School Board Meeting - August 14, 2025 (Open Session)

001meeting of the Ligona Beach School District Board of Education. Open session is called to order at 6:12. Sorry, it's a little late. We we're all running to the use the restroom. If you are a student who wishes to speak on an item, please write student at the top of your card so you can speak first and do not have to remain for the entire meeting. All public comments submitted via the online form were sent to all board members prior to the meeting. We welcome your presence and your input. To ensure a respectful and productive meeting, we require that there are no disruptions during comments or board deliberations. Okay, we're going to start with the pledge of allegiance. Ivy, would you please lead us in the pledge? Thank you. I pledge allegiance to the flag of

002the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Um, we will start with public comment on items not on the agenda but within the subject matter jurisdiction of the board. Clerk Hills, are there any speaker cards for those wishing to comment on items not on the agenda? >> Barryman and Gary Kasich can come forward. >> Thank you. >> Welcome. Thanks. >> Hi, my name is Shahin Shik Sudle. Last month, after extensive back and forth about a contract cap issue related to health care costs was brought forward, Dr. Glass stated, and I quote, "I don't have any evidence to point to anyone about anything, and is important that we are cautious and thoughtful right now." Member Morgan referring

003to former act acting superintendent Jeff Dixon stated quote I struggle to believe that no one knew about it other than the one person that was responsing it and because that same person now was just welcomed into the fuel community at their summer evening. So there is just a lot of coincidental actions that I think is important to bring up so that the public is aware of what's happening. End quote. I caution the board members to speak again about what fuel is, who we are, what we stand for. Our base is 500 strong and growing especially with every baseless assault that this board majority and its affiliates make on next door in local papers and on this dis. Let me be clear as a member a board member of fuel families unified for education Lagona. We

004stand for student success and board transparency. Laguna Beach Unified is the number one school district in Orange County and that is our new baseline. We demand that the board imagine and prepare for what comes next. And for now, since you are unwilling to do so, fuel will. In a healthy district, a monthly business meeting would handle operations efficiently efficiently. And a monthly study session would dive into forward thinking research, asking the kinds of questions that can now move us from number one in the county to number one in the state. Imagine study sessions that explore how to strengthen reading and literacy at every level. The role of instructional technology in a postAI world. Vertical integration of curriculum so learning builds seamlessly between K through 12. The 21st century skills graduates will need critical thinking. Data

005analysis. Ethics in an AI economy. Preparations for careers that we don't even exist. Ensuring excellence for all. Rethinking how we measure achievement and support every learner. Play as a tool for social and emotional wellness. Math is a tool for developing executive functioning. Holistic academic and creative growth, including expanding arts, technical pathways, creative writing, our flow program, speech, and debate. Even stronger parent re parent teacher relationships with regular check-ins for every student. These are the conversations that inspire trust, innovation, and pride. And this is what fuel stands for. A district that leads with vision, curiosity, and a commitment to student success, preparing our children for the world they are inheriting. We welcome anyone to write a letter to the editor on these facts of fuel. And member Morgan, I would like to give you an opportunity

006to clarify and finish the point you were making last month. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hi, I'm Aaron Barryman. I have a Thirsten student and I'll have a high school student. I was born here. I am an LBUSD alum. I have been a PTA chair since my kids started at Elmoro and all the way into high school. My husband and I are going on our ninth year as school power trustees. I'm currently the outgoing school power president. I'm vested in this community and obviously I'm biased and I just want to speak generally. It is loosely tied to an action item, but I do want to speak generally. Um specifically to you, Dr. Glass. Um welcome. This is an amazing district to to work in. the staff, the LBSC staff is amazing, incredible, and um

007you are also um walking into some challenges with the current board majority. I'm concerned about lastm minute agenda items in which the board wants to revise board bylaws. Um last minute when clearly school is yet to commence, parents are trying to get their kids off to college or they are still traveling or they're in the thick of getting ready for back to school. Any sort of major board bylaw revision should take some time and there should not be any action item. I'm concerned that the board is going to continue to do this and so it's a general comment and I'm asking you to look closely at this. It seems like it's somewhat nebulous lawyer vague language but what that does is that allows for loopholes and wrigle room for new board majority to take actions

008that could negatively impact students. This seems very much not aligned with district vision. It is it is board centric. It is not student centered. I'm here for the students and the staff and that this anything that is going to not keep those things in mind is highly problematic. So I'm asking you to see that general vague language like that could be used in ways that this seems innocuous but it truly is not. It is calculated in terms of timing and it is very manipulative and strategic and could have really problematic consequ consequences for students in the future. Thank you and welcome >> until that agenda item comes up to speak about it. >> You're right. Thank you. >> Uh good evening, Gary Caseic. Podium gets closer and closer. you must be more and more trusting

009of us. Um, good evening and as as I always start, thank you all for your commitment, your willingness to share your time, experience for the betterment of the district. It really is appreciated. May not always come across that way. And welcome to the start of another school year. The summer just flew by. Uh, well, not an agenda item tonight. Many residents are in fact interested in regarding the benefits contract breach noted by Superintendent Glass at the previous board meeting. To that end, I'd like to acknowledge the superintendent and the majority of board members in their support of transparency of the item to the public. It's relatively easy to be transparent and provide full disclosure when you have all the information, a clear view to scope, and know the eventual outcome. It's much more difficult, dare

010I say courageous, to come forward with a potentially significant issue, armed only with preliminary information when you're not certain where it may lead and commit to do the work to find all those answers. I respect that decision by the board leadership, the superintendent, and would suggest perhaps hope it's a testament to a near new era of integrity, ethics, and a commitment to real honest transparency. Withholding information while launching an investigation would have only created wild speculation and fabrication that would have been difficult to unwind as awareness of the issue would have most certainly leaked. Of course, time is now your enemy because the item is now in the public domain. There's a natural tendency to look for closure and a possible naive belief that it should be easy straightforward process to find out what happened,

011why, who, and what we're going to do about it. It's obviously never as easy as it seems with the complexity of finding finding a uh truly independent examiner covering multiple fiscal periods uh the time that has passed the source materials needed staffing changes that have occurred and most importantly the need for appropriate employee confidentiality. Again, thank you for your openness and honesty. We'll do our best to be patient uh while you take the time to do the necessary thorough and objective review. Honestly, I think our impatience will grow given the $ 1.4 million initial scope that was identified. So that if there are ways to communicate progress, findings, general status updates outside of the regular board meetings, then please consider those channels to make any information you possibly can available to the public. Also, obviously

012looking forward to anything that can be shared tonight. Thank you again for your time and service. >> Thank you. Are there any more comments, Mr. Hill? >> No, there are not. >> Thank you. I'd like to report that there was no report out of close session and we're going to change the order of our reports a little bit. Um, we're excited to have our new two student members. So, we are going to start with them. Um, Logan Marshall, who is in 10th grade, and Ivy Dabs, who is also in 10th grade. Logan and Ivy are two remarkable sophomore students who participated in a rigorous screening and selection process to be student representatives to the board. Having taken advantage of several impactful course offerings, journalism and mun in their freshman year, both students are passionate about

013student voice and pers um and perspective and eager to learn and contribute to the collective perspective of student groups around the district on issues under consideration by the board. Ivy and Logan look forward to getting on the LBUSD campuses and beginning their outreach to the school teams and reporting out to the trustees. We also have Cayenne who will serve as the alternate should Ivy or Logan be unable to attend a meeting or for any other reason unable to fulfill their term. Unfortunately, he was a not able to come tonight for introductions, but he plans to come to our next meeting. Thank you. And now, Ivy Logan, who wants to start? >> Um, I I just wanted to say thank you so much for um I know that a lot of for example, President Perry, you

014were involved in the screening process and I'm incredibly happy to be here. A lot just like what you just talked about. I'm incredibly passionate, as I know Ivy is as well, about student voice. And I love that the district not only has the opportunity for students to be board members, um, but also that students at all LBSD camp uh campuses, whether they be in 12th grade at the high school or whether they be in second grade at TW or Elmoro, get the opportunity to have their voice heard beyond public comment through us. So, I'm incredibly grateful to be serving here on the board alongside you guys as well. And I'll turn it over to Ivy now if she has anything she would like to say about it. >> We're thrilled to have you. Could you

015tell us a little bit both of you about maybe what you did this summer >> because I know you both did some exciting things. >> Hi everybody. My name is Ivy Dabs. Um I'm going to be a sophomore next year at Laguna Beach High School. Uh a little bit about me. I moved here three years ago from Greenwich, Connecticut. So across the country and now I'm here on a school board. So, that's all very shocking. Um, I've really enjoyed my time at LBUSD. The district has totally changed my life. I mean, I went from private Catholic school to public school where people on their breaks go to the beach. So, it was definitely a huge difference. Um, in terms of what I did this summer, I was studying international relations at Oxford and, uh, minoring

016in public speaking and debate. Um, I want to end this by saying that I really look up to Carter and Kate. Um, they did a fantastic job on the school board and I know that if I do half as good as they both did, I will have done my job phenomenally and I know Logan feels the same way. So, thank you all. I'm very appreciative to be here. >> Um, yeah, as as for what as I did uh this summer, I wasn't I didn't go quite as far as Oxford. Um, but I went to North Carolina to Duke University where I studied in uh truth, justice, and reconciliation and postconlict societies focusing predominantly on the Rwanda genocide and the Holocaust. So, it was a a great experience as well learning about not only uh a

017very interesting and layered topic, but also the just what it's like being in North Carolina. It was a state I haven't had much experience in. >> Thank you so much for that. And welcome. Welcome. And now the superintendent, Dr. Glass, will give a report. >> Thank you, Madam President. Good evening and thank you uh trustees, staff, and members of the community. Over this past week, I had the privilege of leading a retreat with our district and school leaders right here in this very room. This was an early step in our work together, a time to reflect on where we've been, to clarify our vision, and aligned around the priorities for the year ahead. The first day was spent deeply exploring the culture and history of the district. Uh as a new member of this team

018myself, this was invaluable. Our future work has to build on an understanding of where this place has been. The second day focused on envisioning the future. Uh and we used the McKenzie and company three horizons model to think about immediate steps, intermediate actions, and long range efforts. These ideas, the ideas from this work will inform my 100-day report which I will present to you in October. Across the district, preparations for the new school school year are in full swing. The final touches on facility upgrades to professional learning and curriculum work to welcoming our new staff just this morning. I've been impressed by the caliber of the educators that this district attracts. A reflection not only of the competitive compensation, but of our reputation as an ex exceptional place to live and work. And this is

019a strength that I intend to protect and to grow. I also experienced our early back to school events as a parent with both of our children starting children starting here at Thirstston Middle School. And I want to thank our teachers, the counselors, the office staff, and the administrators for the kind and thoughtful student centered welcome they extended to our families and my family. The care and planning that I've seen gives me great confidence that our students will feel supported and ready to learn as I know my own children are. Since my arrival, I've been intentional about meeting a wide range of community members, partners, both those I've sought out and those who've reached out to me. These conversations continue to deepen my understanding of Laguna Beach and its community, and they will remain a priority

020as I move into the next phase of my 100day entry plan, which will place greater emphasis on school visits and district data review. The pool replacement project has been a significant investment and a matter of high community interest. That might be understating it. Toward that end and in response to questions that have been raised by members of the board and the community, I am securing an objective third-party support to review the process, the structure, and the contracts of the pool project to ensure that we are on track. The goal is clear. I understand the assignment. Deliver this project on time and under budget. While community discussions on this matter have been contentious, close oversight, asking hard questions, they're part of our responsibility and we can't shy away from that critical work. I want to be

021also be clear. I believe the people and the firms that have been been involved are doing excellent work and I'm pleased with the progress toward the plan that has been shaped by broad community input. At our last meeting, I raised concerns about potential overspending in the health benefit system. Without revealing the details of our close session discussion tonight, I can share that the board met with our external healthc care auditors and our district negotiators to understand the review review process that is now underway. Madame President, we are committed to a thorough fact-based investigation and and to reporting our findings publicly. My hope is that this all proves to be a misunderstanding. But at this point, I can't make that statement. If issues are found, we will take the necessary steps to address them. They will

022not material materially impact student programs and we will treat our employees with dignity and care throughout this process. I want to emphasize we will take the time that it takes to get it right and when we have clear answers, we will share them. Finally, as you know, Madam President, I've been working with you in your role on ways to ensure our board me board meetings are productive. They are respectful and that they're inclusive of all voices. That includes reinforcing the speaking order so every trustee can contribute without interruption, setting clear expectations around public participation, and keeping our board reports and statements focused on the issues at hand. Madame President and to everyone in this room, including our staff, it is our collective responsibility to create an environment where this board can address meaningful and sometimes

023difficult issues thoughtfully, modeling civility, treating others with kindness and dignity. To do the right work, we have to tackle complex issues and say things that need to be said. And we can also do that while adhering to our agreed upon order and meeting protocols. The responsibility for a quality board meeting belongs to all of us, not just the board president. Our students, some of whom have joined us at the table tonight and those that are in the audience joining us now, are watching how we lead. Thank you, Madam President and trustees. I am always grateful for the opportunity to serve this community and this district and I look forward to a meaningful board meeting tonight. >> Thank you very much. Now onto our board reports. I see Nikki Romano is here for CSEA. Would you

024start, please? >> Sure. Thank you. Um good evening board members and welcome to our new student board reps. Um I'm so impressed by your summers. Jealous. Um uh we wanted to take this time to express our heartfelt gratitude to the to those of our um staff that worked over the summer. Um the district office, our 12-month employees, maintenance and custodial teams. Um all worked endlessly to make sure that there's a smooth uh process to the start of the school year. Um, last week our site office staff and library personnel returned moving quickly to ensure everything is in place for the teachers returning on Monday. Um, and we're all looking forward to the arrival of students on campus next week. So, and um are excited for a successful start to our school year ahead. >> Thank

025you, Mr. Woodoff. >> Good evening, Ford, and welcome. And first impressions. Wow. Um we listen we look we're excited to have you guys here. Um we also want to thank the uh teachers that work through LEAD which was amazing once again summer school at Elmoro and at the high school. They did a great job and we're very thankful that we have those programs for our students. Um but mostly I I want to thank the classified staff. A lot of people do not see what actually goes on and and we teachers would not be able to do the job that we do without them. I know for facilities it's easy for people to drive by and see the fields at the high school being worked on the fields here at thirst and that you know the

026pool project that is a big thing but what they do inside of our classrooms in IT getting things ready just doing deep cleans moving things around building things they do such a fantastic job to make our school what it is and I think sometimes they don't get the u appreciation that you know that they deserve but I just coming from our union to their union. I just want to know how much they appreciate it and what a great job and I wish everybody could see what they actually do for our students. Um because it is incredible. Thank you. >> Um can we have the school resource officer, Officer Danny Lopez? Good evening. For those of you who don't remember my name or don't know who I am, my name is Danny Lopez, one of two

027friendly school resource officers here at Lega Beach Police Department. I hope everyone had a relaxing and well-deserved break. I know I didn't. However, we kept busy over the summertime. we take advantage to be able to get some training in for our professional uh careers overall in and outside of our roles as school resource officers. So, I'll dive straight into it. I won't waste your time. I promise. And I apologize if I speak quickly. If I'm speaking too quickly, just please raise your hand. I promise you I will do my best to slow down. I've had five cups of coffee today, so I apologize. So, uh let's start off. Over the summer months, we had an opportunity to train with the other SRO throughout the county of Orange. We attend a summer SRO summit. It's a

028week-long training event where we get together as SRO, school resource officers, and discuss unique cases that we've seen on our campuses, which is invaluable in the long run because maybe Tustin has seen something that we're not. That gives us the opportunity and the ability to prep for something that might come down the road. Hopefully not. Knock on wood. But that being said, we were able to do tabletop exercises covering everything from active shooter events to crisis after hours with students, uh, thoughts of suicide, so on and so forth, and how we would attack that and essentially investigate or approach it. But not just us as police officers, not just our patrol staff, but more importantly with our partners here in the district. Uh, as you all are well aware, whenever there's a something that comes

029up via internet search, the district gets a flag, we get a flag, and our dispatch gets a flag. We are three legs of the same tripod essentially. So, with a continued Apologize, my radio is screaming in my ear. Uh, with that continued strong partnership that we're hoping to continue with our district, we're very excited to be able to have those tabletops at that SRO summit and essentially prep for the worst but hope for the best. During that SO SRO summit, we had a number of expert speakers, everything from a juvenile district attorney to a private attorney representing juveniles from the past, as well as uh child psychologists and our Orange County school mobile assessment resource team or nicknamed SMARTT. Essentially, they're the special team that evaluates any special tips or suspicious activity reports. Say that

030five times fast because I know I can't. Uh and they look into it as a specialized detective unit that covers the entire county. And through that unit, we were able to really dive into the whatifs of school safety, but not only school safety, but social and emotional wellness for our students. At the very end of that, we actually had the opportunity to participate in an active shooter drill where all of us officers swapped out our normal weapons, picked up essentially paintball guns, for lack of better term, and engaged the threat. So, we had a opportunity to visit Santa Margarita High School where we had uh student actors, teacher actors, as well as some other officers who got to be the bad guy for the day and put the metal where the meat put the metal

031to the meat, so to speak. We had to train tactics to how to appropriately essentially outflank and outmaneuver and eventually stop the threat, essentially saving lives. This is invaluable training for myself and my partner and all school school resource officers throughout the entire county because god forbid if that ever happens we want to make sure we're at the top of our game. So training non-stop is the way to go. Uh just a few weeks ago we had a fantastic opportunity to meet with Dr. Glass and I'm super excited we had a chance to get to know each other better not just as a SRO team but as people as well because then at the end of the day this isn't my normal outfit. Beyond that we had an opportunity to discuss future plans for future

032projects we'll get to some other time later. I don't want to ruin the surprise for you. Uh, but great things are on the horizons and we're super excited to have this continued strong partnership. So, thank you so much, sir, for your support. Uh, shameless plug, this sorry, next weekend on Sunday, uh, we're going to have our new and improved ebike program for our students. It's going to be here at Thirstston and the hour is going to be from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. For those of you listening in, be sure to sign up. Spots are still open. Uh this new and improved program is going to focus on not just the classroom portion but as well as a cone course. Believe it or not, this is designed for them to fail at it. And there's

