Board of Education Special Meeting - July 22, 2025

001We are live. >> Okay. Good morning. I'd like to call this special meeting of the board of education to order. The next board of education meeting is on Tuesday, August 26 at 7:30 p.m. Um I'd like to thank everybody for closing out the 2425 school year. And to those who have started off the summer with a bang to the Darianne summer school and um extended school year staff. Um looking forward to seeing High School Musical at the end of the month. That's always an exciting way to to close out the summer program. I'd like to extend a special welcome to Dr. Burn who retired from Rye and promptly got dragged into Derianne and we couldn't be more thrilled. Thank you for taking on the the uh role of our interim superintendent. Dr. Dr. Burn will

002be with us for a year um as we look for the new superintendent and again we are so grateful to him for sharing his uh superintendency experience um as we navigate through this this period of time. Um for to the board our communication protocols will stay the same. If you have a question that needs to go to administration please send it to Dr. Burn with uh the chair and copy myself and copy. And if you have a question about the board, uh continue to send it to the to the board as you were before, but our communication protocols are not changing. Um just good time to re-emphasize that uh as we again have someone new on board. Um and lastly, I'd like to um extend a special thank you to the board, all of whom

003are taking this day out of their summer uh to be here all day long. It's a long day. Um so thank you to each of you for your service today and always. Um, with that I'll move on to the possible appointment of the director of elementary education. Uh, do you want to >> speak a little? >> First, I'd like to thank the committee that helped to vet candidates and bring candidates forward and is my recommendation Jennifer the director. >> Great. And I will ask you to pull that mic a little closer to you for the future. Is it? >> Yeah. And double check that it's on. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Good. Um, with that, may I have a motion to appoint Jennifer Falconee as the director of elementary education? That is Joanna, seconded by Dennis.

004All those in favor? That is, uh, okay, that is Seni, Parent, McCammon, Nelson, Lublin, Brown, Walsh. All those opposed. Gramling. Uh, and there are no extensions. Okay. All right. Uh, Miss Falcone, would you like or Dr. Falcone, excuse me, would you like to say anything? >> You need to come up to the deis if you want to so we can hear you. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining your learning community and I look forward to meeting with all of you and focusing on our learners. So, thank you very much and for trusting me in this important role. I'm looking forward to the work ahead. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Uh with that, we'll move to legal updates and board operations. And with us, we have

005um Tom Mooney, the attorney from Shipman and Goodwin. Thank you for being here this morning, Tom. >> Been projected as well. Uh but I've prepared a a summary of some of the legislative changes. Um and just by way of overview, uh there's very little here uh to celebrate. Uh but these are the um uh changes in the u laws that affect a school district operation in Connecticut. And um the first was passed early in the session, public act 251. Uh and um it is uh a requirement that your uh school safety and security plan be amended to reflect uh the recommendations of the state department of education in terms of interacting with um u immigration uh officials. uh and as opposed to what happens in in some jurisdictions, this is not um a directive to

006withhold communication or to um obstruct in any way. it. The the guidance uh issued by the state department of education is essentially a protocol to make sure that um uh the people who receive um the district uh representatives who receive immigration officials, they show up and and um it's a protocol whereby that person understands that they can ask for credentials, they can ask the person to wait, they can um uh check and and the uh you probably know that the um uh in uh ICE uh no longer treats schools as a um protected area. So they do have the right to uh enter but they only have the right to enter when they have legal authority. Um otherwise uh school officials can um simply inform them uh that uh they are not permitted to enter

007school. Uh so all districts in Connecticut have to have a school security and safety plan. From your perspective as a board of ed, you have to amend your plan to incorporate this new guidance. Uh but again, it's just really a protocol. uh and it doesn't uh um represent any in my mind significant change in the law. Um I'll pause as we talk about these things. I don't know if you have any questions about that before I move on to um a rather detailed explanation of new changes in uh uh the requirements or the uh opportunities I should say for employees to take leave in various ways. So ready to move on. Okay. um just globally and I don't know if Marge uh had to leave the room simply because this topic is too painful. Uh

008it's uh it's just remarkable to me uh that the general assembly each year thinks up new ways uh to authorize people not to come to work and in fact now be paid not to come to work. I don't want to be unsympathetic um but in the public sector um school districts have been quite sensitive and aware of the need uh for leave in certain circumstances. Uh but now as a matter of just um directing how school districts should operate there's a significant expansion in these uh provisions. The the first two are the Connecticut family and medical leave act and the Connecticut paid family and paid family and medical leave. So Connecticut paid leave. There's also paid sick leave which I'll talk about um in a couple minutes. Uh which is another um uh new requirement

009under Connecticut law. Uh but what's happened is that um the provisions of the Connecticut FMLA and Connecticut paid and family medical leave, Connecticut paid leave have been now extended so that all non-certified employees of boards of education are uh participants in this program. Uh the um uh two programs supplement federal FMLA which is available to um certain uh people who qualify by uh way of u number of hours that they work. Um but for whatever reason and I don't know if anyone has any insight into this this expansion does not include teachers. uh and uh I know that um teachers in Connecticut have significant influence in the general assembly. So I really don't understand other than um for whatever well we'll talk about one reason potentially uh under the paid leave law you have the

010right to take paid leave. It that paid leave is administered by a separate agency. We simply register. People apply to the a uh authority uh to take the paid leave. They have a qualifying need for leave. They want uh to receive pay. But this is funded through payroll deduction. And now every non-certified employee is going to see 1/ half of 1% of their pay be deposited in in this uh paid leave fund which is administered by the paid leave authority. Uh and um uh the uh Connecticut FMLA is now uh available where employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave uh for qualifying reasons. And so you have you have the right to leave and in some circumstances you have the right to be paid during the leave which is which are separately

011administered. Um and um it's going to be quite burdensome to uh coordinate all of this and and um I found it interesting in the statute they always have to do like what's the financial impact and um the uh office of legislative analysis said there's no cost to this and Um I don't know if Marge would agree with that. Um uh but trying to um fill in for people who are on leave is is going to be a challenge. Um the uh complication is that the uh FMLA is subject to different eligibility requirements than federal. Um, and it's uh far more expansive uh for the uh employees taking Connecticut leave. They um only have to be employed for three months. There's no hours requirement. Um and uh so it's uh um just very difficult. Now, what

012I've provided to you is is a legislative update that two of my colleagues did, and I I don't think it's necessary for us to go through all of the the details of this. I just wanted to make the board aware that these new requirements are going to impose significant um uh burdens on administration to administer uh and to uh uh reconcile the the different qualifications and provisions of Connecticut paid leave, Connecticut FMLA and federal FMA. LA. These changes will all be uh effective October 1st. So, uh here we are looking at August. Um and uh it so it's it's going to be a challenge to get everything on board. Um Marge, I don't know if you have any you want to add to this. No, I'm waiting for Shipment and Goodwin is doing a webinar

013to help people deal with the implementation. So, I've been trying to ignore it until then. >> Okay. Well, uh we hope that that will be helpful and I know uh as you mentioned the state is going to provide us uh some guidance as well. Um, in addition to the expanding these programs to affect all of your non-certified employees, uh, the, uh, legislature last year enacted the Connecticut paid sick leave law and, um, that affects, uh, all U board of ed employees. It was for years it was simply service workers which were um uh a limited category. Uh as of last year the paid sick leave law applies to all board employees. And in a nutshell, um the paid sick leave law permits employees to acrew one hour of paid sick leave for every uh 30

014hours they work up to a maximum of 40 hours uh per year. Now, that would be almost irrelevant uh to a board of education typically um because you would you do provide sick leave uh more expansively than that through all your different negotiated uh collective bargaining agreements and board policy. The challenge is that the paid sick leave law uh applies to um reasons other than personal illness. Uh we typically negotiate some level of consideration for taking care of an ill family member, but um this is that's one. And they've expanded the definition of family. Um, but it's also uh for preventive care, diagnosis, treatment, and I'm on page seven. Um, uh, if there's a closure due to a um some sort of epidemic um, and even a mental health wellness day. So the general assembly

015has decided that all employers should permit their employees uh to just say well I'm a going to take care of myself today and I'm not coming to work. Administratively, this law is um a a huge challenge because people don't have to give you advanced notice and they don't have to provide any documentation and um there was serious discussion sadly unfulfilled but whether the practical implications of this law would justify exempting boards of education from its provisions. And we were hopeful that that would happen. It didn't. Um all that happened uh was that um the law says you can take this leave in an hour increment. So an employee theoretically could say, you know, I'm just going to come in at 10:00 today um and I'm going to charge it to paid sick leave. Uh and

