Deerfield and Sunderland School Committees Adopt Seclusion and Restraint Policies Unanimously

WHATELY — June 11, 2026 — Deerfield and Sunderland school committees unanimously adopt five student safety policies. Meeting jointly on June 11, both committees passed policies ECAB, KBG, JKAA, JLCD, and JLCDC on second reading — Deerfield 4-0, Sunderland 5-0 — with the most substantive debate focused on Policy JKAA, which prohibits schools from converting a student timeout into de facto seclusion by confining a student in a room against the student's will. Superintendent Jessica Lebourdais confirmed that all staff receive trauma-informed de-escalation training while physical restraint certification is limited to staff whose roles require it, and said principals had already been trained on the new protocols before the vote. Business Manager Shelly reported Sunderland approved 12 warrants totaling $111,304 and Deerfield 14 warrants totaling $153,434.24, flagging that Sunderland may struggle to meet a $7,000 year-end budget commitment but expects relief from a $100,000 state allocation earmarked by Senator Joe Comerford and a 33-percent increase in rural aid. Lebourdais also noted that all town meeting budgets and capital projects passed across district towns, that the Deerfield elementary playground and Frontier Regional parking lot will both enter construction the day after school ends, and that the state's forthcoming graduation requirement recommendations carry "a lot of costs to districts" with no identified funding.