033a reason behind that. We want to make sure that our students are understanding that at the end of the day, as confident as they are on their ebikes, the world is a bigger and better beast. We're our greatest hope is that we're going to see a continued decline in ebike accidents involving our students, not just to and from school, but within our community. because let's face it, that's the main mode of transportation nowadays for our kids. I'm almost finished, I promise. I'm sorry if I'm boring you to tears. Uh, next up, we have uh our we built out our entire Oh, I'm sorry. I also forgot for our ebike program. We are actually mandating the parents to attend. And this is a fantastic thing because at the end of the day, we're getting buy in

034not just from the school front, but from the home front. That's extremely important because mom and dad are the ones who are buying the ebikes at the end of the day. and they don't know any better. There's new laws in play that may they may not recognize or understand and the kiddos like, "Hey, this is the cool one. I want this one." They're like, "Sure, bye." And it gets shipped straight to their door. So, we're hoping to educate both parents and the students all at the same time, hoping that it'll help drive down more incidents uh from occurring. Uh moving on to our social and emotional wellness partnership with the district. We've already laid out for the first four to five months of what we plan to essentially teach and and present to all of

035our levels of schools starting with the elementary schools and we're looking forward to do that as well at the high school and here at Thirstston. It's super important to recognize that social and emotional wellness is the key to student well-being without having everything in balance. We can't expect our students to thrive. So, we're hoping to be able to partner up with our teachers and staff and counselors to be able to move forward with that. One of the things we're going to be focusing on, especially at the lower levels, is bullying and how it can affect people and how can we have those restorative conversations in the long run where we can rebuild those friendships. I promise you this is my last one. And finally, we're looking forward to school kicking off. Obviously, we have so

036many things we're looking forward to interacting with our students, being present at our campuses, but just as important to continue any and all drug, alcohol, and substance abuse education at our schools. If we could prevent our kids from getting into that stuff, we could eventually save a life. And that's the goal at the end of the day. So, that's all I have for now. I I apologize if I talked really quickly. I had just so much to tell you and as you could tell, I'm very excited. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. >> Questions? Thank you, Officer Lopez. I'm excited about all the things you have planned for our students. >> Thank you. I'm extremely excited as well. Thank you again. Um, next our executive cabinet members, Mr. Conlin. >>

037Thank you, President Perry, board members, and welcome to our new student board reps. Glad to see you. Um, so we held our annual new staff institute today, welcoming 11 new certificated and classified staff to the LBUSD family. The day consisted of an introduction by Dr. glass and other district staff where we introduced the new staff to the district's mission, vision, collective commitments and orient followed by an orientation with the HR team and then from there instructional services and the tech department met to make them aware of all the all the resources and our initiatives that we have going on in uh in the district and then it culminated with the lunch where we brought the principles to come in and sit with their new staff members and enjoy a lunch and break some bread together.

038So, it's just it's a great event to really expose the new staff to the culture that we've built here in Laguna Beach and it's just um it's just a special way to introduce them to uh to the district. I know it's not something that typically happens in larger districts. They just don't have the ability to do so. Um we're also putting the finishing touches on our professional de development day happening with the welcome back breakfast this coming Tuesday. Uh there's going to be three sessions. I know Chad will probably speak a little bit to this as well, but it's it's a day where again we can have breakfast with the entire team, um, introduce the new staff, and then have a a wonderful professional development with three different sessions. Um, so again, kudos to all

039the staff that that do the work behind the scenes to get that up and running. It's a it's a huge lift, and we appreciate all their work. And that's all for today. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Conlin, Dr. Mayberry. >> Hi. Thank you. Good evening. Uh since our last board meeting, our highly popular and recognized lead program wrapped up along with uh our TK and kinder readiness camps for our younger students. And so those are things that we've slowly developed over the years to help get our kids ready for uh the school year as well as have some fun. Um instructional staff have also been analyzing a plethora of student outcomes and data that has come in over the summer. uh looking at some potential strategies and actions that we can do based off

040of that to further support our students which we'll be sharing at in our upcoming opening of schools report in September. Uh we've also had a unit design and educ for educ protocols academy which is hosted at Elmoro. Uh over 300 uh teachers and educators came from across the country to attend as well as our teachers. Uh it was a really exciting two days over there uh near near or over at Elmoro. And then we also held our unit design uh in here uh with our with our staff uh that wanted to redesign different units. And one of the things we worked on our more recent this was cohort 10 in our last couple cohorts that we've been working on is how to intentionally design lessons that and you have used technology to enhance the learning

041or when to replace it with no technology or low technology. And so we're going to share some of that later tonight with you. Uh some of the lessons that we did with teachers this summer as well. uh these are really important strategies that uh will help our students uh be successful and our teachers are really striving hard to in this summer to figure out the best way to do that. So uh and then as last thing um as we said we have our big professional welcome back breakfast and professional development day coming up this Tuesday. Uh just in advance of that thank you to all of our staff facilitators that are doing that. Uh there's over 50 50 to 60 sessions right now there for for our staff in those breakout sessions. All of them

042except for I believe four or five are are from our own staff that are facilitating. We have four or five that are from some outside facilitators in some very specific areas, but the rest are facilit facilitated by our own staff. Um so we're really looking forward to that day of learning and getting ready for the kids, which is less than a week now that it's Thursday evening. They'll be here in almost six days. >> Yeah. It always seems to come so quickly. Thank you. Now we'll move to board member reports. Um board members, please try to keep your reports to three minutes. Let's start with um board member Morgan. >> Thank you, Madam President. Um since the last meeting, um it's been very busy. Um I'm very excited for our new board members. So, I

043want to welcome them. I feel like I've underachieved this summer uh based on your um resume there. That's very impressive and I'm excited to hear more about it in the future. Um I'm unfortunately not going to be able to attend the welcome back breakfast for staff because I will be moving our college student in. Um and so please extend all of my welcome to staff as well and um cheers to a good summer or to a good school year. Um, following the last board meeting the next day, um, several of us uh were at the lead summer program. Very impressive, very cool. Um, classes like who's Taylor Swift with paper dolls and and reading context. There was intro to sewing and dog training with stuffed dogs. So, I'd really like to know how that goes.

044I've got two rescues at home that could use some help. Um, but they are going off training. Um, the program is wonderful. I understand it's free to families and again I don't want to take away from their presentation coming up later um in the fall I'm assuming um but it was fabulous. The um enrollment you can see has increased as um the word of mouth has increased that it's available and the kids seem very excited. They seem very engaged. We had a whole tour planned of all the different classes that we went to. I mean there's tons and that was just the ones that we saw. Um it's a great opportunity and a great resource for our local families and I'm grateful that we offer that and um look forward to seeing how um that

045grows and how we can continue to support our families from that direction. We launched our first transportation ad hoc committee on July 31st. We have um we had a great group of um people representing all different factions. We had a tow parent recommended by the past interim superintendent. We had four Lisa VJO um parents that have students um in the schools currently and one that's already graduated. Uh when we started the discussion, the conversation was around um bringing in Aliso students and some of the disconnect between high school um in the morning and um also Friday mornings as well as after. We are looking for student um students to participate and join the committee. Not only bring forward their voice um as a collective whole for whoever has um something they want to share about

046the transportation, but also um to invite student board members or student reps to the committee. So that's something I'm sure that they'll reach out to you all on to help us find those students. Um, but what was great is that we had another parent that was there that's part of TO and PTA and she brought forward a whole another realm of um concerns that had been discussed throughout the spring and this was the uh rep that the um that Jeff Dixon had recommended and she was fabulous. uh she brought forward a lot of concerns and um things for us to look at and um address such as safety on the on the buses um how many cameras, how many um how we maintain the buses, how we rotate the buses because they go up and

047down the hills. So there was a lot of great information there and I'm looking forward to the work that that that committee is doing. We also had our think tank um starting with the arts um programs and how we can take our wonderful arts programs and elevate the students presence within the community so they have a much more broader experience of what their art how showing their art how it impacts Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Kelly. >> Thank you and welcome everyone. Um I'm going to talk about three things that I've been working on. One is uh it's that time of the year to renew your PTA membership. And so I hope that uh everyone will uh do that so we can have 100% participation particularly from the board and staff. Um number two, I've

048had the wonderful opportunity to work with Dr. Michael Brand who's a professor at Louisiana State University um who's doing research on pollution uh in Woods Cove and uh he's collecting data there to see at the end of every day how much uh how much pollution is there and um it seemed to me that this would might be an opportunity for our flow kids to be involved. So, uh, I have all the information from him and I've referred that to the superintendent to see if there's an interest, but it seems like, uh, it would really be fun to see us, uh, the kids working with a real faculty member collecting data. And, um, the third thing was, um, the Jewish Federation of Orange County has a studentto student uh, program to uh, to cut down stereotypes

049and combat anti-semitism. and uh they're looking for students and I referred that information to the superintendent and to Lynn Gregory who's excited to get the information out. Thank you. >> Thank you Dr. Kelly, Dr. Milcheski. >> Very briefly, first um welcome Ivy and Logan. We're happy to have you here and I look forward to working with you this year. Um a quick thanks for a great lead in summer school program. It was a lot of hard work and really great work on the part of the teachers. I mostly love as a board member that we have created this benefit and so many families have opted to participate in it year after year. Um my family's one of them. So it was just a really good summer and I want to extend my thanks and other

050than that I have nothing else to report. >> Thank you Clerk Hills. >> Yep. just want to apologize for having to stand through a meeting today. I have a medical condition that requires that I do so. Um I uh wanted to start out by welcoming the student board reps. Um uh look forward to working with you. I want to acknowledge the fact that the selection process for the board reps this year is probably the best selection process that has taken place for a long time and it's more fully in compliance with section um what is it 35012 of the education code and um I guess I would also like to say to you uh I once sat in your seats I was once the high school's representative to the school board uh long time ago

051probably before your parents were born. But um the uh the thing about it is what I would emphasize to you is that you don't res you don't represent the uh any school officials. You don't represent anybody but the students. And um uh I think I would encourage you to um I would look forward to the opportunity to work with you on looking at the whole issue of student government uh starting in the elementary schools coming right up through uh to a point where you'd have a perhaps something like a student constitution at the at the high school and uh and have the elections take place through that process. That's what San Diego Unified School District does and a lot of other school districts do. But the point is you were selected by the students this

052year because of the leadership of board member Perry and uh that's a big step in the right direction and I think um I would just encourage you to uh work with all of us because I think we'd support you in exploring new avenues for more fully implementing section um 35012 of the education code. So, welcome. And uh if you get a chance, there's a great movie called um The Emperor's Club that stars uh Kevin Klene. It's a great story about education and ethics. Um and I've used to pass it out to all the kids um at the high schools where my kids went. So, if you get a chance to look at up on the line, you're looking for a movie, you might want to check it out. Um, I also wanted to um comment

053that uh I used to work on the on the grounds crew staff for the Laguna Beach Unified School District and I agree with the comments of recognizing the importance of what the classified employees do. I used to mow lawns and dig ditches and fix uh leaks in the sprinkler systems. So, I was a classified employee here. And this year at the picnic, I had a lot of fun working. I mean, not not not a lot of fun working. I had a lot of fun playing um with at um the the bag the bean bag throw, whatever that is. Um and but I really spent the day um there talking with the classified employees and getting to know them better and uh they are really a dedicated and professional group of people and um so I

054think I think Scott's right, we don't recognize them enough. I also attended the summer lead um uh program that they had up here and uh it was really excellent coming up here and seeing how the summer school program was operating and um I enjoyed that very much. Um I also just wanted to quickly mention that um Dr. Glass. Um, uh, I am looking forward to the the work you're doing on the, uh, health premium issue, um, and the the investigation, everything that's going as some of the people commented. One thing I wanted to point out for the record because I think it's important, and this is without prejudice to how anything's going to be, whatever is going to be concluded, whatever is going to be determined. I'm not trying Thank you, Miss >> Yeah, I

055think that's about it. >> Thank you very much. Um, I'm going to start my three minutes over here. Uh I loved seeing lead summer school just like my colleagues and to kind of go along with what Mr. Witco said uh the Mrs. Beckley really acknowledged the classified and how well how professional they were how well they worked in the classroom to allow a lot of our students that have special needs to still be able to take these classes. So huge thanks to them. And I also met with a lovely young man named Joshua from the Jewish Community Action Network um who's interested in critical thinking and dialogue and discussion. I attended the two transportation meetings with uh board member Morgan and we look forward to bringing some information to the rest of the board and

056getting your opinions on some possible new safety features and so on and very exciting ideas at the art meeting and that's been one of my passions for 10 years more than that. So, it's really wonderful to see some things coming to fruition uh through CCA. Saddleback College has two awesome new programs. One is a culinary building for culinary arts and the other is an automotive building and they just had their blue ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday. So, for students that are interested in those areas, it's awesome. There are some new classes through CCA2 and I'll just mention a couple that I thought were interesting. There's a a sports broadcasting class now at St. Clemente and also a songwriting class. We did a discussed a lot about articulated classes versus dual enrollment and looked at how

057colleges accept both of those whether it's our state colleges or our UC system and it seems that it's going more towards dual enrollment over the next five years. So there'll be some more discussions on that. Our ROP was the only one in the state that got this California jobs first catalyst grant to help with a construction program at Union High School. And then we partnered with Simon Builders. So we're going to have construction instruction during the day after school and also an adult education portion of it. So I there are a lot of jobs there. I think that's going to be fantastic. And then we were also got information about how much more prepared students are that go through CCA pathways not just because they have um skills but also they have so much better

058soft skills than other students that don't go through these trainings. So my plug for CCA. Thank you. Now we're going to go on to discuss board policy 5131.8 mobile communication devices. Mr. Mr. Mayberry and Mr. Morrison will kind of jointly be giving a presentation on this, I think, on the legal requirements, the school policies, social media usage. Um, and then following the presentation, the board will review and discuss the board policy and then public comments will be taken. There's not going to be an action on this policy tonight. More information. >> Thank you, board president. So this is one of two presentations uh this evening related to technology use um and board policies that we have. This one is specifically related to mobile devices as you mentioned. Um and then we'll uh we reviewed this

059policy about a year ago with the board um which is which is attached the recommendations are attached to the board item uh to review at a future time if we want to make some adjustments. Um but we do currently have this policy in place. Um recent legislation um recent legislation uh AB272 and AB 3216 uh are very similar uh one from 2019, one from 2024 uh affirms the district's authority to lo to set local policies that limit or restrict mobile device uses. So uh during school hours so but there are some limitations to that. Uh and as you can see up here, uh there are four exemptions to that. Um three of which are very specific to situations in the case of emergency, a licensed physician or surgeon determines that the possession or use of

060the smartphone is necessary for health or well-being of the student uh or if it's included as part of the people's uh IEP, individual education plan. The fourth one is is related to teacher administrative uh grant if they grant permission to a pupil to possess a phone for structural use and so or other uses that they deem appropriate. So those are the four exceptions that that are allowed uh under under law in ED code uh related to these um all these uh in our current policy we are in compliance with the the new law as well as um as well as the prior one. So, uh, what I wanted to kind of talk you through what does this look like at each of the three levels, um, at our schools. And so, it's differentiated by school

061level, uh, by by students, their age, their needs related to cell phones and mobile devices. Um, at the elementary level, students are restricted from using them entirely. Um, there's not a place where they would be using them. At the middle school, it is nearly the same. There is they middle school here uh has a a cell phone zone that they allow them at lunch to go and make either urgent or priority calls that is monitored and they make the phone call and then they leave. Um so they do allow them to do that and then at the high school level um the students do have the ability to use the phone during class with student with teachers permission. Um the high school also has typically has about two major breaks during the day. one in

062the morning, midm morning one, um between first and third or second and fourth period um where students are allowed to use cell phones and then they do have a lunch break in the middle where they're allowed to use their cell phones as well. Uh I will say at the high school I go there often for lunch during the quad and there's tons of activity going on the the leadership uh classes there are constantly hosting themes and events. Uh there are lots of kids a good majority of kids not using their phones even though they would they currently have the option to do that during lunch. uh they're doing different engaging activities. So all of these are predicated on if a student violates one of these there's a progressive discipline policy that we have for any

063type of violation. Um so if a should a student do it they may they first option may depending on the level they might take the phone return it back at the end of their day. If it's repeated there could be other discipline processes but that's similar for any other uh violation that a student may have of a school rule or policy. Uh there is a progressive discipline process for that. Um that's the current setup. The one thing I did want to mention because sometimes these topics do get blended together, right? So this one policy is primarily around mobile device use which as I said at the K level is not allowed. Students at the middle and high school level put those into those either they sometimes call them caddies or wooden shelves where they go

064in there uh they're placed in there and to the end of the period. Um the high school has a little bit more lenency as these these students are becoming young adults and thinking through what that looks like. This is also comes up sometimes in the conversation related to mobile devices is social media uh or gaming. um our our school board our school power uh did a book club on this many parents have read this book a book uh anxious generation from Jonathan hate um he talks a little a lot about the dangers of cell phones smartphones um but one of the things it's not just that he speaks to in the research that he found he doesn't just speak to the smartphones themselves that is part of the the problem and the and this rewiring

065of of uh children's brains that's happening right now uh it's how they're used right and the two risks that he speaks to the most of are social media and gaming. And so that I want to clarify that in our district, both of those are blocked out. Those are not something that we support kids doing um you know, without supervision or working with something that they do with their families. But in our schools, they're near social media is not something u that we would have students be doing during class. We would not have them doing gaming. There are of course a handful of times where they might like in esports we have some we have some small esports clubs or different activities like that but in general most of that is blocked on our filters uh

066related to that. The next policy that we'll get into with Mr. Morrison is related to the actual devices users using your laptop or an iPad in class or an instructional use the intentionality behind that but this policy is specifically related to the use of smartphones. Um and then I did want to add and again I added this point in here to clarify because sometimes a public conversation blends all three of those together. Uh and they are three different things and how we would address those and also address as I said differently based on the age level with students and what's permissible and what's appropriate. So uh with that uh that's the information the update on this this board policy to share with you um for this this meeting. >> Thanks for the clarification. Board members,

067are there questions, comments? And then we'll go to public comments. >> So, Dr. Mayberry, um last year the board went through this policy and there was um a lot of parent interest in banning cell phones altogether and um if you I know you recall this, but the decision at that time was that we had a policy that effectively didn't allow cell phones and that the issue was one of implementation. And so, um, the decision was that rather than rewrite the policy, we would set up, um, practices that would ensure that schools were following the policy and limiting cell phone use. So, it sounds to me like, um, this presentation here is a reflection of how that went over the past year, right? One of my concerns about um having this discussion in the summer, I

068mean, it's fine because, you know, we it's not an action item, but um I don't know if there was follow-up um surveying of the principles or teachers about whether or not that they perceived that this was still a problem. There are legitimate uses, as we know, for using cell phones sometimes in class. Um I know classes where you have to do it, but um have we done that kind of followup? Do we have any more information about how our effort to implement practice to keep us aligned with the policy that already existed? Whether that's been successful or people still have concerns at the school level. >> That's not we have not surveyed staff uh related to that specific or principles, but that's something that we could do very quickly and get their feedback. >> Yeah.

