La Academia recognizes that student wellness and proper nutrition are related to students’ physical well-being, growth, development, and readiness to learn. The Board is committed to providing a school environment that promotes student wellness, proper nutrition, nutrition education, and regular physical activity as part of the total learning experience. In a healthy school environment, students will learn about and participate in positive dietary and lifestyle practices that can improve student achievement.

The Immunization Regulations for the 2017 -2018 school year have been revised to include additional immunizations. New immunizations include a 4th Polio vaccine for most scholars in all grades and a 2nd Meningococcal vaccine for scholars entering 12th grade.  The 7th grade Tdap and Meningococcal vaccines requirements remain the same but will be required at the start of the school year.

The provisional time period has been reduced from 8 months to 5 days. scholars who do not have all their immunizations current may be excluded from school after 5 days. scholars who need more than 1 dose of a vaccine will need to have a letter from their doctor stating the dates for future immunizations to be given. Parents will still be allowed to request a Religious/Moral Exemption for all immunizations. A Medical Exemption from a healthcare provider will still be accepted for any immunizations that are medically contraindicated.

La Academia Partnership Charter School prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in its education programs or activities and is required by Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, found at 20 U.S.C. 1681, not to discriminate in such a manner. Sexual harassment constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex. La Academia Partnership Charter School also prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, pregnancy, race, color, national origin, religion, creed, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The Board of School Directors have established a grievance procedure for complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of sex. The U.S. Department of Education published federal regulations on May 6, 2020 that require the District to update multiple policies and handbooks and to train certain personnel on the updated policies.

This statement is being issued to document the District’s good faith effort at compliance with the new regulatory requirements in spite of the monumental operational and logistical burdens caused by the COVID-19 global health emergency. This statement also serves to provide members of the school community with information about how the District will respond to reports and complaints of sexual harassment. Despite the pandemic, the District remains committed to cultivating a school community free from discrimination on the basis of sex.

The current non-discrimination policies and any other policies related to the new regulatory requirements are under review for the purpose of incorporating the new regulatory requirements. The District’s policymaking process is compliant with Pennsylvania Law. In the interim, reports and complaints of sexual harassment will be addressed as described below.

For reports and complaints alleging sexual harassment occurring on or after August 14, 2020, the response process described in this document will apply. For all other complaints of discriminatory conduct, the published grievance procedure applies.