001[Music] all the me meeting to order uh this is a meeting of the win County Community School District it is a regular Schoolboard meeting uh August 5th 2024 at 6:30 p.m. we are in the Winn count high school library uh meeting notices were sent to members of the press members of the school board and were posted on the front doors Andor in the vestibules of District school buildings this is a meaning of the board in public for the purpose of conducting the school district's business and is not to be considered a public hearing there may be a time for public comment as indicated in the agenda the meeting will also be available to watch live at www.youtube.com Winan please stand and join me in the pledge I pledge aliance to the flag of the United
002States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all board members roll call please stellner here veric here Keller here Peterson uh here acman here cundy here Hansen here um administrative team we have Dr Larson Mr Katie Mr maner Mrs horbath Mr shrer Dr mad uh Mrs micheller Mrs DD uh Mr dobner Mrs nap Mr jerbec did I miss any Administration okay and there is a sign up for um the visitors that are attending tonight we hope that you have signed in on the sign up sheet and we will take a few minutes for open Forum um we do have a list of people that would like to speak so I'm going to ask you to limit your statements to about 3 minutes
003per person please um first uh person is is Mrs Laura Amman thank you as you know my name is Laura Amman and I represent U moms for Liberty I'm the chapter chair for Winnebago County okay I have provided the school board with information on the state of Kansas 10th Circuit Court preliminary injunction through um from July 2nd and the memorandum and Order dated July 19th which states the court clarifies that defendants are enjoined from enforcing the final rule against Kansas Alaska Utah Wyoming the schools attended by the current prospective members of Young americaas Foundation the female athletes United as well as the schools attended by the children of the current and prospective members of momer Li Liberty I also sent the Border board a letter with a July 31st School list which clearly shows when
004a county elementary and middle schools are on the list and I can factually confirm that we will have the high school on the next hopefully the next version I am voicing my concerns that the win count school district is looking to pass the new title n policy knowing that they will be in violation of the temporary injunction ordered by the 10th Circuit Court WI a count already has policies protecting children from discrimination bullying Etc there is no need to pass a new policy while this gets reviewed through the legislative process any board member that votes to pass this new policy supporting the Biden executive order on Title 9 clearly supports that a transgender child has more rights than all the girls in your District that action could be take that action could be taken against
005a teacher or a student who does not use the correct pronoun expresses their belief in biological sex and expresses discomfort with having a naked male in a woman in the girl's locker room the new rule does not require notification until a formal proceeding is happening you will not have the right to see all evidence under this new rule you will not have the right to address allegations publicly and there will be wide discretion for schools and soulle authority to investigate and punish for the record my pronoun is I am a child of God and I believe that there are only two G Sexes male and female I am also a student of science which clearly says there're only males and females based on your chromosomes and that no matter what drugs you take or surgical
006interventions that will not change the results of that I am also very empathetic to those children who suffer from gender dysphoria and I believe they are protected under your policies I do not wish for any child in our school system to be bullied harassed for what they believe therefore you should not discriminate against a teacher or a child if they choose not to use pronouns based on their beliefs these new policies chill speech and compel speech which is unconstitutional thank you thank you um next up asking to speak is a rocki ro Rodriguez good to go yes all right good evening members of the school board my name is Rocky I'm the co- chapter leader for gays against scers Wisconsin I'm here today to discuss the importance of maintaining Title 9 without the Biden Administration
007Insidious amendments I use the word Insidious because under the guise of progress tolerance and love the current Administration has warped the law to attack caring parents vulnerable children and effectively unraveling everything gay people have fought for enacted as a part of the educ uh education amendment of 1972 Title 9 has been a Cornerstone in promoting equality and education for over four decades by ensuring that all students have access to educational opportunities this legislation also opens doors for countless young women allowing them to pursue academic and athletic Endeavors that were once Out Of Reach additionally tole 9 has played a critical role in addressing the and preventing sexual harassment and assault in educational institutions it provides a framework for schools to respond to such incidents ensuring that victims receive the support they need and the perpetrators
008are held accountable the newest amendment of Title 9 are nothing short of a trojan horse sneaking in a controversial ideology into the belly of the Beast disguise this trans rights we now have Bad actors who are abusing and taking advantage of the title 9 updates to enter any restroom locker room or sports teams that they best identify with how they feel let me be clear these amendments are designed to protect predators and shame denters allowing males into female spaces and vice versa based on feelings is a dangerous gamble this is not just a safety concern but a liability to the school and the taxpayers who fund public education forcing language through fictitious pronouns keeping secrets from parents encouraging fear of puberty changing what is what it means to be male and female and allowing graphic
009sexual material in public schools is not education it is orwellian indoctrination Educators who bend the knee to these dishonest amendments either don't understand the deceptive corruption they're enforcing in the Name of Love or they don't care enough to stand up against it by maintaining Title 9 we continue to uphold the principles that every student deserves an equal chance to succeed and feel safe weakening Title 9 would undermine its original protections which would lead to an unstable learning environment for students and broken trust between parents and the school system Title 9 is more than a law it is a promise to students that their safety and dignity will be protected I urge you to support the continued enforcement of the original title 9 ensuring that our schools remain places of safety equality and opportunity for all
010thank you thank you Heidi hanky I first want to start off by saying thank you to the four board members who actually at the last school board meeting voted no to push this nonsense through I equally want to let the three board members who voted that this would be a great idea to push through that it honestly upsets me boils my blood and makes me extremely angry that you would be okay with this I am the parent who from 3 years ago when this first came up my son was a junior I believe in high school was forced to have to have a girl in the locker room with them after gym class she was also allowed to be in the bathrooms this is an example of what went on in the locker room boys
011are changing their clothes the instant that my son and four of his friends from gym class came into that locker room started taking off their clothes they see a girl sitting in the locker room like this pretending she's looking in a book but she's doing this she's checking them out I find that disgusting there's no reason that she should have been allowed in there another example in the bathrooms hi I'm just washing my hands but I'm using the mirror to now watch the boys take out their penises to use the urinal that should not be happening in addition to that this kind of garbage goes through guess what my husband is a great big Burly man at anytime he can walk into a girl's bathroom because he thinks he's a girl and he can watch
012girls urinating he can go into the girls locker room this kind of stuff cannot be happening in these schools we're our motto is we are learning today and we are growing tomorrow if this kind of stuff continues we're not going to be learning anything because it's going to all be about grooming kids for tomorrow I am blood red angry that anybody would even think to push more of this garbage through my son and his friends had their privacy taken away their safety taken away their security taken away they're feeling like they can just be boys in a locker room taken away because one and only one student wanted her way and it is a her it's not a he she was given the opportunity to use a private space but because of the title the
013way I was told it was way from three years ago was that she had the right to be wherever she wanted to be and all the other boys or flip-flop it girls were subjected to what that one student's needs wants beliefs were and that is not making sure that all of our students are treated equally and fairly my son was embarrassed and humiliated having her in the locker rooms and in the bathrooms to the point where some of the guys decided to go all the way down to use the Middle School bathroom or locker room but then they got in trouble because they didn't make it back in time to their next class so in the end they ended up just keeping their clothes on after gym class so they could walk around the rest
014of the day stinky and smelly and then instead of of using a urinal like most guys would they waited in line to use a private stall because they didn't want to have to have her oogling eyes staring at them the whole time this cannot keep happening and I really hope that if this comes back up for voting that the four of you who already said this is not acceptable stay with those votes and that you're not pressured or harassed or slandered into changing your vote and I would hope that the three that thought this kind of stuff was okay really consider are we really working to protect and have safety for all of our students or just the one or two because the percentages are way off thank you thank you Adam Adam erens Adam
015hello Title 9 started out as a federal law guaranteeing the sex equality in all federally funded education programs Title 9 leveled the playing field for girls and women it increased women's athletic participation in Scholastic Sports by 10 times it has increased women's participation in graduation programs increased College enrollment and was hailed by feminist movement 1972 as a major victory in a terrible Twist of irony that same law that once provided a plat form for female advancement and equality is set to be sacrificed to President Biden's radical political agenda under the guise of equity and transgender rights unfortunately on the board and some on the board and administration share these radical views the rule imperils the safety and privacy of girls imposes an unconstitutional speech code on teachers and students and violates parental rights the consequences
016of this new rule are virtually Limitless and create countless inconsistencies with title 9's text Congressional history and long-standing regulations president and the department of education do not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the law that Congress passed further some more the more worrysome parts the Winan's proposed changes is that our director learning is the one who gets to decide who's in violation of title N I don't understand how one person can get to decide what's a violation of Title 9 you know what comes into their thinking or their biases and and and so on and so forth I know you don't have your computer tonight but it does have a rainbow flag on it that's the only thing that's on it that's a political agenda right there in itself so and also we got to
017see last week too through conversation with the administrator and a certain board member that believe they believe calling a boy someone calling a boy a boy or a girl girl is harassment if they go by a different pronoun um furthermore I had consulted a law firm that represents many schools in the state um Von Brean Roper and specifically talk to Jim Macy he would tell you exactly everything that I'm saying so you have one attorney here that's going to tell you a different thing I could find you plenty of more that are going to tell you something something different it all depends on your opinion and that's what it all is your values in your opinion it's 100% that so I mean you're really putting yourself at risk too for lawsuits something bad happens to
