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Procedures and Required Notifications

Table of Contents

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American Rescue Plan

In spring of 2021, both the federal government and New York State released requirements for school districts that are receiving money through the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP-ESSER) and/or receiving a foundation aid increase of more than 10 percent or $10 million. Liberty’s ARP-ESSER plan is available on this website and will be updated throughout the school year as necessary.

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Annual Fire Inspection Report

Notice is hereby given that the annual inspection for the 2025-26 school year of Liberty Central School District for fire hazards that might endanger the lives of students, teachers, and employees therein has been completed, and the report is available at the office of the superintendent for inspection by all interested persons.

LCSD Fire Inspection Reports:

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Advanced Notification of Pesticides

Liberty Central School District must notify the public that pesticide products may be used in school buildings during the year. Parents, guardians, and staff may request 48-hour advance, written notification that includes the date and place where pesticides will be used, the EPA registration number, and whom to contact for more information.

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Asbestos Management Plan

The district maintains an asbestos management plan, which is available for review during regular business hours in each principal’s office and the district office.

District Office

(845) 292-1164

Elementary

Robert England
Elementary Principal
Phone: (845) 292-5400, Ext. 2503

Brittney Cunningham
Assistant Principal
Phone: (845) 292-5400, Ext. 2030

Aeowyn Brust
Assistant Principal
Phone: (845) 292-5400, Ext. 2030

Middle School

Heather Cheh
Principal
Phone: (845) 292-5400, Ext. 2302

Dr. Jodie MacKrell
Assistant Principal
Grades 5 & 6
Phone: (845) 292-5400, Ext. 2306

Katlyn Rusin
Assistant Principal
Grades 7 & 8
Phone: (845) 292-5400, Ext. 2306

High School

Stephen Matuszak
Principal
Phone: (845) 292-5400, Ext. 2005

Lacy Jones
Assistant Principal
Phone: (845) 292-5400, Ext. 2002

Destiny Matos
Assistant Principal
Phone: (845) 292-5400, Ext. 2002

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Attendance Policy

The attendance policy can be found in the annual student handbook. Student handbooks are distributed at the start of each school year and are available on all school homepages. Board Policy #5100 also outlines a comprehensive student attendance policy.

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Body Mass Index Reporting

New York requires schools to track each student’s Body Mass Index (BMI) and weight status category as part of school health examinations. Every year, the NYS Department of Health will survey some schools for the number of pupils in each of six possible weight status categories. If the state surveys LCSD, the district will share summary group data only, and will not share individual names or information. Parents who wish to exclude their child’s data from such group calculations must contact the nurse in their child’s school building.

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Cellphones, Electronic Devices

Students must remain internet-enabled device-free, outside of school-provided equipment, during the school day, with few exceptions. Students and parents/guardians may contact each other via email or by phone in the main office of their school during the day.

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Child Find

Child Find, an ongoing effort to identify and evaluate people 21 and younger who are physically, mentally, communicatively, and/or emotionally disabled, is in progress within the district. Parents or guardians of children with disabilities between the ages of 3-21 are encouraged to contact the Student Services Department at 845-292-5400, ext. 5106, for information about support services that may be available to them. Children must be registered in the district to meet with a representative from the Student Services Office.

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Child Abuse Hotline Notification

If you suspect a child is being abused or maltreated (neglected), report it by calling 1-800-342-3720, a toll-free 24-hour hotline operated by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local police department. Information about reporting child abuse and maltreatment (neglect) is available online at the Office of Children and Family Services website.

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Code of Conduct

The Liberty Central School District Code of Conduct applies to all students, school personnel, parents, and visitors when on school property, including buses and other school-owned vehicles, or when attending a school-sponsored function. Information on it is shared with students at the beginning of every school year and in student handbooks. Board Policy #5300 (Code of Conduct) also outlines the district code of conduct.

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Community Eligibility Option

Liberty Central School District serves free meals — both lunch and breakfast — to all students, regardless of their income status, courtesy of a national program called the Community Eligibility Option. The program is funded by the federal government and administered by the state at no cost to the district. Parents do not need to take any action to participate. Students can continue to purchase extra food items, such as snacks, for a fee. If you have any questions, please contact the district’s Food Service Director, Dawn Parsons, or (845) 295-4021.

