MERRIMACK – It appears students in the Merrimack School District will not be graded on homework for a third consecutive year, as a superior court has dismissed parent Robert Bevill’s lawsuit.

During a Monday meeting, Merrimack School Board Chair Shannon Barnes provided an update on the status of the litigation brought forth by Bevill in April. Bevill has argued against the district’s homework policy for more than a year.

“On June 26, the superior court ruled that the board and that the legislative body had and has the statutory power to create, maintain and change the Merrimack School District’s homework policy,” Barnes said. “On that basis, the court dismissed Mr. Bevill’s lawsuit. Out of respect for the judicial process and the possibility of appeal, the board refrained from comment on the matter.”

Barnes said the period for appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court expired on July 29.

The no-grade homework rule was implemented on the first day of the 2017-18 school year.

“Teachers may give homework to students to aid in the student’s educational development. Homework should be an application or adaptation of a classroom experience, and should not be assigned for disciplinary purposes. A teacher shall carefully explain to his/her students how homework assignments relate to the grading system,” the school’s protocol states.

Teachers are assigning homework but it is not graded.

During past board meetings, Bevill has argued the protocol punishes Merrimack students. He said this is because when it comes to college applications, they are competing against students from schools that do grade homework.

Bevill’s most recent litigation came after a citizen-petitioned warrant article, Article 8 on the town’s April 9 ballot, asking for the IKB Homework Policy to be amended to so that homework would be graded.

Merrimack School District preliminary results showed 1,771 voters were in favor of amending the protocol, while 1,478 were not.

A week after the ballot vote, Bevill issued the litigation.

This was not Bevill’s first legal objection to the homework protocol. His past objections have been reviewed multiple times in hearings at the state level. The New Hampshire Board of Education and the New Hampshire Supreme Court each upheld the board’s homework protocol.

“The board takes its responsibility to create, maintain and review its policies seriously. In fact, that is one of the primary functions of this board. The homework policy is no exception to this rule,” Barnes added on Monday.

During the course of this coming school year, Barnes said officials will continue studying whether the no-grade homework plan has been positive, negative or neutral in its impact.

“In the future, we anticipate a presentation that will be made to the board on the findings of the administration,” Barnes said.

All schools within the Merrimack School District are set to open for the 2019-20 school term on Sept. 3.

Grace Pecci may be reached at 594-1243, or at gpecci@nashuatelegraph.com.