018one of our kids in the bathroom there's going to be problems so I asked the board to at least get a second opinion um there are plenty others out there table it get a second opinion that's going to tell you exactly opposite of what your lawyer is going to tell you also why we got just rejected theirs last week rejected Title 9 5-2 New London didn't even vote on it CU they didn't have to they said there was no need to um you know so it's it's not I mean there's plenty of schools that have already not passed it so it's a choice to pass this and it's a belief system that you believe in this stuff and it's it's not does not represent Wine County values thank you um John [Applause] lexander first of
019all I just want to say good evening to the staff the directors the board parents concerned citizens attorneys everybody involved hope you're all having a good evening I do want to note uh good job on the high test scores last year that was fantastic you know that's a really good job um I am going to uh use my First Amendment right here and I say some things that may be considered uh offensive or um unpopular so I'd appreciate it if I wasn't interrupted so far so good you guys haven't been uh to start with uh I want to issue this uh talk about the cell phones I know that's going to be up for discussion in my opinion um I'm not a fan I I think it's a distraction to the students to have the
020cell phones in classrooms um albeit though at lunch and recess I think that's in my opinion Fair because my daughters do contact uh their mother and I uh on those breaks and kind of let us know what they're going on during the day so that's my opinion on the cell phones moving into the Title Nine um I do understand the desire for federal funding um and I think there is maybe some of that tied into this but I just like to remind you that not all money is good money um in my opinion when a a student or a child has gender dysphoria um ideally counseling for the student and counseling for the parents uh would be what I would suggest or would hope would happen again though school is for Education it's not for
021coddling what I would consider a mental illness um I do know that you have an attorney present um and back to the money um personally if I you guys do the right thing and uh vote this down I'll gladly donate $1,000 to FFA or one of the other school programs just to show good faith in my opinion um votes against or for this Title 9 unfortunately and this isn't meant to be threatening uh but per se there were an incident and a student something were to happen to a student I will personally hold the people that voted for this uh responsible just so we're aware of that and then again to revisit the cell phone situation if unfortunately you do make the decision to move forward with this Title Nine then I would change my
022opinion on the cell phones in the class because I would want my daughters my four daughters to always have them so that I can always see what's going on and be in the loop so we could handle the situation however it needs to be handled uh going back to what I said about donating $1,000 to the fa or one of the other programs if you do vote for this I will use that money to retain attorneys and start to create as many headaches as I possibly can so in a nutshell that's my opinion that's how I feel about it I hope that you all make the right decision and that history you're on the right side of History thank you thank [Applause] you uh Katie carts Katie yes um sorry I'm a little nervous I'm
023not so great at the public speaking so if you don't mind I'm going to read um I did send this out as via email to you guys I didn't know if everyone have a chance to read so I'm just going to read it out loud if that's okay um let's see um my name is Katie I have two children who attend Winne count Elementary as well as a three-year-old at home home who will start 4K next year um my husband grew up here I'm originally from ashkash and after we had our oldest daughter who is now going into fifth grade we decided we needed to find a home in Winn count so that our children could attend the schools here um my husband has always assured me how great this District was and we've been
024very happy so far we did just that and have been living in our home and town here since 2016 I'm writing today with concerns I have about number nine on tonight's agenda policy 5136 the personal communication device policy um I admittedly had some strong emotions after reading about this in last week's weekly email one of the issues I have with this proposed policy is that it seems to be somewhat of a blanket policy and that it seems to kind of punish every child because a few don't follow the rules in my opinion this doesn't teach each child child self- responsibility or hold individual children accountable I also feel that it may cause anxiety in both students and parents and that we have no way to connect during the day whatsoever no matter what type of
025circumstances may arise um I grew up in the '90s and the early 2000s and I think we can all agree that we are not raising our kids in those times anymore um it's unfortunately a much different world now and I feel not for the better it's not nearly as safe as it was then and I cannot imagine if God forbid there was ever an intruder or situation like that at school and my sweet babies had no way to contact myself or my husband um no way to send me a text that they're scared or to say that they love us or to find I'm sorry comfort in a moment where they just want their mom they won't be able to tell us where they are or talk to us or anything like that and it
026makes me cry to talk about that um I just feel it's not right my children have the Gizmo watches I'm not sure if you're aware what those are they do have a GPS in them so that we're able to see where they are for their safety um I'm sure if you guys are parents you can relate to these feelings um growing up we had phones in high school if you were caught with it it too many times it was taken for that class or the rest of the day and you got it back um I don't see why something like that can't still be part of the current policy I feel it's still relevant um that would hold those specific students that are breaking the rules um responsible for their choice and doesn't punish those
027that are following it um the policy also mentions that if a student has a problem during the day they can go to a teach future counselor or the office what if they are too embarrassed or too uncomfortable to do that um last year my oldest child thought she had a UTI and she had gone to the house room and they had for whatever reason chosen not to call me for her I don't I don't know why or what staff member it was um she then texted me at lunchtime which I believe is more appropriate than in class and I called the office and EXP explained how embarrassed she was came and got her and took her to the doctor she did in fact have an infection if she had not been able to contact me
028herself she would have had to sit there in pain uncomfortable the rest of the day even when she had tried going to the health room first and going about it a different way prior there are just so many reasons why banning all devices for every child is not right in my opinion and I kindly ask with my heart that you vote no to this policy let's continue to to teach paw and self- responsibility and bring up strong leaders in our wonderful small community thank you for your time thank [Applause] you uh Bonnie blint BL oh blink I'm sorry that's okay I'm so sorry it is my understanding the government is using uh compliance to Title 9 as a way to force school districts into submission if they want their funding for education I see it
029was voted down at the last meeting and I'm wondering why it is back on the agenda no amount of government funding is worth the damage this can do to innocent kids who just come to school to get their education and are dragged through this crap the fact that you are bringing this up again after it was voted down tells me that you won't take no for an answer I feel the title 19 has no relevance to student achievement and can cause more damage than good isn't the school board's main job to assure student achievement any decisions the school board makes above and beyond that revalence is crossing the line you are catering to a handful of students and disregarding the majority if there is a revote on Title 9 how will the vote be different
030um has someone been intimidating or bullying the members that voted against this um I'm just really curious I'm wondering and if it's been voted down why is it bring bringing come back up the board really needs to start doing what is right and just for the academic achievement and mental well-being of all of our children not just a select few as a Schoolboard member you are to be open-minded and should have genuine concern for what is good and right for the students leaving political agendas out of it when I think of my five grandchildren being exposed to all of this it makes makes me sick to my stomach The Grooming and confusion being pushed upon them in school is incomprehensible to me these kids have enough on their plates just trying to survive in a
031world that has no moral values and no sense of decency anymore I do want to thank the school board members who voted against Title Nine and ask that you stand your ground and vote again if it no again if it comes up your hearts and conscience are in the right place thank you thank [Applause] you okay that's the end of the open Forum I will close the open Forum we've all those that signed up have had an opportunity to speak um and we will move into then the consent agenda and I would entertain a motion to approve that so move second motion by kundi second by Keller to approve the consent agenda any discussion from the board roll call please stellner I veric I Keller I Peterson I Amman I Cy I Hansen I and
032now we have a high school presentation about a trip to Italy and Greece you guys all scared of her so that's why all right for those of you that don't know Troy Belo uh fed and heal here at win count and married to that fine person over there um she just we just kind of wanted to come here and thank you guys and kind of give you a breakdown of of what we experienced for those of you that don't know we went on a trip to Greece and Italy um I think we we had 29 people with us total um so my wife wanted me to give a little speech about it um people have been asking since we were back like how's your vacation and and what I keep telling people is it really
033wasn't a vacation it was more of an experience because it was just so many neat things that we got to see uh we were very lucky to have a bunch of tour directors that were in our ears all the time with the things they call Whispers telling us a bunch of cool stories of you know obviously being a PE teacher I don't have the history knowledge yet miss simonis Mrs Belo and Miss Jer have but but I think if you ask them they even learned things that they didn't know that they could bring back and use in their curriculum um just really in-depth things uh the first thing that we stopped was actually the theater of epidor which I've never even heard of I me you've all heard of the Coliseum and you know cinee
034chapel and I was in awe of just that like I just couldn't imagine like how could anything be cooler than this and I'm not going to get into it all because I'll talk for an hour about it but then it kind of set the tone for you know the more well-known things like going to see like the Olympic stadium and just standing where I know Mr Lee liked the picture I sent where where they train for wrestling and things like that and where the Olympic torch was first lit just standing your feet in those places is just it doesn't feel real almost um seeing the Coliseum hearing the stories uh it was even cooler than the movie Gladiator which is pretty impressive uh going going to see Vatican City in the cine Chapel the Runes
035of pompe you know these are things that I didn't even think of until we got there and I was just in awe of all of it um Trisha was making fun of me that I kind of nerded out the whole time on the trip gu it wasn't just me yeah it's like every day I felt like the bar was just was just raised of how cool this was um and it was just a it's a lifetime experience I mean the food obviously you can tell I ate a lot of food when I was there uh we got to take an overnight fairy from Greece to Italy and like see the sunset on the Mediterranean just really neat things like that and then also like getting to know like Mr Deary came and I got to
036know him a little bit better like a you know a peer I got to know some of the students that maybe I don't cross pass with that often and build some better relationships just personally for myself um for those of you that know that are on some of my social media things I don't post on Facebook or SnapChat or anything but I feel like I actually probably annoyed people with how much I was posting because it was everything was just so cool and I had like my dad and my grandma like people that I know are never going to have this experience wanted to live through us and because of you guys and our Administration and then my wonderful wife who's a worker putting all the time and effort into this our students got to