016um the only relief that was given to boards of education uh because when you think about you know you have a classroom of kids and and a teacher would just say well I'm going to come in at 10 or 11 and you have to worry about how do you take care of that? So I mean I don't want to be unkind but it it's just um significant administrative burdens. The relief that was enacted this year for boards of education is that if you have a collective bargaining agreement and if that agreement provides for leave in increments of greater than an hour like half a day or full day then they can't take the leave in our increments. Um, so that's the that that's uh where we uh are with that. Um, I don't want to

017sound like I'm just complaining, but on behalf of the districts I represent, I just have to say it's easy for people in Hartford uh to decide um public policy and uh what people should be able to do. The practical implications are uh significant. Do you have any questions about these uh different legislative initiatives? >> I see that Greg has a question. Um John, perhaps it's something you could pick up in finance and just start rolling looking at the model later when we understand it a little better. Um if if there are any financial implications. Greg, >> just a question. You said that as it relates to this like incremental hour thing, you if you put something in place with respect to your collective bargaining agreement, can you attach strings to that or is it specific

018to just this item? >> When you what do you mean attach strings? >> Well, like if you if you said they also have to give advanced notice. >> Oh, no. Um it's strictly uh the um law uh permits people to take this leave without giving advanced notice. We cannot require documentation. We can require them to tell us what qualifying purpose. But the um um moving away from the hour increment into something more like half a day increment. Um, that's the only exception that's been enacted. And Mark reminded me that you through negotiation already have many contracts that talk about leave being limited to half day. And so you're in most places um where we have to now negotiate that with the unions because many collective bargaining agreements do not have that provision in them. you

019have that provision in uh uh some of your non-certified I'm not sure if it's in the teacher contract and >> it is. >> Oh, it is. Oh, okay. Well, so that's a a little good news in an otherwise burdensome uh law. >> Joanna, >> um says Daniel says for compliance that policy updates represent another major area of operation. Is that administratively like an employee handbook or is that the kind of class? I don't think that that would apply the you know mechanics to a board event policy but I'm waiting to see if shipment and has a model policy they don't >> any other questions on this >> just a follow on that on leave and FMLA is that requiring an update on the board policy or is that also an administrative like employee handbook >>

020so I our FMLA policy may need to be updated to reflect um Connecticut, but I wait for shipment in good. >> Okay. >> Thank you, Tom. >> Okay. Um there was also um uh significant attention paid to the laws uh involving uh special education and there were two separate uh statutes focused on that. uh and um I think these changes are viewed um in a positive light. Uh and they're described here um on page starting on page seven and going on from there. Uh there's been a lot of attention to how districts work with um private special education providers and I would say that this new law uh provides for greater accountability uh because now uh the law requires that the private providers um uh explain tuition and rates and fees, not just tuition and

021cost. And um uh there's a schedule that the uh state department of education is going to come out with in terms of what can be charged for different services. And there's another um provision in these laws saying that during the year uh a private provider cannot increase the rates unless it's uh justified through the IEP process. Um there is attention to uh non-approved of special ed facilities. Um as you probably know there's an administrative process and most special education um uh schools are approved through that process, but some are not. Um and um the law clarifies that if it's a non-approved um uh facility that is uh used to to place a child, and I should back up, um there's an obligation to place children in approved special ed uh programs. Um and the Supreme

022Court decided a case many years ago as to well what happens if a program is not approved. Do um are parents still entitled to have their children educated in that setting? And the Supreme Court ruled yes that's possible if that program is appropriate for that child even if it's not approved. Um and so there are these circumstances where the best program happens not to be an approved program. Uh but the u uh new law clarifies that if a district makes that determination uh then the uh uh there would not be reimbursement. Uh but if a hearing officer makes that determination there would be uh state reimbursement. Um Shirley, I don't know if you have anything further you'd like to say about that. >> Just to give some some more color to that also. So currently

023um as you know that PBTs can only recommend state approved programs. Um there are other communications that go on and that's noted also with families in terms of since we can't place a child in a non-approved state program. there are either agreements or sometimes a student is rejected from every state approved program that we um ask for and the parent needs to place a child in a in a um sometimes it's it's either a residential program or a program that has different clinical levels. That said, recently there have been hearings where a hearing officer, to your point, Tom, has granted a parent um has prevailed that they would pay the school district would have to pay that non-state approved school for tuition um or whatever the impartial hearing officer said. Uh the new law would

024say that when that happens, if that were to happen, that those are not reimburseable. There's no excess cost funding that would be available. There's no relief to the district for that. >> However, it can go to the next level which is if an impartial hearing officer and or court I believe also >> um offers that then it can seek reimbursement for that. >> Right. And my concern as I read this, and I'm not actively involved in special ed anymore, but my concern was, is this going to drive us to hearings um in some circumstances where we need the blessing of a hearing officer in order to uh uh receive reimbursement. >> It does suggest that that would be a course um that a district would take because there's no relief for the district, >> right?

025Um it also suggests if you look at the other tier that um an impartial hearing officer would really have to um really consider so I'll give you the example of the other non-state approved school that just prevailed on that that they would have to consider that there really was no other state approved program. So it would be arbitrary if the hearing officer just said yes, I'm going to grant the the parent the right to go to this non-approved school without really reviewing all the other opportunities of state approved schools. So there's a different burden of proof I think on the hearing officer also in terms of making that determination. >> So I think that both things will happen. One, districts might seek to go to impartial hearings to get excess cost reimbursement. And two, I

026think impartial hearing officers will need to consider a different tier, a different level of um consideration. >> Yes. >> Before making the decision, >> right? And are the board members all familiar with this concept of excess costs? >> Yes. >> Yeah. Okay. Um as you see on page eight, there are a number of new grants. Um one of of course >> um just this is a little confusing to me. Does this also apply to unilateral placements and settlements? So this is just for when the school is placing the child, >> right? It doesn't unilateral settlements are confidential and are not part of this. Um there are a number of uh new grant programs and one that I find particularly interesting is uh to support in district special ed programs. As you all know uh children

027with disabilities are entitled to be served along a continuum. Um always looking for the least restrictive environment and an out of district placement is one of the most restrictive um choices but sometimes that's necessary. Uh but many districts are now focusing on well how can we better serve children in district and avoid the need for an outof district placement. And there's a a state grant now uh available for this. It's a competitive grant, so it's not necessarily available, but um it uh districts can apply uh to work to um support indisted programs. There's an interesting dimension to all of this and that is um uh in educational funding generally in Connecticut, we now have what's called the minimum budget requirement and um uh towns appropriate funds to um permit the schools to operate. uh and

028um going from year to year, subject to certain statutory exceptions, you the town is not permitted to appropriate less than it did in the prior year. Um on occasion, districts have uh um received supplemental appropriations for the cost of special education services. Um and those appropriations have then affected the minimum budget requirement because it was an part of the appropriation process. And so that has caused some tension where you need more money and towns um I'm not saying Garyenne would be one but towns uh are reluctant to provide the money because then it ratches it up the minimum budget uh requirement in in several of these instances accepting these grants does not affect uh expressly does not affect the MBR. So it um avoids that particular problem. Um, another question for Shirley. When I look

029at the bottom of page eight about instructional support partners, um, some districts have, um, people serving in these roles. Um, does Jerryianne have this? >> not at this time. >> No. And interestingly, as you see here, uh the uh legislature paid attention to this position of instructional support partner uh for each school or uh school building. And that designated person must spend at least 50% of his or her time on the following. And you see the bullets here. reducing administrative burdens on teachers related to the IP process. Uh helping to improve the delivery and administration of the IEP process. Collaborating with parents regarding instructional decision making uh pursuing and attending uh professional development and uh consulting with school-based instructional staff. Um, what I found interesting is that when the general assembly took its first pass

030at this, they said by next year you're all going to be required to have these positions. Um, for whatever reason, apparently they had second thoughts and they um in a subsequent law uh, public act 251 uh 174, they made this new position um, optional. Uh so uh it's not required um and I don't know if over time uh you would have any interest in these positions but it's uh one state mandate that never took effect um because it's now optional. Um there's uh also attention to developmental delay and uh the the these statutes increase the scope of uh children who may be identified as having developmental delay from uh 3 to five to uh three through eight. Uh and that's a part of the uh PPT process. Um, and I talked briefly about the fixed

031annual costs in the rate setting. >> Before we before we jump to fixed annual costs, can we go back to the I think Dave has question on the uh >> minimum budget. >> So Tom, going back to the minimum budget, the question I had was you were talking about appropriations, >> right? >> So the appropriation is 10 this year. There can't be nine next year in theory. >> Correct. >> If 10 is appropriated and we wind up giving one back to the town, making effectively nine, is that okay? It's really the appropriations. It's not that I have to spend all 10. Correct. >> Uh that's correct. Um but uh you're also um your question invites uh uh acknowledgement of this uh expanded right to have a non-lapsing account. Uh boards of ed have now um