069>> Yes, I agree. I think that's a really good idea. Clerk Hills, >> you know, I uh I listened to a three-hour program on NPR with uh Dr. Height and um and with Eric Schmidt. Um and uh they talked a lot about these issues. What Dr. height said was any adult that gives a child under 16 a cell phone is committing child abuse. Now, he may have been making that point to a certain extent rhetorically, but I think that he really believes that there's a real serious problem uh having uh access to this technology and it it will also in concern items that Mr. Morrison's going to talk about, but um uh you know, one of the things that he talked a lot about was the uh you know, the damage that screen time is

070doing to kids. And um what he said, so it's not Howard Hills opinion, but it's uh something that I think we need to all think about. Uh he said that if kids don't play outdoors without parental supervision with kids older than them their age and younger they are not going to fully develop. You know it's a developmental deficiency if they don't. I mean, he puts emphasis on outdoors, parents around, parents there to help if there's a problem, but parents not involved and um teachers not involved. Kids need to have that time out there. That's that's what he was arguing. And he said cell phones, computers, you know, the rest of it is taking kids away from that social development. And um I am fortunate that I don't have to figure out how to deal with

071this problem. Um but you do and um if there's anything we can do to help you, we want to and I agree. We should be looking at the policy as it is. We should be um really talking to principles and teachers and parents uh and for that matter with kids. Uh are you getting enough playtime on the playground? You know, it says they can take their devices out when they're not in class. So are they going out at playground and sitting around and look at their phones or whatever? you know, um, they need to be playing together is basically what Height was saying. So, I just wanted to and and Eric Schmidt got into the AI thing and he just said, "We have no concept of what's coming. We are within five years there's going

072to be things going on that we can't even right now conceive of." Again, I'm an old guy. I don't have to deal with this. You young guys do. But um the point is all of us need to uh be aware that's what they're saying and they know a lot. You've got them listed down here on your you know you got them listed and so uh that's what I heard him saying and so it's a real challenge how to get kids away from screen time. I've got 12 grandkids and six of them just spent the summer with me and fighting. Fortunately, there's some really good doughnut places downtown and I was able to get them out away from their screens uh and down to the beach, but um it's a real struggle and I know all

073the parents in this district are struggling with it right now. >> Thank you very much. Um member Morgan, do you have comments or questions? Um I do have them and I'm really looking forward to hearing what the students actually have to say about this and but my first question is um I know that we have a requirement to up to have a policy regarding cell phones and obviously we still have we have a policy but it hasn't been updated since 2021. So if this is a discussion and question session, are we bringing this forward for adoption or revision um in the near future so that we can have an opportunity to continue to collect data because I think the data has changed quite a bit even in those four years. Um I um have read

074the anxious generation and did the book club that school power offered and that was wonderful and I think my only concern with that was the the the inability because it was a great discussion. It was in the morning. It was at school at school power uh or in the you know the office there across from the track which I think at the time was school power the family resource center. And my concern was that it was such a robust conversation but it was in the morning and I think we have had I know that um um Dr. Keller has hosted different discussions in the evening in the mo in the theater at the high school uh about mobile devices and it's always well attended. And so my question, one of my questions is, is that

075something that we have coming up right away or is there anything like that scheduled that we could potentially um update the changes in the data and the changes in what's being discovered and how it's evolved because it's a very fast evolving issue. but then also at that time possibly collect input on concerns as we as we form this policy or reshape this policy. Um I mean Dr. Keller and I have been talking about technology and the impact on the student brain for 10 years 12 years um and the and how different students different kids react differently to the technology. Uh the data shows that the um because that with the prefrontal lo not developed with the dopamine hits that gaming offers it's very similar to how drugs interact with the brain and I don't know

076that in the book club se scenario while it was a really great robust conversation it was a great program the broader reach to the community might help us as a district bring this more forward and continue to continue to um impress upon families the importance of putting the cell phones away at all levels. And I think the idea that um at one point we were talking about banning cell phones entirely in the schools um is very wellreceived in other communities that have put that in place. They have the data shows that there's increase in happiness, there's increase in interaction, there's less bullying, there's less um a lot a lot of less a lot of things. So I'm one so those are so my questions are when does it come back for policy revision? Is it

077possible to do a more broader community uh outreach to bring this conversation forward so that we can shape our policy around what's happening today in today's data with science because this is one that probably needs to be re visited on a regular basis as as things evolve and AI comes in and it's on the cell. um we have a lot and so I know we're not addressing we're not addressing the policy itself tonight but um I do think that there's um some massaging that it could have >> true Dr. Glass >> thank you um thank you for the the questions and the points raised um I think they're very relevant to this conversation as Dr. Mayberry said the board heard about this policy almost a year ago, September of last year. Uh you do have

078a version of the suggested revisions that were put forward at that time. Uh as you've heard in Dr. Mabber's presentation, some of those were actually implemented. So this the changes by grapes span that you heard about uh really cell phones are effectively not used at the elementary level limit very limited use at the middle school level and then used at the high school level at the discretion of the instructor and under specific guidance and so that that element uh even though it was a proposed policy last year the district moved forward with implementing that because it makes sense. Um on the the uh second point you make the draft policy that was presented to the board uh again September almost a year ago also addresses the the broader community question that you raised and makes

079the point that parents and guardians are part of this uh discussion and we need to involve them as well. And so I think it is an open question to the board. uh if you wish to bring this back for uh adoption of of these suggested revisions, I think that makes a lot of sense. >> This is really our decision. Um do either of our student board reps have any comments about cell phones at the high school or anything you want to say? >> Um I think I'll go first. Um, I mean, not to be predictable here, I'm the teenager defending cell phones in school, but um, uh, I I believe that I mean, when you think of cell phones, you tend to think of social media. And while that is the case in some instances

080where students are maybe on their phones in class, um, cell phones can do so much more. We have we have this thing called Cahoot. I don't know if any of you know what that is. It's there's online games essentially that are implemented in a lot of our classrooms that we use to help study in a way that's fun and engaging for younger generations. Um, and a lot of the time it won't work on our Chromebooks. And when it doesn't work on our Chromebooks, what do we use? We use our cell phones. So, I'm just saying it can be while they do get villainized a lot, they can be helpful in certain scenarios. So, it's definitely case by case, but to villainize all cell phones would be slightly ignorant, but that's just my piece. Thank you.

081>> Uh my my perspective on it is more from I like I was just informed on um by Dr. Glass yesterday that I believe it was LA Unified who attempted to ban uh cell phones outright and due to California state law, >> that's not something that's possible. So, I think a lot of the like one of the tensions here that's really brought up for the kind of like what Ivy was saying, the arguments about cell phones is that they're a fantastic second device when Chromebooks fail, and they have historically often. And also, one of the big push backs from parents that I've heard just from I'm I'm one of six children, so my mom is has I'm not um like I'm not an only child. My mom has talked to me about this where she

082feels that cell phones are really and a lot of other parents feel this way is how it's important to have them at school because of the need to communicate with your child in case of an emergency. Actually, when I was in, I believe sixth grade, there was a lockdown drill on my campus because there was an active shooter in the neighborhood next to the campus. And the first thing that every kid wanted to get access to and the first thing that I wanted to have access to was my cell phone to be able to talk to my mom and say, "Hey, this is what's going uh this is what's going on. I'm what what are the steps I need to take?" So, I think it's a very layered and nuanced complex issue that there's always

083the best saying in um issues like this that Mr. Shen of MUN as I know says says all the time is that uh complex problems oftenimes do not have simple solutions otherwise they would have been used already. So, I think it's really important to gauge what the parents have been saying as well as what the students have been saying. Obviously, like Abby said, the students are going to be a little biased in wanting to keep their cell phones, but I just think it's really important to also keep in mind that it's not as simple as ban cell phones outright because that's tried and failed. >> Thank you. Appreciate your opinions. Dr. Kelly, do you have anything? >> I think they've said it so well. Okay. Thank you. And I I know Dr. Mulchesky has another

084comment. >> Um uh Logan, to your point, I agree with you. Um I think it's very complex and on this particular issue, we have a range of beliefs um from parents about what we should do about cell phones. Um but one of the things that um given all of that we thought was really important and I um am saying this as a as an encouragement to the district to stay up on is that one of the things that changes is social media itself. It's very hard for parents who are not using cell phones to understand how social media is evolving. So what we've what we did over the last year and I think we should think about whether we're doing enough of it but at PTA meetings we had SRO's talk about new information about

085what was happening on cell phones. We've had conversations with parents. I think there was at one point um a note that went out uh about what we recommended in terms of cell phone usage. But um it's very a major part of this problem is not whether or not students have cell phones, but whether or not parents understand how students are using their cell phones. And that's just that added layer of pro perfection. And it's not an issue of parents not paying attention. It's that if you're not using Snapchat all the time, for example, you don't have an awareness of how students are using chat Snapchat. you know what what how they use chat rooms, how Instagram is used, whatever. So I would encourage the district to continue with education programs. So just so that parents

086have some awareness of the uses of cell phones. I think it would be very hard to ban them outright and I you know would encourage us to in this um edit gets to the ro crucial role of parents and guardians um but the district can also play a role around educate. So, it sounds like we would like to bring this back after we've had some more information, some more data collected, and I know Mr. Hills has something else to say. >> Yeah, I just asked I wanted to ask a question, but I wanted to preface it by saying I really appreciated the comments the students made. Um uh and you know the question is how many parents and how many adults are willing to give up their cell phones when they're telling their kids to

087give up cell phones. Obviously parents have agency to treat their kids differently than they themselves uh conduct themselves but um is there anything and this just shows my ignorance about technology. Is there anything that you can do to um limit the capacity of these devices so that they can't do bad things with them? You know, my my biggest concern is you're one click away from losing your innocence. >> And you know, my my four-year-old grandson the other day was on YouTube and I grabbed that thing so fast because YouTube can take you to places that you don't want to go, you know. So, is there is there way is is there out on the market? Are there devices that are restricted that we could limit the use of to those kind of devices? >> looks

088like we have someone here with some answers. >> Yeah, I can take that. There there are devices. There's one's called a brick and it's a small device where we're experimenting with it with the AR actually. And what you do is you place the brick next to your phone and it locks out a bunch of different apps that you wouldn't want to use when you're working. So, that's one device that's out there that can do that. But there are devices out there that will limit access on that phone limiting use to uh use that's accessorized or accompanied by the the Frick device. >> Say that again. I'm sorry. Would it, you know, in other words, would it be practical to say to students, if you want to use your device on campus here, you got to

089use this this uh >> sensoring device? >> I don't know the answer to that. >> Yeah. To well, to the extent that uh we have these um legal requirements that we would also have to meet and so that that's a consideration. So, I I think the most direct answer at this point, an honest answer is I don't know. Uh but I think it's something that we could think about and uh something for us to bring you more information back about as the board considers this policy further. I think this issue is ripe for more discussion and action. Uh I appreciate the perspectives that you all have brought. I think the next step for us is is is um to bring you back um a policy that um incorporates the changes that you saw before but

090also adds in these other layers that that we've uncovered tonight. And the process around that should be at the next meeting I can bring you that policy for first reading or more adjustment and then assuming we are narrow it down toward um something that you're comfortable with at the meeting after that you could you could act on it. Um, more directly to your point, uh, Clerk Kells, as a as a an educator and a parent of two middle schoolers, I can tell you there are all kinds of, um, apps and controls that you can put on these devices to try and limit them. And a young person, um, and, uh, expeditious, uh, an industrious young person can get around almost all of them at the same time. So, those are factors as well we have

091to consider. Oh, >> here we go. Um, still figuring this thing out. Uh, I think that concept is very interesting that you brought up, Mr. Hills. Um, limiting students cell phone use, like blocking certain apps and whatnot. Um, with brick, I believe is what it's called. Am I right in saying that? I would think that would be more of what the student decides to block, but we could there's a potential to have it do other it would be per phone, you know, so one >> um and while I think that's a really interesting concept, it does sound pricey to say the least. Um is there any alternative solutions or some kind of, you know, could we find an alternate website? Like I know we have HPARA on the computers. Could we install that into phones

092or, you know, is there a way that we could have students keep their phones but maybe find a compromise because I mean brick does sound expensive and I would I would like to see that from like a budgeting standpoint how that would all work but um that's just my piece. Sorry. >> Well, we look forward to having some information come back then at the next meeting. Thank you. And um we will move on to the discussion of board policy 6163.4. for student use of technology. >> Is there public comment allowed on discussion? >> Right. Was there I'm sorry. Was there public comment >> Mr. Hill? Okay. >> Ready? >> Okay. Yes. Let's let's go on. >> Right. So this is the second policy bringing forward for board discussions this evening. Uh this is board policy

0936163.4 student use of technology. Um which discusses some of this some of this a little bit in the beginning of it but we'll we'll and we'll talk that through um but it's really related to student use of technology. And so as we talked about there's really multiple layers to this discussion around technology use. Obviously we just finished talked one more on the mobile cell phone use smartphones. uh there's this discussion around social media and gaming and the the potential negative imp impacts of that. Uh and then this is around screen time. So uh they overlap. It's really difficult to not intermingle those those conversations, but how we address them I think will definitely be addressed differently between the three. And so, um, though this this update, uh, was really we did a presentation last November

094to the board, um, around this topic. And so, this is a kind of a follow-up to that, uh, around optimizing instructional technology to enhance learning while still managing screen time that's appropriate for students based on their age, based on the growing body of research in this area. Uh, and like smartphones, um, it's evolving fast. This is changing fast. It's we may come up with a great policy today or next month or the month after that and feel like it's not enough in a year from now, right? It is evolving and changing and I think we're all well aware of that. And so tonight we want to kind of share an update on our approach to this uh some current data that we do have uh and our proposed uh plans for this year to continue

095to work towards this um which has which has definitely evolved uh the la in the last year last two years quite a bit. So um I think I got the clicker. So uh we're going to start first around our approach um to this and our our approach uh really is education as a human- centered endeavor, right? So um we hear us talk a lot about our learner profile, right? And so this is rooted in our values for students. Um we want to align our tools and practices with this. Um so when we are thinking around technology use in the classroom we are thinking around how does this empower how does this empower student to have to be a learner to have agency to be a good collaborator to be a good communicator or does it

096not or is it slowing that down right um how does it make them empathetic citizens or not right and so finding that appropriate use of that is really at times challenging but something that we are dedicated to and committed to do working on continuously over the next several ers. Um, our approach also ensures that technology amplifies rather than replaces u highquality student teaching interactions that are inquirydriven. So, we want to enhance it when we can and if it's not going to do that, we want to have other a different option for students to learn. Um, we're always cultivating these competencies to see how any type of strategy helps. And so when we are working with teachers, which we'll we'll talk about as well, this has always been a part of our our professional learning experiences

097to intentionally design lessons that will maximize student learning. So here's this is the board policy um that references this. Mike, you want to? >> Yeah. So um this is just kind of reinforcing like our approach to technology in the classroom. Basically, this is a board policy on accept acceptable use. But the concept behind this uh the reason I pulled this kind of intro out is I think it fits in with the topic of what we're discussing today which is you know you you as a board agree that you want it to support our instructional program and advance our student learning. So that's I think we all agree on that, but that's what the board that's the board policy currently as far as tech >> and as far as state standards, right? So you may hear

098you may part of conversation me like why do we even have devices in schools? Why do we have iPads or laptops or things like that? Um technology is actually called out in the state standards in multiple areas. Um I think that when we Mr. Mr. Morrison and I looked recently, there's over 150 standards that reference technology at some point across all subject areas and grade levels. Um, so these are a few examples here. One around English language arts at the K2 level. Um, with support from adults, students will explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing. Um, here's an example here from grades three through five. Introducing multimedia components and visual displays and presentations. or this one from science at the middle school. Evaluate competing solutions to a given technical problems. So

099this is why this is one reason why it's important that we're really thoughtful about it. It exists a variety of standards that our teachers are constantly addressing uh and are the experts at them and so they are thinking through how do I address this in an appropriate way in competing interests against other standards or other learning opportunities while also driving students towards those competencies that are in our learner profile. And we've given you a link back on that slide to all of them. So there is a document I created that has all of those state standards or related standards and they span every subject area. So you you can look at that at some point. Um but really the teachers that are teaching those subjects really know how that should be deployed. Okay. So um

100this is the framework we use to kind of uh this is this is a researchbased framework that shows that that technology can enhance education and improve learning. Um and there's studies that are backing this research. There's three levels to this to the implementation of this kind of framework. The first level is this consumption level where you're consuming technology. Um there are some advantages to consuming uh things with technology like like let's say you're reading a book. Um well for special education you can use open dyslexic font right and that font helps you to read that book even though you're not read reading the physical book you might be reading it electronically it switches to the right font for you and you can read it. So even though it's like this kind of base level of