037see these awesome things that most of us will never get an opportunity to see um so personally for me hands down with the exception of my marriage and my two children by far the best experience I've ever had in my life so I want to thank you guys for giving us that opportunity and everybody else that was involved in it um we're going to bring some other people up here some of these people like Oliver is going to come up you know this isn't just anyone can do this he took the initiative to come to all of the concession stands that we did and the you know all the fundraising he's paid for his whole and the next one that he's going on just by working for it which I think is pretty neat so
038I want to thank you all I'm I'm I didn't know okay so I don't speak as well as so we just kind of have a little video it's under two minutes because we didn't want to take a ton of time if that's okay um sure one of our student Travelers Kayla also made her own video so that's kind of embedded in there but um we wanted to put some pictures of all the student can you sit down yeah right good [Music] this is one the stud better on the I that [Music] Christmas when alter the house not a creature student creation not even M the stockings all hung by the chion with [Music] care so that was our final night that was our dinner right on the tiger River oh gosh that looks [Applause] amazing
039hi I'm Kira simonis I was also a chaperon on this trip and I'm a teacher here at the high school I teach freshman and Junior history classes um I just want to acknowledge how grateful I am for the opportunity to share my love of learning through travel with our students and I have to say you would have been so proud of them they engaged with the material so much like they were there for the right reasons they worked so hard they looked out for each other and they were all so grateful for the trip and so are we so thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity thank [Applause] you hi guys as uh not maybe not everybody knows me I'm Oliver Phil I was a student traveler on the
040trip that you guys were uh grateful or I don't know the word supported of to uh allow us to come on um I just want to start things off by saying thanks to everybody you know growing up I really never thought I would have the opportunity to go to these countries or even really leave America in the first place and when I got the email one afternoon my mom called me and she was like hey if you can uh get your dad to like agree to pay for this I'll let you go on it I was like well I mean I can try um it was something it was I knew from the moment of that I wanted to go and so I signed myself up and all the help from miss boo Mr boo
041setting up concession stands uh prep Hoops allowing me to basically pay for this whole trip with them it's just I'm so grateful that I was able to do it um some of the memories that I made with going late out night late out at night um not past curfew not past curfew of course um with the group of uh kids that I had to go out with every night as we couldn't go with less than three people um those I think were some of the greatest nights I've had in my entire life and I'm just so grateful and ready for the next year's trip and I just want to say thank you very good thank you so Oliver also we did kind of some superlatives at the end of the trip um and Oliver was
042voted like future group leader cuz he if you needed an extra charger Oliver had one sure I didn't didn't have a charger sometimes um but no so and I think he is like the perfect example too of someone who was excited about it worked for it and we really do appreciate not only the ability to travel but also the ability to fund raise so that it can be possible for everyone so um that has been much appreciated in everything too and I do I feel so thankful our first um I don't know if everyone knows this but our first trip was supposed to be in 2020 and that we won't bring up that year and why that didn't happen or anything um but it's been a long time in coming and I mean there were
043days it was 103° and it was and it was hot and um our Travelers just just ran with it every day and were in it for the right reasons and um it was it was very very cool so we appreciate it very much um so thank you thank you for um reporting back to us on what a wonderful time it was um appreciate the cheron perspective the student perspective um sounds like a great trip so thanks for thanks for going with the kids [Laughter] yeah thank you all right next on the agenda we have policy 2264 which is the non-discrimination on the basis of sex and education programs work activities um we do have um attorney Tony Renning here um and he will make a short opening presentation and then we'll accept questions for clarification
044or any kind of questions from the board um we will not be taking any questions or discussion from the community at this point um we'll just keep it um narrowed to the board with questions so at this point I'm going to turn it over to um Mr Renning so um just for I guess purposes of of letting everybody on the board know um Title 9 has kept us pretty busy this summer as school law attorneys and uh certainly over the last uh month or so um not only with the short timeline to adopt board policy 2264 but also with respect to a lot of these board meetings and addressing the concerns um question s um as they've come up uh throughout the the state so um I guess I'd like to start off by saying
045that uh as of last week Thursday August 1st school districts and their staffs throughout Wisconsin are required to comply fully with the new title 9 regulations um so that would be uh hopefully the adoption of board policy um 2264 which is addressing the the new regulations you already have in place board policy 2266 which is the title 9 policy but under the former regulations couple of things with respect to the change from the former regulations to the new regulations I think the biggest issue and it was hit on by a number of the folks in the audience who spoke tonight but the definition of sex is the the one that um seems to to raise the most concern and then there are a few um issues that have come up and and they were raised
046by the folks in the audience tonight as well or concerns with respect to it um I'd like to say for the most part the new regulation and the new policy the impetus is with um providing flexibility to school districts when investigating and resolving the title 9 complaints that will come up after August 1st of 2024 um with respect to um restrooms and Lac of rooms those issues have been an issue under the old policies it will continue to be an issue addressed under the new policies there's nothing in the new policies that provides a different response or a different way with respect to handling those um with respect to the sharing of information with parents students who want to be called by a different name or pronoun or students we're going through a change in
047gender um the new regulations do not preclude the school district from sharing that information with parents that's kind of a common misperception or misnomer that's out there the other is with respect to Athletics and that adoption of the new title 9 regulations opens the door or the floodgates with respect to males who want to participate in female sports or vice versely the females who want to participate in in male sports that is not the case as well um under both the current regulation or the regulations that existed prior to August 1st and under the regulations that exist after August 1st um there's there's no change the district had an obligation to allow students that are are changing gender to have access to those athletic or co-curricular activities it still is incumbent upon the district to
048follow the rules of elig ibility so if the WIA has specific rules with respect to those the district will have an obligation to follow those rules um or risk I guess violating the wia's rules and you know whatever consequences May flow from that um there's been a lot of talk with respect to the litigation that exists out there um this isn't going to come as a surprise to all of you but this um the reason that I've been out the last three weeks addressing school boards and whatnot is this is a very political issue um but the state of Wisconsin with respect to any of the litigation that's currently pending is not a party to any litigation in any federal court um and the reason for that is political the Wisconsin attorney general is not
049going to challenge on behalf of the state of Wisconsin um the new title 9 regulations and uh so not only is Wisconsin not a party to any of those um Federal cases um but they will not be un party to any of those Federal cases so it was brought up that there is a federal case in Kansas um the July 2nd 2024 decision of the US District Court for the District of Kansas en joined specifically the United States Department of Education and Department of Justice from implementing enacting enforcing or taking any action to enforce the new title 9 regulations as to four states Kansas Alaska Utah and Wyoming as well as the schools attended by members of Young America's Foundation or female athletes United and schools attended by the children of members of moms for
050Liberty and so when that that came that decision was handed down the moms for Liberty asked for the opportunity to identify those school districts where their children were attending and so the court has allowed them multiple opportunities to provide the court and identify those school districts where the children of M moms for Liberty are attending it was indicated that the Winn count Elementary School and Winn count Middle School are now part of the list as of Friday um July 26th um they were added to the list and then that the Winne count high school will also be added to the list so just to we're clear though with respect to that litigation the injunction that was handed down by the US District Court for the District of Kansas limits only the Department of Education and
051the Department of Justice from enforcing implementing enacting or taking any action with respect to Title 9 in those four states Kansas Alaska Utah and Wyoming and to those schools attended by children of those two groups it does not um the US District Court excuse me for Kansas did not assert any jurisdiction or allow for any jurisdiction from Wisconsin and it is not asserting any just jurisdiction over any non-party so for example the Winn County Community School District is not a party to that lawsuit and therefore not part of the injunction um so the injunction does not prohibit any action by the state of Wisconsin with respect to the new title 9 regulations and it does not prohibit any action by the win count Community School District with respect to the new title 9 regulations um
052again I at the outset I talked about the definition of sex and that seems to be that broader definition of sex seems to be what is causing or raising the most concern with respect to this a few thoughts or a few things with respect to this the district here Winn County Community School District has already adopted a number of policies that are consistent with the new definition of sex for example board policy 2260 the anti uh excuse me here I'll pull it up non-discrimination and access to equal education opportunity specifically says that the board does not discriminate on the basis of sex which includes gender status change of sex or gender identity the district Al also maintains currently board policy 5517 student anti-harassment which provides that the board will vigorously enforce its prohibition against harassment
053M based on the traits of sex including gender status change of sex or gender identity and so the issues come up well we already have policies that address um the change or the the definition of sex so why would we have to adopt board policy 2266 or excuse me 2264 and I should say our board policy 2266 the current Title 9 policy under the two current Title Nine regulations also is Broad with respect to the definition of sex but why why would we have to adopt a new policy and so it's akin to um Family Medical Leave under the federal law there's a family medical leave provision and under the state law there's a family medical leave provision similar with respect to wage and hour laws we have state wage and hour laws as well
054as federal wage and hour laws and so so board policy 2260 the first policy that I um shared with you the non-discrimination and access to equal education opportunity that has the definition of sex which includes gender status change of sex or gender identity is a policy that's specifically required by State Statute 18.13 which is the non-discrimination provision here in Wisconsin as well as Wisconsin administrative code pi9 so it's state law that mandates that we have board policy 2260 it's federal law that mandates that we adopt board policy or that we had board policy 2266 and that we adopt 2264 so those policies address the federal aspect of it the Title Nine components of um of the the federal law uh with respect to uh the LA law itself I made reference to 11813 which is