032in the last two years I think have an expanded right when you don't have when you're coming to the end of the year. The problem was that it's use it or lose it and boards of ed would like in May and June look around. Uh we had a good year uh and so what what should we buy? So um now it's probably eight 10 years ago boards of finance could create these funds. As of last year, boards of ad themselves can create these funds and and deposit up to 2% of your um appropriation to this non-lapsing account. Uh so um back to your question, it's always focused on the appropriation, not on the expenditure of the MBR. But some if you come to the end of the year and have not expended all the funds,

033uh if you do nothing by operation of law, the unexpended funds revert to the town because on July one you get a new appropriation and you start over. But this new law permits boards of ed to now transfer uh those unexpended funds up to 2% of the budget to this non-lapsing account which then can uh moderate um uh budget problems in future years or be used for uh capital improvements or maintenance or whatever. >> Thank you, Tom. Uh so um we talked about the rate setting um uh these efforts to um uh limit uh costs by private providers. Um and um we see on page 10 there are further requirements uh concerning um making uh changes in out of district placements. Um new reporting requirements to the state department of education. uh as you're now

034implementing the new um uh bullying legislation and uh have this new concept of uh students with challenging behavior. Um before a student is uh placed out of district for challenging behavior. uh there's a general requirement that functional behavior assessments or behavior intervention plans be developed for such students unless those that students behavior creates a safety risk. I was even though I don't do um special ed hearings anymore, I was pleased to see that there's uh further rigor added to the due process uh um hearing um process. Now everyone has to before the hearing starts put all the claims out uh that they may be making and um hearing officers are required to consider all evaluations. What I found most interesting is that um I I mentioned earlier that um the hearing process has evolved to

035quite a complicated litigation. I practiced this legislation um intends to limit hearings to four days um unless the hearing officer decides there's good cause to lengthen it. Um I hope that this new focus will uh expedite the hearing process. Um but it's not an absolute and in fact it couldn't be as a matter of u uh due process. Uh you have to take the time it takes but I think this gives hearing officers incentive uh to let's move it along uh and get through the hearing process in a more efficient way. Um I think that's uh those are the highlights. Uh but um as I said before the these two uh legislative uh enactments um are viewed positively as appropriate for both um school districts and parents to uh work together more successfully. Julie, I

036don't know if you have anything further you'd like to add about these particular changes. >> You know, I would just add to what you said originally, Tom, which is I think the idea of rate setting um and looking at um private schools and private programs being required to set a rate is reasonable because they're in terms of looking at their tuition, looking at their related service costs because some of them are really quite quite extraordinarily high. Um and school districts can't necessarily be able to provide what the program would be. So I think the idea of having some compliance and responsibility to your point will not change the services for students but I think they'll look at the um the rate setting to be a positive thing. It's said in other states there's there's rate

037setting in New York there's other rate setting to really look at those services and parents were concerned will it take services away from students and again it won't. they'll just have some authority and some um compliance over that including um requirements including certifications including different aspects of those programs so all students can have access. >> Thank you. >> Any uh other questions before we move on? The other legislative changes are not all that exciting. Um but uh uh we'll we'll touch upon them and if there are no other questions about the special ed changes. Um in student discipline um you see here public act 2593. Uh now, uh there's a requirement if you're if the district administration is intending to suspend or expel a student, uh there's a requirement that there be outreach to the

038local homeless educational liaison to determine if the student's homeless. And um if so, consider uh the impact of homelessness on the student's behavior. uh and expulsion is not permitted uh of a homeless student unless there is a plan of interventions and support uh to mitigate the effects of homelessness. Um does Darian have a homeless uh leaison? So, um uh you have these new um responsibilities under under the law. Um nationwide um there's been um obviously concern about um library materials. Uh and um these uh this new legislation in public act uh 25168 um interestingly is not prescriptive but rather procedural. But it does uh require that boards of education adopt uh three new policies. a collection development and maintenance policy, a library display and program policy, and a library material review and reconsideration policy. Um

039and uh uh each of those uh policies have to take into account the prohibitions against discrimination in Connecticut law u which include uh discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and gender identity and uh expression. Uh so the policy committee here will be um looking at those as a requirement and I'm presuming that our that my colleagues at Jim and Goodwin will be um suggesting model policies but model policies are just that and um I'll just say policy decisions are different from legal decisions. uh legally you have to have a policy. What that policy says is going to be something that is left to the board of education as long as you take into account the requirements of uh section 1015C. Um but that is uh something that you'll be uh addressing

040in the future. Um there's also a new requirement that your um uh curriculum committee uh post uh objectives and scope and sequence of approved curriculum starting uh in the next school year. Um, so this just builds upon a requirement that um has been in in effect that uh school districts must have a curriculum committee. Now that committee must be posting objectives and scope and sequence of approved curriculum on the district's website. >> You have a question from a quick question. I think this is probably directed at Amy with the um July 26 timing in edge of planet work and you know this is just scope and sequence and the requirement but just asking you know if that's going to have any impact on where you are with that work >> no we should be all

041set to produce stage one in edge planet for public consumption >> awesome the core areas the one area um that's fine right now I would say is like PE we've taken a care to make sure that health curriculum has been written So grades 7 through 12 they'll be up still in sequence for actually I think it is already grade 7 through 12 so making good progress. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Any other questions on that? Um the last um legislative uh enactment uh that's um listed here is just more uh mechanical and would not directly involve to the board and that is that administration of epinephrine and glucagon uh may now be delivered um through a nasal spray. Uh and uh so this just gives additional flexibility uh in terms of addressing

042the urgent medical needs of children who are either having a allergic reaction or uh an issue of um blood sugar. So those are the legislative changes. As you can see, they spent a lot of time uh working on um ways that employees can now take additional leave. Um but compared to some prior years, the other legislative changes other than the special ed changes are not all that significant. Um I did want to bring to your attention two cases uh that um uh are particular have significant implications and are um particularly interesting. Um who here heard about the Mood versus Taylor decision? It's uh been um uh in the press and when this just to give you the overview um the Montgomery County, Maryland Board of Education uh adopted um a variety of LGBTQ plus inclusive

043story books into the elementary school curriculum. Um, at the risk of editorializing, um, I would just offer the observation that, um, bad cases make bad law. Um, what Montgomery did was they adopted this curriculum, told parents they could have their children excused from this curriculum, and then a year later said, "Never mind. You can't be excused." And your kids have to participate in the um instruction in this regard. And to make matters worse uh in terms of um just the challenges this case posed, teachers were given specific guidance as to how to respond when a kid would say something like, "Well, boy can't be a girl." and the teachers were spec given guidance to say that's hurtful and um so that case came to the Supreme Court. The parents said that their religious rights uh

044their rights of religious exercise were being um um unfairly limited because they as parents had the right as a matter of religious expression to raise their children in their religious traditions. Um and uh the argument at the Supreme Court was a harbinger of how it came out. We after the argument, the questions of the justices made it pretty clear that the justices felt that the Montgomery County Board of Education had um gone too far in adopting this curriculum and saying to parents, you can't excuse your child from the curriculum. Um and so on a 63 vote, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the parents. Um and interestingly they relied upon uh two very old and well-known uh cases. Um, one was West Virginia versus Barnett, which was decided 1942, and it had

045to do with a a child who was a adherent in the Jehov religion of the seventh day Adventist, uh, Jehovah's Witness. And, um, West Virginia, this was in the middle of World War II. Um, it's really a remarkable decision. Um the child was told, "You have to pledge allegiance." And the child said, "Well, that's against my religion. I can't pledge allegiance to anything but God." And uh he was expelled and it became a Supreme Court decision. And um um in his favor, the court ruled and and what's so interesting is it was the um deaths of World War II. You know, it's hard to imagine. I wasn't around. I don't know. Um but um you know in 1942 it was shortly after Pearl Harbor it was the results of the war were not at all

046clear that we the um United States would prevail. Um yet the Supreme Court ruled that you cannot compel patriotic speech. uh and and this was an acknowledgment of the rights of people to freely exercise their religion without government compulsion. Uh and the other case the um uh court relied upon was West Virginia versus Yodar. I'm not West Virginia, Wisconsin versus Yodar. And it had to do with the Amish um uh tradition of uh having children leave elementary school at age 14 and um uh then be educated at age 14 in manual labor and craft and construction. And that was their culture. And uh the state of Wisconsin said mandatory education starts uh ends at age 16. We now in Connecticut it's 18, but you know for many years it was 7 to 16. And that

047was true in Wisconsin. And um so you parents are in violation of the law by withdrawing your kids from school at age 14 after they complete elementary school. Uh well, the Supreme Court decided um uh that the in balancing the interest in mandatory attendance against the cultural impact of requiring that the Amish change her traditions and and enroll their children in high school, at least for the first two years, um was a violation of their religious rights. What's particularly interesting is that the Yoda case has been viewed since the it was decided uh in the 70s um as a unique circumstance not really replicated and other religions had tried to get similar excusal uh from educational services um and it was like the Amish exception. Nonetheless, in this case, the court focused on Yodar and

048West Virginia versus Bernett to say that parents have a a a significant interest in the religious upbringing of their children and government can interfere with that only if government shows that there's a compelling need to do so. And there's no other way to do it than to intrude into the right of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their students. Um, some of you have probably heard of um um the Kennedy versus Breington Breton case. Um, if I tell you about the football coach who needed to pray on the 50ard line, that might refresh your memory. Um, and all this the smart money was he's going to lose. Um, because I, you know, I um I never played football, but I know enough to know that playing time is important if you're a football player.