101consumption, there have been proven strategies that do improve learning at that base level. Um the second level is this kind of idea of like, hey, we're going to produce something that other people are going to to receive and it's a contribution model and that contribution model would be really effective because you're producing something for an authentic audience. So something where you're producing something, you're going to give it to the class as a whole. you're creating a a wiki page that has information about it and you're going to share it with your class or an authentic audience. So that's a that's an effective level and we strive for that in our unit design. Um and the third level which is the hardest level kind of the highest level to achieve but actually show shows the most

102gains in our in research is when students have inquiry and they can uh think of a problem and try to solve that problem using technology. So that's that's like the highest level and very hard to achieve in unit design. We have about 250 units that have used this framework. 115 teachers have gone through that program. So we are deploying this this concept of this framework and many teachers I would say the majority of those units uh do have T1 level or kind of almost the T3 T3 level uh projects in them. So, we wanted to give you kind of the current status. This is kind of some of the surveys we've done, but also some of the things we've worked on in the summer and we intend to do right away during school. So, this

103survey was is our annual survey that usually gets conducted uh in May or in that in that time frame time range. um last year's data if you look carefully um you can see some things that we're concerned about is this is tech use in class just so you know this is not at home and this is a question to our students so um you can see that the less than one hour is staying about the same one or more is uh decreasing and the three or more is increasing and the f five or more is about the same so this kind concerned us that we're moving in the area of like using our having more screen time in classrooms. You know, we thought, hey, is there a way to optimize that screen time and make

104it um better? We kind of are zooming in on elementary now and seeing like like what does this look like in third through fifth uh grade. We didn't survey K12. It's hard for students to reply, you know, with a survey like this at that level. Um but we did notice a similar result like there's more there's an increase in that level of one or more or three or three or more. So you're seeing that I mean you're seeing the increase in three or more. Um so that concerned us. U Mike before you move on um trustes I just want to emphasize and underscore how important this slide is because it shows something that we are troubled by and something that we feel like we need to take action to resolve. We will get to that

105a little later what our thoughts are around that but um this is something I think um no one would want to see and we we need to get to work on this. >> Yep. Um there are situations if you think about uh at a high school level where you might have more hours. I was just kind of thinking through that because if you're in computer science class, you might have um you know two hours or more of of computers that are related to what you're studying. So if when you look at those higher levels, it could be to do with schedules and things like that as well. This slide, this kind of shows us our app usage. And um this doesn't show everything a student does. These are the learning apps that the students are

106participating in. And so you can kind of see the apps that we're tracking are the ones that they're clicking in through Class Link or Beachport. Um and you can see I Ready is the most. Um but that's our assessment app and does kind of personalize the learning for math and uh uh the average if you average it out per student was only about 10 minutes a day. So uh usually what in the elementary level what we'll see is it used in a center approach. >> Mike, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but on the I Ready um data usage, is that reflecting just the actual I Ready test? because I know that students also >> practice for the I Ready test and by doing like I ready work in class. So does that factor that in

107is it I ready in total or just the actual test? >> I ready in total. >> Great. Thank you. >> And I and I ready is a multiaceted tool, right? So one it is something that we give to our students three times a year to measure their it's a screener and diagnostic. It's really helpful to get the information back right away. Our intervention teams use that information to determine when and how frequently to provide interventions. But it also has these other components to it uh to personalize learning. So one advantage to the that this type of technology that can personalize in some ways that humans have is more challenging is that students get immediate feedback when they work on something. And so it's not just like the answer. It might be like here's a tip

108or have you thought about this or here's a hint, right? And so when you have 28 students in a class and you and they're all getting personalized 28 different pieces of personalized information to them, it can be really impactful in their learning and they're it's meeting them where they're at. Um so it is used in a variety of ways sometimes to get that personalized learning piece in a at a station or they're in at the elementary level where they're in centers and they're rotating every 10 minutes. They might work on this at the next station. They may be sitting down and reading with the teacher. The next station if you go in there you might see that they might be reading a book to themselves. So the teachers set it up so that kids are

109rotating through. They're not spending an hour on it. They may be in centers or stations for an hour, but they might only be on a device for about 10 minutes where they can get immediate personalized feedback as well as some lessons that connect to what they're learning in class that day. And just to point out a few other things on this list, like Canvas is our learning management system. So students are submitting work in there. They're they're tracking teachers are giving them progress and feedback in that system. So it's a logistical system. And it's not just like screen time as you might think of it, like I'm zooming in on this computer only for a purpose. It's almost like a a logistical thing that we use. So, um you can see some of the other

110apps on here are for formative assessment like Blook and Gimkit. Those are those are tools we use to assess in a formative way and regroup so teachers can find out which kids need help or retach so that teachers are not blindly teaching and like not knowing how kids are doing as they're teaching. So this is like a really good tool for that. Those are good tools for that. >> Epic is Epic is online books that students are accessing online. Um typing agent this is what it it says that it's kids are practicing typing. uh and big ideas math is actually our our curriculum at the middle and high school for math and so kids are accessing problems on there for part of their learning. So one way to look at these different technologies as we

111are thinking through what's the right use for it right what is this enhancing learning or is this just we're replacing it and that's not our best use of it and so these are different ways to think through what's what you'll see in a lot of the research uh and and John height talks about this as well is a really good place for around creativity with students they're asking questions they're developing things they're ide have ideiation they might be using it to collaborate with others around a topic. That's a really valuable use for for students at most levels. Um there's sometimes a really valuable use around research and inquiry as well. Uh along with what we also talked about related to like getting immediate feedback for students that they can meet them where they're at. They're

112not waiting for eight other kids to finish their work. They're getting feedback right now going to the next problem. So all of that though has to be done with intentional design around the lesson. So if they're not sitting there and staring at a screen like that is not what we want. that is not the intent of these this use. And you can also see on there as as Mr. Morrison talked earlier on the learning management system. It's also used at times for attendance and check-in. Um the middle high school have their tutorial periods where kids decide during all most days where they go they may use their devices for that to sign into certain things or or through attendance. So these are the different buckets that we kind of look at through this with with

113staff um and how do we what are the what's the best use and is there a no tech or low tech option compared to this. So yeah if you so as we were thinking about this issue we thought well let's uh try this and think through this during our unit design process this summer. So, we've already met and we uh did a version four of this unit design process and the teachers worked through uh what high-tech solutions they use, what low tech solutions they intend to use and passive and active kind of uh atmospheres for those solutions like what what does that look like? Um, and so what we noticed, one thing that was interesting, if you flip to the next slide, is that teachers were actually not only open to this conversation, they want

114to have this conversation. This is a conversation they want to have is like, how do we have more intentional use of technology? Are there alternatives that aren't technology related that we could use that might be effective as well and maybe give students more of a balance? uh you know different ways to to represent their knowledge. So I think this is really powerful uh that teachers are open to this idea and want to work with us on this. So we actually are requiring it in unit design. They have to give us their no tech options on how they're going to design their unit with no technology. And I think this is helpful because we've done you know 150 of these units and we're going to do more. And so as we start to develop units, there's

115going to be teachers consciously thinking intentionally about providing no tech solutions for students in their in their units. Not that they don't already. I'm just Okay. Um and just to mention the brick solution like that's very like piloty. We just try we bought a few units. We want to try them out. But it would be what we were thinking was more students self-monitoring like hey this is these are apps I don't want to use when I work. Um so we it wasn't a proposal for all of our school just so you know. Uh this solution however is uh something we want to pursue for all parents. This is kind of that partnership between our our district and the parents. We want to expand that a little bit because securely offers this solution that allows our

116parents to uh do things like view online activity on the Chromebook. They can set offline schedules. So they could say, you know, from after 9:00 or 10 o'clock, we we don't want you to use your Chromebook at home. And they can also get reports and if there's anything urgent happening that you know that would be a concern about a site that a student visited then it would tell the parent it would give them a report on that and they would get re weekly reports on usage. So we are going to deploy this out uh for our parents uh this this fall and we'll have some workshops for the parents on how to how to set this up. It's not complicated. uh we'll have some online tools where they could just go online and figure this

117out. But if if there will be some workshop opportunities for them >> and to add on to some of the discussion with the prior board item around connecting to parents and workshops, one of the things that we'll do at that workshop is continue to collect parent input and feedback on what policies are working. So that'll be really valuable not only for this tool that some parents may choose to use, but also to continue to get feedback not just from students and staff, but also from our parents and our families around what their challenges are, what their concerns are, how they think it can be appropriately used based on not just active and passive, but on age level, right? It does look different based on the student age level and how much it should be used.

118So, and that's the next slide that uh I do want to share with you. This is we do a a survey every other year with challenge success uh that Dr. Keller facilitates. Uh this is really promising data that has come in our most recent survey this past spring um that's highlighted there in the red circle. So one of the questions that we've asked every year is around at our middle school level uh is when students go to sleep you know where do they keep their phone right we know not only can can phones or devices whether that's an iPad or you know this where they start to blur together right iPad a laptop I mean I I myself have two daughters and some I make them plug their phones into our bedroom where we power

119them up but we have devices out there in the rest of the house that sometimes they're on the device and I was like wait a second right like I thought I had them put it all away So there are ways around this, but what's really promising is we're seeing a decrease in the number of students that are having their cell phones next to them in sleep when they're going to to that or going to sleep. It has a significant impact on sleep. Sleep has a significant impact on student performance, on brain development, on happiness, on on their overall wellness. And so this is a really important statistic that we're seeing that our that our families are aware and taking action as well. Uh the other one on the right is I don't own a smartphone,

120right? like it's it may look smaller numbers at only 20% but just two years ago it was 8%. Right? So parents the message and the research is getting out there and that's why it's so important that we do have this partnership approach that every family is going to be a little bit different. There's not a onesizefits-all solution to this problem. But we do know that it's a that it's a issue that is concerning to us that we want to figure out how to address appropriately with our students, staff, and families. So we have um we've come up with some ideas proposal and we want to share those with you. Um our next action steps would involve our teachers, our our parents and our students. So we would meet and collaborate with those groups. Uh uh

121one of the ideas is to meet with grade level groups for teachers because they have similar standards and they have and department groups and then we would talk about like you know look at their state standards, look at their curriculum and show and show them some of our what we are proposing as guidelines have them reflect on those and get and work with them to to modify and and make those something that would be used. Um and our idea is after we work with those groups, we would bring a proposal back, you know, a proposal back to you, not necessarily as a board, like you would have to approve uh something as a board policy, but something that you would see to say, oh, this prog this is the progress we made. Um so that's

122that's our our idea from this and we've linked to the proposal so you get the full this is just part of it in the slideshow. So let's go next. So this just is the the introduction to the I the concept and um and we and the main concept is to to really strike that balance between you know how much screen time should we have in class in a normal day and that that's really what we're what we're kind of striving to think through. So the next one, so this is the the proposal and um just so you know, we did do a lot of research to try to find some numbers. We called the private schools in the area, five private schools. Um there was only one that had any policy on this at all

123that said that they do less than a third of the day is what they're they they they they thought they were doing. Um the other private schools really didn't have a policy. They didn't really have an idea of how much screen time was happening at that school. and we talked to the principles of most most of these schools. Uh we reached out to all the OC schools to see if they had a policy for daily screen time in class and I only got one response back and that was for TK. They do not have any technology in this one district. So that was that was the response back that we got. We didn't have any like we're proposing here in other districts or private schools. So we we could be the first which is good.

124we're that's okay and uh I think it's a really important issue and I think our teachers want to talk about this and decide on some good good guidelines. Um so there's a lot of factors here uh that that that we talked about but you have your state standards your curriculum accessibility factors you have logistics and you have uh the our management systems and you have these practices that we've deployed that are researchbased that we don't want to remove. So you really have a lot of things that are pushing to say these are the good uses of technology and we just need to kind of really be intentional about how we deploy this. >> So um or just to sum up and I want to give um Mr. Woff the last word on this just representing

125our teachers. The use of technology exploded during the pandemic out of necessity and it was a useful tool in a really terrible time and this district has given its teachers some impactful and wonderful technology tools to use with students and they have used them and I think there's an growing awareness maybe it's not growing it's grown there's an awareness now that we've gone too far on this and we need to find some ways to get back to the human part of the educational experience. experience and that's what we hope to do. Mr. Wickoff. >> All right. Thank you for the presentation. First of all, um I really like the the concept that it's going into unit design and now that we're having teachers actually look at this and say how much is too much tech,

126how we how can we do other things in low tech and give a bounce to the students um and not overload them one way or the other. So I think that's super important and the idea of bringing this to grade levels and to departments and cross departments to really look at it and see how we can implement it and be the leader of it. As he said, no other districts are really doing this. So it's kind of an exciting thing to be at the forefront of this and to really be able to look at it. So I I know that I've you know speak to teachers at the high school all the time and a lot of them have already been pushing back against some of the technology and putting the pen to the paper

127more because we've we know through studies that that is better for retention as well as versus taking notes on it. So we've already started doing it as a staff but to have it kind of defined and and actually have real conversations where we can make changes for the betterment of the students I think is super important. So, um, thank you for bringing this forward and I look forward to the staff working with you guys and with with the board members as well is really to make it important and and impactful for the students. >> Can I say something real quick too from a library perspective that's been a trend in books, you know, to go digital books and that and so at the elementary level, we are very passionate about putting books in hands of

128kids on a regular basis. So, um, you know, we don't limit their checkouts. We make sure that we have books available, physical books, but we do promote ebooks also. Like the dyslexic font is a huge benefit. Audio books are amazing. So there is that balance there. And I know library in general and books in general are moving in that direction. But I talk to kids on a regular basis about the balance of that. I always have a digital book, an audio book, and a physical book. And so I am very deliberate about talking to them about that. So and we see the the popularity of libraries coming back too, you know, the public libraries and things like that. So physical books in hands of kids is very important. >> Thank you. >> You I think

129we're ready for questions and uh discussion. I I love your proposal and how you're including everyone. I think it's very interesting that uh the American Association of Pediatrics has guidelines, but schools don't as far as screen time. I just find that >> I mean kind of in general for uh kids that age, >> maybe not just for like uh classroom, you know, >> right, but for their health. >> So, uh board members questions. Okay. Yes, please. >> Um, so just a couple comments and a question. Um, the first is uh we haven't talked about AI, but I will say as someone who teaches that I've actually had to take computers increasingly out of the classroom altogether. I'm I have experienced situations where I ask a discussion question and students are asking AI the discussion question

130and then using that to participate in discussion. So, I think that that is um another level that we're going to have to address. Um, one of the things I appreciate about this whole conversation is if we're going to be the best district in the state, we have to be cutting edge and we're getting ahead of this. So, that's that's one. The second thing is that um I'm going to beat a dead horse by pointing out what I point out at every single issue and Mr. Morrison and I have talked about um one of the issues I I have personally in terms of my goals around um education is reading and um this is part question and part comment. I think the use of Irey tests, I understand why we use those to do assessments of

131what students are doing, but there can be a tendency to measure student success in reading by the score on an I Ready test, which never gets us to can a student get through an entire book? Do they have the endurance to do that? Do they know how I to identify with particular characters, which teaches empathy and community? Do they know how to understand plot as it develops? And so it's the balance of these kinds of really great edte things that we use in the class also cut against not using technology because they create parameters in which teachers not because they're not doing a good job teaching, but they're incentivized to use technology more because nobody is going to say, "Did your kid read 10 books last year? Did your kids in class read 10 books

132last year? That's something we're going to use to measure student success in reading, right? There's no, we don't account for that at all. And it's a national problem. Kids aren't reading books anymore. I I would argue based on my own research that it is a basis for our problems around community and democracy, but that's a different discussion. So, I just want to throw that out as both a question, a comment, and a plea that we think about the relationship between reading and the use of technology and AI. >> Thank you. Um, I'll respond uh quickly to your AI question. Um, I had to hold Mike back from adding that to the presentation. So, in in uh in um deference to his uh expertise and professionalism, he wanted to bring that in part of this discussion.

