known asbestos is properly sealed and has not deteriorated so as to cause a safety concern.  Our treatment of remaining asbestos is in conformity with all Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a Federal law, requires that Tri County Area Schools (the “District”), with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records.  However, Tri County Area Schools may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless you have advised the District to the contrary in accordance with District procedures.  The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the District to include information from your child’s education records in certain school publications.  Examples include:  A playbill, showing your student’s role in a drama production; The annual yearbook; Honor roll or other recognition lists; Graduation programs; and Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing weight and height of team members.

Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without a parent’s prior written consent.  Outside organizations include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks.  In addition, two federal laws require local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) to provide military recruiters, upon request, with the following information – names, addresses and telephone listings – unless parents have advised the LEA that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent.   [Note:  These laws are Section 9528 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. § 7908) and 10 U.S.C. § 503(c).]  

Information is designated "Directory Information" includes:

•  Student's name
•  Address
•  Telephone listing
• School assigned email address for limited purpose
•  Date and place of birth
•  Major field of study
•  Dates  of attendance
•  Grade level
•  Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
•  Weight and height of members of athletic teams
•  Degrees, honors, and awards received
• School photographs or videos of students participating i school activities, events, or programs
•  The most recent educational agency or institution attended

If an opt-out form is signed and submitted to the District by a student’s parent or legal guardian, the District shall not include the student’s directory information in any of the uses that have been opted out of in the opt-out form. A student who is at least age eighteen (18) or is an emancipated minor may act on his/her own behalf with respect to the opt-out form.

Parents and eligible students may also refuse to allow the District to disclose any or all of such "directory information" upon written notification to the District within thirty (30) days after receipt of the District's public notice.

Armed Forces Recruiting

The Board shall provide United States Armed Forces recruiters with at least the same access to the high school campus and to student directory information (names, addresses, District-assigned email addresses (if available)and telephone listings of secondary students) as is provided to other entities offering educational or employment opportunities to those students. "Armed forces of the United States" means the armed forces of the United States and their reserve components and the United States Coast Guard.

If a student or the parent or legal guardian of a student submits a signed, written request to the Board that indicates that the student or the parent or legal guardian does not want the student’s directory information to be accessible to official recruiting representatives, then the officials of the school shall not allow that access to the student’s directory information. The Board shall ensure that students and parents and guardians are notified of the provisions of the opportunity to deny release of directory information.

Public notice shall be given regarding the right to refuse disclosure of any or all "directory information" including to the armed forces of the United States and the service academies of the armed forces of the United States.

Full Board Policy 8330 - Student Records

FOIA Policy and Procedures

Procedures and Guidelines (Policy #8310)
Fee Itemization Chart

Please submit FOIA requests to:

Sherilyn Wheeler, FOIA Coordinator
Tri County Area Schools
94 Cherry Street, PO Box 79
Sand Lake, MI 49343
Email:  [email protected]

Tri County Area Schools, as a Michigan school district and public body, complies with the Open Meetings Act 267 of 1976 for posting information related to public notices of regular and special meetings including changes in schedule, rescheduling, recess or adjournment, emergency sessions, emergency public meetings, meetings in residential dwellings, limitations, and duration of meetings.

Meeting notices or changes are posted at the entrance of the district's administration building located at 94 Cherry Street, Sand Lake, MI and on the district's public web site home page as well as the Board of Education section of the web site.

Michigan Complied Law, Section 15.265 (Open Meetings Act - Excerpt)

Michigan Open Meetings Act 267 of 1976

Personal Curriculum Parent/Educator Guide

Personal Curriculum Fact Sheet

State of Michigan law requires that schools that may apply pesticides on school property must provide an annual advisory to parents or guardians of students attending the facility.

Please be advised that the Tri County Area Schools utilizes all suitable techniques in total pest management with the intent of preventing pests from reaching unacceptable levels or to reduce an existing populations to an acceptable level.  Pest management techniques emphasize sanitation, pest exclusion, and biological controls.  One of the objectives is to reduce or eliminate the need for pesticides to be utilized.