049And um if I were a kid in interest interested in playing time, I would be praying right next to my coach on the 50 yard line. Uh and so we were quite sure, you know, I teach school and and so you know, it's pretty clear that this is an undue influence that this coach would have by right after the game praying on the 50-yard line and in fact students had joined him on certain occasions and um so he was told you can't do that. He says I got to do it. He did it. He got fired, went to the Supreme Court, and as I'm indicating, we all thought he'd lose for sure. He didn't. He prevailed. Um and um uh in uh strongly worded opinion, Justice Gorsuch said that his right to pray publicly on

05050-yard line immediately after a game was double protected by the free speech clause and the free exercise clause. And the um um analysis says, "Well, other coaches, the game's over. They're off duty. Other coaches are are checking their email or text messages." And Coach Kennedy was praying and he had every right to do that. And in so doing, they also abolished um this is 2021, the lemon test, which for many years governed how we analyze uh religion in the schools. You ask is there secular purpose? Does it advance or inhibit religion? Does it entangle us with religion? Um the Kennedy case um uh abolished the lemon test said we're not going to follow that anymore. We have to follow cultural traditions and figure it out from there. Which is not much guidance by the way

051uh for us. So, uh, they talked about Kennedy, they talked about Yodar, they talked about, um, uh, West Virginia versus Barnett, and the majority of the court said that, um, the, um, requirement that um, children participate in these educational programs, which the court defined as normative. In other words, it's not just information, but rather inculcating values um interfered burdened the free exercise rights of the parents who were the plaintiffs in this case. And so uh and in fact uh interestingly whenever you burden a constitutional right, it also has to be narrowly tailored to achieve this compelling interest. And the court said, "You you excused them before, so why couldn't you just excuse them again?" And and so um why this is so important to all of us is that now we wonder where does this

052go? Um respecting a parent's right to direct the religious upbringing of their children. Um where are we going to draw the lines? Um, I think it's appropriate to u read the Mammud decision narrowly because we're talking about kids in grades K through five. We're talking about normative education where values are being um imbued in in these children and um uh parents uh of certain religious uh faiths uh felt that that was inconsistent with their view of um uh the world and uh uh there was a so it remains to be seen um how this plays out and what if any uh impact you're going to see here in Darianne with parents asking for excusal um we did have a a vehement disscent um but uh on a 63 vote this was the decision of the

053Supreme Court and we'll wait to see just one last point under Connecticut law parents do have the unilateral right to have their children excused from instruction in five areas uh family life educ education or sex ed, uh, HIV instruction, dissection, sexual abuse and assault awareness, and gun safety program. Uh, so parents can unilaterally be excused from that. Um, I think the challenge in the Mimmude case is that because of those exceptions, it's those are all pretty discreet, you know. you in health curriculum they set aside certain units for family life education so you know of that but this child is subject to excusal during that those classes. Um the question here is how is this going to play out through the curriculum? um what areas in the curriculum are parents going to assert a right

054of excusal and on a purely mechanical level how is that going to work in terms of delivering instruction to students. So a lot remains to be seen uh but it's a significant decision um and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about it. >> Any questions? Greg, >> I'm interested in hearing your thoughts um with respect to this Supreme Court decision visa v the state um new law that you described regarding library materials and programming. So I could imagine a situation where parent objects being able to view certain materials that are present in the library to all kids. >> Yes. But the state here may be saying you're not allowed to remove the books. So how does that work? >> But the state or the >> library, you know, public library 168 potentially

055competing. There's definitely tension there because the law expressly incorporates the um provisions in uh section 1015C which say that the schools may not discriminate against children on the basis of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. And some courts have ruled that removing books dealing with those topics from the libraries uh are is discriminatory because um exposure to those ideas is part of the uh the issue of sexual uh orientation. So there is you've just identified uh a tension. I will say the difference between that circumstance and the Mimmude decision is that the court really focused on the normative educational aspect of the curriculum as opposed to something in the library which is there available but not being used directly to instruct children. Um so there's there's definitely a tension and in fact

056we're going to see um that tension play out in the next case I'll be discussing which is the soul case but happy to talk about uh any other questions you might have about me. >> No >> thank you. Um well then the last case I just wanted to bring to your attention and then we um yeah I you know some topics for the board to discuss is the soul case and um this is the um definition of between being being between a rock and a hard place um because Connecticut has a law um providing that and it's been around for 14 years enough gender identity expression is protected. Can't discriminate against a person on the basis of their gender identity and expression. And so that has played out in the um intercolastic athletic competitions with

057CIA as a rule in accordance with uh uh state law permitting children to play on the teams on which they of the gender with which they identify. Um the uh a number of school districts had transgender athletes. It's not common, but a number in Connecticut did. and uh students who competed against those transgender students um sued the uh CIA uh and a number of uh local districts uh uh claiming that Title 9 was violated when they had to compete against students who were born male. Uh and um so that case has been ongoing for uh several years now. We're um representing the CIA in that case. Um we also represent some of the defendant school districts. Um the case was dismissed. The second circuit reinstated the case. The case now is um alive uh for

058uh f further uh litigation. Um, meanwhile, the Trump administration has uh there's an executive order about gender and um the Trump administration has uh come after um local school districts um with uh demands that um they adopt rules prohibiting uh transgender students from participating in sports. So, um, this is going to the Supreme Court. And so, right now, we're just really in this, um, impossible situation where, um, uh, the Biden administration interpreted Title N in one way. We have this state law on gender identity and expression. So, everything was pointing in one direction. Now the Trump administration says no title nine has to be interpreted uh to uh protect u children born as female and the Trump administration is uh pursuing that through uh separate threats of uh litigation. So, I I can't uh come

059soon enough from my uh perspective, but both um Idaho and West Virginia adopted laws uh prohibiting uh transgender students from participating in sports. Uh and um in both cases, those um prohibitions were enjoined by the federal courts. And now those cases, the Supreme Court just uh agreed to hear uh both those cases. So, we're going to get an answer and I think that's the most important thing, but it's a very challenging situation right now. Um any questions about that? >> So, we're in a period of a lot of legal um as you said, a lot of different legal uh things, legal flux or legal opinions at different levels pointing in different directions. Yes. What advice are you giving to boards of education uh in terms of how we think about our governance? >> Um the

060uh assertions of the Trump administration are you know many people hold those views but those are assertions as opposed to laws. And we have in Connecticut laws protecting children who are transgender. Uh and um u our advice is the law is the law until someone tells us not that it isn't. Uh there is um uh in in constitutional law the supremacy clause. So that if the Supreme Court decides that this is the way Title N has to be interpreted and state law conflicts with that, state law will have to yield. But we don't have that definitive ruling right now. So we're advising districts to follow the law and uh keep your head down uh and um uh we will have an answer in the next year. >> Other questions? No. >> Okay. Well, then I

061just in the last uh time I have with you, I thought I would just identify some operational issues uh for discussion. >> Yes. Sorry. Excuse me. Um, going back to the library, Greg's question, library books. >> Is there a way that we could implement a policy in which allows parents to um say they don't want to take see their child take out Tom Sawyer or something, they can put it on a restricted list for their own child. Um, I think New Town, you know, recently, like within the last year or two, might have done something. There was quite a controversy right >> in New Town, >> right? But I think they ultimately landed with a policy in which allowed parents to specifically put a list at the librarian table to restrict their children, not all

062children. >> Yes. Um well um that's all true. I have would have to answer the uh that question with the um generally applicable legal answer which is it depends. Um u and just there's another case uh out of Arkansas um where uh a school district um put uh the Harry Potter books on limited reserve and required that parents authorized children to take >> and that was struck down and and um uh the court said that children should have the right under the first amendment to access that without that interference of the adoption of that parent requirement. That all said, um some of the books we're talking about are very different from Harry Potter, and that's the it depends part. >> Sure. Uh and and so I would expect um that um a school district that

063makes reasonable judgments about the developmental um stage of uh children and access to information. uh those reasonable judgments will be upheld and and uh that with within reason requirements that certain materials be accessible only through parent permission uh would be upheld. >> I'm going the opposite way though. I'm saying all books available unless a parent disputes restricts the use of >> Oh, so um yeah, that's interesting. Um, so there's two ways to do this. Either the district identifies that books that will be accessible only through parent permission and and you're saying that parents would unilaterally say, I don't want my kids having access to this that >> to this book, that book, and the and another book. Is is can we legally implement a policy like that? I'm uh struggling a little bit between can