133Um and but one thing that that I hope you'll get the sense of working with me is I really stress is important like let's get into some depth on all these. This conversation alone warrants enough depth and discussion. That conversation warrants depth and discussion as well. So we are excited about bringing that conversation forward to you when the board feels it's right and and Mike's chomping at the bit uh to do just that. And then also on your um artful uh comment disguised as a question uh we completely agree. >> Yes. >> Um I just wanted to make a quick comment on um combination. It can be a question or a comment. Um, so in terms of you mentioned the securely parent access, so making sure that parents can view online activity on Chromebooks and

134limiting when what times that they can use it. So are you at all concerned about um I mean I'm speaking as a 15year-old high schooler. I can say sometimes my time management is a little bit off. And I have I have completed a couple assignments at maybe 11:30 when they're due at 11:59. And I know that that's I mean it's not something I'm proud of, but it is something that a lot of students do. And are we at all concerned that if parents say, "Hey, you can't use your Chromebook after 800 PM, but a student forgets about an assignment." Are we concerned about that student not turning it in? That's my first first little bit. And then second thing, three hours is not at all realistic. I mean, I'm definitely being pessimistic when I say

135that, but um I know Logan and I had a conversation prior to this and we estimated that we use at least 5 hours a day um on our computers in class. Um and then if you do, we both do mu, so that's another what hour and a half to two hours. Um if you do clubs, that's more screen time. uh mock trial. Um if you do completing ASB assignments outside of class, I mean students are going to use a ridiculous amount of time on our computers regardless. But I mean 3 hours is just it sounds lovely, but I don't know if it's doable. And that's just my perspective as a student. Um I think I'm gonna pass it over to Logan. He had a couple things he wanted to say, but yeah, thank you. >>

136Uh yeah, the the first thing I wanted to say is I completely agree with Ivy. I I've definitely completed assignments, you know, a little close to 11:59. But the the other thing that I think to acknowledge is really important here is that throughout um my time at at LBHS, which has just been one year, I've also noticed that and I've been involved in a lot of um studentled programs like MUN, um like uh I haven't been fully involved in my trial, but I've been integrated to it a little bit is also heavily there's a lot of student positions within that. And something that I've noticed um is that students tend to use in student le programs the computers a lot to engage with our classmates like if we're running a student led activity. I've also

137been involved in programs throughout mun at thirst and to um where we also have to we've tried to use uh screens less but at Thirstston certainly it's using the device is something that's incredibly common in activities. So, one of the concerns I had is that I think it's a great idea to cut down on um devices, especially at the high school level where IB and I are talking about we're getting five hours a day. I just think one of the harder parts of it is when you're in a lot of studentled activities, which Laguna thankfully has quite a a variety of that you can um attend, devices are very very commonly used. So, I don't know how it would um how easy it would be to also cut down on that. >> Thank you for

138your thoughtful comments. That's why we're so glad you're here. >> Dr. Glass, >> um very insightful comments and uh we did talk about this just in their uh premeating ahead of the board and I expected they would be able to bring some valuable insight to this conversation because they're living this right now and that has proven to be true. Uh I think on um Ivy's comment around um what do we lose if we turn things off? That's an important consideration. This is going to be a trade-off. And like Logan was saying, this is one of those complex issues for which there's probably not a straight answer. Um I think where we're coming down is the trade-off might be worth it. it's okay if we turn the device off and the student doesn't isn't able to

139turn that assignment in on time and we in in exchange for that we get less screen time maybe that's worth it and I think that's an important conversation for us to have but we need to know that that's one of the impacts that we'll be creating by doing that and then on the on the three hours element I think I think Ivy might have actually gasped when we when we said that's what we're going to try and do uh because it was so different than um than both of their experiences in in school right now. And I think what you've heard is that we don't know exactly how we will do this or if we can, but we think it's worth trying. Uh because going back to the um the main concept that they started

140this with, education is a human endeavor and there are elements of human interaction that we need to rediscover and get back to. and the work that we're doing around unit design that has its roots in problem and project based tasks for students is part of it. But so I don't know if we can do this or not, but I think it's worth trying. >> Mr. Hills, you had a comment or a question. I think >> say um uh that board member Munchesky really expressed uh eloquently my views on this subject. Um, you know, I I have a commitment as a father and a grandfather that um I will do everything to make I can to make sure that any child raised in my home or in the home of any of my children um will

141not leave high school without really understanding Tequila Mockingbird. if you don't really understand what Harper Lee was doing in that book, I don't believe you can consider yourself to be an educated American. Um, so those are kind of maybe extreme views and not views of some people, but that's what I've done. Um, and I think parents need to read books like that. I think what what Joan said about um struggling with a book and and maybe talking to your parents about it. I read the first 20 pages of Tequel Mockingbird with my 14-year-old granddaughter recently and you have to go through page by page and work through it. It's really hard. But if we give up on this, then you know we're uh going to be in very bad shape. So I I really appreciated

142what she said. Um, and you can add a lot of classics to the list. Uh, to Kelly Mockingbird is just the one that I consider to be an anchor, you know, in my own work with my kids and grandkids. Um so the one question I wanted to ask was um to what extent as you develop these policies and programs do you want or need a board to approve what you're doing? um you know there's been a lot of discussion in the last six months and six years and you know uh six decades but um the the point is um what you're doing is experimental and really good and I'm all for it and I agree with uh again with Dr. Machesky that um we do want to be the best school district in the state.

143we've got a lot of work to do to get there. Um, uh, depending on which criteria you're using. Um, and I think school rankings are kind of ridiculous anyway. But the point is we want to be as good as we can and fulfill our potential and realize uh, as much as we can. Um, so if you're doing things that involve like the securely thing with parents and if you're doing things along the lines, to what extent, um, do you just want to go out there and defend and live or die on that hill or to what extent do you need the board to institutionalize what you're doing? That's why we're talking about these bylaws. Um, you know, so that it's not about the board trying to take control or be in control. It's about when

144you do something um you have the board's backing because the board has approved it and it's been institutionalized which it's you guys are already talking about changing to these to these board policies and these uh things. The I guess what I'm saying is um don't feel that you just can sort of go out and do this and see how it works and then come back and report. Um, if you need the board to be there to say, "Yeah, uh, the superintendent cleared off on it, the board cleared off on it, we did it, and we can defend it, and if something's wrong, everybody has responsibility for it and all that. I'm not making a pitch. I'm just saying that I think this board would be very receptive to supporting you in any way it could

145along those lines." >> Thank you, Clerk Hills, for the question. I think it is an important one. One, I guess approach to change is that you enact or direct a policy and you expect everything to change as a result of that. That's a top- down common approach to changing things. that is not going to work with this because if this board today said um or tomorrow because we didn't agenda as it as an action item um uh if you if you passed a policy that said that there will only be three hours of screen time, I don't think we can do it. I don't think we can. So, you're going to have to go at it another way. And that's we're going to have to work on this and and support our educators and our

146students with some different tasks and educational activities to substitute for all the technology that they're you using and then come back to you with thinking on that. I think at this point directly to your question, what would be of support is if the board would consider a resolution where you make a statement that you you support this effort, what we're trying to do that shows that the board is behind it and and that you would like to see it uh come to pass. Then you let us do the work with our with our educators, um with our classified staff on can we pull this off with our students, with our parents, because that's there's going to be a shift across the board in the experiences and the workload. um required to to do this. We

147should bring it back to you at some point in the future and let you know how that's going. Only at that point would I recommend that you move forward some kind of policy or guideline. We just don't know enough right now. It's not right >> a resolution permission to move forward and try is maybe where we are right now. Okay. Um board member Morgan, did you want to say something? >> I do. I have some questions and maybe some things to consider and um as you kind of move forward on this. Um I was a little I wasn't really sure about the comment about I Ready because I Ready is a assessment tool, but I um one of the one of the um contributing factors to its high level of use might be practicing for

148the assessment. So, I'm just curious if we're if and I'm not I'm just asking because I know I I know about I Ready, but I realizing as as you're talking and and the comment about practicing for the I Ready assessment came up, it made me realize, well, what are we using I Ready for? If we're practicing what we want them to test high on, because if it's a testing them where they're at and we're having them practice where they're at, that's is that a fair assessment of where they're truly at or are they able to practice their themselves into a higher level that isn't really retained. It's just practiced and I again it's it's an observation. It's a thought to consider as you move forward with some of with determining how we're going to go

149forward with this. So that was kind of something I was that kind of caught my um ear when that was said. Um, another thing was that I appreciate the American Pediatrics um has put some suggested hours. Is there a board is there a um ed code for California on how many minutes that they're recommending for students? There's not. Okay. >> Is there um anything from the World Health Organization? because I know the World Health Organization did deem um screen time and and um um gaming as a issue and the impact that it has on students development and mental health. So I'm curious if that's information that can be considered and incorporated as you do your studies on how you want to put this forward. >> Yeah, that's I'm not aware of them having one, but

150that's something we could follow up on. But I will say like we looked at not just California, we looked at states across the country. >> We found one state, Kansas, that had a task force that had worked on this in 2024. Uh and they didn't even have specific recommendations like what's on here. They had actions to take, but not necessarily with the specific. So it is something that there's not a lot out there on around the specific um number of hours or not. I think that's the the task that we have at hand is like what is the right amount of screen time for students when they're with us that's appropriately used to enhance their learning. >> Thank you. I I and I agree. I think I mean again Dr. Keller and I have been

151talking about this for 12 or 15 years already and it still blows my mind that we don't have a lot firmer grasp on um the correlation between screen time and what is done on the screen and developing brains. and yet all of the there's so much data and information out there, but how that's filtered down into education is where we're at. So, I'm so grateful for this conversation. Um, a couple things. Um, the securely parent access, you talked about implementing that and that measures and I either I missed it or I didn't hear it, but it that measures the usage time for students and parents can load it on the student phone. Is that something that might be being presented at back to school night or how is the how would that information be rolled

152out because that's one of the first things that you have active right now, right, that you want to implement. So, how is that going to be rolled out and how is that presented to the community? >> So, it's not usage time, it's the sites they visited. So, it's not going to like necessarily give you like they were on it for two hours, but you can see like a pattern of what what sites they visited. >> Um, and yes, we would like to roll it out. We haven't uh we don't have a specific plan on how that will happen. Probably through parents square and community like a night where the parents can come in and learn how to use it. Um but it isn't that complicated. So So a lot of parents are going to just

153like install it and they're going to be done. >> Is it something that we could introduce at back to school night? Because I think that the at the back to school nights at T and P and Thirstston they do they all still gather in the U multi-purpose room for or even in each classroom they the teachers do a very lengthy presentation and sometimes they'll incorporate the things that maybe we one year we did in the multi-purpose room as an introduction because attendance wasn't robust. Um because I know PTAs they're varied but I know the high school PTA meetings I mean I went to all of them last year and I think the total attendance was maybe 15 people. Um, and that included, you know, council, PTA, it included staff. So, I mean, you know, it

154fluctuates maybe 25, but we're not, our reach is not there if we're limiting how we, you know, send information out. And, but back to school night is a night that is that a lot most parents attend. It might be something to consider. Um, a couple other things with the timing and just how we do this. I think to the um um to their point about turning in homework. Um I know 11459 is a very regular battle time in my house um over the last several years of why are you still on your computer when we talk about you know screen time um not not wanting our kids on the screen before you know an hour before bedtime and yet we're setting this precedence that it's acceptable to stay up until midnight to get your homework

155turned in. It seems like it might be something that is an adjustment that can be made to that might help right away whether it's just a due date because that's really just a due date, a due time. It's a time stamp that the homework needs. It's not um you know it's it's certainly not a law or anything that we but it's something that we can work with. Um I I found it interesting that um you know and maybe we need to evaluate when that like is homework due on a Friday night at midnight. I know we've had some of those or on a vacation night and that doesn't it while I understand the teaching behind it or this this is what we're doing it works against the very issues that we're addressing with our kids

156which is stay off your phone no computers in the room you know no phones in the room which brings me to another point about the computers um computers can be phones right we take the phone away or we don't have the phone in um the classroom but computers you can text, you can search, you can screen swipe. So, um I know several years ago the conversation was are you gaming in my class or are you shopping in my class and this was at a back to school night? Um and so or you know at the end of the year and that was kind of concerning and that was a long time ago. So this is not a new issue. It's just it's become overflowing. We have parents that have made statements that they're not bringing

157their kids to school because our kids are on the phone or on the screen way too much and so addressing this I think is very forward thinking and I'm really grateful that you're bringing this forward. Um, it's always been one of my rallying cries as far as technology and we use too much but yet at the same time to your point with AI it's amaz I mean I don't I think I use AI like minimally and I'm learning how to use it more and it can be a very powerful tool but then how do we incorporate forward thinking learning for the business world the career tech path and their overall mental health because there's probably I mean there is a correlation and we put all of this money into our social emotional programs but are

158we looking at the root of the problem and can we look at those from both angles as you develop an idea and a plan to go forward and where we might be able to work to towards less money needed for social emotional because we've put more money into um hands-on learning different methods that don't use technology. technology. So, there was that. Um, and again, a lot of these are just kind of as you guys were talking, it's kind of thoughts that I was having about having been around this for a very long time. Um, and then another one I question I had um or a comment you had mentioned about the um writing handwriting to paper and the retention and I know that's huge. Um, I know it works really well for me. It works

159for my kids in my house. I'm wondering if there's any data on a tablet and the pencil, the digital pencil, because it's it's not minimizing screen time, but it might be some way that kind of com combines it. Because I don't know about any parents here or anybody listening, but handwriting is another thing that has been associated with, you know, the decline of good handwriting in our in our students because they're not doing enough handwriting. So, yeah, I had a couple more things, but go ahead. Um, sorry. I'm just um I think tablets are a great idea. Again, my concern is in terms of like budgeting. I know we already have the Chromebooks, so having to acquire new tablets, new technology. I mean, again, great idea in theory. I know the Chromebooks do have styluses,

160so maybe we can >> they flip around. Yeah, they become a tablet. So, >> okay. So, maybe we can find a way to incorporate that. But my concern was just buying new technology. That's all I had to say. >> And I appreciate your fiscal awareness on all of it because that is important as well. Um and then um the the screen time in the classroom. Are we capturing this data with um real-time usage of the computers or are we kind of overall kind of estimating how much because that might be more specific data that we can use towards finding a solution. And then um I think the only other thing I have to say is Nikki will you would be very happy. So she was the librarian when my kids were most of my kids

161or at least my last two were coming through and I I did eight years of book swaps and I think we swapped over 25,000 books when you look at about 2500 every year. Um, and I have to tell you that um, Maris is going to college this weekend and her stack of books that she wants to take is this high. Um, half of them she's read or four of them she's read, the rest she hasn't. And so I just want to thank you for continuing to instill the love of reading in our kids. It's stuck in my house and now the battle is you do not need to take 15 books to college because I guarantee you won't read them all, but it's nice effort to try. So, thank you to you for all that

162you've done for that. And thank you to Joan for reinforcing the idea that our kids are not learning the whole book. Um we're kind of finding shortcuts and I think that's something certainly as well that um I I know for me in this role I would get behind and support as well because reading has always been a huge passion in our house and I think it is becoming that and handwriting two of the fundamental things that we taught in school for so long are becoming a bit of a lost art. So those are my comments as you go forward with this project. I commend you. I think it's wonderful and I think it helps us move in the direction of being globally recognized as a district which you and I have talked about. So, thank

163you so much. >> Thank you, board member Morgan. Um, Dr. Kelly, I don't want to leave you up. >> I think we've discussed this in depth. Uh, and I don't know if we're ready for a resolution now or if this comes later. Um, >> well, we we want to take public comment. Yeah. >> Is there any public comment? Clerk Hills. >> No. >> D, I just wanted to add one thing if I can because I thought you brought up some good points and this brings right back into him having the teachers involved in these conversations and stuff and 11:59 when we put things into Canvas. That is a default time when we create it. We can change that. We can say that things are due by 8:00 cuz having three students going through this, my

164other daughter being a senior, I don't like that 11:59. And in fact, she has had to make that choice of taking the zero um because we wouldn't let her on after that time because that's natural consequences. That's part of it. But we as teachers can assign it's due at 8:00. Therefore, that would put the, you know, premise of where parents can still do it. So, we can make changes like that through these conversations. So, but there are great points that bring up where we can make changes. >> Yeah. to your point on the 1159 one thing I would think and I know this isn't telling you guys anything you don't know but keeping in mind the kids schedules right because if they have mu they have sports they have all these other things sometimes they're

165not getting home and doing their homework until 9:00 so it is something else to throw into the equation just to make it even more more complex and even more difficult um but again complex solutions or complex problems so um that would be something I >> Logan did you want to add something great. >> Um that I completely agree, Miss Morgan. That was the next thing I was going to talk about. I know like personally my little brother is a incredible waterfall flare. Um and I I was very pleased with him as well. Uh and a lot of times he doesn't even get home until later than 9:00, 10:30 to be able to do homework. Um, I know that's something that's really I come from a family with a lot of student athletes. So, I I

166also know like just the reality of not being able to do the homework whether they like it or not. And I know that some solutions that they found at least in that have worked in my family are like um homework club. I've I know I've talked to a bunch of students. I I personally do that when I know I'm busy. I uh I don't know if the LBHS has a homework club. I'm sure I'm sure there is one, but Oh, yeah. Um, but I typically just go to the library to work. So, I know that's another option as well. But I do know of students who have incredibly rigorous schedules that from the second they get out of school, they're like swimming until 9:00 and then they have nothing that they can do uh to

167do the homework. And the 11:59 deadline is something that they rely on to get their assignments done. So, just like um what has been discussed before, I think it's another tension in the topic that's really important to discuss because it's something that affects a lot of students. So just coming from a student perspective and someone who knows a brother who runs through that issue daily uh is something that I thought was important to add to the conversation. >> Just I know I had one final thought based on that. Um, it might be and and this is going to this is not intended to set in a red flag or anything, but it is something that we need to consider because clearly the issue of screen time and when they're on and when they're not is

168a lot more relevant to the high school than it is to middle school or the elementary school. Screen time in the during the day is important. where the phones are stored is important for elementary and and thirst has other issues as well, but high school specifically. Are we using our students days in the best way possible because I know I've had a lot of discussions with tutorial and I'm going to probably strike a couple chords here, but um I'm not suggesting anything, but I am thinking maybe it's something to look at. I know we spent a lot of tutorials um practicing, rehearsing um you know going and doing this super amazingly fun event which is necessary to keep the day light sometimes in an otherwise stressful sit you know students that are under stress and

169pressure but at the same time I thought originally because tutorials are part of Ed code minutes it was meant for remediation homework you know um re revisiting lesson lessons, not necessarily as much for the fun and entertainment. And I'm wondering if we're blending more of that opportunity in the high school without um and then taking away what could be an opportunity to get some homework done. So again, there's a lot of different angles to look at it, I think, from um and having hands-on experience at the high school um and recent and then the student voice here. I think there's um a lot to you know a lot of complex issues that could be addressed but I think there's some low hanging fruit and there's some that are going to be a lot harder to

170figure out. >> Ivy, was that your hand? >> Thank you. Um I fully agree with what Logan said and I kind of want to add on to it. I think homework club is a great idea. Um so you know maybe we'll get on that. We could talk to some MUN people, but um overall I think that it's I mean student schedules are always going to be hectic, especially if you're in high school, especially if you play sports. I know I play lacrosse and I'm a goalie and like I'm always having stuff to do and sometimes I don't get home until like 9:30 and then I go, "Oh, shoot. I have assignments to do." And um that's me and I'm pretty organized, I would say. So imagine what it's like for an unorganized student, you know?