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Concussion Policy

New York State requires tackle football programs to provide information about concussions and sub-concussive blows, and the injuries that might occur as a result of such blows, to the parents/guardians of all children participating in tackle football programs.

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District-Wide Safety Plan

Emergencies and violent incidents in schools are critical issues that must be addressed in an expeditious and effective manner. The Board of Education of the Liberty Central School District recognizes its responsibility to adopt and amend a comprehensive LCSD District-Wide School Safety Plan and Building-Level Emergency Response plans regarding crisis intervention, emergency response, and management.

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Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)

The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) seeks to provide New York students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus, and/or at a school function.

Liberty Central School District is committed to providing a positive school environment where all students feel safe and can focus on learning. If you or someone you know has experienced harassment or bullying, please contact a school building’s Dignity Act Coordinator or use the Anonymous Alerts reporting system to report urgent information confidentially.

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Educator Evaluation Plan Scores

All parents/guardians have the right to obtain the Educator Evaluation Plan, formerly APPR, quality ratings and composite effectiveness scores for their child’s current teachers and principals once the scores are officially available in accordance with state law. Requests must be submitted in writing on a school-provided form.

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Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

In accordance with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), parents and guardians have the right to request information about the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teachers. Specifically, you have the right to request the following information:

Teacher Qualifications

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), parents/guardians have the right to know the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teachers, including:

  • Whether a teacher has state certification for the grade levels and subjects he or she is teaching;
  • Whether a teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived;
  • Whether the teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher;
  • Whether their child receives services from paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications; and
  • Whether their child has been taught for four or more weeks in a row by a teacher “who does not meet applicable state certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.”

Parents/guardians may request their child’s classroom teacher’s professional qualifications by contacting the District’s Human Resources Department or 845-292-6171.

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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students over 18 years of age and parents certain rights with respect to students’ education records. The FERPA Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) affords parents certain rights regarding district surveys, collection and use of information for marketing purposes, and certain physical exams.

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Free and Reduced-Price Lunch

The district takes part in the Community Eligibility Provision. Under this program, all students enrolled at Liberty Elementary, Middle, or High School are eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch. No action, fee, or application is required.

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Grade Promotion and Placement

Decisions about student promotion and placement are at the discretion of the building principal. These decisions are guided by recommendations of teachers and staff members and past academic performance. Past academic performance refers to a variety of indicators of student achievement and growth. The district’s promotion and placement policy was adopted by the board of education following a review by the district administration. Promotion and placement decisions are not based solely, or primarily, on student performance on New York State assessments in grades 3-8 English language arts or mathematics.

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Homeless Students

Homeless students and unaccompanied youths (youths not in the physical custody of a parent) have the right to attend the school they previously attended or to attend school in the district of current location; the right to be enrolled even though the admission requirements have not been completed and prior student records are not available; and the right to transportation to and from school.

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Influenza Materials

Influenza (the flu) is an infection of the nose, throat, and lungs caused by influenza viruses. There are many different strains of the flu virus, and they are constantly changing. These viruses cause illness, hospital stays, and deaths in the United States each year. The flu can be very dangerous for children. Each year, about 20,000 children younger than 5 years old are hospitalized due to flu complications, including pneumonia.

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Instructional Technology Plan

As required by Commissioner’s Regulation 100.12, the Liberty Central School District maintains an Instructional Technology Plan to help support achievement and engagement through the seamless integration of technology into teaching and learning, improve learning experiences for students, and increase equitable access to technology-rich learning experiences for students and staff.

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Lead Testing of School Drinking Water

State law requires all public school districts to test water for lead. School districts must sample all water outlets currently or potentially used for drinking or cooking purposes in buildings that may be occupied by students and to submit those samples to a state-approved lab for analysis. In 2022, regulations changed to call for testing to take place every three years, rather than every five years unless the state Commissioner of Health requires testing sooner.

Also in 2022, the state established an action level of 5 micrograms of lead per liter, typically referred to as “parts per billion (ppb).” The level had been 15 ppb before then. If a sample exceeds this level, schools must take steps to prevent the use of the outlet for drinking or cooking until it is remediated and follow-up testing confirms it is no longer above the action level.

School districts are required to report the results of all water testing to the state Department of Health, the state Education Department and the local health department, and to post the results—along with remediation plans, if required—on the official district website.