055the current law in Wisconsin that prohibits discrimination on the base basis of a person's sex um which includes sexual orientation and then the federal courts um that govern Wisconsin have weighed in on this as well um Whitaker versus the kosha Unified School District and then AC versus metropolitan school district of Martinsville both both of these decisions are s Circuit Court of Appeals decisions which is the federal circuit court that applies to Wisconsin and they both concluded that title 9's bar against sex-based discrimination includes discrimination based on sexual orientation so they've identified that broader definition of sex and so they've told us that if there is litigation to come against the district under Title 9 at least the seven circuit is going to find against the district if we don't adopt the new title 9 policies
056whatever this and ultimately this will at some point in some day in time come up to the United States Supreme Court and they'll be asked to weigh in the United States Supreme Court was asked to weigh in on a title 7 case which is an employment case BTO a few years ago and under the same kind of theory at least the thought is um the Supreme Court found that the definition of sex included gender orientation um even though it wasn't included at the time because at the time title 7 was passed you know there wasn't this discussion or these there weren't these thoughts with respect to how broad that definition of sex was um but that being said it it at least seven circuit is telling us that um they will interpret Title 9 broadly
057to include that um the question came up tonight um just to put everybody at ease I don't think the Department of Education or the Department of Justice is going to rush in here at any time in the near future and cut off the district's Federal funding first and foremost I think they would be precluded from doing that under the injunction um but again that injunction applies only to the Department of Education and Department of Justice um probably the bigger thing though with respect to that is is more of a Manpower um situation the Department of Education and Department of Justice through the office of civil rights simply doesn't have the ability to come in and um review every District to make sure that they've adopted the policy on a timely basis and that they're actually
058enforcing that policy so um I will share with you um that there have been examples of Wisconsin school districts that um have not adopted the former policy with respect to the regulations under Title 9 the Rylander school district for example um had not adopted that for whatever reason it wasn't they just didn't get around to adopting it they had a complaint filed by a student transgender student that the district was violating the students rights under the policy the office for civil rights came in conducted an investigation determined that the district was in violation of the title 9 and uh was prepared to enforce that um the district challenged that for a while until Department of Justice got involved and the district ultimately entered into a consent and settlement decree which cost the district a significant
059amount of money as well as time and effort as the district has to now Implement that policy uh the new title 9 uh which would have been the old Title 9 regulations at the time but um on top of that they had to implement a number of training um opportunities um educational opportunities they had to document the enforcement the application of that policy so at least from a Time effort and cost standpoint it's it's cost the district significantly for not having what what at the time was board policy um so while I say that the district is not at risk of losing Federal funding what the district is at risk of if it does not adopt new board policy 2264 is that the district would be subject to private lawsuits for violating the new regulations
060even if the Department of Education and Department of Justice are precluded from enforcing that so again if there was a transgender student who believed that he or she was violating the law or that the district was violating the law with respect to the new title 9 regulations the student or the student's family could bring a lawsuit against the district challenging the district and requiring the district to um properly address the new title 9 regulations and and where this comes into play is if we don't have those regulations in place the new policy in place is that the district the individuals involved the title 9 coordinators the administrators and the board will lose any opportunity to raise the defense of qualified immunity also the district's insurance carrier is unlikely to ensure the district or provide for
061the defense of such a claim because the district is not in compliance with the law as of August 1st um so that's truly the the largest risk not the the federal funding but that we open the doors or open ourselves up as a district to um a private lawsuit um I understand trust me I do I've heard all of the arguments over the last three or four weeks I understand this is a a political issue um my job as the school District's attorney is to ensure that to the best of my ability I give you the advice provide a recommendation that will keep the district out of trouble will keep the district from incurring any liability moving forward and so you know regardless of how I may feel about this personally or how any of
062you may feel about this personally I have to look at it objectively and so our recommendation as a firm which is is consistent with you know I heard it you know and it's true you can go out and find an attorney that will disagree um there are plenty of different opportunities out there um attorneys with different opinions I will say that our firm Wisconson uh Association of school boards um some of the larger School law firms in the state Boardman Clark W Riley um are all consistent with respect to the the same advice and same recommendation and as an attorney I honestly couldn't tell you to at this point violate the law um however at the end of the day I also understand it's it's political and and you have to you have to address
063those as well but you have to follow the law and the law as of August 1st 2024 is that you have to have um a policy in place addressing the new title 9 regulations so that would be my recommendation this evening okay thank you um questions from board members or Mark you add something I just wanted to to make one comment and that is the question came about of why this is back on the agenda this evening it was in the discussion of the last board meeting and the recommendation of the Board of Education was to get our legal council here for clarification and or questions that's the reason why it is back on the agenda I do have a question uh for Tony um you you when you were talking about the new policy
064you stated something about flexibility can you expound on that and how it's where what the flexibility is yeah so um it's it's really in the grievance procedure or grievance process itself so um the the original title 9 policy or 2266 is a little bit more rigid with respect to what that process is um you had your title N9 coordinator who would come in and and conduct the investigation um and then issue a report then turn it over to the decision maker and then there would be an appeal under this it allows the um the title 9 coordinator um to also make the the decision at the end of the day and then to allow for the um appeal that would be somebody outside of the district generally it's us as legal council who come in
065and review that um so that process as far as the timelines um we still have to keep in mind the 90day Timeline under state law 11 18.13 but it allows a little bit more flexibility with respect to to that um we're not as rigid as to um well we still have to provide provide notice um for everybody uh that there's been a complaint um what that complaint is give everybody the opportunity to weigh in we hear from Witnesses we watch videos we look at other evidence those types of things um what the new policy though um allows for um is the opportunity for a hearing if you wanted a hearing um I don't believe that the district at least in the review of the policy and it wasn't our rec recommendation to adopt a formal
066hearing um process because of the the timelines and the delays in involved in that but that's another area where there's some flexibility the board if it wanted to could do that just in respect the Rin llander case was found in violation of an investigation procedures and they imposed action prior to resolution so they were in direct violation of the title 9 Act of 1972 so they imposed and forced a non-binary student into an altered schedule which was in direct violation so we wouldn't fall into the same category as Rylander for not putting in this policy in place so again the title n policies and procedures are to follow gate follow investigation and res uh resolve issues prior to going forward our current policies both serve uh to fit that need regardless of where the current
067political environment is we would still be covered and still be able to have the right to resolve any claims prior to investigation after that so we're allowed to do that we are covered on both of those because again we're the Title Nine is for investigation and then resolve actions following the investigation which we have a clear standard so moving forward again I am going to stay with my nay vote and I would appreciate moving forward well I I believe and Tony you can correct me if I'm wrong but those other policies are the state policies that we have in place and they're not federal so 2260 is covered by state law so that's 1813 and pi9 that mandates that specific policy so that addresses the state law 2266 which is your old board policy that
068does but as of August 1st you know would not be the the law of the land yes thank you but if 2266 is still in place I mean does it expire August one or what what yeah so it it only covers conduct that occurs prior to August 1st 2024 so the new the new regulations require a new the new board policy 2264 to address conduct that occurs after August 1st 2024 so then if we don't adopt 64 we don't have a policy moving forward we don't have a policy right that that would be specific to Title 9 um I I would you know let's just say um you know worst case scenario um P walks back into her office tonight you know football practice started today um and she gets a a a call and
069somebody wants to file a title 9 complaint something that happened today on the football field um you hadn't adopted the new board policy 2264 my advice would be that we would follow the procedure that was in place under 2266 we would do the investigation we would follow through um but at the end of the day and that's to do the best we can but at the end of the day if the family or the parents of the the student who is filing the the complaint because of whatever transpired on on the football field today are not happy with that result or they claim that there is some um some procedure that wasn't followed or should have been followed they could bring their own private lawsuit and you know we we would be open to the
070possibility that um we're not utilizing a policy that that is currently in effect and required and what what are the ramifications that you mentioned uh Insurance might not our insurance would defend us on that or provide Council to defend us on that we would lose qualified immunity so our our Title 9 coordinators who are doing the investigation so somebody would challenge them and say they're following the wrong procedure the administrators for not following the appropriate procedure or even the board for not adopting policy and procedure and having it in place um there could potentially be personal liability so we lose that qualified immunity and then yeah the insurance company so it becomes a a district expense or District burden from a financial standpoint Mr Renning um I suppose you've heard will Wisconsin Institute for Law
071and Liberty yes yeah they're they're not PR pro bono they're uh it's a free lawyer service um based out of Milwaukee and they've gone National now um they have won three cases in Wisconsin uh probably the most famous would be out of uh Kett Marine where um we know the lady where the school tried to transition her daughter uh chemically and psychologically um and also the the KE one with the two boys refusing to use pronouns for a girl anyway here it is in one of their sheets uh their latest latest publication from July 11th um last there is a risk of litigation on both sides of the issue so you are right there um importantly implementation of the new rule which is the title 9 uh could open up schools up to personal injury
072or negligent lawsuits or lawsuits for a violation of individual civil rights which of course is the um OCR we were talking about um the only other thing I want to bring up uh Mr rening is um I just received this from Wasabi the uh Wisconsin Association of school boards um as it states litigation originating in federal court in the district of Kansas has resulted in an injunction that currently prohibits the US Department of Education from enforcing the 2024 Title 9 regulations against some K through 12 schools that are located in Wisconsin and that was just released yeah and the the key to that again is it it enjoins or prohibits the Department of Education from from doing that so how could Josh call override Federal Regulation he can't override Federal Regulation but he is not