064you and should you. >> I didn't ask should. >> Right. Uh how would that even work? >> You know, it's just like my kid can't take out rated R movies. I mean, you you'd have a you know, reasonable list of individual books that a parent doesn't want their child to take out. So when they go to library, swipe the card and there's a list of books that might not be appropriate in the parent track. You'd have to keep track of the parent preferences for each child, >> those that wish to show preference. >> Yeah. And that's that's true. I don't want to exaggerate. It may not be that may >> um well uh without doing any research um my based on my experience I would say that would be a legal policy if you chose

065to do it. >> Okay. >> Um but I was also surprised by the decision um that removing uh sexually explicit books in some cases was viewed as a first amendment violation. um and the case out of Arkansas. >> No, it's clear we have to navigate a lot of different way uh ways here. >> Yeah, you have practical issues. Uh but and and as a general premise, I think um uh a board of ed would have the authority to authorize parents to convey restrictions if you chose to do that. >> Thank you, >> Greg. Just one other quick followup as John was talking just um maybe think do the books in the library of the schools require specific board approval like other curriculum is required like we >> require statute uh that requires uh that educators

066get board of ed approval to acquire a book for the library. How are they different than books in the classroom? >> Um well, boards of ed are expected to have a um curriculum committee that adopts uh and approves and revises a curriculum. Uh and so the board would have that oversight function for curriculum. boards could exercise an oversight function uh for library books, but that's not mandated by statute. And um for what it's worth, um the where we draw the line in terms of removing books from the library uh is uh uncertain. Uh >> yeah, I was going towards more how did the books get there in the first place. >> Yeah, I understand. >> Not not how do you remove them, but you would think that there would be some approval process for any

067book. >> Uh >> irrespective of what it is. >> And you can think of some really bad books that you say, yeah, that doesn't belong in a kindergartens library. >> Right. So my question isn't how do we like what happens? How do you remove them? It's more like how do they get there in the first place? >> Right. And um my understanding is that uh that would typically be a decision made uh administratively by the educators and that there's no and I I know that there's no statutory obligation for educators to get board of ed approval before they acquire. >> So do you think that board of eds should have a policy in place around approval of books in libraries? I think that uh wouldn't that be one of the >> Yeah, you have to

068have a collection development policy. That's one of the new that's the part of the new >> I know we don't have that but >> yeah but that's >> coming >> that's what we're waiting for the models right >> right uh >> excuse me Katie >> hi I just want to make a suggestion um considering that the topic um on the agenda is about legal updates um I think that we have talked um for quite a while about the legal developments and conversations about how we are oper operating our districts and how we are um what is available in our schools and exposing I think could be moved to um more of the board's internal work on what the board role is and is not and um as well as what our curriculum is what expertise

069we have and we hire for. Um I I also just want to say you know to be careful I think that we need to be very careful about the scope of our work here in that um you know we we don't adopt a new curriculum every year and you we can see just from the process that we went through we spent two years being very very thorough. Curriculum is something that goes in front of every student versus library books that kids might read for pleasure they might check out for certain things. Not not only are lots and lots of books written every year, but also if the board were to take that on, are we going to review everything that's existing? And I can tell you that I wouldn't be um confident ever opining on

070a book that I myself haven't read. So, I just think that maybe this conversation could be moved to um a more appropriate place in terms of the board and curriculum scope. >> I'm going to disagree with you. I think that it's appropriate here and I'll let it go. Go ahead, Greg. >> Yeah. I'm more focused on do we need a policy because that's what it seems the state mandate is saying we have to have so irrespective of the views of the books and what we have to do if the state is now saying we do and I agree Katie I I do think we should be talking and getting your input as to at what point the board of eds stand up against state mandates that they don't agree with because you can come up

071with some pretty wild state mandates that could come through the pipe and I think you've been questioning a lot of the things that they've been coming up with recently as it regards to what is the impact on actually operating as a district? Are they actually realistic to be able to implement some of these mandates? So, I think that is a a question in terms of like as a board like at what point do we put our foot down and say no this doesn't make sense. >> We have follow Tom. Do you know when these model policies will be out? >> I don't. >> Okay. I don't know when this I mean this was just enacted and I see collection development and then maintenance policy so I think that would address your >> exact question um

072what that policy says uh and who approves what is uh a policy judgment whether it would what would come to the board and what would be done administratively >> what when does this have to be implemented by >> uh I can find that out I don't um they pass these laws. Um, I'm not sure. Let me find that out. >> Okay. All right. Any other questions on the legal update and the implications thereof? Okay. >> Um, did you want me to just briefly address the last pieces here on the please >> update? Um u well you're uh you've welcomed uh Dr. Burn here. Um I pleasure to work with you. Um but one of the questions that comes up with boards of edet is what is your communication protocol uh when board members for example

073want information? uh how would you expect as a board um your superintendent uh to provide that information? Um and I don't come here telling you how to do business but rather identifying this as a a issue for board uh discussion. So what are your expectations? >> So Eric, I think you uh in your interviews with board members had a couple questions about communications. Do you want to cue this up a little more specifically, please? >> Sure. Well, uh, thank you. And I I I do believe that in your report, you spoke to it, um, at the beginning of the meeting, which is inquiries or questions that, uh, board members are looking for information would be, uh, an email directly to me copying the board officers. And I I think that's just rather than going directly

074to other administrators, the communication would come through me uh through the board officers and I would respond to all and get that information back to individual people. So it's just a matter of for my own purposes being the new guy here, understanding what that policy is. I think it's always important that everyone's clear and on the same page with that at the outset of a relationship. One clarification on that. So, in the past, we've had just subcommittee chairs going, you know, I'm the chair of the curriculum subcommittee, so I would email Amy directly with the chair and copy. Is that still fine in your book? >> To me, that makes total sense. Existing practice for chairpersons of committees. That seems absolutely reasonable from my experience. >> The superintendent in copy also. That's what >> you

075said chair. So, chair. >> Oh, sorry. Sorry. Super. Sorry. >> Yeah. >> Both. Yes. Yeah. was clarifying. Okay. Anything else on communication protocols? Okay. All right. Tom, freedom of information is >> Yeah, we talked some about uh the freedom of information uh law um during the update and how you have u a log uh for records requests and those are done dealt with administratively on uh the meeting requirements. I just wanted to um offer the observation uh that um email is has been the freedom of information law um has permitted people to weaponize um requests for email. Uh and um it's just terribly important uh to remember that anything dealing with the uh operation of the Daring public schools that is recorded um is uh a public record and um we're uh I was at

076the commission a couple weeks ago um where 10,000 pages of records were the subject of a response to a request for emails. U so you just have to be um careful about what you put in and and um is is it uh the your practice uh when you communicate on board business to use the Darian server as opposed to your private email? >> Yes. um that relieves you of a significant burden because then it's an IT issue and it's not a matter that falls upon you as a respon a personal uh responsibility and um the law has evolved. Um we're now 50 years into the uh freedom of information law which was passed 1975 and when you think about what records were like in 1975 and what records are today uh it's remarkable. So what's

077evolved is a whole process of uh search terms because no one can go through a million emails other than electronically and electronically you decide what is a diligent search what terms should the your IT person plug in. Um, but as we touch upon uh the freedom of information law, I also just wanted to mention text messaging um which is a a problem and um I'm sure you're innocent um but there are some uh uh boards that have um group texts um among more than uh or at least a quorum of the board and um uh there can be an inadvertent violation of the freedom of information law. Um because as soon as you have a quorum communicating whether it's by text message or by email on matters of board operation um that is defined as

078a meeting and um obviously you're not going to post a text exchange and so that uh has been a problem um encountered by uh some boards where they have a text chain and they have a quorum of the board on that chain and uh someone eventually asks for text messages and uncovers the fact that there have been illegal meetings of the board. I don't know if anyone has any comment on text messages and how you uh do your business. >> No, thank you. >> No. Uh and um uh the last uh topic is really separating uh social media posts um that are districtgenerated and social media posts that are are not. Um I'm presuming that different aspects of the Daring Public Schools have a social media presence. >> It's fairly limited, but there's some minor.

