001August 18th. The time is 6:33. Um, Le, can you call the RO? >> We already called the RO. You can go check public comment. >> Oh, okay. Uh, public comment. Megan Jackson. Good evening, board members. I'm here tonight to raise a serious legal concern that directly affects the rights of disabled students and their families in our district. District 97 is currently violating federal law by denying parents the right to record IEP meetings, a right protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or ID. On June 12th, we notified the district that we intended to record an upcoming IEP meeting. The district responded claiming it could not allow the reporting without the quote unanimous consent end quote of all parties citing the Illinois eavesdropping statute. This interpretation is incorrect and has since been explicitly refuted by
002a representative from the Illinois State Board of Education. The statute does not give that that statute does not govern the recording of IEP meetings which are federally protected. At the June 16th IEP meeting, we were pressured to stop recording when certain staff spoke and the meeting was conducted in an adversarial and misleading manner. District staff falsely claimed that policy required us to stop recording. Yet, no such policy had ever been disclosed or approved by this board. When we followed up with leadership, we were eventually sent an alleged recording policy requiring families to submit medical documentation to justify recording and to request this accommodation 5 days in advance. This policy one was never shared with us before July 15th. Two, was never mentioned in the June 16th IEP meeting itself. Three, has never been approved by
003this board. and four has no basis in IDEA or Illinois law. It appears to have been created or invoked after the fact to justify the district's obstruction. Let me be clear. Denying the right to record an IEP meeting, a simple reasonable accommodation is a direct violation of IDEA's procedural safeguards. The district's conduct here shows a disturbing lack of transparency and a disregard for parents rights to participate meaningfully in decisions about their child's education. If the district intends to restrict recordings, it must have a clear board approved policy, publicly available, legally sound, and consistently applied. No such policy exists today. I urge the board to direct leadership to immediately cease all interference with lawful IEP recordings and to develop and publicly approve a compliant policy without delay. If this does not happen, we will be forced
004to file a formal complaint with the Illinois State Board of Education. In closing, I will also urge you to consider this problematic behavior exhibited by senior leadership. As you search for a new superintendent, think about the fact that even the best leader cannot remedy district staff who completely disregard their legal and ethical obligations to Oak Park children and families. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay, that concludes public comment. Um, moving on to the agenda action item 6.1. >> We never called the role. >> We called the role at the first when we opened the public when we opened the open room at the beginning. >> Um 6.1. >> Yes. I move that the board of education of Oak Park Elementary School District 97 accept the resignation of Dr. Oshbashad effective Friday August 15th 2025. >>
005Second >> Moore >> yes >> Perez >> yes >> Ross Driven >> yes >> Spurlock >> yes >> Kim >> yes >> her Johnson >> yes >> K is absent motion passed >> action item number 6.2 I move that the board of education of Oak Park Elementary School District 97 appoint Mr. Patrick Robinson as the acting superintendent effective Monday, August 18th, 2025. >> Second. >> Carney is absent. Kim, >> yes. >> Perez, >> yes. >> Moore, >> yes. >> Sperlock, >> yes. >> Frost, >> yes. >> Her Johnson, >> yes. >> Motion passed. Yay! >> Congratulations. Confetti. Confetti >> for Jeff Patrick. >> Action item 6.3. >> I move. >> Go ahead. >> I move that the board of education of Oak Park Elementary School District 97 appoint Dr. Griff Powell and Dr. Patricia Wernett
006as co-inter superintendent effective Monday, September 15, 2025 contingent on finalized contracts. Second. Moore, >> yes. >> Perez, >> yes. >> Rosen, >> yes. >> Sperlock, >> yes. >> Kim, >> yes. >> Kurt Johnson, >> yes. >> Carney is absent. Motion passed. >> Okay, so we're ready to conclude. I just have a few remarks that I'd like to share. And >> you got microphones. >> Oh, microphone. Um so before we conclude I have just a few u people that I'd like to thank and then I welcome the board for any remarks that you may have as well. So first I want to start by thanking our amazing staff. Um as a parent and as a board member I often don't get to see the amount of work that you do and so this the past couple
007of weeks I have been just in awe and I consider myself a hard worker but um wow. Um, there's no such thing as business hours with you guys, and I hope that stops soon. Um, but the dedication to emails at 11:00 on the weekend, 5:30, um, it has just been incredible to see the way that teachers are preparing their classrooms, even beforehand, responding to teachers, um, principles. Um Nancy and I got to sit in and see the TAs today um at Julian and their conversations and just the energy that everybody's bringing to move forward has been nothing short of amazing. And so I want to thank everybody our custodians for getting our schools together today. My daughter was like, "Oh my god, the school is so clean for now." Um and that is a testament
008to how hard they have been working as school starts on Wednesday. I want to thank my fellow board members. um we have come together in a way that I haven't seen in a very long time. Just being united, jumping in, um doing all the things, um the the kind words to each other, the moments to slow down and just refocus on what's important. I am so incredibly grateful to serve with you, to learn from you, and to be supported by you. to our community, the number of messages that I have not read and the ones that I have read in my inbox offering support. Um, and I'm also thanking you in advance for your contributions to a great first day for our students and the gratitude that we will show to our educators and having
009an asset frame mindset to just move forward and to just create a wonderful school year for our students. So, thank you to our community for your understanding um and for your just support. And then last but especially not least, I want to thank our families. Um you guys sacrifice our time as parents um sharing us with the community and it doesn't go unrecognized that we have to run out in the middle of a meal, in the middle of homework, miss uh important meetings for you guys. And so I just wanted to thank my family, my arbar. Um, and that's it. >> Welcome to anybody else. >> Agreed. >> All right. I think I have one. just as a former, you know, D97 employee, I I feel like really proud of the board and really proud
010of like the staff at central office that kind of um have just demonstrated um some resilience to change and that, you know, moving forward things are going to be positive. So, I'm I'm looking forward to this school year um despite some of the changes. >> All right. Uh, can I get a motion to return? >> All in favor? >> I have.