171Um, and I think student schedules are hard to balance. And maybe from my perspective, we could work on the amount of technology that's used during the school day because I I do see a lot of um unnecessary technology usage in classrooms where teachers, not that they don't want to give us work, but that it's a lot easier to give us work on the computer and to kind of let them sit back. And um nothing against our teachers. I love our teachers so much. I'm like I have the teachers association right here. I don't want to. Um but I mean it's a lot simpler and it is because of COVID that we've become so reliant on technology. And you know I think while it's important to look at how screens are being used outside of the

172school day, we can't really control students bad habits. And if they're going to do the assignment at 11:57, it's I just don't think it's within our range to kind of tell them, "No, you can't do that because they do have sports and they do have volleyball and, you know, um all of these different commitments." So, um yeah, just kind of focusing on, hey, maybe let's limit the screen time usage when we don't really need it in classes. But yeah, thank you, >> Dr. Glass. One more. >> One last point. Thank you. Um, I I want to commend the board on the two conversations that you just had. This is what the work of a board should be like. You engage with substantive issues. You did so with depth and thought. You did so with kindness

173and dignity and respect. And so I really appreciate that. Um, I also think it's really important that going forward uh you continue to work on your protocols. And I want to acknowledge that what we do in board meetings is really unnatural because it's not how conversations go. Um but uh President Perry, you're the air traffic controller for this board and folks need to let her recognize the next speaker. That person has the floor. Even if somebody has something burning that they want to say in response, wait, you will get your turn. Uh you will get you will get to them. Um, so I just want to emphasize that as we go into the next discussion which may be more difficult because there may be some dissension about it but your protocols are really important and

174again just want to I just want to commend the board on the excellent conversation that you just had. >> Thank you. We did have an excellent conversation and um please know that I won't forget any of you. I will make sure everybody has a chance. Okay. Um >> I appreciate it. Yes, thank you very much. >> We don't have any followup that we need to do on that item, right? You guys are working on that. You'll bring it back. Okay, great. Mike, that was awesome. Thank you. >> Okay, discussion action of board bylaw 9310. Our next item opens a first reading to begin revising board bylaw 9310, which sets out how board policies and bylaws are developed, reviewed, and updated. The goals to t tonight are to confirm a clear transparent process, reinforce appropriate board

175superintendent roles, and align our procedures with best governance practices. There are three versions of the bylaw offered for your consideration. The first is the current bylaw. The second are recommended changes from clerk hills and the third are recommendations from Dr. Glass. After Dr. Glass's overview, we'll take board questions, invite public comment, and then consider direction. The suggested action is to receive the first reading, refer the draft for legal review with tonight's feedback, and to bring a revised version back for a second reading, or the board may refer back to a first reading at our next regular meeting. The board will provide direction through a motion and voting. Thank you, Dr. Glass. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. As you mentioned, the board is reviewing proposed revisions to board bylaw 9310, which defines our process for developing

176and adopting board policies and board bylaws. As you mentioned, two alternatives drafts have been included along with the current policy in your materials. One submitted by Trustee Hills and one prepared by me in my role as superintendent. While both of the alternatives are available for your review, my comments tonight will focus on the superintendent's draft uh which I am recommending based on my responsibilities in the current bylaw and that responsibility is in the development process and um to adhere to governance best practices. I recognize that the board is of course the final authority on the language in its bylaws and tonight's discussion is an opportunity to review options, provide direction, and identify additional steps before any action is taken to enact any changes. This discussion represents the first step in the revision process outlined in

177bylaw 9310. As you mentioned, Madam Chair, the board may discuss the drafts tonight, suggest edits or alternative language, and if it chooses, direct aversion be placed on a future agenda for possible adoption. Under the current process in board bylaw 9310, proposed policies and bylaws are first brought to the board for a discussion and direction with the superintendent preparing draft language for consideration at a subsequent meeting, which is what we're doing now. At any point before adoption, now and in the future, before adoption, the board may direct additional steps such as gathering community input, requesting legal review, conducting an analysis of related bylaws, policies before bringing the proposal back for possible adoption. The key adjustments in the draft that I provided you are these. First, it clarifies the board's role is to set direction and the

178superintendent's role is to draft is to develop draft policy language for review, helping maintain a clear distinction between governance and management. Second, it specifies that all adopted bylaws and policies be made publicly available in a timely manner supporting transparency. Third, it affirms that the local bylaws and policies must conform to applicable state and federal law and that references to those laws may be included when they help clarify their applicability, improving legal clarity for the board and the community. And finally, it allows it adds a provision allowing the board under specified circumstances to temporarily suspend a bylaw or policy, providing flexibility to respond to unique or unforeseen situations while maintaining high accountability through a formal process. Madam Chair, I'm happy to answer questions that the board members have on board bylaw 9310 at this time. questions.

179>> I have a question. What under, if I may, under what are the circumstances that you would identify um that um under what circumstances or what laws would not require enforcement that um could be or would be or should be temporarily suspended one time or and what and when we say one time or temporary is it what do we mean by one time? Is that mean that policy is paused for and then what's the length of that duration? Is there some kind of a timeline that we're talking about here? And then what's what are the circumstances? >> Um, I'll refrain from advancing hypothetical situations because the that provision exists for an unforeseen circumstance. Uh, when you might need to suspend a policy, but I did think of some general conditions when you might need it.

180Um, they would include an urgent compliance with a new law. uh the the state assembly comes into session on a special meeting and they pass new law that directs you to change a policy immediately and sometimes it's happened in issues of school safety for example. So that's an example when you might need to suspend a policy. Uh another is a an emergency situation like a natural disaster, wildlife evacuation, other other emergency that makes it impractical to follow your normal procedures. So, you have policies that contemplate school operating in a normal setting. Well, we know sometimes that doesn't happen. Um, Trustee Kelly was here in 93 when the fire came through and you were too. Um, so that would be maybe several of you were, I'm sorry. Um, uh, that would present a situation if we

181had another circumstance like that when you might need to consider suspending some of your policies to allow flexibility. A third that I thought of would be a special event or a one-time opportunity um where a a an event or a partnership requires some kind of variance from your regular for example facilities use um uh where you may want to partner and again I'm getting into the hypothetical so I'm going to stop but let's just say that you have a one-time situation where your current structure and policies don't work with it so you need some flexibility. Uh another is a pilot program. you may want to try something new. So you suspend your current policy to allow an innovation to take place. Um, another is transition between policies or you transitioning from one policy to a

182new one. I I think I'll stop there because I'm probably overwhelming you, but I what I'm getting at is that there are unforeseen circumstances that where you may need to suspend one of your policies and allow flexibility and this provision allows for that. In terms of the timing around that, the board has the flexibility to decide how long that would be and you would have to vote and act on that to establish that. >> So if there's a pause, how does that if we have to vote typically when there's when we're, you know, approving things, when we're setting policy, etc., and we all have to vote, how would a pause occur in a one-time event situation that was emergency or otherwise that that you outlined, how would that be implemented? It really depends on the

183circumstance, but I could envision the board calling, let's say we had the wildfire, uh the board would need to call a special session and suspend some policies. I I would bring to you what I would need suspended and how we would have to go about uh doing it. So that would be this the situation and you could put a a fuse on when that runs out or not. Uh or direct me to come back to you when the emergency is passed. So there's again I think it would depend on the context. Thank you. >> Any other questions by any other board members? >> Question, Mr. Hills. So, um, you know, this is interesting because we have the existing board policy. Uh, we had, um, I attempt to try to identify some possible improvements and then

184we had your draft. And I have to tell you, um, Mr. Superintendent, I like your draft better than my own. I think you did a really masterful job of, um, uh, taking the issue, taking the ball and running with it. And I, I think that, uh, it's, uh, it's very comprehensive and it's very, uh, technically um, uh, masterful. But um the thing about it is I guess the question I would want to get on the record is this. Under section of the education code, the state legislature um which is the source of all powers that the board has because like the state legislature, the board is a legislative body and um it by its nature. But what what it the legislature has said is that the board will make rules for its own governance. And

185so these bylaws are the rules that were made for our own governance by the um uh um so wouldn't it be true that the board can change any bylaw that the board makes the bylaw can change with or without going through uh this process. Um, under the statute, would you agree that the board can set up a process for going through reviews and having first readings and second readings? The board can set up a process for suspending a rule like you described, but in the end, those rules don't bind or prevent the board from just changing the bylaws if it chooses to do so. Yes is the short answer. Although it would need to be an item that was properly agendaized and voted on uh and noticed in the in the proper way. >> Exactly.

186Yeah, you establish a process like this so that policy deliberation happens in a thoughtful way, which I would recommend as best practice because when we make decisions as the administration that affect all of the students in the district or you make decisions as a board that affect all the students in the district, we can screw things up at a grand scale in a hurry. And so it is important to be thoughtful and have a process like this uh for that. So, um, agreed. First of all, state law, I believe, requires an annual review of the bylaws to determine whether or not any changes in state law require changes to the bylaws. I'm not sure about that, but I'm pretty sure I remember reading that. But in any event, what what has happened in the past

187is that um that has not ever been treated as the exclusive way to change the bylaws. And that's demonstrated by the fact that the board put in the suspension of policies provision which your draft and my draft proposed to amend. And um and so as first of all, is it true that under the current bylaw, the board can just gendize a change to the bylaw, adopt it, and it becomes the new bylaw. Or it can have a first reading and go through the process that's set forth for first, second reading. It can also, isn't it true that it can also wave the second reading? So in essence, it can just call it a first reading, but what it's really doing, it's just an ad hoc amendment to the bylaw. >> Your current policy doesn't formally

188call out for first readings or second readings. So I make that point, but it does it does in effect lay out that process of a first reading, second reading format. >> Um, as your superintendent, I would execute it as it's written. So I read that, I see my marching orders, what I'm supposed to do. So, that's what I'm going to bring to you and recommend. The board again with a properly agendaized item and a majority vote can do what it wishes with its policies. >> So, um it's isn't it true that um the current bylaw does say they can wave a second reading. >> Uh I'd have to look it up and see. >> Okay. Well, it does say that. Um, okay. >> So, but I think >> V Victoria is is uh nodding a

189scent to that and she's the authority. So, >> Uhhuh. >> Well, um what what it says right here, I'm afraid Victoria, you strike out on this one because what it says is the board may wave second reading or may require an additional reading if necessary. So, that is in fact in the current board um in the current bylaw. So um then we come to this issue of suspension of the um of policies and what's currently in there. So, I mean, people are expressing their concern about the board not following the first reading, second reading, annual review provision, and yet the board put in here a provision that allows it to do exactly that, to ignore the first reading, second reading, and just pass a change saying that rule is suspended. They can say it's suspended.

190They can say it's amended. They can say it's repealed. They can say it's modified and they can do it without following the annual procedure. It reads, "By majority vote, the board may suspend enforcement of a board policy or board bylaw on a one-time basis when enforcement of the policy or bylaw is not mandated by law." In other words, they can't they can't suspend a policy that is mandated by law. But if it's not mandated by state or federal law, they can just they can just suspend any of this without going through that annual review process. So my question is in your revision of it which I really like um uh the main effect of is it true that the main effect of your provision is that number one it would have to be perspective and

191couldn't be retroactive because if you under the current formulation that's in the bylaw right now they could do it with no process other than just agendaizing it and doing it and they could make it retroactive or if it wasn't made perspective only, it could in fact by its language apply retroactively. >> Um, Clerk Hills, I think we're in the weeds a lot on this. Um, and my well, my answer is I would need to um reflect on that question and come back to you with a thoughtful answer. I I do want to um amend and correct my previous statement that you don't have a first and second reading. That's not correct. it isn't here. So, I'm sorry about that. >> Yeah. No, that's fine. Um, so I I I I don't really think it's in

192the weeds, but um the fact is when you say the board may do it, um it doesn't limit the board's power. And so, if it can just do it, um the reason the retroactive issue is important is because uh there were some situations in the past where um the board suspended the application in a a one-time basis. Uh and then after they suspended it, they then uh without any authority, they suspended it or in fact um just didn't follow it and then they put a provision in saying we can do that. And so that's where this came from. So the point is um what I like about your formulation is that it says it recognizes that the board can in fact change the bylaw anytime it wants. It can choose to go through the annual

193review process or it can choose to just do it. And if it does a suspension um it's got to be clear that it's only perspective. It can't be retroactively because otherwise you could retroactively change the interests of people. So that's how I read your um uh uh and I just wanted to see if you concur with that reading of your version of it. >> Um yes in short there's a lot in that question u but uh yes I do concur. >> Thanks. >> Okay board member Malchesky your question 30 question. >> So I might Um, so for people who weren't here at 4 o'clock, I had requested that this be removed from the agenda. Um, I think that this is a topic that requires a lot of conversation. Um, I found it very confusing to

194have uh board member Hills put up a um set of suggestions for revisions followed by another one by the superintendent. I wasn't really sure where to start in terms of um asking questions and um where to go next. Um and I also think that doing this in the summer when teachers and parents and staff and students um aren't here to understand that there is a suggestion to do a major revision to our bylaws which affects the governance of our district. I find it really um unsettling that the board would make that decision. So my question is President Perry um since you did make this decision to put it on the agenda at the last minute and in my view when you revise policies you revise policies because you're trying to address a new state law

195or you're trying to solve a problem. So, can you tell me what problem you're trying to solve that's so imminent that we need to do this in the summer when nobody's here and with inadequate warning? What's the problem we're trying to solve here? >> First of all, we didn't mean it to be last minute. We asked for the board agenda not to go out till Monday. >> Well, that's still last minute. This is a lot for people to review in two days in the summer when no one's here. This is a study session question. >> Secondly, secondly, we have many, many board policies and bylaws. We thought we'd start with one. We didn't think that this was going to be such an issue for you or some other people, but it's not that we're doing

196this tonight. We're bringing it back. Also, we also get it's over it's over the holidays. People are gone. You can't do anything over the summer. there's always something we need to get started and so we did. We got started. Go ahead with your questions. >> Okay, I understand that. But the the question I have is what is the problem we're trying to solve here? How can I look at these two policies and try to evaluate them and make suggestions for revisions if I don't even know what problem you're trying to solve? >> We need to stick with questions so we can get to the community questions and then discuss. a question I'm asking President Perry because she put this on here and I'll add by the way we used to we have always looked at

197the policies holistically. One thing that bothers me with this one in particular coming up on its own is that when you are not looking at policies holistically. It's not really clear how this plays out in terms of the board policies more generally. how it affects governance more generally where you know you change one policy it trickles down into other policies. So again my question to you is you decided that this was an important thing to put on the agenda in the summer right away. Why? What is the problem we're solving? >> Well first of all I wanted to put this previously there were times before we've just had so many things that couldn't be brought up. One of the issues I have is that this makes it so that you can't do a policy and

198say it's retroactive. And that's very important to me that when you make a policy, that's the policy from here on out. You can't then go back and change. >> I don't know what that means. >> Okay. >> No. No. I'm not being that saying that to be snotty. I'm trying to understand >> questions are this is this is questions and we probably get get into discussion and to some degree >> um we have had I thought Mr. Hills explained it. We have had policies before that weren't followed. We still have policies that aren't being followed. Policies that weren't followed. And then when it was kind of caught that they weren't followed, they went and made a new policy saying it was okay that they could go they they didn't have to follow the old one.

199It's retroactive. >> Okay. Uh since we don't have examples, I don't really understand that. So the next set of questions is what to even do with this. I when I with all due respect to Mr. Hills. Um, when I read his policy, I have a very different interpretation of it than he probably does, but I have like 20 questions. I can go to every single line in what he's written, and I have a set of questions about it. It I'm not so sure that that's a good use of our time sitting here tonight, but it what I think is important about it is that it underscores for me that we have very different conceptions of the way we think about governance. So I'm asking is that something that is worth pursuing because perhaps given the

200board dysfunction going through those edits and asking questions about that might highlight the differences that we have in terms of our conception of board governance. So I'm not even sure the question is where are we going next with this? We have like two separate things. I'm trying to figure out what we're trying to accomplish. I understand that Mr. Mr. Hills and I very clearly don't agree on governance and that is a bigger discussion that should be in a study session unless we want to sit here for two hours and you want me to go through all my questions I have for Mr. Hills. What do we want to do? Do we want to listen to all the questions? I don't I I guess I also don't understand what your problem is with Dr. Glass's revision

201of the policy. Could you explain that clearly? Um, can we >> I'm the question. Well, that's exactly the question I'm trying to ask you. Are we skipping Mr. Hill's policy alto together? >> Oh, so we don't we don't we're not even going to review. >> No, he already said he likes Dr. Glasses better. I know I like Dr. Glasses better. If you if if you want to go ahead and talk about Mr. Hill's policy, I guess go ahead. But I don't think any of us are going along with that one. No, it's just not clear. It's not clear to me what we're trying to accomplish here. That's what I'm asking you. >> Ivy, do you have a question? >> Um, I would just like to inform the board that Logan and I have made the

202decision to abstain from voting for either of these policies due to the fact that we just don't have enough ground knowledge on um any of this. So, uh we will not be voting on these issues. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Hills. Yeah. Um I think that um if you look at um Dr. Glass's revision, what it does is it takes a a board policy that is very confused and not artfully drawn and it revises it to say what it means to say. So you asked what are the problems. So let me give you three examples. One is that the current bylaw says the board shall ensure the district policies align with the district's vision and goals, promote student learning, and list uh several other attributes. Um well, the um it's the district's vision and

203goals that need to be aligned with the um the policies and the bylaws of the district. This sort of uh has it backwards. That somehow there's a district that has visions and goals and then there's a board and then there are policies and bylaws and that somehow the board has to make sure that the policies and bylaws fit with the district's visions and goals as if the district is something different than the board. But the board and the district are one. And so the bylaws, the the policies and the goals and all of the attributes need to be consistent with with the board determined policies and bylaws. So that's a very simple um uh I remember when this was written the way it was. By the way, I have 30 years of experience with this

204bylaw and um I remember when that was added. The other thing that I think is a problem I think it's important when you talk about governance and you talk about what your views of governance are that you have a constitutionally and legislatively statutoily correct understanding that the board does not conform to the goals of a district. That's a different if you look at section 35161 the the the district does not exist separate from the board and so you know you talk about governance I think you just um are a little bit vague on a fundamental governance concept that there's not a district that's separate from the board >> but we're not in discussion right now I'm asking questions about what we're trying >> and I'm answering you said what is the problem and I'm saying