073a party to this suit and will not be a party to the suit oh I I assumed you meant he could enforce the Title Nine If he if his Department thought there was a violation with our our school board well he's the Wisconsin Department of Justice Wisconsin attorney general so he's not enjoying the state of Wisconsin or any of the school districts within Wisconsin are not enjoyed by the decision of the The District in Kansas that's not how I read the lawsuit I have in front of me how do you define enjoined enjoined is prohibited just a fancy word for that Jackie is permitted prohibited prohibited yeah injunction so when when you go to court and ask the court to weigh in and and prohibit something the court enjoins them from doing that okay so
074the only I guess entities if you will that are prohibited from enforcing that is the Department of Education Department of Justice based on that injunction against the four states that are in that specific case and then um yes but you also mentioned the student children attend groups yeah yeah so the moms for Liberty and the the athlete one um but not against the school districts where the so it's the Department of Education and Department of Justice who are enjoined or prohibited from enforcing against any school district in those four states or any school district where children of moms for liberty or children of the other group attend school but the injunction doesn't apply to the state of Wisconsin or to any of the school districts in Wisconsin the district court in Kansas did not assert
075jurisdiction over anybody outside of that and I should say there's not it's not just Kansas there's other Federal litigation with other states that have also enjoyed this but none of those include Wisconsin either and unlike you know certain cases um you know when for for example wage and hour law came up um I don't know three or four years ago you know there's a race I on to to find the Northern District of Texas for example and they'll go in and and do a nationwide injunction um so far none of these courts have taken up any sort of Nationwide injunction it's been specific to certain States I have a lot of questions so it sounds to me like they are putting our children in the middle of a political debate Yeah well yeah I mean
076you know I mean I think it was brought up tonight the federal funding right the federal government at least theoretically holding Federal funding over adopt this rule or or not um and I certainly understand end the I don't want to be bullied into this because of the the federal funding um like I said I don't think that that's the biggest risk or concern that I understand yeah but you also said that this is the law correct this is federal law as of August 1 that we have to put this in place right okay so in our risk of not following that law we're subject to private law correct from um from perhaps a transgender person that we violated the law are we also subject to private lawsuits from the like well the moms of Liberty
077and the will and that too yes yes so either way we're subject to private lawsuits yeah except for the fact so um the Whitaker case the AC case that I mentioned both of those have addressed situations where those are gender um lacquer room and uh restrooms specific right but the the courts have told us at least those courts with jurisdiction over Wisconsin have told us that yes they can go ahead and file that action but ultimately they're not going to be successful okay so one of the issues I understand if I understand correctly correct me if I'm wrong is the restroom and locker room issues I don't know that it's under the new regulations I don't think anything necessarily changes Jackie um we have I know our policies that we have in place but you
078said that policy is no longer in effect that policy is no longer in effect but go back to my you know we've got 5517 which is an anti-harassment policy right we've got 2260 which is the state law version so if we don't allow you know the examples that were brought up tonight so we have a young lady who is transitioning or into a male or you know um says that she believes that she's a male or um says even go so far as to say I feel like I'm a male today and we were to allow we were to prohibit that young lady from being in the male locker room or the male restroom we would open ourselves up to a potential claim in Wisconsin under Wisconsin law as it is but don't the ones
079that are in that locker room have any rights they do um and yeah so JY this this is um excuse me so this is a lot like back in the day Jackie went um schools were being integrated and um so you had you know all white schools African American students wanted to use the lacer rooms and the restrooms and the court stepped in and said even though it made the white students uncomfortable as a minority they the African-American students were permitted they were going to open you know classrooms um bubblers um locker rooms restrooms up to them and it's it's kind of the next progression of that but that is more definitive because you can see a person being either black or white where this is more gender related and there there's a lot more
080gray Jackie I'll I'll agree with you 100% on that I think at least it's been my experience um that we're you know the cases where a young boy just wants to check out the girl's lacer room I don't get those calls and if somebody's saying that the guidance counselors the building principal the district administrator they're all having that conversation with that student and just because you came to school that day and said I'm I'm feeling like a female or I think I'm a female you know that's not happening Jackie could it theoretically happen yes but someone in today's world piggy someone at school they could decide that morning that they want to be a female and go into the female locker room and you wouldn't have a clue that they were there that they were
081going to do that potentially yes potentially yes I will say our experience has been um when we're made aware um we give everybody the same opportunities to say other places to change or whatever both everybody um I Al also say we have not yet experienced that day somebody saying I'm going to go in the girls locker room because I feel like I'm a female today okay um yep I guess it could happen what are those other um avenues that they can use those opportunities that both y um different changing areas different bathrooms I mean in for example our high school we right next to the locker rooms there's very large bathrooms that are used uh or used to be used for the gym area those have been given opportunities for all parties to if you're
082uncomfortable you may go here um we do have some private rooms that everybody has the opportunity again we give them to all students so the students do have a possibility if they feel offended in any way whichever one yes does have a place they can go to where they will feel safe and secure or whatever whatever they feel okay do we have enough of those available I haven't counted the number of bathroom stalls in those large restrooms but I would say I feel like there's at least 15 stalls maybe in those big rooms we would make sure we had space for everybody okay but one one parent said that then they had to go further away and were penalized because they were late I'm not sure of all those details and I'm not trying to
083be disrespectful at all I just I've never been aware like a teacher penalized a student for being late I that's just not something I've heard about and I've not heard from our high school administration as well but again I I'm not I don't they got in trouble twice and we would make sure that they wouldn't Jackie that if that had happened I apologize if that did happen that would be our air somebody should not have been penalized CU they had to walk from the middle school or situ all right so so I am a rule follower and I follow the law but this one really has me on the fence and I know that it says it's been said over and over that we are protect all children and that does include the ones that
084that somebody mentioned called the select few those are included in the all children that we need to protect and provide safe environment for so that means we should adopt title n right but can we change it to our own purposes we have to do it word for word how so just what like similar to our current policy that we have well you again you do the the big issue is the definition of of sex Jackie um and so you already have that that definition right so you're not going to you wouldn't change that in the new one what I again I kind of went through that laundry list of what I I hear are the concerns that there's something in here that opens the floodgates with respect to you using um locker rooms or restrooms
085of the opposite sex that isn't the case that's the current that's that's that currently exists Jackie um the issue with regard to pronouns you know if a student says that they want to be identified by a certain pronoun um again we'll work with that student or we do work with that student to to do that um provided just like if they want to be called by a nickname or something like that provided it's you know it doesn't Create A disruption um if a student comes to us and says that they're they are transitioning or uh again they want to be called by a a female name now as opposed to a male name um we don't have an affirmative obligation to call Mom and Dad but if Mom and Dad call and ask us for
086that again absent some legitimate concern like you know there's a real threat to the safety of the child we're going to confirm that information with the the parents there isn't anything in these new regulations that prohibit us from doing that or preclude us from doing that and then um was the yeah I think that was that was it with respect to to those oh Athletics was the other one Jackie there isn't anything in the new regulations that changes anything with respect to Athletics that I understand yeah so kind of I mean the fear and I get it you know these rules and regulations and laws are broad they're they're huge I mean this is thousands of pages that there's always something in there hidden or this gotcha type of thing um at least those are
087the ones that I keep hearing and and that doesn't that's not part of it you don't see this any of those in Title Nine correct and it is your recommendation that we pass title n the new regulation yeah the new policy like I say I I'm a rule follower and I believe that title 9 well what you're saying but I'm stuck on safety for all that includes everyone not the select few not the other ones it includes safety for all and that you Peggy are saying that we are protecting and providing safety for all by giving them opportun unities to use these other rooms so then we are meeting the title 9 requirements and you're not discriminating against somebody okay saying no you may not use that lock room of your choice right then you're
088up to be yeah if yeah if we were to say you can't yeah no to a young man who is transitioning to become a female um that know you can't use the female bathrooms or female locker rooms you have to use you know a single sex bathroom or locker room somewhere in the building we we would be opening ourselves up to a lawsuit and we would lose but what about all those women in there that don't want that person in there so I guess my biggest concern is do we isn't that doing that same discrimination kind of to them in the reverse way yes we say the same thing we say the exact same thing to people meeing so they're all given the same treated equally given the same information if they are offended in
089any way that they may use this other facility and you are assuring me that there is a accommodations for everyone to use another facility will make sure yes we always have and you're assuring me that there will not be any penalty for using that other facility yes and I like I said I I don't even know if Mrs mad is aware of that situation but that if that happened a student was given a detention because they were late or I'm not sure what happened that was an error on our part and I will make sure that doesn't happen see I'm still still confused because to me this is just kind of reversing the Discrimination I see I see what you mean give the same opportunity to both people it's discrimination when we say whether we
090like it or not if we give special treatment to a group or deny or deny yeah that's where the Discrimination comes in I get everybody's personal convictions about this I appreciate it what I will ask of you is please don't put myself our title n coordinator and the secondary person in a situation where we're backed in a corner and we all get sued I I just don't want that to happen and we will make news and it won't be positive I don't want to be the test case I that's what I ask of you because right now still have policy that protects everything we're talking about that's what that's where my confusion Lies by not we do passing this it doesn't change anything other than and please correct me open us up right to potentially