As required by State of Michigan law,  advance notice of the application of a pesticide, other than a bait or gel formulation, will be given 48 hours before the application.  Please note that notification is not given for the use of sanitizer, germicides, disinfectants or anti-microbial cleaners.  In certain emergencies, such as an infestation of stinging insects, pesticides may be applied without prior notice to prevent injury to students, but parents/guardians will be notified following any such application.  

Advance notification of pesticide applications, other than listed above, will be given by using two methods.  The first method required by law is the posting at entrances to your child’s school.  The second method we will use is the posting in a public common area of the school.  

Parents are also entitled to received this notice by mail, postmarked 3 days before the application.  If you would like to be notified by mail, please contact Thomas Phinney, Operations Director, at 616-636-5454.  

Applicants for admission and employment, students, parents, employees, sources of referral of applicants for admission and employment, and all unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with the Tri County Schools are hereby notified that this institution does not discriminate on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs, activities or policies.  

No person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in any educational program or activity available in any school on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, creed, political belief, age, national origin, linguistic and language differences, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, socioeconomic status, height, weight, marital or familial status, disability or veteran status.

Any person having inquiries concerning the Tri County Schools’ compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI, Title IX or Section 504 is directed to contact:

Mr. Ryan Biller
Tri County Area Schools94 Cherry Street
Sand Lake, Michigan  49343

Discriminatory harassment of any form is unacceptable 
to this school District and subject to disciplinary action.

What is Title IX?

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was the first comprehensive federal law to prohibit sex discrimination against students and employees of educational institutions. It is one of several federal and state antidiscrimination laws that define and ensure equality in education. The regulations implementing Title IX prohibit discrimination, exclusion, denial, limitation, or separation based on gender.

Title IX states: " No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

TCAS Title IX Coordinator

Joe Williams
HS Assistant Principal
231-937-4338
[email protected]

What is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is defined as:

• Unwelcome sexual propositions, invitations, solicitations, and flirtations
• Unwanted physical and/or sexual contact
• Threats or insinuations and other conditions of employment or education  may be adversely affected by not submitting to sexual advances
• Unwelcome verbal expressions
• Sexually suggestive objects, pictures, graffiti, etc. placed in the work or educational environment, that may unreasonably embarrass or offend individuals
• Unwelcome or inappropriate touching, patting, or pinching; obscene gestures
• Other definitions as provided in Neola policy 1662

Resources

Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Information Guide

You can  all or chat with any of the resources below 24/7. People who are trained are there to listen and support you no matter what. You don't have to tell them your name. They can connect you with people and organizations nearby who can help you with questions or needs.

Michigan's Sexual Assault Hotline
Text: 866-238-1454
Call: 855-864-2374
Chat: https://mcedsv.org/sexual-violence-hotline-chat/

Michigan's Domestic/Dating Violence Hotline
Text: 877-861-0222
Call: 866-864-2338
Chat: https://mcedsv.org/hotline-domestic-violence/

Youth Resources Web Page
https://mcedsv.org/resources

Resources on this page were developed in response to Public Act 57 of 2023 by Michigan Department of Education in partnership with the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, and the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence (MCEDSV).

All policies related to harassment and sexual assault can be found on the district's website at https://go.boarddocs.com/mi/tric/Board.nsf/Public?open&id=policies

BOE Policy 7434 - Use of Tobacco Products on School Premises

The Board of Education believes that the right of persons to use tobacco products must be balanced against the right of those who do not use tobacco products to breathe air untainted by tobacco products, including secondhand smoke and vapor/aerosol exposure.

In order to protect students and employees who choose not to use tobacco products from an environment noxious to them and potentially damaging to their health, the Board prohibits the use of tobacco products on District premises (owned or leased), in District vehicles, at all school-sponsored events, and in all school buildings owned and/or operated by the District.