205that's a problem that's a that's a poorly written sentence and so Dr. glass has come up with a better way of correcting it than the way I came up with. Um so the second issue is where it says that um you got to maintain a policy manual that's up to date and reflects the mandates of law. a lot of staff time, hundreds and hundreds of hours of staff time I've witnessed being consumed trying to figure out have all these first readings, second readings and reviews and you know uh setting up committees and having a committee do it in different ways. This is the history of this. And so this what this does this sentence here is it puts a burden on staff and it puts a burden on the board to try to figure out

206every year, oh what has leg what has the legislature in in Sacramento done and what has the Congress in Washington done that we now need to import into our bylaws. And if you go through the bylaws, there's a there's reams of material in the bylaws that doesn't even need to be in there because it already applies to the district. So you don't need to take law that the question is is there some law that's been passed that requires that you change the bylaws and we haven't limited ourselves to that in the past and it's cost staff. So let me just say this >> quick question in that regard. Victoria, my understanding is we have bylaws and board policies that are based on CSBA. They're all the same. We use the same numbering system and the

207same basic wording. And so it doesn't cost hours and hours of staff time because CSBA publishes each year updates to their bylaws and policies that you are able to >> reflect in the new board policy. >> That's part of the problem. >> Why is that a problem? >> Because CSBA is not the school board of Lagouna Beach. And you can choose to do things the way CSBA chooses to do them or you can do them differently. That's also a a difference of governing philosophy. I don't think that the board and the public benefits. If if you're an average member of the public, >> move the agenda. >> Uh if you're an average member of the public and you open up our bylaws, >> it's it's impossible to um it's impossible to decipher it. So the

208point is that Dr. Glass has come up with a formulation of this that says you can put you can do what CSBA does if you want. You can bring federal law in. You can bring state law if you want, but you don't have to. And so right now this says you got to reflect the mandates of law. That's a very vague term. You got to reflect the mandates of law. That means you've got to figure out what federal laws are mandates and then you gota you got to update your manual. I think I think we had two people asked to move the agenda. >> Two questions. Yes, we do follow CSBA. Yes, there are statemandated board policies. Not all board policies are mandated. There are several from the state of California that are mandated and

209CSBA provides us with that list. When we get CSB update, CSBA updates, it tells us why we're updating. whether it's a new law, whether it's a new whatever it is, it tells us why it needs to be updated and if it's optional or mandated. >> Thank you. >> Can I and and Dr. Glass's change changes this to reflect what she just said. >> And uh >> Mr. Hills. I think we're >> to further answer um build on what Victoria was saying, the uh uh CSBA provides a model set of policies that we do pay a lot of attention to and make up updates as she said, but the board is able to modify those. >> We had said to move the agenda, but I did want to point out the board shall review in the

210policy last reviewed 2023, prior revised dates 2014, adopted 2019. The board shall review certain policies annually as required by ED code. Um, that's not it. Where is it? It talks about when you have a new board, when you have a new superintendent, you should review the policies and ensure that they are a part that they are part of that vision going forward. And I think that is why in an effort to move the district in a direction that Dr. glasses has that um a new the new board would like to review. Um reviewing policies is necessary and it starts with how we make policy. So um Dr. Kelly moved the agenda. I seconded it. I'd like to move on to um public comment and then discussion because this is now >> I think we've kind

211of gotten into discussion here. Um Cler Hills, are there public comments? Yes, we have um Shaheen Shik Sadal, we have Ketta Brown, and we have Kimberly Smith. >> They can all come forward. I had a comment drafted based on having received three different versions and now we come to this meeting and it's said that we actually aren't supposed to consider but one. This actually exemplifies to me how poorly thought out this agenda item was for parents. We weren't given real clear direction on what we were supposed to be prepared to talk about tonight. Most of us are still on vacation. Some of us are taking our kids to college. And you're making big decisions about what impacts our children. And member Hills, your reading of 35010 is actually incorrect. While it does give the board

212the authority to govern itself, it in no way says that you get to change the rules that exist now because you want to. You have to follow the rules that exist and change them per those rules. You want to change them, fine. that you have to abide by the rules that exist now in order to change them. 35010 does not give you the authority to just do whatever you want. And by the way, that provision that talks about allowing one-time exigent circumstances, if you look at the rationale behind it, the legislative rationale, it's because of the things that we've talked about here. Fire safety and and if you are allowed to do retroactive things, it's to it's because there's a circumstance where you could imagine where you're not able to convene a meeting in time

213to break a policy. Smirk all you want, member Hills. I'm an attorney. So are you. That's true. >> As practicing attorneys, we know that there are instances where you can't you would be you would be defunct in compliance to the detriment of your students. In any case, the point of this is to say what I would love for you all to do is table this discussion, wait for parents to come back, put forward an an agenda item that is actually under and if we're only supposed to be reviewing Dr. glasses provisions or modifications. Great. Let's do that. There is no emergency. Nothing needs to be done today. We could all be back here in a month with more time. And please don't send it on a second revision agenda after everyone thought that the agenda

214was already out as a last minute add-on. Just let parents have enough have enough input and insight into this so that we can make a thoughtful decision that includes and makes the students the focus. adding community members for for all it's vague. It it now takes the focus away from our students and and brings in all kinds of other stakeholder stakeholders as to what our direction is for our our board policies. That to me is dangerous and I wish more parents were here to understand that that was what was going on. Thank you. Good evening. Um, I too didn't realize that we were just going to be discussing Dr. Glass's um, revisions. So, um, I guess I will just put this to Mr. Hills. Simply put, this is a feeble attempt at self aandisement by

215Mr. Hills at the expense of the district as a whole. No student, staff, or community member benefits from this bid for consolidation of power at the board level. Rather, it marginalizes these people who should be the focus of this board's consideration. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Kimberly Smith. Uh first off, I'd like to welcome Dr. glass to the community and to our new student representatives. Welcome. It's nice to see everyone again. We're back. Uh good evening to all. So, I'm here to obviously speak about these proposed revisions and I thirdly uh was unaware that Mr. Hills was conceding. So, this is generally for consideration with future iterations. Um I want to actually extend appreciation to Dr. Dr. Hills for calling attention in his board report earlier to Dr. Glass about the importance

216of adhering to our bylaws. So I would presume that you are a proponent of upholding the bylaws set for governances uh of our district and wouldn't want to be hypocritical. Uh while I understand the intent to streamline the processes, these changes would weaken transparency, accountability, and public oversight. Removing detailed postings and review requirements makes it harder for our community to see and respond to policy changes in time. Allowing a simple majority to suspend or amend bylaws at any time with vague criteria concentrates too much power in too few hands. And expanding suspensions from a one-time measure to an undefined temporary period creates a loophole to bypass rules indefinitely. That said, I do understand that unforeseen circumstances can arise, yet I'm still quite unsure uh what's not protected in the hyper hypothetical scenarios that exist today.

217Uh we're all pretty much in the dark here. I currently serve on multiple boards and when a provision truly needs a change, a vote is taken on that specific issue. By creating a broad sweeping rule that allows any bylaw to be changed at any point in time is not governance. It's an open invitation to bypass the safeguards designed to protect the process and our public trust and that's not what responsible boards how they operate. Uh, board member Sherry, I voted for you and I was glad to hear you ask the question earlier about what does temporary window mean because if you were sitting in our seat when you sat in our seat for so long, you would be coming over this podium right now for this issue because what is happening is there is a

218breach in transparency and way too much power in the momentary majority. So I ask you to remember um your your strong convict convictions that you held before and then I urge you to honor your obligations all to to serve preserve these safeguards and reject these revisions. The process must be stronger as I mentioned than any momentary majority. Thank you. I move to postpone this matter until the September meeting. >> Second. >> Um I I would just like to say we were looking at all three until Mr. Hills said he preferred Dr. Glasses. So, I think then we decided, well, if if Mr. Hills prefers Dr. Glasses and is not going to defend his, why are we going to talk about his when he prefers Dr. Glasses? >> Need direction. >> Well, we didn't get it

219till tonight when he said that. It wasn't like it wasn't hidden. >> So, let's table it and come back to this, >> Mr. Hills. >> Yeah, just a couple of things. Um, this doesn't cost the district any money, has no fiscal impact, it doesn't interfere with continuous improvement, it doesn't uh require any data. This is a housekeeping measure. And the idea that section 35010 doesn't allow the board to do this or that the it's very simple. No legislative body can bind a future legislative body. You can the the the legislative body can make a statute and the statute is binding while the statute is in effect. the legislative body that created the statute can end the statute at any time at will and we need to be able to do that. That this board needs

220to be able to do it. This in my view, that's my comment on one of the public comments. In my view, this is a very simple thing. It's a housekeeping thing. We're going to be doing other bylaw and policy amendments in the future. Not only this board, but future boards are going to want to do bylaw amendments. The idea that this is some kind of power grab. This doesn't give the board any power that it doesn't have right now, and it doesn't take away any power that the board right now. What this does is provide an orderly way to actually do what this bylaw was intended. the idea that this is about um creating a situation where the board can suddenly change something or suspend something. If you're concerned about that, the existing bylaw does

221that more aggressively and does it without any explanation of the context for it. It says by majority vote the board may suspend enforcement of a board policy or bylaw on a one-time basis. It just it so it's in there right now, but there's no context for it. The context that Dr. Glass would give it is that the board because the board makes the bylaws, the board can change the bylaws. It can go through the annual review process. But by passing a bylaw that says there is an annual view process, that doesn't mean that the board can't otherwise exercise its legislative power to change the bylaws. So the entire the the the the what's been attributed to this is just so exaggerated and unrealistic that it's it's a little bit hard to to comprehend or respond

222to. The fact is this is a very simple uh um policy and it's has very simple elements to it but some of the elements are not properly drafted and written so that the public can understand and I think Dr. Glass did a masterful job of fixing it. Um so um uh and it the real question becomes one does every bylaw or policy change that the board ever makes in the future does it have to go through the first reading second reading annual review procedure. The answer is no as a matter of law. But yet what we're basically being told here is that we can't as a board decide that this is good for the board and good for the district and do it. And it's beyond that it's sort of out of my hands. >>

223Um is there are other options is who who would like to vote to table it? Dr. >> From a procedural point standpoint, you do have a motion and a second and now you're in the discussion phase and so we'll need to resolve this issue before you move forward. Uh I would like to speak to it from the discussion standpoint. Um I think the reason this is so hard is because we are operating in an environment of low trust. Most of the time, these kinds of changes when brought forward would be easy to do, but that's not the situation that we're in. I appreciate the support for the version that I brought you, but it's largely an iteration on the current policy. It's not a massive change, nor was it intended to be. A lot of

224the uh language that's in it is just putting labels on parts of the policy that you currently have. It does make some clarifications around governance and structure and goes into some more detail on the situations of the emergency element, but uh it's largely an iteration on the policy that you currently have, which I thought was was good. But you asked when you put it on the agenda, my job is to bring you what I think are improvements, which is what I've done. The question as to does it belong on the agenda for those that weren't here early in the night. Trustee Malchesky brought forward a challenge to that appropriately and in the right way and the board considered it and rejected it which is why it appears on the agenda. So I want to be

225clear that this was properly noticed and agendaized and it is within the board's power and right to consider it. The options that you have available one trustee Kelly has put forward is to do nothing. That's an option. You can do that. A second is that you can you can bring it back for further conversation in a later reading as it as it is. I've provided you a revision. You could bring that one back later for more discussion that would allow us to address a lot of these criticisms around we need more time with this. We need more thinking about it. We could do that as well. Uh you can also further debate tonight and give me more direction and changes around how you want this policy change. I'll mention that the bylaw that you have

226contemplates things like fiscal impact, cross reference of different policies, legal analysis, community input. That is really hard to do if I don't know what policy we're talking about. So that's why for me it made sense to bring you a draft that I could work for, work from in doing that other work as it's necessary. the the uh the last option that I would say you have is is just to direct me to do more research. If you don't feel like this is ready yet, you want me to do another draft of this and do more thinking about it, I can do that. But Madam Chair, you have um a proper motion and a second, you should uh facilitate discussion around that and vote on it and then move on. >> Okay. >> What a question,

227a procedure question. Um >> um I heard Dr. Kelly say postpone and then we've said table. I need to know which it is because there are differences on when it needs to come back. So if he already >> Okay. So and that's fine. Um if you table it, it has to come back September 11th. If you postpone it, you can choose a different date. So if you're postponing >> Okay. So September 11th. >> I just need to make sure. >> But there's two meetings in September. So I just need to make sure you meant September 11th. >> We need to we need to >> Yes. >> Is it is discussion closed? >> The discussion is about postponing, >> right? >> Is that what you want to talk about? Well, I mean, I want to talk

228about the same things he was talking about and some of the same things that Dr. Meski was talking about in relation to this uh amendment. Um, I don't know if I should do that before we vote or after we vote. Um, you're the chair. Tell me what to do. >> I'm just not prepared for Dr. Glasses. >> Dr. Glass. >> Yeah. >> Just from a procedural standpoint. from a procedural standpoint to answer that question. Your discussion should be isolated to the motion that you have before you and then you should act on it. >> Right. Um >> all the question my my part of the discussion is that I I thought that the the bylaw or I mean the board policy as it was was very confusing. I thought it was made u at least

229to me it's much more clear Dr. glasses version. Um I well we we can we can vote on go we can go ahead and vote on whether we bring back >> Madam Chair can I have one comment in that regard to inard regard to what you just said in regard to the motion. >> Um this is the nature of the legislative process. the idea that, oh, you had one provision on your bylaw and then you now you have a different version, so geez, we gota we gotta just put the brakes on everything and and that the board can't act um because this is too sudden. Well, that's what the legislative process is. People come in with competing proposals and then a consensus develops or a majority develops of let's go with that proposal. So, if

230we're it's like if we can't handle this, we got a real problem. The last thing I'll say is I respectfully um would say to you that your concern for all this due process and procedural and having an opportunity. I didn't see that when you guys terminated the last superintendent and I didn't see it on December 16th when you tried to presside over the topic but we >> well but right now >> in discussion I'd like to say something. Are we trying to determine Can we vote on whether we want to table it or not? So, we can either continue the discussion or move the agenda or vote on the current because I know I' I was I'm waiting for discussion. I'm still waiting. >> Okay. So, let's just vote. What we're discussing right now is

231Dr. Kelly's idea to just move it to the next meeting. >> Postpone it and put it on the next meeting. and and I can >> but you you just you don't want to bring any specific thing one to the next meeting you just what okay you tell me what you want to do >> I just want to postpone it I Dr. Superintendent Glass talked about trust and I think we've heard from the members of the community as far as the urgency of this does not seem that we need to get do anything now that we can postpone it and I think that I like Dr. classes. I I will and I'm going to support his things, but I think we should postpone. There's there's nothing that's urgent about this. Uh and I think it would

232help give us more credibility in our own community. >> Thank you for that. >> I started getting really impatient. I'm sorry. Um I'm a little confused. So, I would like to ask a procedural question. We have a motion on the floor to to to postpone. and it's been seconded. So, should we not be voting on if we're going to postpone and then or not and then continue the discussion because I would like to discuss it, but I don't want to discuss it under the pretense of postponing. So, I'd like to have a vote on postponing or not and then either open up the discussion or move on. >> You should discuss this item and then vote on it and then if there's another motion or not. >> So, your discussion should be limited to this

233item >> to postponing to this motion. I'm sorry to right to the motion. Um, >> okay. >> And then you should >> that I think we should vote on whether we want to postpone or not. I know that my vote will be no because I'd like to discuss it. >> Yeah. >> That isn't a deliberation or a debate over um >> I'd like to discuss it. So, I'd like to move the agenda on the vote. >> Okay. >> Let's Let's vote. All in favor of postponing. those opposed to postponing. >> I We're not postponing. >> Thank you. So, I would like to bring a couple things to the attention. Um, first of all, >> to member Mountesky's point, >> I'm sorry if you didn't have time to thoroughly review all three revisions. >> Okay, Dr.