079Yeah. Do you have a Darian public schools Facebook page? >> We do not. >> not as current. >> There are aspects in which you know you have teams have their own >> Instagram accounts, Facebook accounts and you know clubs and that sort of thing >> they are directly administration running that many cases it's actually parents go to Yeah. And I haven't heard um of controversy related to uh social media for sports teams. I have heard of controversy uh where um a government official um has a uh uh social media presence or a governmental entity has a social media presence and um they then block certain people. Um and and the courts have held that um if a public entity creates a forum for speech uh that uh you're under the first amendment you can't discriminate

080against people on the basis of their viewpoint. >> Um so a practical answer in these cases is um disable comments before the trouble starts. Um because what if comments are permissible that's a forum and and you're you can have people saying things uh um that are unkind or rude or unwelcome. Um the rules are completely different for individual board members. Um and um the involvement in social media by members of boards of education runs the gamut. I don't know if you have any particular concerns here, but um as long as it's clear that that uh board member is speaking for him or herself, um this is just an exercise of free speech. >> We've gone around in circles somewhat about um social media and board members. We've had a variety of different ways in which

081board members have used social media over my nine years, but um we don't generally we aren't generally on it. we're not on it together in any way. Um, and sometimes we may like what another board member says and sometimes we may not. Um, my understanding of the primary restriction is um, that you know, you can't be in quorum in any way on social media. >> Um, I think the other question that comes up is is the fuzzy one that you talk to us about a lot, which is when one of us opines on something on social media, whether or not the other board members agree. um that usually is what um makes things bubble up. >> You have to make it clear that you're speaking for yourself or you should make it clear. You don't

082have to >> I didn't quite hear >> you. You should make it clear you're speaking for yourself and not for the board. >> Right. >> Thank you. So, um I I would be interested to hear what the um legal guidance would be in terms of a code of conduct. Um we have been working on developing a handbook. We've had conversations about this in the past and it's never gotten to a place of policy and even currently really the only um limitations on board members are financial which I think is um a very low bar. I I hope um and I think that most board members do hold themselves to a higher standard of conduct, but I am curious about um how we might be able to better instill um a sense of integrity for the

083board and how the actions of one even understanding free speech even with a disclaimer of speaking for one how certain actions and comments can impact the board as a whole. um specifically again as it relates to code of conduct and integrity. Um could you just talk a little bit um as far as like what kind of guidance you might give us? Um, well, I haven't been elected to anything since 8th grade, so I have to refer uh to how you want to operate as a board, but I can more constructively uh point to the fact that the Norwalk Court of Education adopted a code of uh uh conduct um civility as as part of that. And I I think it's u intended to provide guidance to board members in terms of how um uh to

084interact. Um the enforcement mechanisms are limited. Um when you're elected to the board, the courts uh say the remedy is at the ballot box u and they're not going to get involved. Um and um under Robert's rules, there is no procedure for removing a board member in Connecticut. Under Robert's rules, there are disciplinary procedures, but they result um potentially in a censure um you know, an expression of disapproval um as opposed to any uh limitation on the board members right to participate in all board activities. But I I would recommend I know that the Noral Court of Ed, this is now probably 15 years ago, was going through some troubles and they adopted a code of civility and I think it's still in place. >> The um we do have something some sort of civility

085policy, but I think to your point, it's not enforceable. But what I'm um curious about um is the one time that we did have a social media post that um I found particularly complicated was a time when a sitting board member was interpreting a policy incorrectly >> and posted that on social media. What have you seen boards do in that instance? Um I'm not I don't have a lot of experience in that so I can just re respond in the abstract. Um the first amendment dogma and I personally subscribe to it is the the um response to speech is more speech. So if someone is incorrect in in a public statement, I think um uh sharing a opposing view and is is the right and perhaps the responsibility of the board members of the other

086board members to make sure that that accurate information is um prescribed. Um, and obviously some of this uh could just be inadvertent and unintentional and polite conversation about problems like that um could be uh productive. But if a polite conversation doesn't lead to a correction, then then the other board members would have the right to issue their view of the accurate information. >> Thank you. Any other questions on this topic? >> Well, I think that um we've timed this perfectly because I think I was supposed to leave in two minutes. >> Oh, good. >> So, uh u enjoy this free time. >> Thank you. >> And I know you have a full day. So, thank you for your patience and listening to me. >> Okay. Thank you so much, Tom, for being here. >> My

087pleasure. See you soon. Yes. >> Yes. All right, I suggest we move on to public comment and then take a brief bio break. >> Good morning. If anybody in person or online would like to participate in public comment, please approach the podium or use the raised hand icon and wait to be recognized by the chair. Please note that you have up to three minutes to speak and state your name and address for the record. We have no raised hands or nobody in the audience. >> Okay, with that, I'll take a motion. Well, actually, do you want to take a motion to recess for a few minutes? Yeah, we could do that for about 20 minutes. Okay, that's Dave, seconded by Katie. All those in favor? Thank you so much, Tom. >> Okay, so we'll we'll

088um reconvene here at 35. Great. I'll take a motion to reconvene and uh to reconvene. That is Sarah, seconded by John. All those in favor, that is unanimous. Thank you. And we will move to the superintendent report. Thank you and welcome. >> Thank you very much. So, first I'd like to express my appreciation to the members of the board of education and the administrative team for taking the time to meet with me last week. As I've shared with the community, I'm implementing an entry plan and a critically important part of it is to meet with lots of members of the Darian community in an effort to learn as much as I can about the schools and the community. Last week, I spent a good deal of time meeting with the the BOE members and the

089administrators. I did have a chance to meet with a few parents as well and it was all incredibly helpful. Um, so far and I I'll share this in my reports over the coming meetings. I've conducted 26 entry interviews uh with 34 more scheduled uh this week and next. And I would say just when Cass and I were tabulating the numbers, that's a record even for me who's done a lot of these entry plans. Um, we had some long entry plan days, but really valuable and helpful to me. On Wednesday afternoon, I met with Mr. Chris Price along with Mr. McCann and Mr. as an introduction to the HHR building committee. And then on Wednesday evening, I attended a virtual meeting of the HHR building committee. From all reports, the projects are proceeding according to schedule,

090and we will be all ready to welcome our students back in August. And next Tuesday, I'll be taking a full tour of the sites to see the progress firsthand. I've actually been to the sites already, but this is a deep dive tour with Kevin Monrett. Last Friday, Mrs. McCamman and I had a chance to meet with uh First Selectman Zagrosky and Board of Finance Chair Palin. It was an introductory meeting that allowed me to introduce myself and share a little bit about my background with them. I appreciate that they took the time to come and meet with me. And on today's agenda, there are two discussion items that will be very helpful to me as I transition into the role of interim superintendent. First, we'll spend a bit of time on a discussion about governance

091and governance team strategy. Thank you in advance for reading the chapter from the governance core for today. For me, it is crucial that we as a team are on the same page with regard to our roles and responsibilities for both the administrators and the board of education members. It's my hope that we will reach that shared understanding as a result of the discussion today. Being new to the community, it's important that I not work from assumptions, but rather develop understanding through discussion and research, a key reason for my entry plan. I look forward to that discussion today. And second, uh, in reading the strategic plan and the district board goals from last year, it struck me that there were some key gaps and some unnecessary fuzziness. That word has come up a few times this

092morning. I've attempted to separate out two sets of goals in an appropriate manner and have a uh I've got a suggested path board for the discussion that would create standalone goals for the board and leave the district goals as currently stated as a work in progress growing out of the strategic plan. Similar to the previous topic, I look forward to our discussion. Darian Summer School has two exciting musical theater productions this week. The Darian Summer School and Enrichment Junior Musical Theater Workshops presentation of The Aristocrats Kids is July 24th and July 25th at 11:00 a.m. at Oxridge Elementary School. No tickets are required for this free event. The Darian Summer School's musical theater workshop presentation of High School Musical Junior will be at DHS on July 24th and 25th at 7 p.m. or July 26

093at 2 p.m. Tickets are just $10 for adults, $5 for kids and can be purchased at theater308.org. Lastly, after one week in this new role, it's clear to me that everyone I've interacted with from faculty, staff, administration, board of education, and community members all share a common priority, and that is providing a wonderful educational experience for the children of Darianne. There is incredible pride in the schools and so much for us to celebrate. Thank you again for this opportunity. >> Thank you so much. Again, thank you for being here. Okay, with that we'll move to board self-evaluation and board of education goals. Uh which um so I'll actually turn it back over even though this is really us cooking it with ourselves. I'll turn it back to Eric for some of the uh information he

094has for us to get us started. So last week in preparing for the retreat and contacting Cade and having some conversations with Nick Caruso, um I thought it would be helpful just to share a little bit of information uh in terms of the self-evaluation surveys. And I did include in your packets the overview that Nick prepared. Um I asked that he not come today because I think uh you know there were four contributions to the survey and uh his presence would have been better if there was a more representative group. But I do just want to bring up the areas of greatest need that he identified through the responses to the surveys. Um and then I think some of this will obviously come in part of the discussions I hope uh that we've crafted for