For purposes of this policy:

A. “electronic smoking device” means any device that may be used to deliver any aerosolized or vaporized substance to the person inhaling from the device including, but not limited to, an e-cigarette (including, but not limited to, “JUUL”, “NJOY,” “BREEZE,” “Puff Bar,” etc.), e-cigar, e-pipe, vape pen, or e-hookah;

Electronic smoking device includes any component, part, or accessory of the device, and also includes any substance that may be aerosolized or vaporized by such device, whether or not the substance contains nicotine. Electronic smoking device does not include drugs, devices, or combination products authorized for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as those terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

B. “off-campus, schools-sponsored event” means any event sponsored by the school or School District that is not on school property including, but not limited to, sporting events, day camps, field trips, dances, or theatrical productions; 

C. “tobacco industry” means manufacturers, distributors, or wholesalers of tobacco products or tobacco-related devices (e.g., Juul, Altria);
This includes parent companies and subsidiaries. 

D. 'tobacco product' means 1) any product containing, made of, or derived from tobacco or nicotine (including synthetic nicotine) that is intended for human consumption or is likely to be consumed, whether inhaled, absorbed, or ingested by any other means including, but not limited to, a cigarette, a cigar, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, or snus; 2) any electronic smoking device and any substances that may be aerosolized or vaporized by such device, whether or not the substance contains nicotine; 3) or any component, part, or accessory of 1) or 2) whether or not any of these contains tobacco or nicotine including, but not limited to, filters, rolling papers, blunt or hemp wraps, hookahs, and pipes (Tobacco product does not mean drugs, devices, or combination products authorized for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as those terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.);

E. 'use of a tobacco product' means any of the following:

1. inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, or pipe, or anyother lighted or heated product containing, made, or derived from nicotine, tobacco, marijuana, or other plant, whether natural or synthetic, that is intended for inhalation (use of a tobacco product includes using an electronic smoking device);

2. the chewing of a tobacco product;

3. the placing of a tobacco product within a person's mouth.

In order to protect students and staff who choose not to use tobacco products from an environment noxious to them, and because the Board does not condone smoking and/or the use of tobacco and tobacco products, the Board prohibits the use, consumption, display, activation, promotion, or sale of tobacco products or tobacco substitute products at all times within any enclosed facility owned, leased, or contracted for by the Board, and in the areas directly or indirectly under the control of the Board immediately adjacent to locations of ingress or egress to such facilities. This prohibition extends to any Board-owned and/or operated vehicles used to transport students and to all other Board-owned and/or operated vehicles. Such prohibition also applies to:

A. school grounds,

B. athletic facilities,

C. any school-related event,

D. on or off Board premises.

It is allowable for possession or use a product that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for sale as a tobacco cessation or dependence product and is being marketed and sold solely for such an approved purpose.

Advertising/Promotion

In accordance with Policy 9700.01, tobacco product advertising is prohibited on school grounds, in all school-sponsored publications, and at all school-sponsored events.

No one on behalf of the District may solicit or accept any contributions, gifts, or money from the tobacco industry - to include, but not be limited to, donations, monies for sponsorships/scholarships, advertising, promotions, loans or support for equipment, uniforms, and sports and/or training facilities.

Tobacco companies/products may not sponsor any school activity or project.

Enforcement

Violations of this policy may result in removal from school property or from the school activity in accordance with Policy 9150 – School Visitors.

The Superintendent shall designate the individuals and the methods to monitor compliance with this policy.

Who Can Pre-Register

Beginning in 2024, 16 and 17 year old Michigan residents can preregister to vote under state law.  Preregister online, by mail, or automatically at the Secretary of State's office when applying for a Graduated Driver's License.

Students who are 16 years old may pre-register to vote by visiting the Michigan Voter Information Center

Michigan Voter Information Center

The Law

Section 9 of PA 258 of 2023 states:
(9) The secretary of state and the department of education shall annually coordinate a public education and outreach campaign to ensure that individuals who are at lest 16 years of age but less than 18 years of age, and who are eligible to preregister to vote under this section or who are eligible to register to vote under section 492, are informed of the opportunity and available methods to preregister to vote or register to vote. In addition, the department of education shall ensure that materials for voter registration and preregistration to vote are available to pupils in each public high school in this state.

House Bills Modifying Voter Registration