001Welcome. The time is now 10:03 a.m. on February 11th, 2026. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, including closed session items. I am going to take role. Miss Newell, Dr. Rivas, Mr. Meline >> here. >> Miss Grigo, Miss Gomez >> here. >> Mr. Ortiz Franklin >> present. Board President Schmurson >> present. >> I see Miss Newell is now here. Looks like we got Dr. Revas also. >> Right. >> And Carlo walking in. Superintendent is here. The team is fully formed. I'm going to go ahead and read the purpose and authority for the items that will be discussed in close session. Then we will go directly into public comment. Item specific public comment and then general public comment. All right. Under tab one, student discipline matters pursuant to
002education code 48918 CF. Tab two, personnel pursuant to government code section 54957. Under that tab is public employee discipline dismissal and release and the superintendence evaluation. Under tab three, conference with legal counsel pending litigation pursuant to government code section 54956.9D1. Jane McB uh do v at all v lausd under tab four conference with labor negotiators pursuant to government code section 54957.6 and negotiator is Dr. Murphy in the employee organizations are Associate Administrators of Los Angeles Teamsters 2010, California School Employees Association, Los Angeles County Building and Construction Trades Council, Los Angeles School Police Association, Los Angeles School Police Management Association, Service Employees International, SEIU Local 99, Teamsters, United Teachers Los Angeles, and District Represented Employees and Contract Management Personnel. Well, uh, for the following, the negotiator is Miss Nea Reed and un uh, unrepresented employees conversion
003of senior management contracts. I'm going to read out the classified title and then the certificated title of contracts that are converting. classified deputy director of facilities program support services, deputy director of facilities project execution, associate general counsel 2, deputy chief information security officer, deputy director of facilities planning and development, deputy director of facilities project execution and under certificated positions, executive director student integration services, executive de director federal and state education programs, executive director adult and career education, Executive Director Special Education, Executive D, Director, Multilingual and Multicultural Education, Executive Director, Secondary Education, and Senior Director, School Culture, Climate, and Safety. We will go now to public comment on specific items. Uh, please remember public comment is limited to two minutes and we have folks who are both in person and remote. So, there is no one
004signed up for tab one, two, three, or four. So, we'll go directly to general public comment. We have 20 folks signed up for general public comment. Let's start with um Peter Watts. Are you here, Mr. Peter Watts? Come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak. Why don't you begin, sir? Good morning. Uh my name is Dr. Peter Watts, uh, co-founder and CEO of the Watts of Power Foundation, and our mission is to build and sustain pathways for black educators by strengthening recruitment, preparation, mentorship, and long-term retention in Los Angeles. Today, our fellows are student teaching in LUSD schools with veteran mentor teachers, some of whom are nationally board certified, who are shaping the next generation of educators with care. We have 10 fellows who are placed at schools like Wegan Avenue, Windsor Hills Magnet,
005Coliseum Street Elementary, Fremont High School, King Drew, Pathways High School, and 135th Street Elementary. And I'm here today to express the need for continued commitment to the recruitment and retention of black educators in the district. Over the last 10 years, the percentage of black teachers in the district has decreased by 4%. I began my career as a classroom teacher in the district 29 years ago, and I've seen firsthand of what happens when a young black student finally sees a teacher who understands their lived experience and believes in their brilliance. The research shows what parents and students have always known. Black teachers matter for all students, especially for black students. In the face of ongoing budget crisis, I'm here to ask the board to continue their commitment to the recruitment and retention of early career black
006educators, including but not limited to the following. Partnering with community organizations that provide support and community for black educators like the Watts of Power. Publicly report twice a year, disagregated by race and ethnicity, on the recruitment, retention, and outcomes of LA Unified educators. make data on the retention of black and diverse educators transparent and publicly accessible to the community. We are building a pipeline from student teaching to national board certification and the district must protect and expand that pipeline. Thank you for your leadership and thank you to the superintendent and board for listening. >> Thank you for your time, sir. Um uh Leat Shyoa, are you here? Come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. And after Leah, is Dantoine here in person or >> is Dantoan here >> on the
007phone? Okay. And then after uh Miss Shiloa will be Sur Rogers. >> Good morning board and superintendent. My name is Leat Shiloa and I'm the policy fellow with the Watts of Power Foundation. Our mission is to create and sustain pathways for black educators by addressing gaps in recruitment and retention. I want to start by thanking the board and the superintendent for your ongoing leadership in support of black educators, students, and families. I'm here today to ask that the district reaffirm its commitment to support the recruitment and retention of black educators. Over the last 10 years, the percentage of black teachers in LAD has declined by 4% while the proportion of black students has remained relatively stable. This suggests that black educator retention is declining and that the gap in representation may be growing. As a