091being Su and I just want Tony you can clarify but when you say that qualified immunity goes away and we're open to personal liability that means the school district is slipping the legal bill to defend this or potentially we all have to get our own lawyers to defend ourselves yes potential personal liability yep and do you have um what would that cost if you had to estimate it uh I mean depending on how the litigation goes it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars just to defend it that's without damages at the end that could also go the other way too right right yeah yeah that's what I read from the Wisconsin area or Association of school boards they said they can go both ways question about that don't know so let's just say let's
092just say um we do pass this and then my son Johnny decides I don't like this policy and I'm going to sue doesn't he have to have a basis for discrimination doesn't he have to have a claim like why I mean meaning we just can't sue because we don't like it something needs to happened to him that positive discrimination which could be so the example that was given tonight right so the the young boys that the four of them decide to get you know get a lawyer and say we felt uncomfortable having to change with a young lady and the boy's back bathroom or the the boy locker room they'd file suit against the district one is um we're following the law so our insurance carrier is going to pay for the defense two we've
093got the qualified immunity because we've adopted the law we're in compliance with the law so that's a defense the second part of that is that the federal courts have already said at least the seventh circuit here in Wisconsin has already weighed in and said that we have an obligation to open that lock room um if if the boys are uncomfortable as long as we make accommodations or offer them accommodations that they can change somewhere else or that they can have a you know a curtained area or a private stall then the district shouldn't have anything to to worry it doesn't anybody can I like to say anybody can file a lawsuit but it doesn't mean that you're going to be successful so Tony just to kind of follow up with your um n July 19th
094publication so this is probably old news now right cuz a lot of stuff has happened since then yeah I think the the only thing that's really changed is the list has grown longer so um so it just kind of said the one paragraph just said um that you're closely watching the court in Kansas um and any response from the Department some have decided the department might choose to push the August 1st deadline to January 31st to 2025 as suggested by the court today in order to divide Whiplash to the district districts the political stuff is there any update on that yeah as of today the the court in Kansas hasn't done that um and no federal court has has done that the Department of Education hasn't pushed back a deadline either and yeah and even
095you know I I've had the question asked you know this could all change in November right depending upon the outcome of the election and I would say yes very much so but um remember that this new regulation is coming about because of the change that happened four years ago so it takes takes time anyway thank you again by not having a policy it doesn't open us up anything because we are still following the policy that we have right a policy is just a set of standards that allows us to govern how we do things so by not enacting this policy we're not opening oursel to instant litigation under Title 9 it's like the third or fourth sentence in there it says everybody is has the presumption of innocence from 1972 right and so that again
096to cover point it protects both parties right if anyone feels any party feels uncomfortable or harassed we have the right we have the responsibility to take action to investigate and resolve those actions but they have to speak up so it does like by by being people and having good administrators who function as as normal adults high functioning adults they would go through an investigation and they would follow the procedure right the policy is irrelevant it's just a standard we already are going to continue with the standard of how we involve it through the state right it's just words right so we're still covered we're not discriminating against anybody however you want to view it your political your you know feelings and any of that we are we are and the edmin that's sitting here right
097now does an outstanding job of not discriminating so if you Bare Bones Title 9 it says I won't discriminate just stop it there like you don't have to add 72 other things on it right like we will not discriminate that's it if you really look at the brass tax of Title 9 when it came through and how they've adjusted some of the things when you go back down to it it just says don't discriminate when you're doing anything Rec in in education related activities and we don't discriminate we actually do the complete opposite we probably over accommodate right because we because we are a good community that thinks about the person as an individual Dr Larsson and the staff do an outstanding job of dealing with everybody as an individual the policy itself is just
098a standard in which hell we're going to deal with people if we had a different superintendent and different admin I would I would be more inclined to pass a policy that says no Dr Larson you have to do it this way but personal experience Dr Larsson got me through to to where I am now without Dr Larsson we've had her issues but she's helped me along the way and taught me as a individual and she takes every individual on a case-by casee basis and ensures that they are safe they are healthy and they are happy make it a good day I can't remember or not the choice is yours right like 40 years of understanding that right so when we come down to it we might not have a policy on the books but we
099have a policy of great Human Condition by your administrators in the community that we live in again my question to that and and I I don't disagree with what you're saying whatsoever but my concern is when Tony tells us you are for you're you're giving up your qualified immunity you're not going to have a defense if someone if something happens I mean we we will we potentially could get sued it could cost the district a lot of money it could cost each of us having to hire an attorney and that's where I where I'm standing because even though we have that in place and we we have this team that is good at what they do if we don't have that policy in place then I mean we're we're putting this District at a huge
100Financial Risk yes that's and that's my concern and I and I don't want personal liability either we also have been offered free litigation services to protect us schools that have gone against this I I would make a motion to table this until our second meeting in November um be I would second that okay I want to make sure everyone has their questions answered of Tony before we move forward I'd like to move forward but I do want to take this opportunity to make sure everyone has their questions answered I don't have any questions I just want to thank Tony for spending your time with us tonight yes welcome as do I so this policy 2264 is the law we have to follow this policy that is what you're telling me this is the law it's
101the law is of August 1st 2024 so right now we are in violation of the law yeah and so Jackie I mean we could cross our fingers and hope that we never get a title 9 claim or complaint that nobody ever comes forward with anything and if that's that happens we don't have anything to worry about but um we can also if as ear's kind of saying after the election we could also if we adopt this today because it's the law we can also change it later you could resend it later yes and like I said yeah I mean the election if it if it changes you know the administration changes you could resend it then um the law isn't going to change that quickly um it's going to take some time Jackie but yes
102you could resend it at any point well it pushed this through quickly no this it took four years oh it did take that's by four years yeah okay there's revisions that come to our policies on a continuous basis is as a district and a committee we review policies each and every year with the revisions that come to us on all of the policies and we can have a policy today and in 3 weeks it's here for another revision so that's a continuous ongoing Act of policies where revisions come through to stick to what the statutes say okay okay thank you so Tony why are we mentioned then in the the Kansas uh Federal suit because you are if it doesn't matter you are ident because the Department of Education and the Department of Justice are
103precluded from enforcing Title 9 as to the Winn count Community School District okay so who else would sue us any private individual uh so the example I gave is if you have a transgender student who is discriminated against and then brings a claim we don't have a policy so the transgender student or the transgender students family would bring a private lawsuit against the school district and they would have to be found through an investigation to have been discriminated against by uh not this not just the school district but also a non-biased party correct sorry Erol I not problem they have to have been found in violation discriminated against correct they have to prove that they are discriminated against through through however Reasons by a non-biased party they would probably be found that there was no
104dis that's the reason for bringing the claim is that they would the investigation would find that there was no discrimination or there would be an allegation that we didn't investigate properly or whatever the case if if there was a finding that they were discriminated against my guess is they wouldn't they wouldn't sue us so Tony did you hear hear that this Kansas suit um it's going to go all the way to the Supreme Court did you hear that also or I know I read it somewhere I just can't remember so there well there isn't uh normally the Supreme Court will take up a question when there's a a difference between the courts um so they've enjoined this you know they've they've entered the injunction right now um I would assume um that again the the
105timelines are fairly quick Department of education doesn't seem to be um to to be doing anything but the Department of Education has not asked they would be the ones to ask the Supreme Court to review the injunction and to say that it's improper and they haven't done that as of yet okay thank you or Department of Justice sorry both parties any other questions okay we have a motion on the table to um table this subject until you said the second meeting in November Earl November 18th November 18th so that was motion was made by Peterson and it was seconded by I'll second yeah any other discussion roll call please staler no veric no Keller I Peterson I Amman are we saying table saying that we would table it until November yes cundy no Hansen No
106the vote on that motion was four in favor and three not the motion failed for the suggestion to be brought back on November 18th meeting you I move to approve policy 2264 uh personing to the advice of our attorney Tony M running I'll second that motion by ver second by Hansen to appr proove policy 2264 um at tonight's meeting any discussion roll call please veric I Keller nay Peterson nay acman nay cundi I stellner based on what our attorney has said that this is the law and I'm a rule follower and also that I do believe our staff and administration are going to keep doing what they do as Earl said and not allow discrimination so I want it to pass so that is an I right Hansen I the motion was four to three
107carried for the passing of policy N9 okay thank you Mr running for your time and answering all our questions and clarifying and maybe not clarifying appreciate your time okay thank you moving on to our uh wi count Community School District at risk plan risk I I do have one question so correct me if I'm wrong but as I read that it looked like there's two you have to meet two of those two of the yes is there is that pretty black and white or is there input from administ like like I can imagine some scenario is where it's like oh my gosh this happened and then this happened but there's really extenuating circumstances for those reasons yes so is there input from like you or yes so I work um I work alongside the building
108principls and the school counselors um grades 6 through 12 um um to make sure that we're identifying with the black and white data that we have from our um databases here like educ climber and Skyward um but then we also use the human side of the uh story to make sure that we're identifying the students appropriately okay do we need to call B uh we do need a motion to approve this I make a motion to approve the arisk plan I'll second it uh motion by Keller second by Hansen to approve the Winn County Community School District at risk plan any other questions from Mrs Dad okay roll call please stellner hi veric hi Keller hi Peterson hi Amman hi cundy Hansen hi uh policy 5136 personal communication devices okay do we need to take