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Military Recruiters Access to High School Student Information

Legislation generally requires school districts receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to give military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as they provide to postsecondary institutions or to prospective employers. Schools are also generally required to provide students’ names, addresses, and telephone listings to military recruiters when requested. If you would prefer that your child’s information not be released, contact the high school’s Guidance Office.

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Maintenance Records

Liberty, in compliance with Public Law 94-192, maintains, in each of its schools, confidential records for students who have been identified as having a disability. The confidential records of students with disabilities are kept in the Committee of Special Education’s files, located in the middle school. CSE designates, in writing, school personnel who have access to these records. A child’s records are always available for review by the child’s parents/guardians. Call the Office of Student Services at 845-292-5400, ext. 5102.

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New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Spectator Policy

The NYSPHSAA Spectator Policy requires spectators at high school athletic events to remain positive and respectful toward officials, athletes, and coaches. Failure to comply can result in warnings, ejection from the event, and a minimum penalty of completing an NFHS Parent Credential course or facing a one-game suspension before attending future contests.

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Non-Discrimination Policy

Liberty does not discriminate on the basis of race (defined as, but not limited to, ancestry, color, ethnic group identification, and ethnic background, as well as traits historically associated with race including hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, national origin, creed, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, military status or any other protected status, and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups, in accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments. This policy includes the following areas: recruitment and appointment of employees, employment pay and benefits, and student access to educational programs, course offerings, and student activities.

For more information, contact the district official responsible for Title IX, Deborah DeGraw, at 845-292-5400, ext. 5112.

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Opportunities for Advanced Coursework

While advanced coursework provides an opportunity for students to gain skills and demonstrate competencies at a higher level, advanced coursework provides other benefits as well. Other benefits of participation in advanced coursework may include: improving a student’s self-confidence and image of self; demonstrating a student’s preparedness for college-level coursework; earning college credit before graduation; reducing future costs for higher education; reducing the amount of time that the student must spend in secondary and/or post-secondary school. The advanced courses typically offered in middle and high school at Liberty Central School District, as well as a listing for available courses this year.

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Parents’ Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security

The district is committed to ensuring student privacy in accordance with local, state, and federal regulations and district policies. To this end and pursuant to U.S. Department of Education regulations, the district is providing a Parents’ Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security.

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Participation in Graduation Ceremonies

New York State Education Law requires the Liberty Central School District to inform students and parents and/or guardians of the district’s policy that all eligible students are allowed to participate in a high school graduation ceremony and associated graduation activities with their graduating class (i.e., the 12th-grade class with which such student entered into Grade 9). This includes students who have been awarded a Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential or Career Development and Occupational Studies Commencement Credential. This notification will also be sent home to high school parents at the start of the school year.

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Procedural Safeguards Notice

The Procedural Safeguards Notice must be provided to parents of a student with a disability at a minimum of one time per year and also upon:

  • Initial referral or parental request for evaluation;
  • Request by a parent;
  • The first filing of a due process complaint notice to request mediation or an impartial due process hearing;
  • A decision to impose a suspension or removal that constitutes a disciplinary change in placement; and
  • Receipt of a parent’s first State complaint in a school year.

Learn more about the Procedural Safeguards Notice.

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Promotion and Retention of Students

Early Identification/Intervention

Classroom teachers are expected to make every effort to identify early those students at risk of failing. The building principal and the parents/guardian must be notified promptly if retention is anticipated, and a special support program shall be designed for each child identified as in danger of failing. Such support services may include, but are not limited to, individualized assistance before, during, or after the school day; remedial classes; a change in instructional treatment; and, where appropriate, referral to the Committee on Special Education for evaluation.

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Promotion/Retention

Building principals may establish written standards for promotion or retention within the school units to which they are assigned, subject to the guidelines of the superintendent and the approval of the board of education.

At the elementary level, students who pass the basic subjects of Reading, English, Mathematics, Spelling, Social Studies, and Science will be promoted. Students who do not make satisfactory progress in one or more of the basic subjects shall have their cases considered on an individual basis and may be retained.

At the high school level, promotion from one class to the next shall be contingent upon passing all required subjects and the accumulation of 4 or 5 units of credit at each level.

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Academic Standards

Building principals shall be responsible for ensuring that written standards for student progress at each grade level are available to parents and others upon request. Such academic standards are to be forwarded to the superintendent of schools each year.

