Columbia Public Schools — Policy Analysis 2026
Grand Total
74 / 106
69.8%
Base Score
64 / 96
Extra Credit
10 / 10
Score by Section
| Section | Score | Max | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culturally Responsive Training | 3 | 8 | Notes |
| Clear & Consistent Policies | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Restorative Justice Practices | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Bias Awareness & Mitigation | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Culturally Relevant Curriculum | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Community Engagement & Collaboration | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Data Collection & Analysis | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Student Voice & Leadership | 3 | 8 | Notes |
| Equitable Access to Support Services | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Continuous Evaluation & Improvement | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Extra Credit | 10 | 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 (24)
- 1.2 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Mentorship programs for culturally diverse staff — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). CPS has a student-focused Mentoring program (cpsk12.org/departments/community-relations/mentoring) connecting community mentors to scholars, but no public documentation was found of a mentorship program specifically for culturally diverse staff.
- 1.4 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Regular feedback/measurement on training effectiveness — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found showing the district formally measures or collects feedback on the effectiveness of its equity/cultural competency training specifically.
- 3.4 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Peer mediation program — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found of a formal peer mediation program within Columbia Public Schools.
- 4.3 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Cultural competence checks in hiring — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). CPS Human Resources materials show standard EEO/nondiscrimination hiring language, but no public documentation was found of a specific cultural-competence screening step in the hiring process.
- 7.4 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Participation in equity-focused conferences — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found confirming CPS staff participation in external equity-focused conferences (e.g., NCORE); such activity was found for other districts/institutions but not for Columbia Public Schools.
- 10.3 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Students facilitate restorative processes — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). Restorative processes are documented as facilitated by certified teachers and administrators, not students; no public documentation was found of students facilitating restorative circles/conferences themselves.
- 10.4 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Student-led peer education — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found of a formal student-led peer education program (e.g., peer educators on equity/discipline topics) in CPS.
- 12.3 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: Benchmarking vs. state/national comparators — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). While CPS academic performance is benchmarked against the state via DESE's Annual Performance Report, no public documentation was found of discipline-specific benchmarking against state or national comparators.
- 1.1 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Mandatory cultural competency training for all staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CPS has <cite index="4-4">Mandated equity training for all new CPS teachers</cite> and a one-day "Building Inclusive Community Workshop," but evidence does not confirm mandatory training for all existing staff district-wide, so this is partial implementation.
- 2.2 [Clear & Consistent Policies]: Regular policy reviews/updates — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). There is evidence of an active review process — <cite index="81-1,81-2">The committee voted Monday night to have the policy looked at by school administrators... the discussion will be brought back during the May policy meeting</cite> — but no evidence of a formal, regularly scheduled (e.g., annual) policy review cycle.
- 2.3 [Clear & Consistent Policies]: Staff training on consistent application — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Staff equity training touches on behavior/bias, but the district's own climate survey data shows inconsistency concerns, with <cite index="142-10">staff members also express concern about discipline, with only 55% saying discipline procedures were fair</cite>, suggesting consistent-application training is not fully established.
- 3.3 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Curriculum integrates conflict-resolution skills — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Conflict-resolution content appears in targeted contexts — <cite index="33-4">Classroom lessons on respect and safe decision-making</cite> and QUEST's <cite index="196-2">focus on building social-emotional skills and creating positive behavioral supports</cite> — but there is no evidence of a formal, district-wide general-education curriculum unit on conflict resolution.
- 4.1 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Implicit bias training for staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Board members have pushed for bias-related training for school resource officers — <cite index="124-5">the school board was really interested in making sure that our school resource officers have equity training, that they have trauma-informed training</cite> — but district-wide mandatory implicit bias training for all staff is not clearly confirmed.
- 5.2 [Culturally Relevant Curriculum]: Teacher PD on integrating diverse perspectives — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Equity training and curriculum resources exist, but there is no explicit, separately documented PD track for teachers specifically on integrating diverse perspectives into subject-area curricula beyond general equity training.
- 6.1 [Community Engagement & Collaboration]: Regular meetings with parents & community leaders — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Home School Communicators <cite index="85-5">work to maintain positive relationships between students, families and school</cite>, and board meetings are open to public comment, but no evidence of a formal, regular structure for meeting specifically with community leaders was found.
- 6.3 [Community Engagement & Collaboration]: Advisory committees with community representation — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CPS has a <cite index="30-2">Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Work Group</cite> and uses community members on ad hoc committees (e.g., school naming), but it's unclear whether community representation is a standing, guaranteed feature of ongoing advisory committees.
- 6.4 [Community Engagement & Collaboration]: Outreach to ensure all families are informed/involved — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Home School Communicator role is explicitly described to <cite index="85-3">ensure all children are receiving the proper support to improve their educational experience</cite> and promote parental involvement, supplemented by EL/Migrant Services, though broad multilingual outreach infrastructure is not fully documented.
- 8.2 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Safe, supportive spaces (mindfulness/sensory) — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). At least one school documents a dedicated calming space — <cite index="149-2">Access relaxation tools like visual and audio resources, animal cams, mindfulness activities, yoga, meditation, drawing, coloring</cite> — but it is not confirmed that such spaces exist district-wide at all schools.
- 8.3 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Trauma-informed staff training — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). District leadership has prioritized trauma-informed training specifically for school resource officers, per <cite index="124-5">the school board was really interested in making sure that our school resource officers have equity training, that they have trauma-informed training</cite>, but broader staff-wide trauma-informed training was not confirmed.
- 9.2 [Data Collection & Analysis]: Regular audits of discipline practices — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Board of Education policy committee has reviewed and discussed discipline policy following concerns, but no evidence of a formal, recurring (e.g., annual) audit process for discipline practices specifically was found.
- 9.3 [Data Collection & Analysis]: Data-informed interventions/adjustments — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). There is some evidence of data/feedback driving changes, e.g., <cite index="162-6">the addition of the service was a result of community input</cite> for tutoring, and board revisiting discipline policy after community concerns, but a systematic data-to-intervention pipeline specific to discipline is not clearly documented.
- 10.2 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Student feedback informs policy/procedures — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Student feedback is solicited through the Student Advisory Council and climate survey open-ended responses (e.g., <cite index="141-1">Student open-ended responses suggest a need for more consistent enforcement of rules</cite>), but it's unclear how systematically this feedback translates into formal policy changes.
- 11.4 [Equitable Access to Support Services]: Systems to remove access barriers — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Home School Communicators and EL/Migrant Services address some access barriers for at-risk and language-minority families, but a comprehensive, documented system for removing access barriers district-wide was not confirmed.
- 12.1 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: Standing committee/task force for discipline equity — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CPS has a standing Equity Department and a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Work Group, formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Work Group, but these address equity broadly rather than being a dedicated discipline-equity task force.
Source Documents Used
Show source documents (3)
| Document | Date | Local Copy | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The district’s student handbook | 2026 | Open file | https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1770909432/cpsk12org/cpsk12org/xgd73kildvuids8luwq3/Student-Handbook-For-Columbia-Public-Schools.pdf |
| Board Community Engagement | 2026 | Open file | https://www.cpsk12.org/boe/board-community-engagement |
| Columbia Public Schools Scoring Sheet | 2026 | Open file | file:///C:/_CSSD/CSSDWebsite/cssdisc.org_htdocs/DistrictPolicies/Columbia_Public_Schools/2026/Columbia_Public_Schools_Scoring_Sheet.xlsx |