109a break okay okay so we'll proceed um policy 5136 personal communication devices uh 9 -1 the first page um if you look under option A there is an X in the very first uh statement where it says while students May possess pcds in school and on school property during after school activities extracurricular activities and at school related functions they must be powered completely off not just placed into vibrate or silent mode and stored out of sight during school hours the next two boxes that we don't have an acent or checked as the committee met we were looking for direction um as a complete board for sure on these with the explanation of whether or not we felt as though um during after school activities or extracurricular activities and or on school buses or board provided
110Vehicles was something that we actually felt as though should be included in um the prohibi of of uh these devices specifically for some of the reasoning being for maybe some of the field trips and or as an example with us not being employee employer contractors we felt that is it under our jurisdiction to actually have the right to indicate or say whether or not the Riders on these buses Zen quarter could not uh have their devices on at that particular time um so we left that up for uh discussion um we as a committee felt as though that we were not going to put an X in the area of during after school activities and or on school buses or board provided vehicles I just to clarify it does there are some there's language later
111on that talks about videoing and doing stuff so that would cover the scenario in an after school activity or on a bus if there's some correct some wrongdoing going on yeah okay yes y um I have a question about um powered completely off and out of sight what does that mean can they have it on silent I mean who's going to know if it's silent it or powered off and can they carry it around with them in their pocket which to me is out of sight but I think that there is there's a very gray area there um that's going to cause some disruption and distraction so I wanted I I want this policy for the sake of our staff to be very clear about what's expected of the students and what's expected of the
112teaching staff again I don't want teachers spending their time being the cell phone police I think the policy itself indicates that must be powered completely off okay how how are you how is the staff going to know that and and maybe I'm splitting here more more importantly to me is when you say stored out of sight can they can they carry it around on their person I think until they're caught I mean there's a lot of gray area when you look at some of these policies I I believe and you know they could be caught and and they have to come forward and it could be completely off then they're in the clear um you know if they're silent or on vibrate and mode and so on potentially there would be a question it's the
113policy says completely shut off uh that that could be a very clear point that okay I'm walking down the hallway I have my phone out you know Mrs jerbec asked me to show her the phone you know it's completely uh shut off like it should be I'm I'm clear to go yeah I I mean it's it's also out of sight so I mean even if they're walking down the hall and it's CED off but they're carrying it in their hands they're VI still violating right so to Donna's point if it's on their person and it's in a pocket you can't see it so be it if it's in their backpack you know I think that the goal here is to encourage you know leave it in your car leave it in your locker leave it
114wherever you need um and there's obviously going to be a learning code but and to the other point and I appreciate Donna you bringing this up as far as staff and so on we realize and understand that initially implementation of this policy is going to be subjective to an extra amount of workload or documentation but consistency and implementing this across the board in our district eventually on hly we're hoping and we feel as though that it should lessen that burden um once we can all acquire the idea and understanding that the cell phone usage is no longer and uh we in all due respect did talk about that and we're hoping um you know you're always going to have a few I mean that's in everything and policies are made to be adjusted and Revisited
115and so on but initially uh we do understand the fact of but who is going to be there other than the teacher in that classroom they're the ones that are in front of the classroom and children so I'm not sure how we get away from the idea of of that amount of extra workload initially at the imple implementation of this policy I think for me the the um that opening paragraph is pretty pretty self-explanatory I mean it it needs to be off and it needs to be out of sight period otherwise you're breaking the policy um I also think that this well first of all our middle schoolers don't have lockers to keep keep them in or vehicles to keep them in so unless we're going to figure out how to collect them from them
116they will have them on them unless they choose to leave them in at home um and I also feel like with this option checked um it does say a few things to um the Mrs carts that spoke tonight um regarding you know God forbid there was an emergency situation and her kid did need to reach out um I don't know for me that that's good okay anything further on 9-1 9-2 as we go to the third paragraph if School Vehicles was not selected in option A include the following um we are putting a an X in students may use per personal communication devices while riding to and from school on school bus or other board provided Vehicles we are also putting an X in classroom uh I'm sorry board provided vehicle during school sponsored activities
117at the discretion of the bus driver and an ex in the classroom teacher and an ex in the sponsor advisor coach distracting behavior that creates an unsafe environment will not be tolerated the uh next three sentences were the one starts under certain circumstances a student may keep his or her personal Comm communication device on with prior approval from the building principal we are eliminating that line of language in that policy so you don't have that St right now we it is not right now after committee met this evening we reviewed this policy prior to the meeting um and that is a sentence of language that we have decided that we would like to have taken out of the policy we just we just felt that having the principal be the gatekeeper was opening it up
118so we just wanted to keep it very clear and just say like under no circumstances we just well we do have students that needed for medical reasons sure which which is under it's it's in it's later okay yeah I okay that's fine all righty in the next paragraph accept as authorized by a teacher administrator or IEP team students are prohibited from using personal communication devices during the school day including while off campus on a field trip to capture record or transmit the words or sounds audio and or audio images pictures of any student staff member or other person using a PCD to capture record and or transmit audio and or pictures video of an individual without proper consent is considered an invasion of privacy and is not per permitted we do have a check mark
119in students who violate this provision Andor use of a PCD to violate the Privacy rights of another person may have their PCD confiscated and held until a parent picks it up and illegal activity that's confiscated may be turned over to the law enforcement we have an X in both of the parent picks it up and as I stated may be directed to delete the audio and or picture video file with a parent is present the next paragraph pcds We do have as we read through that paragraph an X in classrooms and or gymnasiums going through the policy the last two sentences before the final paragraph 9-2 possession of a PCD by a student at school during hours and or during extracurricular activities is a privilege that may be forfeited by any student who fails to
120abide by the terms of this policy otherwise abuses this privilege we do have an X in there where it states just before Andor during extracurricular activities and that is the remainder part of uh the policy 5136 now moving on into policy 5136 I'm sorry isn't there there am I you have another ex with the parents are advised that the best way to get in touch is that am I on the right one right 93 9-3 parents are advised that the best way to get in touch with their child during the school day is by calling the school office that's oh yes the very last page I'm sorry I had to flip it flip it over um I had it on the same page is 51 3601 on the very last page 9-3 um the fourth
121sentence down parents are advised that the best way to get in touch with their child during the school day is by calling the school office we do have a check mark there right right okay any further questions on 5136 yes [Music] yep um 10-1 policy 5136 d01 is technology resources and other electronic equipment we have elected um to choose option number one consequently the board will supply technology resources and other electronic equipment or devices necessary for participation in the educational program examples of prohibited devices include but are not limited to a b CDE E F G H all of those we have a check mark or an X in radios we do not boom boxes we do not headphones we do have portable CD we do not portable TVs we do not electronic games and
122toys we have that checked pagers beepers other paging devices we have that checked and we have one other one that we elected um from our committee discussion to add and that is smart watches so I know why you didn't include radios boxes all those I just know there's some there's some goofballs out there who may show up a and you know do we just say check them all so that there's no I guess I I have absolutely no opposition to checking every one of them if we have all of our bases covered we're we're fine and who knows if all of these are all of the bases covered right okay so if it's all right with the rest of the board then we're going to um elect to to check all of a through o
123with the addition of smart watch watch is okay 10-2 there was nothing that with option a uh elected we have nothing on 10-2 10-3 um the check mark that we have in is in the very last full paragraph as you go through the paragraph it indicates these locations and circumstances include but are not limited to locker rooms shower facilities restrooms and we also have a check mark in classrooms and 10-4 there is no way to check on that if there's any questions with the paragraphing at all otherwise I'm just checking to see I had one other um again want to it reiterate um because it was brought up as far as the violations um on the idea of you know what it does put on our staff and workload and so on um initially we're
124probably going to see some initial over um Extended amount of of watch watching and so on Watch Dog you could say um but once the implementation goes through um we feel so that'll start to lessen um it is the recommendation of the committee to go ahead and approve these um we do have things set up for registration to start on on August 8th and I know it is also the recommendation of the administration if we can go ahead unless there is any other uh questions to approve these policies hey Mark just real quick on 92 can we go back to that for just a second sure um because it might not be perfectly clear about the medical stuff and I just want to make sure that's for sure in here um under the uh let's
125see where it's crossed out under certain circumstances that language that got crossed out yes that next sentence except as authorized by a teacher administrator or IEP team can we just say Nur District nurse yes so that yes absolutely thank you are the violations the step violations going to be entered into the policy or where how how is that going to be addressed phos um and we try to solve all uations of behavior that we don't like with the least amount of consequences first if we can solve this with a little come to Jesus the teachers can have your phone till the end of the school day and we never have to deal with that kid again amen Jesus it worked if they continue to violate the next consequence is that teacher takes the phone and
126then brings it to the office and the appropriate office staff will give that student the phone back third again continues to um violate this policy teacher takes the phone or any custodian whoever takes the phone it goes to the office and the student will U be able to have their phone returned after there's a parent Guardian meeting with um the appropriate principal or assistant principal I really like I think it's in the first policy and I I feel like um maybe it's a second one BAS this Tre continues to violate the policy they'll forfeit their rights completely to Heaven at some point that's the the last consequence right you can't have it and that means when you come to the office we're going to check empty your pockets empty your backpack I hope it never