008proud graduate of California's public schools and a former educator, I can attest to the importance of representation in the classroom. When children see teachers who look like them, who sound like them, who come from the same communities as them, they see themselves and all the possibilities for their future. Having just one black educator can reduce dropout rates, improves attendance, and increases math and reading scores. This effect is most prominent on black students, but all students succeed when they have access to highly qualified black educators. This year we have seen how national systems are being weaponized against target to target black and brown communities. We have seen a concerted disinvestment in education. I'm calling on the board and the superintendent to remain steadfast in your commitment to support black students and black educators. Specifically, I'm calling
009for partnerships with community organizations that provide support and care for black educators, including organizations like the Watts of Power Foundation throughus and contracts. I'm calling for public reporting on the recruitment, retention, and outcomes of LA Unified educators disagregated by race in a way that is transparent and accessible to the public. I believe in our collective ability to rise to this moment. This is not the time for us to back down. Thank you very much for listening. >> Thank you for your time. Sur Rogers, are you here? Come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Good morning everybody. My name is Sere Rogers and I am a teacher resident with the village initiative at the Watts of Power Foundation. Our mission is to create a pathway for black teachers by addressing the
010gaps in the recruitment and retention as they become fully credential teachers in Los Angeles. as a current student teacher at Fremont High School. Thank you to LUSD superintendent and board of education for your support of black educators, students, and families. Over the last 10 years, a percentage of black teachers in LUSD has decreased 4%. I first got involved in leadership positions, including student government, early in elementary school, with Dr. Watts being one of my first teachers. My high school principal at Animo Green dot, Mr. Newsome, was very involved with the department of black boys. One day, Mr. Newsome, being from Chicago, took us to see Barack Obama speak in his campaign for president. His investment in care helped me commit to a lifetime of civic education and responsibility. As a black man, he risked a
011lot developing a professional class of varsity basketball players, centering our neighborhood and advocating for us to attend college tours across states. So now I feel obligated to try my best at providing that same inspiration and route to excellence for black inner city youth. The research shows what parents and students have always known to be true. Black teachers matter for all students and for black students especially. Having a black teacher improves academic outcomes in reading and math and reduces dropout rates and chronic absenteeism in the face of the ongoing budget crisis and new fiscal stabilization plan. I am here to ask that the board continues their commitment to recruitment and retention of early black educa early black educators including but not limited to the following. Um won't be able to get through all those so I
012will try to get my copy to you. Thank you guys. Thank you very much. Appreciate saying to the two minutes uh Maria Louisa Palma come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Maria Louisa Palma and then following Miss Palma will be Danna Guen, Carolandanda Verde and then Alejandra Castana. Come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Unbelievable third world problems right here in Los Angeles. Just Monday, we had this huge fight and shooting, drive-by shooting at North Hollywood High School. It is a miracle students didn't die. Witnesses say at least 10 at least 10 shots rang out. Okay, this is the fight that happened right before. It is graphic. You see masked individuals pull up in a vehicle hooded to beat up children right outside the front
013door of North Hollywood High School. You mean to tell me if there was a school police officer, a squad car sitting there in front of the school, this would have happened. This fight happened first minutes before the shooting. We also know that there was a shooting right up the street here last Wednesday at noon while students were in session at Miguel Contras High School. A person was shot to death right after they got off the bus. Would that have happened if we had school police right there? How many times did Dr. McKenna sit right here in this seat and say that the purpose of school police was to keep children safe inside the school? How many times? And you will all say, "Oh, it's because we have community problems." Yes, we have community problems. Our
014communities are not safe, which is why we need school police on our campuses to keep our children safe from the the homelessness, the open drug use, the sex trafficking that is taking place on our school, around our schools. So, we need you to bring back school police more than ever. And some of you have the nerve to come here and talk about love. This is a knife right next to my heart. This is where my son went to high school where I know families who were there when this happened. Their children were at the Taco Bell when these shots rang out. These parents are in shock that this happened to them. How can this be happening? And you all sit here and wonder why we have loss of enrollment. Don't be hypocrites. You know why.