Retention

Retention is generally not recommended at the elementary and middle school levels. The school psychologist and the parents shall meet with the building principal and teacher(s) to consider the relative merits of promotion and retention before a decision is made. Factors to be considered include teacher recommendation; classroom achievement and attitude; standardized test scores; social, emotional, and physical development; results of the family conference; and, for identified students, recommendations by the Committee on Special Education. If a consensus cannot be reached, the decision of the building principal shall be final.

No student will be retained without an appropriate educational plan defining what will occur that is instructionally different for the student. Once the educational plan has been implemented, the student will be monitored regularly. The educational plan will be revised until the student demonstrates acceptable performance.

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Release of Student Directory Information

From time to time, student directory information, including photos, is published on the district website, in school publications, or released to the media to recognize student achievement or depict activities in Liberty schools. Parents who object to the disclosure of their child’s directory information should notify their child’s building principal in writing on or before Sept. 29 of each school year.

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School Counseling Plan

New York State Education Law requires the Liberty Central School District to develop district-wide and building-level comprehensive developmental school counseling guidance plans and to post these plans on the district website.

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School Meals: Breakfast After the Bell, Community Eligibility, Meal Charge Policy

The district takes part in the Community Eligibility Provision. Under this program, all students are eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch. No action, fee, or application is required to take part in these free meals. Click here to read the district’s meal charge policy 8505.

The elementary and middle schools serve breakfast in the classroom. Breakfasts are packed in an insulated rolling bag and are delivered from the cafeteria area by food service staff and taken into each classroom.

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Sex Offender Notification Policy

It is the policy of Liberty Central School District to notify parents, guardians, and district employees when district officials are notified by the Liberty Police Department and/or the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department that a convicted sex offender is presently residing within the school district boundaries.

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Smart Schools Investment Plan

As required by the Smart Schools Bond Act (SSBA) Implementation Guidance, school districts must post a final Smart Schools Investment Plan on their website. This plan is designed for the district to participate in the Smart Schools Bond Act of 2014. The act authorized the state to finance $2 billion for educational technology and infrastructure to improve learning and opportunity for New York students.

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Student Privacy

Parents have the right to inspect all instructional material that will be used for a survey, analysis, or evaluation as part of a U.S. Department of Education (DOE)-funded program. In addition, no minor student may, without parental consent, take part in a survey, analysis, or evaluation funded in whole or in part by the U.S. DOE that reveals information concerning:

  • Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent;
  • Mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family;
  • Sex behavior or attitudes;
  • Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating or demeaning behavior;
  • Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have
  • close family relationships;
  • Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of
  • lawyers, physicians and ministers; and
  • Religious practices, affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent
  • Income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation
  • in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).

View Board policy #5500.

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Substance Use Disorder Designee

Every school district in New York is required to appoint a substance use disorder designee to provide information to any student, parent, or staff member regarding where and how to find available substance use-related services. Athletic Director Thomas Zehner (845-292-5400, ext. 2012) is Liberty’s designee.

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Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Prevention Act

New York State has passed two laws to help ensure the safety of students who may suffer Sudden Cardiac Arrest while on school grounds — Dominic’s Law and Desha’s Law.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest, or SCA, is defined as the abrupt and unexpected loss of heart function. SCA can be fatal if not treated within minutes, and even with treatment, death may occur. Immediate treatment is cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of an automatic external defibrillator. All public schools must have a staff member trained in the use of CPR and AED in school and at all school athletic events.

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Transportation to Non-Public Schools

Requests for transportation to non-public schools must be submitted by parents/guardians in writing on or prior to April 1 of the preceding school year. However, a parent or guardian of a child not residing in the district on such date shall submit a written request within 30 days after establishing residency in the district. Requests must be submitted on an annual basis. A request may be denied for lack of a reasonable explanation, as determined by the Liberty Board of Education. Forms are available at nonpublic schools in the Liberty Central School District and are submitted to the LCSD Assistant Superintendent for Business’ office.

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Water Safety

Liberty Central School District is sharing this information to help families understand important water safety practices and available resources.

Families may request a paper copy by contacting Tamia Peguero, Communication Specialist. Translations are available upon request as required by law.

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Wellness Policy

The district’s latest Wellness Policy (#5405) was adopted by the Board of Education in July 2020, and amended in September 2022.

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