Chandler Unified School District — Policy Analysis 2026
Grand Total
70 / 106
66.0%
Base Score
64 / 96
Extra Credit
6 / 10
Score by Section
| Section | Score | Max | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culturally Responsive Training | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Clear & Consistent Policies | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Restorative Justice Practices | 4 | 8 | Notes |
| Bias Awareness & Mitigation | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Culturally Relevant Curriculum | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Community Engagement & Collaboration | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Data Collection & Analysis | 3 | 8 | Notes |
| Student Voice & Leadership | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Equitable Access to Support Services | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Continuous Evaluation & Improvement | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Extra Credit | 6 | 10 | Notes |
Suggestions to Improve the Score
Every item below its maximum, worst gap first, with the reviewer's own notes as the rationale.
Show suggestions (32)
- 2.3 [Clear & Consistent Policies]: Staff training on consistent application — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found showing specific staff training focused on consistent application of the code of conduct/discipline policy; general professional-development infrastructure exists but nothing discipline-consistency specific was located.
- 3.2 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Staff training in restorative practices — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found of staff training specifically in restorative-practice facilitation for CUSD.
- 9.2 [Data Collection & Analysis]: Regular audits of discipline practices — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found of regular internal audits of discipline practices at CUSD.
- EC5 [Extra Credit]: Describe additional policy… — Currently: Not rated (0/2 pts). No rationale recorded.
- 1.1 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Mandatory cultural competency training for all staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Historical reporting shows the district's equity director had teachers complete a required two-hour "Deep Equity" review and principals complete an eight-hour training on culturally responsive leadership, and the Roadmap lists ongoing PD to "build cultural responsiveness," but current mandatory, district-wide, all-staff cultural competency training is not clearly documented. <cite inde…
- 1.2 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Mentorship programs for culturally diverse staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Roadmap proposes (not confirms as mandatory/operating) supports for diverse staff. <cite index="114-2,114-3,114-4,114-6,114-7">Create opportunities for voluntary Employee Resource Groups to bring together employees with common interests and contribute to a culture of inclusion... Expand Grow Your Own Teacher program... Foster cultural ambassadors to provide diverse role models for stud…
- 1.4 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Regular feedback/measurement on training effectiveness — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Roadmap includes a strategy to <cite index="76-2">Measure and improve student and employee climate perception</cite>, suggesting some feedback mechanism exists, but no specific evaluation of training effectiveness was found.
- 2.4 [Clear & Consistent Policies]: Centralized documentation of incidents/outcomes — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). State-mandated discipline data reporting requires CUSD to submit incident data, and the district uses a centralized reporting tool. <cite index="4-4,4-6,4-7">Students can report bullying or any concerning behavior using STOPit Solutions... Reports can be made anytime... All reports are reviewed by school staff to ensure timely follow-up and support.</cite> No public district-wide discipline ou…
- 3.1 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Restorative circles/conferences to repair harm — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CUSD operates a Peer Mediation Program that trains students in conflict resolution and mediates disputes, which overlaps with restorative practice goals, but no evidence of formal restorative circles/conferences for repairing harm district-wide was found.
- 3.3 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Curriculum integrates conflict-resolution skills — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). <cite index="28-1,28-2">Students are trained to become Peer Mediators in the Principles of Leadership class... Students will learn about conflict resolution, human responses to conflict, and outcomes of conflict.</cite> This embeds some conflict-resolution skill-building, though not confirmed as core curriculum for all students.
- 4.1 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Implicit bias training for staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Roadmap references guarding against bias in hiring but explicit, mandatory implicit-bias training for all staff was not confirmed as currently active district-wide.
- 4.2 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Processes to review discipline data for disparities — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). State reporting requirements obligate the district to submit disaggregated discipline data, and the Roadmap lists a strategy to <cite index="76-2">Identify and improve gaps in access for specific students and student groups</cite>, but no confirmed internal formal disparity-review process beyond compliance reporting was found.
- 4.3 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Cultural competence checks in hiring — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). <cite index="114-1">Create interview and selection processes to guard against bias and promote the employment of a diverse, culturally responsive workforce.</cite> This is a stated strategy/goal in the Roadmap, not confirmed as a mandatory, implemented hiring checklist.
- 5.2 [Culturally Relevant Curriculum]: Teacher PD on integrating diverse perspectives — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district hosts recurring PD events (Summer Equity Symposium, Equity Lecture/Film Series) that include content on diverse perspectives, but participation does not appear to be mandatory for all teachers.
- 5.3 [Culturally Relevant Curriculum]: Community collaboration for supplemental resources — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CUSD partners with community organizations that supplement student experience (e.g., <cite index="24-2">Chandler CARE Center Established in 1995... providing access to medical, dental, counseling, and social services</cite>, and newsletter items on Rotary Club dictionary donations and Chandler Museum art programs), but no dedicated program specifically supplying culturally-relevant curri…
- 6.1 [Community Engagement & Collaboration]: Regular meetings with parents & community leaders — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Governing Board meetings are open to the public and the Roadmap calls to <cite index="76-2">Engage stakeholders (parents, business, city, and residents) to educate and leverage resources to meet J2025 equity goals</cite>, but no evidence of a distinct, regular structured meeting series specifically with community leaders was found.
