Littleton School Committee Approves Updated Handbooks, Adds Religious Holiday Absenteeism Condition

LITTLETON -- February 9, 2023, Littleton School Committee approves updated student handbooks and hears mental health data showing 25 percent screen-in rates. The committee voted unanimously Thursday to approve revised handbooks for all four district buildings, conditioning approval on the inclusion of policy language governing student absences for religious holiday observances, a provision directly linked to the committee's ongoing debate over removing Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and Diwali from the 2023-24 school calendar. Superintendent Steve Deinhart presented the handbook changes, noting Shaker Lane's document now runs 102 pages due to expanded state and federal law requirements. In the meeting's longest segment, district clinical staff reported that roughly 25 percent of sixth graders screened positive for depression or suicide risk under the SOS program, with all screen-in students seen and parents contacted the same day; high school data showed a similar 25 percent rate for both depression and anxiety. School adjustment counselor Sarah Dorfman noted that Care Solace, the district's care-coordination service, has connected 42 appointments to care since April 2022, a 43 percent placement rate against a national baseline of 18 percent. Public commenters including Rabbi Eve Eichenpult and three Littleton High School students urged the committee to keep religious holidays on the school calendar, with the chair stating no vote was imminent and a special meeting may be convened to allow all five members to participate.