095today. So just in no particular order just was identified that the areas of greatest need community leadership and community engagement. And that was certainly something that I've heard uh from all of the conversations I've had last week is leadership and engagement from the administration but also in terms of the the board's work with the community. Um a discussion that there was a little bit of this morning around board ethics. And then uh the third one which I think today is an important piece of this is the governance team. So the board superintendent relationship how we follow the chain of command and communication protocols that are set uh and really being focused on that. So I wanted to set that aside because I thought the other pieces of the conversation would be most helpful. But any

096thoughts, comments, questions on Nick's summary that he provided? Can we know who actually put them? The four people were so we kind of know where they come from. I was one. >> Yeah, I I don't know that answer. >> Perfect. >> Yeah, my understanding is that he had some trouble receiving them. Um and I wonder if there might have been more than four and maybe >> there could have been an issue with things going into spam folders. I understand we can certainly approach it differently the next time we do an evaluation. >> Thank you all. and ensure that everyone has them. >> If we do have a problem with just getting everyone to do it, I wonder if we might the meeting before just fill them out in person and scan them or something as

097well if that helps with us just doing it at one moment in time. >> It's a good idea. >> I I think it could also be helpful and in thinking about next year's retreat, actually doing this now, thinking going through it. Um I always found it helpful in my previous district with the board. We actually did it all at the retreat. It was it was a different kind of retreat in that we were active moving. We were uh in small groups, individual reflections and partner reflections and it really was built into the retreat. You have a tremendous responsibility and a lot of things to prepare and read and digest before coming to meetings and coming to events like this. And it it could be something that could be a really valuable modification if the board

098chooses to do it. I mean, I'm certainly happy to share those kinds of experiences and what I believe the the board in Ry felt it was a very valuable part of the summer retreat each year. >> Thank you. >> Yes. >> I guess a question there. Um, did you guys have to be on tape? I mean, that's kind of why we're in the format here. It's just for foyer requests. I I know this is not the most conducive to you know it don't feel like a retreat to me feels like a regular board meeting. So >> did you have that limitation as well and if you did how'd you get a get that? So meetings were recorded and posted. >> Okay. >> During COVID when meetings couldn't be in person, they were virtual. But um

099that lasted you know for a year and then it was discontinued there. There wasn't much public participation at that point uh through live streaming but uh all the meetings were recorded but in New York and we can certainly consult the attorneys on this a planning retreat um was essentially an executive session there. there were public portions of the retreat. So, the retreat would adjourn and then they would reopen a public meeting that had a specific public agenda. Uh, and that was the format of it. And and the summer meetings, and I could check legally how this happened. They they weren't typically recorded because they weren't on site, but they were public meetings. They were notices public meetings. They were uh agendas were put out uh according to the law and the open meetings law. Yeah,

100>> thank you for that background. I mean, if there's other formats or breakout rooms or other things we can do that are legally compliant, then, you know, hopefully we can talk about those moving forward. >> And they were offsite at a community space that was available for use by the board, which made it feel a little different, a little more, as you said, more like a retreat and less like a a meeting. Certainly something I can share those experiences with the board and possibly craft possible opportunities going forward. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions on the cave? >> Okay. All right. So, we're going to try and do a retreat like thing and have a uh a protocol-based discussion around the text. So, um, what I'd like to do is just if you if you

101haven't had a chance to read chapter 2 from the governance core, and I do have full copies for all the board members and administrators in the team, knowing that the governance team is the board and the administrative team. Um, I I will certainly uh if if anyone would like a few minutes just to read through what I would suggest, our way of approaching it is tackling it by section. So there are four sections in this chapter which is entitled the trustee governance mindset and there after the introduction there is the um the opening section on the the mindset. Then you have the systems thinking section, the strategic focus section, the deep learning and then the fourth is the manner. So I don't know how to do this but does anyone need a few minutes to

102maybe just go through that first the first part which would be the introduction to the governance mindset and the systems thinking or are we ready to just go ahead? It was in our packet, so I'm hoping. >> Okay. All right. So, what I >> You're not gonna test this on it, aren't you? >> Well, you know, we'll know on the recording whether or not any of us have read it because uh what the reason I choose protocols and and I do this in my work with my colleagues, um do this with work with teachers, with other superintendents and principles. Um it it's just a helpful way to structure a conversation so it doesn't go off the rails. Um, also it's a helpful way to ensure that people have a voice and I selected the 4A

103text protocol and I really think it's an interesting one to use because of what the frame is which are four questions that you should be thinking about when we're discussing the text. What assumptions does the author of the text hold? What do you agree about within the text? What do you want to argue within the text? and what parts of the text do you want to aspire to or us as a governance team act upon? Now, with most protocols, there is timing. You're supposed to have a facilitator and a timekeeper. I have found that in a setting like this, it is much better for us to just try and stick to the protocol in general. I don't think any of us will go on and on too long, but if uh if there seems to

104be something going off track, I will call time out and just say perhaps we should recenter on the four questions and the section that are um available. But um what I would suggest is as we go through each round, so we'll take each section, so the first section, and then we'll go through the the four questions and giving an opportunity for anyone at the table to weigh in on your thoughts, your feelings, citing the text, reading the section if it's of interest to you, and sharing with the group. Go through the four questions, and then go back to the second section. So questions about and I do really love wait time. So I'm going to give lots of wait time. All right. So if we think about the trustee governance mindset and um that first

105section which I think is a great overall and uh Tom Mooney mentioned governance a little bit earlier but um let's just jump right out of the gate assumptions that the author holds in that section of text. Any thoughts any citations that were of interest to you? I really like that it's just before the systems thinking, but I really like that set of seven bullets about what having a governance mindset means. I I think it's something we toss around a lot, but I think a lot of here I I think it comes up in board meetings. You know, keeping the boards focused on the children watching the budget, keeping focused on the long-term goals of the organization, building and maintaining a strong governance infrastructure policy, supporting the staff and creating a positive organizational culture, holding the

106organization accountable to the community at service, which has to be time at the one right before it at the same time, and keeping the constituents of the organization informed and up to date on the work of the organization. The constituents of course being all of our stakeholders. um you know, students, staff, families, fellow government bodies, um etc. um government, sorry, community organizations. I I love that as a sort of just organizing principle for what being on the board of ed means. >> I think that that first a that assumptions what the what does the author of the text hold? I think the first assumptions that the the author holds is that everybody at this table wants to assume a governance mindset and that everybody kind of has to buy into that in order for the

107governance mindset to work. Um the other thing that the phrase that struck out to me, what stuck out to me was um that um having a governance mindset means becoming aware outside of your own personal state of awareness. And it's referred to as an attitude, not an agenda. uh and it's not necessarily what what the topic is at hand that is being discussed but how you are approaching that topic. >> I think it's one of the that last piece is one of the trickiest pieces of being a board member. I started when all of my children were in the elementary school for example and we would talk about things that were happening at the high school which I didn't have direct experience of. So, you just have to figure out um and I don't actually

108think having kids in the school is is the you know, Dennis and John like I you know I think being on the board is a higher level than that. You're not just you are picking curriculum but it's not really just about your children. It's about how you run an organization effectively for the town. >> I think that's a on page 30 uh toward the bottom. uh I highlighted having a governance mindset means establishing an internal balance between conflicting and very different values, concepts, intellectual positions and core beliefs of the board. Uh being an elected member of a board of education is always a tricky balance because of you're serving the the students, you're serving the system, uh and there are there are always competing interests that come into play and it's through the governance mindset.

109um and focusing in that manner that I've seen the most success with boards navigating that is when they find that balance >> I highly agree with the bullet points I think were really helpful um just in terms of keeping us on track on what the real core responsibilities and mindset are because I think sometimes we definitely tend to get into the weeds on things community building instead of trying to keep it at a level where the action items and the things that we're really honing in on are allowing us to get to these outcomes in terms of supporting or building or um watching the budget or people like I just just to keep it at that most strategic level. Um, and I think it's very easy to slip into getting into all of the details

110which are referenced later because we're very agenda driven and it needs to get extremely operational. So I like this as an introduction because I think we have to keep in mind even when setting agendas how to kind of keep that operational piece and make sure that we are being strategic and that's that can be a tough thing to do that we should talk about. I think that's a little bit later. >> Joanna, >> um, one one sentence that really jumped out to me is that, uh, a high performing trustee knows that excellence in governance requires requires purposeful action. And I underline the purposeful action because I feel like uh, the assumption is that everybody, like Sarah said, is here for the same reason. And even if we're not here for the exact same reason, I

111feel like we often get stuck in the what and not the why. And the purpose behind the what is what I feel like the board as a whole could keep coming back to more often than it already does. >> I I also think these are these are tough jobs and and that tending to that mindset and staying there is really important. And what often I've seen is that you get so focused on the work that you don't actually go back to how are we functioning, you know, the reflection piece. You know, if you're having conversations just to sort of check in and how are we doing with this or is this something that's working well or are we staying on task? I think those are important conversations to have and they shouldn't have to wait