- 6.3 [Community Engagement & Collaboration]: Advisory committees with community representation — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Roadmap calls to <cite index="114-13">Create Equity Advisory Board to provide input to District Equity team</cite>, indicating intent, but current active status/community representation of such a board was not confirmed via public sources.
- 7.1 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Ongoing anti-bias/equity training — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Ongoing equity-related PD events exist (Lecture/Film Series, annual Summer Symposium) but are not confirmed mandatory or fully district-wide for all staff.
- 7.2 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Workshops on culturally responsive teaching — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Symposium (recurring annually) includes sessions on culturally responsive practice, e.g., featuring a national-board teacher who <cite index="79-5">has embarked on a journey for equity and access in her class, school, district and now the state of Arizona</cite>, but attendance is not confirmed mandatory.
- 7.3 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Equity topics in staff meetings/PD — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district maintains a recurring 'Equity News and Calendar' page suggesting ongoing equity communications, but explicit confirmation that equity topics are built into regular staff meetings for all schools was not found.
- 8.2 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Safe, supportive spaces (mindfulness/sensory) — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CUSD implements a district PBIS framework focused on proactive, positive behavior support (<cite index="140-4,140-5">At its foundation, PBIS is a framework supported by research spanning decades. Study after study confirms the positive impact these tiered systems and practices have on improving student outcomes.</cite>), but no specific evidence of dedicated sensory/mindfulness roo…
- 8.3 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Trauma-informed staff training — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). State-level trauma-sensitive school resources are available to CUSD, and the district's counseling department oversees behavioral referral processes, but a specific mandatory trauma-informed staff training program for CUSD was not directly confirmed.
- 9.1 [Data Collection & Analysis]: Disaggregated discipline data system — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). State law requires CUSD to report disaggregated discipline data for IDEA compliance, implying an underlying disaggregated data system, but no district-specific public dashboard was found confirming independent, ongoing internal use.
- 9.3 [Data Collection & Analysis]: Data-informed interventions/adjustments — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district's PBIS tiered framework and the Roadmap's strategy to <cite index="76-3">Provide interventions to eliminate gaps</cite> suggest data is used to inform interventions, though a formal, confirmed discipline-specific data-adjustment process was not found.
- 9.4 [Data Collection & Analysis]: Transparent reporting to stakeholders — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Discipline-related data for CUSD schools is publicly available via state report cards and federal OCR datasets, but no dedicated district transparency report specifically on discipline equity was found.
- 10.1 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Student advisory councils/leadership groups — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Individual schools operate Student Councils that <cite index="34-1,34-2">Payne Student council is made up of 7th and 8th graders that represent the entire student body. The group promotes leadership, citizenship, and democracy.</cite> A formal district-wide student advisory council to administration was not confirmed.
- 10.2 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Student feedback informs policy/procedures — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Roadmap explicitly calls to <cite index="114-11,114-14">Conduct exit surveys with seniors or post grad... Gather information from specific subgroups who have been historically marginalized, or are under performing academically, and use feedback to inform action steps</cite>, indicating an intended mechanism, though full implementation is unconfirmed.
- 11.4 [Equitable Access to Support Services]: Systems to remove access barriers — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Systems like the Home Language Survey and CARE Center reduce some access barriers (language, medical/dental), but no comprehensive barrier-removal system across all support services was confirmed.
- 12.2 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: Surveys/focus groups (students, families, staff) — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Roadmap specifies plans to <cite index="114-11,114-14">Conduct exit surveys with seniors or post grad... Gather information from specific subgroups who have been historically marginalized... and use feedback to inform action steps</cite>, but ongoing, systematic execution district-wide was not independently confirmed.
- 12.3 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: Benchmarking vs. state/national comparators — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CUSD's participation in a 15-district national cohort focused on mental health/suicide-prevention practices implies some benchmarking against peer districts, but broader state/national discipline-equity benchmarking was not confirmed.
- EC3 [Extra Credit]: Teen Mental Health First Aid - a peer-to-peer mental health training program for high school juniors, unusual in equipping students themselves (not just staff) with formal MHFA skills. — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). <cite index="27-6,27-7">The Teen Mental Health First Aid program is being taught to high school juniors to give them the tools to support their peers if needed. "It's based on a five-step action plan this is, Look, Ask, Listen, Connect and Friendship,"</cite>
- EC4 [Extra Credit]: Destination Diploma/Destination College - a multi-agency partnership specifically targeting unhoused CUSD students with tutoring, stipends, and wraparound supports tied to attendance/grades. — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). A targeted, cross-sector (school district, community college, food bank, child-welfare nonprofit) initiative addressing a uniquely vulnerable subgroup's academic and basic needs, exceeding standard tutoring programs.