234Glass, >> procedurally, now you need another motion to discuss something firm. >> Okay. So, like to move glasses version of this uh of this bylaw change. >> Well, are we bringing it back for another reading? >> We don't have to bring it back for another reading. >> Well, I move that we bring it back reading. >> I There's a motion on the floor. >> Yeah. >> Is there a second? What else can you >> I move that we uh that the board approve the uh um amendment to the bylaw that was um submitted by the superintendent. >> Is there a second? >> Okay. Discussion. So, um I appreciate all the input. I appreciate the comments from the community. Um I have been very um through the years calculated and enraged at the same time. So,

235I appreciate you recognizing that I may or may not have come over the wall. um sitting here quietly sometimes sends me over the um but I I would like to point out um to member Malchesky's point, we all received the information at the same time that the community received the information that is following our policy and our procedure. So to not have taken the time to understand it or read it is that's not you do not have the floor. The idea that um we didn't have the time to read it is not accurate. I actually went through this line by line and I found that the adoption or that the newest version um I read the first version and then I read the second version and in reading what Dr. Glass put together um I

236believe that it is much more succinct. I did not see a huge difference in um in the versions other than it was a lot clearer. It identifies the following steps. The first step being um identification of need, which isn't numbered correctly, but um but it does state the board shall review certain policies annually as required by ED code. If no um how come I keep losing this? Wait a minute. What is it? It sorry. The board and or under policy development adoption process, the district's policy development shall include the following basic steps. Number one, board and or superintendent shall identify the need for a new policy or revision of an existing policy. The need may arise from a change in law, new district vision or goals, educational research or trends such as cell phones, or

237a change of the superintendency or board membership. This need may also occur as a result of an incident that has arisen in the district or a recommendation or request from staff or other interested persons. So the very first item on a policy that was adopted in 2019, first revised in 2014, and last reviewed in 2023, which encompassed the current board members that are um that were seated when we came on board that encompasses a a past board member that's in the room. Um this is how they've done it. This recognizes that we have a new superintendent and we have a new board. The only policy we've tried to bring forward was policy was the communications policy board policy 1100. And the only question on that policy was are we adhering to the policy? And not

238only were we not able to review it, we were blasted for how dare we try and govern this district, this board. This is if if you go through line by line um it is very clear that it's basically taking the existing policies of which Madame Malchesky you you approved and it's basically putting it in a much clearer much more organized fashion. Um there is not anything that seems to be glaring to me. The only question that I had was one has it had legal review which I think was something that was offered. So, I would be open to that, to bring it back with legal review to ensure that we're compliant, not to debate it, not to rewrite it, not to do any of that. And we do have a policy that says if we

239have already addressed it, we've already had conversation about it, we don't have to bring it back for discussion or allow public comment. We can just approve it. And that is a a board policy that has been upheld in the past. So, I find this ongoing debate more of a stall tactic, honestly. Um but I don't want to point make accusations but it just seems to be getting really ridiculous that we're going round and round. It's very clear why we should be reviewing policies and this is the policy that identifies how we will make policy going forward. So, the only other question that I had about it um or comment that I had about it is that does it um where it says policy shall be reviewed at a time allocated for this purpose on the

240agenda of public board meetings. To m Madam Malesky's point, I do agree with the idea that we need to have a process for a new policy because a new policy could have fiscal impact. It could have legal implications that it needs to follow. But at the end of the day, this is not a new policy. This is a policy that you all have enacted for years and that the that the past member board member that's in the room also adhered to for years. This is just a restructuring of the information with much clearer um and honestly much better guidelines for the board to offer transparency because it does say that it has to come forward. It does say that it has to be discussed. We are discussing it and there's nothing I I mean I've

241gone through it line by line. There's nothing in here that is so glaring especially since it says change of superintendency or board membership. In a spirit of trust, I trust that Dr. Glass has taken the time and I believe we owe him the respect to show that we do trust him and and I would be um so inclined to move the agenda or to to to make a motion to approve this bylaw the way that it is with legal review and bring it back September 11th for final approval. >> Already a motion on the floor >> and I'd like to amend the motion >> just to that's the point I was going to make just from a procedural standpoint. Um, what you're really requesting is to amend the motion. The person who originally made the

242motion needs to accept that >> to have you do it. So, I'd like to amend the motion to bring this item back on September 11th with the legal with the legal review for approval. It does not need further discussion. >> You have a secondary motion. The originator of the motion should you should um indicate whether you're willing to accept that amendment or not. That's right. That's right. I'm sorry. If you're going to accept that or not. >> Yeah. Victoria's a procedural point. >> I amended your >> I will with the legal review. >> We don't need >> um without >> Thank you. >> prejudice to whether I would accept it or not. I would like to comment. that I hear voices in the community too and they um have a different concept of trust and

243what would engender trust. I'd like to say Mr. Superintendent, you admonished us to try to have a respectful discussion. I would just like to register that um I attempted to make a statement about a difficult subject and a subject that people have strong feelings about, but it was a legitimate, intellectually honest and member um spoke up and through um gestures and expression and verbally just basically cut me off. And that's been happening a lot. And so I think that I'm going to try really hard to comply with what your request was, but that makes it difficult. Um, far as what you proposed, Sherry, um, you know, cler clerk hills, for all our viewer, thousands of viewers at home, could you speak into the >> Yeah. Yeah. Right. Um, this board bylaw, if it were adopted,

244would change no other policy, would change no other program, would have no fiscal impact, would not cost the district anything. It would save staff time, and it would um uh and it would streamline this process. The other thing I wanted to say to you is that when you refer to that pro process in there about how the board changes policy and you went you went through a brilliant analysis of it and that's why I've always told you you should go to law school but you did a really good job of summarizing how that process works and talking about when there's a change of superintendent all that but the thing that's most important about that provision vision is that that is not the exclusive process for changing the bylaws. The exclusive process for changing the bylaws

245is section 35010 of the education code which says the board has the authority to provide its rules for its governance. That is the exclusive source of authority for doing whatever the board wants to do with the bylaws. And I don't think that that requires legal analysis, but um you know uh the thing that concerns me here is that and it's my opinion and it doesn't mean anybody has to agree with me, but if we can't do something as simple as this, we got a problem. And I I tend to agree with you that a very high priority is like this is the only action item on this agenda other than the consent calendar um uh that the staff has put together for the consent calendar. This board has taken almost no action since December. And

246that's because, as you said, when you dared to put communications on the agenda, they said you're trying to take control of the of communications. I all I said at that meeting was um there are some things in this plan that I don't not sure I accept and I think when we have our governance workshop, we ought to look at it. And all hell broke loose and that was all orchestrated and it was all scripted and it was all synchronized. So here we are now in August of 2025 and we want to pass a simple little provision. The importance of this is >> do you know we're going to do other bylaw revisions and what this is about is getting our house organized to do bylaw revisions. That's the only thing this does. It doesn't change

247any policy. Member Hills, may if I may, I believe that um earlier in the conversation that you I think and correct me if I'm wrong that you supported an idea of just a a legal um just to make sure, but if that's if I'm wrong then um my apologies. Um or maybe it was Dr. Glass that said it had not gone through our legal team. I guess my qu So then I hear I have another question if that's possible. Does there in your writing of this, is there anything in here that you think needs to be questioned before it's approved? Because again, I went through it line by line and I did not see anything that was there was a word here or there. The only other thing I saw that you added was it

248may also another reason to amend the the bylaws would be it may also occur as a result of a district incident, an audit finding or recommendation from staff. um we have an audit finding whether and that's not relevant to this policy but it is something that has occurred >> that possibly occurred because of a other of a different policy >> um that did not have the proper oversight and accountability. So if you don't believe that this needs another legal review, I would be okay approving it tonight. If you think that it needs another a legal review, then I would move to bring it back with the review for approval because we do not our policy does state we do not have to allow convers discussion on something that has already had a discussion. >> So

249you're we are into submotions and that is compl complicated but where things stand is you have made a motion it has been seconded to amend the current motion on the table. We still need to hear from clerk hills if he accepts that motion or not. I will answer your question. My recommendation is that you have a process around bringing forward a a policy or bylaw for first reading and review that has happened tonight. And then you should have a second reading and questions like legal analysis should happen. If you've got questions like that, I need to do that work or any of these other elements that are in here need to do need need to do that work. So I I my recommendation for you, Clerk Hills, is to accept the revised motion and the

250board to vote on. So I want to point out that Dr. Glass has just referred to the process in the bylaw, the existing bylaw and the process in the revised bylaw that he's drafted whereby the board can use the annual view review process to amend the bylaws and in that process it can look at fiscal impact. It can look at legal impact it can but none of those are required to do it. uh those are >> this does not have a legal impact, right? >> That is not the exclusive process for doing it. That said, I think that it's really pathetic that I think there are certain people who just don't want this board to do anything. >> That's true. >> And um this is a simple act and um this this is the only

251action item on this agenda. >> So then we can you can decline the agenda. We can decline my motion and my amendment to the motion and by by not right and then make a new motion to approve it as it is. If there's no illegal concerns with it then but I'm I'm I'm proposing that we move it forward as it is with just to cover our eye dot our eyes and cross our tees the legal review. >> Yeah. I think I think what needs to be clarified is that this can be a process that involves first reading and second reading, but it doesn't have to be it doesn't have to be a process that involves uh first reading or second reading. >> Dr. Glass, >> Madam Chair, >> my recommendation is you direct clerk hills

252to answer the question on his motion. Does he accept the revision or not? >> Clerk Hills, do you accept it or not? >> No. >> Okay. >> And vote on that. Okay. >> I move to adopt the >> um >> we have we first have to >> he didn't get a second. >> Your your motion is to adopt tonight with no further revisions. >> And I have I will >> Okay. Dr. Mjeski. >> So I just want to be clear where this started from. If there had been an agenda item that said Dr. Glass has made a suggestion to revise this amendment. It would have been a pretty simple thing. We would have had a discussion about Dr. Glass's amendment and then we would have proceeded. It is not true that there are people on

253this board that I know of who are trying to prevent you from doing governance. That's just a ridiculous thing. I'd also like to tell you doc uh Mr. Hills that if you say outrageous things, it's very hard not to respond to them. But I do apologize for that. But you know, I'm a human being, so sometimes I it's very hard not to respond. >> Um, on this issue, on this issue, >> um, we have always by practice done a holistic review of the policies. We've read through edits, even when minor, and we've brought them back. It is not true that it takes huge amounts of time and it's a lot of staff money. Like, none of that is true. We do a board policy workshop. We look holistically at the policies. We bring them back

254during board meetings. It's 10 minutes on a board meeting to go through an entire series. And it makes the public trust us because we are making edits to something. We are doing it in a way that is transparent. We give the public time to understand what we're trying to do. And regardless of, you know, whether or not M Dr. Glass's um version is a good one, and I do think it is, it was not presented to the public in a way that was clear. It wasn't protect presented to me in a way that was clear. I didn't even know what I was trying to get to. It is not true that I did not read or prepare. If you'd like to see my five pages of notes, I'll show them to you. So, don't accuse

255me of not preparing for meetings. I read through everything. I spoke at the beginning of the meeting and I'm saying it again now that it wasn't clear to the public. I think there's nothing wrong with bringing it back for a second reading so that people know what we looked at and know what we discussed. That's common practice and I would like to do what we have been doing in a way that makes the public feel that they can trust us. It's a very simple thing because it wasn't presented as Dr. Glass's resolution. It was a hodgepodge of of information with no clarity. We're not really changing anything. It's just it's just clarifying the same policy. >> It's rewritten. >> Well, >> it's rewritten. How how is the meaning? Is the meaning different? What What are

256>> there's no different meaning? >> We need to move the same >> Mr. Hills. >> Yeah. Um this is getting to the point of theater of the absurd. >> Um >> and uh you know um I can tell you right now that I've seen I've seen threehour meetings many many times going through a process of trying to grapple with the what the California School Board Association says. The idea that this is somehow handled well under the existing bylaw is just wrong. I I've got 30 years of experience under this and that line that says you shall conform with legal mandates. What does that even mean? And what it means is I've seen them form committees. I've seen the committees come in and do the first reading and second reading and I've seen them wave the

257second reading and this is not by its nature um a first reading. It is a it is a is a passage of an amendment. Can I >> Having said all that, having said all that, I um because I think the merits of this issue are uh at this point um manifestly apparent. Um, I would make a motion to um go with uh Sher Morgan's uh proposal to approve this with the understanding that we'll bring it back after it's reviewed uh under gone legal review so we can move on from this because this is ridiculous. >> Great. Okay. >> So, we have a motion to approve the >> So, he's accepting the revision. >> So, >> I actually made a new motion for order. Can he speak to something and then make a motion? I don't

258think he can. >> The motion's already made. modify the motion that was rejected. And then I just heard Clerk Hills repeat again the same motion that submotion that Trustee Morgan made uh to his uh his original motion. Um I think that is a de facto acceptance of the revision and madam chair you can uh call for the vote. I would like to call for a vote. >> So the we're voting on a motion that says we are adopting the policy as it is, asking for legal review to and then bringing it back September 11th to give a final approval as it is >> to do a second. Yes. >> We treat it as a first uh reading and bring it back to a second reading after legal review. >> Yes. But it's but it's it.

259>> So, what I have is a motion to amend the motion to approve the amendments to the bylaw that was submitted by the superintendent to get legal review on board bylaw 9310 and bring it back to the September 11, 2025 board meeting for approval. >> All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Good. Um, on to the consent calendar. Do board members have any questions on items that would not require pulling the item? Does any board member wish to pull any items to be discussed and voted on separately? Can I get a motion to approve the consent calendar items C through X? >> I had not yet addressed the issue of pulling. Um, is there any uh >> Okay, I'll go back. Did Did you want to pull an item? >> I'd like to pull the

260item on the consultant for the the uh uh for the um consultant for the union and the board staff, the facilitator. >> Can't remember what item item 8R >> Which item is that? Eight R in a row. >> R. Okay. Um, do do you want to ask questions about it or you want to pull it for a separate vote? >> Um, I want to pull it for a separate vote. >> Okay. Any any other items? >> Okay. Okay, I had a lot of questions that I had submitted and I wanted to um thank staff for answering all of my questions. Um, I think the only thing I still would want to pull for further understanding and it might need to be tabled is the um, but I don't know if we want to do that

261because it's personnel report on the um, and I understand the reason why there was a lot of changes to the lead um, payroll because there was an overage in the hours. Is that right? Yeah, there was uh additional classes added after they were initially brought in June, but there was additional classes added and and other staffs that were given additional, you know, prep time for the classes. So, there was they had to increase and and revise the powers because of the the last minute changes that went all the way till I think the last the week prior to the start of lead. >> If we pull the personnel report, does that what does that do? >> Well, I just had further >> advise the board on the implications of pulling the personnel report, not approving

262it for two more weeks. Um it would let me look more closely but it it definitely well from a from one perspective um the pars are being approved for the extra hours would mean that they would not be able to get paid until and be processed by payroll until it's uh they are fully board approved. So that's probably the main implication. >> Can we pull the personnel report? I have a couple questions. >> Uh you certainly can. Okay. Um uh what Mr. Collins advising you if you pull it off and don't act on it, you will create payroll issues for employment or hiring staff based on this. >> Understand? I just want to ask a couple more questions. >> Of course, you can pull it. >> That's all. That's the only reason why I want

263to pull it. It's it's to bring a couple to ask draw attention to a couple things that I'm not sure about and go forward. >> So, so to be clear, if you're not pulling it, you can just ask questions without pulling the item. >> Okay. Then let me ask a couple more questions. I think I'm still a little unsure. I understand the prep work for summer school is different than the prep work for LEAD because LEAD is each class is different and they have a different number of hours that they can prep that they need to prep because everything is new and summer school a lot of the curriculum is established and so the prep time is not as much. Is that correct? >> That's correct. because the curriculum for for the extended school year

264summer school is created by instructional services where the lead courses are created by staff and they there's no curriculum so they they they have to create completely create the curriculum for those classes. >> So is there concerns that for summer school let me reass school staff must be credentialed or classified to be able to implement the curriculum. Is that correct? >> Yeah. To be to be the teacher of record in that class, they need to have the proper credentials. >> Okay. But for lead, do they have to be a credential teacher for all of the programs or is some of them and it's there's no malfeasance. I'm just trying to understand a little bit. So are the does the staff that teaches LEAD have to be credentialed or certified to teach all of the different

265classes? I know some are math. I know some are but some are like sewing and some are so I'm just is it equitable for what the requirements are to teach the class. >> So the the there is not a need for the the class for the credential to match what what they're teaching. We just our requirement is just that they're um they have at least a 30-day sub permit. >> Okay. So are we is I guess some kind of some of the concerns I'm trying to get to is are we paying the staff that is teaching summer school at the same rate as LEAD, even if summer school you have to have a higher requirement and that's mandatory, but in lead it's not. I just want I'm asking for an equitable it's more of an

266equitability question of staff and ensuring that we're that we're taking care of all of our staff equally for what is required of what they're doing. And that doesn't necessarily mean pay less to lead. That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying if we're paying summer school st if summer school staff has to be credentialed because I'm I'm not sure but I'm curious is if like you know if the teachers that are teaching summer school are they getting paid and you know leading summer school directing it organizing it um doing the fairs coming I love all the different teachers working together but are they being paid the same as the lead teachers and so at the end of the day the because you have to be credentialed for summer school you're you might get paid more

267than if you did lead because lead you may or may not need a credential. I don't know if that it's coming out right but >> it's the any work in the summer be it lead or the summer school is has the same tiered rate of pay. >> So it's more comes down to the setup and the organization that differs in the pay structure. >> Yes. And from the think of like the teaching lift from uh from summer school you have much smaller class sizes. you have multiple teachers co-eing in those classes with additional additional aid. So it is and where you have it at during lead you have one individual with classes as high as I ch what maybe 20 to 25 potentially where the class sizes the the teacher to student ratio in the

268ESY is closer to 1 to six >> right but that's also that's also remediation so that's a good thing that we have a smaller that we have a smaller um ratio not necessarily a a benefit it's actually a benefit to the student and yes the teachers have less kids, but they have a a bigger task because it's a remediation issue. Correct. >> It's I would say it's a different task, maybe not a >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. So, um can I get a motion to approve consent calendar items C through X accept item R? moved. >> Second. >> Okay. Um, any discussion? No public comment. Okay. Any discussion? Okay. Um, so should we vote on this or do we Okay. Um, all in favor of items C through X except R. I >>

269I Okay, let's go back to item Oh, provisional vote. >> Sorry, I should have. We hadn't voted on anything yet. Yeah, we both consent to the vote. >> Okay, thank you. >> Okay, now our Right. This got the the full vote. Now we're going back to item R. >> R for discussion to happen. >> Okay. Um I move to uh approve item R for discussion. Is there a second >> For approval. I'm sorry. >> Okay. Next. Okay. U Mr. else. >> Maybe we should put it this off for the September meeting. >> Well, I I'm not convinced that it has value for the taxpayers to fund this. Um I'm not entirely certain what goes on between these facilitators and the and the um people that are involved in the bargaining process. I'd like to know

270more about it before I >> Can we talk about it now? Everybody's here to provide you the information. Yeah, if people want to talk about it, >> I move to table the item to September 11 so we can go home. >> Second that. >> All right, we're in the sub motions again. You made a motion to approve uh Sherry's effectively tried to asked amend your motion and you've agreed to that now. And the the amendment to the motion is Can you say it again? We have >> I move to table the item until September 11th. >> Okay. Now we have discussion. >> If we're not clear enough to vote on this, um, is it going to cause any problems to delay it to December 11th? I'd like to hear if there's somebody that thinks it

271causes it. >> We're not beginning negotiations until late February, early March. So, it's there's >> so it wouldn't cause a problem. So, um all in favor of putting off the discussion of item R until September 11th, >> I I Okay, I said I I heard him. Okay. So, we >> Mr. Kelly, would you like to move to adjourn? Okay. Okay. Second. Um, our next meeting is September 11th. Thank you for coming.