112for an annual retreat or a formal survey that comes from an outside organization. I think you can tend to that as a board and as a governance team and sort of check on that and work at it because it's this is not a natural place to be. This is a place you have to work toward and it takes time and it takes effort and it it takes study and practice. any any interest in arguing with anything in this part of the text so far? Go ahead, Katie. >> It's not really an argument, but maybe maybe a bit of a gap. Um, having been involved in um similar but different other organizations that are volunteer-driven, that are temporary. Okay. I I think that um it's important to remember that that we're stewards, that the board of

113ed doesn't belong to any one of us, Darian public schools. It doesn't belong to any one of us, but it belongs to all of us. And that we um are merely temporary keepers for the people that are coming after us. And I think that's a really important mindset um just to remember that this is bigger than us, that people came before us, that people came after us. And I think it's really important to to have that future thinking lens in terms of what we might be doing to make things better for those come after us and and what you know challenges they might face >> thinking the long term the long game. >> I think that um one of the important pieces of the sort of governance mindset is also understanding as part of that

114long-term view but how you govern. I think that we've done a lot of work in the recent past on understanding state statute, understanding how that affects local policy. Um, and we need to continue to understand that that's those are our organ organizing principles and always go back to those and how the policy reflects what we're trying to accomplish. um and what our what our boundaries are based on law that happens outside of this room. >> So I'll just suggest any parts of the this section that you wish to aspire to or act upon having read through it just any ahas. And the one sentence that I think we should all act on is that um I guess the bottom third paragraph of page 30 it says the last sentence um developing this mindset first often

115requires a shift in thinking. We call this shift moving from I to we. And I think as the nine of us, myself included, I think too often we think in terms of I. And I I'm hoping that we can get to a point where we're thinking in terms of we >> and that and thinking in terms of we isn't necessarily that you always agree with each other, but when you take action, >> you take action as a full board. >> Anyone else? >> All right, I'm I'm going to shift those two systems thinking. I really like this. Oh, Robin, I'm sorry. >> On the bottom of page 30, um, where it's talking about they learn what works and what doesn't. They intuitively understand that the board must work together as a governance team rather than

116a group of individuals meeting in the same room moving in many directions with different agendas. They recognize the importance of coherence both within the board and within the district. So I think that's kind of a key concept that I think every one of us individually probably has many different ideas about what we think would be best. But it is a challenge. But I think we need to kind of make sure that we're coming together in the name of keeping those goals in mind which are the bullet points of what are the overarching reasons why we're all doing this which is for the students and all you know the other kinds of key things that were were out there just to keep us at that level where we can shift our our thinking and discourse toward

117those common goals. Greg. >> So, this is more of a comment on um like the structure and we kind of talked about this a little bit in terms of we're on video and all this kind of stuff, but I I do think that I've been on other boards. I've advised boards as part of my career and I and I do think that the way that we hold meetings is counterproductive in terms of getting to this place. And what I mean by that is we don't have a forum to have open dialogue. like it's it's unhealthy for a board to only have dialogue in front of cameras where no one can have like real conversations about key issues. And so what happens then is you have tension in the room as a result of that. And

118so I don't know how to fix that problem, but it sounds like you may have some some good ideas which which me personally would welcome. I think others on the board would agree. I I certainly don't have a an answer for us being recorded and meetings being recorded because we do have to abide by open meeting laws, but I do think there are ways to do that. I've tried some that have failed spectacularly uh and some that have been incredibly successful. Um, I've worked with boards when we've read an incredibly challenging divisive text together and discussed it as a board on camera for everyone to see. And it was a really powerful meeting. It was one of the most powerful board meetings I've ever been a part of. It was not an easy discussion by

119any measure, but everyone at that table was committed to do it in a manner that was consistent with this governance mindset and with how does this best serve our community and our schools. So again, I can certainly try and help affect some change on that end of the spectrum and think about and collaborate with you and the administrators on how do we make meetings more like that. um because I think there are some simple technical things that can happen uh and over time being this is my first one in front of the cameras here, my first one with all of you, I'll certainly be willing to to share all of that because what you want to be careful of is you don't want it to appear that you're changing practice and lessening any kind of

120transparency or openness with the community. But I would suggest that one of the things that came up in the uh the summary document from Nick Caruso, something that has come up in my entry is communication and trust and confidence in my office by the greater community and by the board. And so if the information is flowing to the community in a way that is sensible, simple, clear for everyone to understand and that's happening regularly and and transparently, then I think we can get to a good place. >> And I have um as part of the company I work with, we have quarterly meetings and there's ground rules for those. And one of them, I'm reading it, is agreement is optional, commitment is not. Can you go I I like that but can you talk about

121that a little bit more? How do how do you apply that in that on that? >> It just means we have very healthy debate about everything but then once we come to a conclusion and we have you know there's a CEO there's other there's other people who make the ultimate decisions once we come up with the decision the path to move forward commitment to go on that track is not an option. You have to do that >> right? So you may have a vote that's not unanimous, but you're all supporting that decision once it's made as a full board. >> Correct. >> Yeah, I think that's something an area this board can think about a little bit. I'll just in in the broader sense I think this is an awesome exercise because as we look

122for a permanent superintendent there's a lot of microscopes on us right now in terms of how we act, how we vote, uh how we interact with our administration and I think it's a perfect time for us to to kind of reflect on all that. uh because I I kind of feel that people are going to be interviewing us through watching our board meetings more so than uh you ultimately will be interviewing the final candidates. >> You are 100% correct. The quality candidates are going to do that. I watched almost a year's worth of board meetings before I met with you. So, uh, and that's just I mean there was a lot of time you have you have long board meetings, but um I candidates do that and they show up in town um before I

123became the superintendent and Ry before I was even a candidate. I had more meals in Ry than I ever had before just listening and learning about the community, observing, seeing what was going on. Surely you know the community well. There's a lot of good eating in Rise. So, it was easy for me to do that, but it really was it, you know, you approach this, it's like an anthropologist when you're looking because you you want it to be the right match for for the board. You want it to be the right match for the community, and you want the individuals knowing that it's the right match for them because they really need to come in eyes wide open knowing what the challenges are, what the concerns are, and and what the community is they're going

124to. I I've seen far too many superintendents that just want a job as a superintendent and they'll take the first one that's offered to them and they haven't done their homework and they don't do their entry and it's an abject disaster. Uh and you know a year or two out everybody's negotiating a settlement separation. All right, ready to shift to strategy? I I'm sure I'm sure my colleagues are going to jump in on this one because there's some really good examples. There's some very specific um examples in this one. So, uh wait, this is systems. Sorry, systems thinking. Yes. >> Okay, just open it up and I won't state the questions. I think we're on the right track by covering most of the questions. So, this is where you can sort of shift away from

125a protocol if it seems to be working very well. Well, I think I'll skip ahead to the the what do we want to what do I want to act upon? Um I think this is where we do get a little bogged down and have got bogged have been bogged down in the past is the the are we thinking up here or are we thinking at the minutia level? Um and that helicopter >> um metaphor was was very accurate. um you know the the the sentence this is not the job of government that is the job of the experts hired specifically to handle the problem and I think we have excellent people working in this district and there has been in the past an erosion of trust and and so that rebuilding that so that we

126feel comfortable getting out of the weeds is really what leads to heaven so I I'm aspiring to that >> so I would say um an aspiration of mine and it comes from your words not necessarily in the text, but trust comes from competence and we need to ensure that we are competent in all of our roles. So that trust begins and that starts with me. >> Uh I need to show you that the job you hired me for that I could do it do it well and I communicate appropriately with you and the community about that and the trust will grow. But loving the helicopter loving it trustees. So on page 34 um sentence goes on about Sherry trustees needed to be in the helicopter making system decisions not on the fire line fighting fires.

127And then secondly note to superintendents if you put a fire hose in the hands of a trustee they will get out of the helicopter and fight the fire. I think that is a great message for this chapter. I'm sure you all appreciate that. Though you might not say it. I'm an interim. I could say things like that but We're gonna hear that a lot lately. >> Yeah, I I liked um concept of actions are not taken in isolation of understanding that that we need to be thinking about the implications on the entire system. They talk I think that a lot more of what we do is is complex. And when we talk about that for example specific to reading and that you can't look at that just through at through the specific initiative you also

128have to be thinking about the impact on the older kids. You also have to think about the impact on children who are receiving specialized instruction you know whether that that's through MTSS or whether that's through a specifically designed program. So um I think um I think we've been moving more in that direction of looking at things from a more systemic point of view. um when we evaluate um but I I I agree I think this is continues to be an area of work >> and I think for for a lot of communities I'm sorry Sarah >> co sort of forced you into a place where you were putting out the fires it just it was an all hands on deck >> we're out of it yes there are still ramifications postco that we have to

129navigate but in terms of uh trustee and and board service. You should be able to get back in the helicopter at this point.