ELKINS — Dr. Shawn Dilly, the superintendent of Randolph County Schools, is asking the county Board of Education to revise a policy dealing with “controversial issues.”

The proposed revision — referred to as Policy 2240, Vol. 16, No. 2 “Controversial Issues” — is on the agenda for tonight’s BOE meeting, set for 5:30 p.m. at the county office.

The agenda states that the policy was revised in December 2024. The one major change Dilly is asking for tonight would change a section of the policy to read, “The Board, Superintendent, principal may prohibit a public school classroom teacher from responding to student inquiries or answering questions from students about scientific theories of how the universe and/or life came to exist.”

The original revision stated that, “No Board, Superintendent, or principal may prohibit a public school classroom teacher…”  

The complete revised document can be found on the Board of Education’s website under meeting agendas.   

The remainder of the proposed revision, which has minimal changes from the original, states: “The Board of Education believes that the consideration of controversial issues has a legitimate place in the instructional program of the schools… Properly introduced and conducted, the consideration of such issues can help students learn to identify important issues, explore fully and fairly all sides of an issue, weigh carefully the values and factors involved, and develop techniques for formulating and evaluating positions.”

The policy also says that the Board will permit the introduction and proper educational use of controversial issues provided that their use in the instructional program and when they are: related to the instruction goals of the course of study and level of maturity of the students; do not tend to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view; and encourage open-mindedness and are conducted in a spirit of scholarly inquiry.

The policy goes on to say, “Controversial issues related to the program may be initiated by the students themselves provided they are presented in the ordinary course of classroom instruction and it is not substantially disruptive to the educational setting… Controversial issues may not be initiated by a source outside the schools unless prior approval has been given by the principal…

“When controversial issues have not been specified in the course of study, the Board will permit the instructional use of only those issues that have been approved by the Superintendent. In the discussion of any issue, a teacher may express a personal opinion, but shall identify it as such, and must not express such an opinion for the purpose of persuading students to his/her point of view.”

Tonight’s discussion comes roughly two months after Randolph County Schools hired an investigator to look into alleged violations of “the proper use of instructional time” at Elkins High School, and the EHS staff has been told in writing to cooperate fully with the investigation or risk disciplinary action.

Dilly sent the letter to EHS staffers on March 26, halfway through a week of RIF (reduction in force) hearings for teachers whose positions he recommended be transferred or terminated. Many of the teachers Dilly recommended to be RIF-ed work at Elkins High School.

“It has come to our attention that discussions about staffing reductions and employment concerns have occurred during instructional periods, including advisory time,” Dilly wrote in the letter, which he signed, and which was addressed to “All EHS Staff.”

“Additionally, reports indicate that students may have been encouraged to engage in advocacy or protest activities during the instructional day, such as a ‘walk-out.'”

The letter stated that West Virginia and county regulations “require that instructional times be used exclusively for student learning” and that “discussions regarding employment-related matters must occur only outside of instructional hours and not interfere with school operations.”

The letter stated that an independent investigation of the issue was currently underway, led by David Boober. The Inter-Mountain learned that Boober is an investigator who works for Jefferson County Schools. Dilly previously served as the deputy superintendent of schools in Jefferson County.

Boober is considered an expert at retrieving information from computers and cell phones. Dilly told The Inter-Mountain at the time that paying for an independent investigation was suggested by the West Virginia Department of Education.