127gets to that I mean that I do I I wish I hope it so with every kid the first time that's not going to be a reality but knowing if the board's going to support this and teachers knowing that you have their back when somebody calls you says this is jerx the phone police and blah blah blah blah blah you're going go dang she's getting a gold Stu that's all I think people are asking is to be supported because it's going to be hard initially well as long I mean I just hope all St implemented equally I know some staff would maybe doesn't feel the same about cell phones in the classroom as others but um the other thing I like about the disciplinary um I guess format not being in the policy is if
128you say whoa we we did not get this right you can change it without having so oh go ahead um two questions um what um how are the students going to know about the violations if that's an admin guideline is that posted in the handbook or what hi I don't like being ignored don't and I guess the other question I have is again I'm I'm I'm maybe I'm being too overprotective of the teaching staff but if if that phone on second violation is given to the office why can't the office Personnel put that in edge of climber rather than putting that on the teacher well I orig asked I had asked a question about how do the students know about this the violation steps ad we kind of talk briefly about that because kids just
129like we want parents to sign off that registration like they literally have to go and say I read this whether they chose to read it or not that's on them but they have to acknowledge they read these policies now with our kids obious say I can they're going to go to their home room or whatever that classroom is and teachers are going to have to review this policy and I we talking we finalize this like every kid signing up on a gole sheet saying they understand the update because it's wrong in their handbook right so we did that a while ago I I'm supportive of the policy I think it I think it does put it should alleviate some of your concerns as as a parent that you brought forward is they can have it
130on their person and again I if I go to a Michelin star restaurant I'm not going in the kitchen I I don't care how the policy is going to be implemented I trust that they'll do it and so I I think think that you know the policy covers it can be on your person and powered off in incidents where you know they didn't get the result and they were actually sick and needed to reach out that's where we then learn the you know consequences of actions right if it's most important for you to get a hold of someone right the first violation is literally just a hey don't do that right and so I think the policy that we have and I think what you've described in the violations and how it's going to I
131think having that on their person so in the event if anything catastrophic were to happen our students would be able to reach out to their um significant person in their life and let them know and reach out and so that they could do whatever they needed to um to alleviate those concerns from a my parent perspective is I I don't have skin in the game yet he's only two um but we don't do screens at my house so we don't allow my niece who babysits him to have a screen we don't turn TVs on we don't do that so I know that it's a distraction when other people bring a phone in because it's it's that so what I look at it is knowing the teens and all that right now as soon as they
132have a phone out one has another the other it's a distraction and I think this policy is all-encompassing but also not super restrictive so there is some flexibility in that so I again I that's just my two cents Peggy I had just one question I think you and I had talked potentially on that second violation um to at least inform the student's family but did we talk about maybe not re requiring in a second violation them okay it's as required I just wanted to make sure that that we were all in agreement on that okay tomor they might get TW and I don't I can bring them back to you we just haven't because nothing has been passed really spend a lot of energy going through details there's questions like okay how we going to
133make um I'm the first hour teacher at half of phone why it's critical to put an edging climber is the next day when the next teacher goes to put it into a clim they might discover oh this is their second violation they have to bring it to the office there might be some communication issues that we have to work through we just taking it day by day step by step as you pass this we'll continue to refine it there going to be situations that we like to tweak around the way what I was telling thec um through Ed time we can give you a monthly report if you want how many phone violations were there and where were they at how was it five kids was it 20 kids was it all in the hallway
134was were they all in the classrooms were there 10 in the hallways 10 in the class so I we can certainly give you those reports so you can see where it's happening and then maybe we do need to tweet something based on what we're seeing as far as data that's why Ed CL critical for so many reasons just the and along with this respect as well to the staff members please help us as well um as far as cell phone usage um because we want this to work and we're all in this together adult and or students so I um totally agree I think this is a great policy I think that it solves our original issues which were distractions in the classroom while kids are supposed to be learning and um less screen time
135for the mental health of our kids um I think it does just that and um yeah I'm excited to see all those goes I think it's important that there be consistency um by the teachers so that makes it easier for the students to understand that this is the way it is and so you will make sure that it is being applied consistently okay I am in the minority here I don't I don't feel like this policy is enough um I don't feel like it addresses what my number one goal was for the cell phone policy is to address the mental health of the students I think there's going to be a lot of during class time I and I I do believe that kids will in between classes power up their phones they're going to
136go into the bathroom they're going to look at their phones they're going to do this at on recess and lunchtime um and I still think it causes a lot of angst and they're they're going to be oh my gosh I wonder how this person is respond you know whatever I just don't think it addresses what we what I had intended for the cell phone policy to address um I I also again am a little concerned about the too many violations um and and putting that on our teachers I I I really heard loud and clear from our teaching staff they want this taken out of their hands they don't want to have to be cell phone police they don't want to have to do it differently than Mrs A or B down the hall um
137and I just think this is a little bit too gray yet um having said that I will support this policy however I do want reports I would like to see reports um to see if if people are if the students are following this policy I I don't want to be a pessimist but I I feel like they're not going to so um because I feel like this is what we kind of have right now yes we can tell them to power it down we can tell them to hide it or whatever but they still are going to have a lot of access to it during the day which is what I was trying to get away from so there's my that's my position maybe how about maybe like a six-month thing see how it goes
138and then we revisit it yeah and I think that if we if we if you're able to give us monthly reports I think that will kind of be a a barometer too on on how it's being followed and I understand there's going to be a curve and and and I look at things the other way I feel like if we're a little stricter on the front end the compliance will come a little bit sooner um but like I said I I will support this so any other discussion do you want to do both of the policies in one motion or separate no I think we should do them separately all right yeah so I would entertain a motion for policy 5136 personal communication devices so move first okay yeah just Theo the phone one the
139okay we just just that one that we're going to cross out just that one line we were going to cross out on -2 yeah yeah you're probably right yeah that's okay with Mr cundy and Mrs farit okay so I have a motion by um kundi and second by verage to approve policy 5136 with the um as amended any other discussion I just want to make sure that Mark has the clarification he wanted on that check that question mark thing because we never came back to talk about it and that was the very first paragraph As far as uh uh busing and uh extracurriculars As I understood it was good the way we've presented it thank you for clarifying that Megan okay uh roll call please Keller hi Peterson hi Amman Hi cundy I stellner hi
140veric hi Hansen I uh policy 5136 .01 the technology resources another electronic equipment I move to approve 51360 uh with the addition of those check checked boxes we discussed plus the addition of smart watches SEC okay go ahead is that you Jackie okay MO by veric second by stellner to approve policy 51360 one technology resources and another electronic equipment with amendments any discussion roll call please Peterson I Amman hi cundy I stellner I verich I Keller I Hansen I um providing live links for more information supporting information regarding board agenda item yes that was a request made at our last um board meeting essentially it very easily can be done I don't have a problem doing it make it a PDF and I would just ask the agenda items obviously like items like six through
141whatever would be what is um linked in there provided I have the information on time there are times when I don't get information so it will not be linked but I could even in your board or my notes to you had lots of links it that without my commentary and I can appreciate us moving forward with this um just to be cautious and for sure that any confidential information doesn't get out for uh public release make sure can haveed and all those things but they can LS of so make so just so I'm clear on this we had made the decision you know like in our consent agenda um resignation of high school special ed teacher you would include that resignation letter because because that's we're trying to protect yeah okay I thought I thought
142we were moving those to close session was the consent item we moving those to session because it de then we I don't think you can I can get clarification on that we did talk about that but it was with elimination of the names in history too like people had to get un request approved by the board and people did not like that is requesting unpaid leave for August 8th through the 12th then people knew you were gone so became a privacy with the consent agenda items even be part of that or just the to do I there's hiring things on there just clar yeah so the consent agenda would not be part of what gets sent out to the public not linked in here with documentation so the request was so and I don't BL
143them for like policy I can link the actual policies how we look at them and then that R we got I would L that there say here's the yeah y y and we usually read the rationale of those policies anyway so yeah um do you need a motion on that no I don't think we do do we or I don't think so we can just give you direction to put that on the website I'm assuming is where that will go um admin reports found in your packet um any additions by Administration or questions from the board really quick today was our first continuous Improvement meeting with Mr Ted at C if you recall that's our engagement process and we're going to um work on figur key performance indicators so um again we haven't had time
144to process the meeting but overall everybody was engaged and I appreciate everybody coming um a good start process good good excellent um any question any other questions from the board on admin reports okay uh board reports any Communications I have no communication okay committee reports HR and finance we have not met okay marketing and PR nothing at this time and policy we had met briefly tonight I know that there's packets of policies that we're going to be starting to review it's just a matter of school start and so on we're just uh taking a few things at a time and probably bring eight or 10 at one time so we can get through it no and a sleeping bag Donna said five or six two or three okay could could during this time could I
145make a motion to reconsider agenda item number seven on the November 18th um agenda items policy 2264 non-discrimination on the basis of sex and educational programs or activities just to reconsider just to put it back on the agenda for November 18th I for for the purpose of just to reconsider just a motion of reconsideration can we put it back on there to reconsider in November yes I don't see why not yeah it's fine I will help can you make yourself a note Mrs LaRon he's gonna make a note I got it down thank you okay um okay and with that I would entertain a motion to move into executive session so move second motion by Keller second by by stellner to move into um executive session under state statute 19.85% ation process the board will
146move into Open Session and may take action on items discussed in Clos session roll call please Amman hi cundy I dner veric Keller hi Peterson hi Hansen