015Fix the safety problem in our schools. You can do it as it's within your power. Thank you for your time. Uh Danna Guen, come on up. Miss Guien is gonna Oh, she's late. Okay, so after Miss Guen, how about Carol Verde? Are you here? Carol. All right, Alejandra Castella. Uh Miss Castanetta is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English as she's speaking in Spanish, please put your hands up and we will get you these translation headsets. See momentum moment. >> Okay. Gracias. >> Good morning. I'm Miss Alejandra Casin, the volunteer of Fischer School. Mr. Carvalo, you speak a lot about the importance of number the pillar number three for student success. Mr. Carvalo and Carly Grego based on pillar number three, our school has been doing
016the parent involvement requirements, supporting the school and the and the gaining of funds and all these things we need. And we've still had discrimination amongst many other things because of Antonio Garcia, the principal, like closing the parent center for workshops for parents and manipulating things to neutralize all the volunteers and managing all the different committees for personal interest. The regional director also Mr. uh M and Miss Guerrero, they have been informed of all of this and have done nothing. We're here so you can please hear us and take note of all these irregularities and all these academic problems. Please see our numbers and see that we are in decline due to this director's activities. Thank you. >> Okay, the next speaker in person is Todd Grabarski. Todd Grabarski. Uh let's see. Next inerson speaker would
017be uh Sandra Martinez Row. Come on down. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin, Miss Row. And then after Miss Row is Christina Brown. Come on up. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Thank you. >> Good morning board. My name is Sandra Martinez Row with Schools Beyond Screens. This is my third public comment questioning LUSD's strategy on edtech policy. Why bring up edtech when the school district has so many other important issues going on? Because these students are our children and it's our job to nurture and protect them. Because a school should be a safe place for kids to learn and grow and not a place to challenge their childhood. The quality of education our children receive shapes our future which to me is key. Since this may not resonate,
018then let's talk about the costs, the financial costs, of course, the environmental costs. Have you ever given thought to the afterlife of all these devices? What about the mental costs? These kids have to deal with whatever comes their way when the safeguards we think should come with a device don't. While the board struggles to balance a budget, families, students, and educators struggle with the consequences of one. As a constant fundraiser at our school, I know this all too well. So, what if we changed the approach? What if we pulled the band-aid off? Screens for Kinder? Not yet. Full stop. Chromebooks in elementary school? No need. Let's let the kids learn to write properly, use scissors, read books, and play with their schoolmates. Let them be kids. Middle school. As a mother of a soon-to-be middle
019schooler, I mean, for the sake of the budget, I suggest we skip it there, too. But we can get to that. Let's start with a typing class and invest in an awesome, safe computer lab. I bet most parents, kids, and teachers would be relieved to know that they can live without the edte noise for just a little bit longer. And based on the unfathomable stories I continue to hear, I'm willing to bet that some would say we should have stopped sooner. Back to the budget. Multiply the cost of an iPad or Chromebook by x amount of students, by x amount of grades, by x amount of schools. Now subtract the software contracts, tech repairs, possible lawsuits, and related expenses. The result, a budget that makes our schools safer, greener, more progressive, smaller class sizes, better
020food, sustainable school programs and policies. So much more to say, but I'll leave it there. Thank you. >> Thank you for your time. Okay, the next in-person speaker is Christina Brown. Come on down. Uh, Miss Brown, you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Christina Brown. And then when Miss Brown is done, we have the folks who are waiting to speak online. So I haven't skipped you folks online. You are coming next. Thank you. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. >> Okay, back again. Um, so a couple week I'm just doing the the low lightss of the last few weeks that we've had off of our schools beyond screens thread. Um, so the fourth and fifth graders at Melrose, they printed signs and they protested at the principal's office. I ready
021because they hate it so much. We've found the same thing at our school. Uh, one of the parents that signed for the younger kids at our school of the 145 families that want to opt out, they did so because their older child last year would take breaks to go to the bathroom constantly to take a break from looking at the screen. They just needed somewhere else to like void out. um a teacher, fourth grade teacher at Delivan Elementary, she just sent out an email to all the parents asking if they can have this AI tool, this learning, this storytelling tool, and they'd be beta testers in their classroom. It's it's optional, but I just don't understand how it fits into equity. If you're having a class full of elementary school kids do this beta testing,
022then the parents can come back and purchase the book at the end of the month, which is insane. So now you're like selling things to kids in the classroom. How about if some of those families can't afford that book, right? I mean, you're automatically just creating problems in the classroom. Um, what else do we have? So Google recently gave ice a bunch of information. Let's see. It's the latest example of how the US government is using a controversial type of legal request called an administrative subpoena to demand that tech companies turn over private data of ind individuals who have been critical of the Trump administration. They didn't have to turn it over, but Google, who does all of our Chromebooks, they turned over ICE information to ICE. So, obviously, that's the opposite of what you
023guys have stood for going into all of this, which is not cool. And I just wanted to end up with uh this last post from Tik Tok, which is this is happening right now. What your kids are allowed to listen to at school. This is a post happening. LA Unified School District. Crazy. >> Thank you so much for your time. >> I'll just finish. There's some Thank you so much for your time. >> All right, Mr. Todd Grabbarski, I see you're here now. Please come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Wait, start over, please. Your mic's not on. >> Hi. I I want to talk about the responsible use policy, which are you all familiar with what that is, board members and superintendent, it's a form that the district asks
024all parents and guardians to sign and agree to for their kids to use the schoolisssued devices and the internet network. Um among those the terms in the policy again you're asking parents to agree to these terms. I'll read some of them. Um one of the terms is that quote the district is not liable for any claims, losses, damages or costs or other obligations arising out of the use of the of the devices. Other terms are the district denies liability for the accuracy or quality of the information obtained through the school devices. Why is the district denying liability for the access of information it's giving to students in the educational context? Other terms, failure to you to uphold the responsibilities listed above is misuse. Such misuse may also lead to disciplinary and/or legal actions against students,
025including expulsion, suspension, or criminal prosecution by government authorities. Why are the district going to criminally prosecute students for using the devices? Lastly, quote, asking parents to agree, "I've determined for my child that the benefits of online activity and wireless communications outweigh the risks, and on my child's behalf, I, as a parent, will assume the risk if something bad happens to my child while using those devices." Why does this exist? This is a waiver of liability. If you take your kids to go ice skating and your kid and you sign a waiver so they can go ice skating and your kid breaks the leg their leg, you can't sue the ice skating rink for damages cuz you agreed to that. Why does this exist? This doesn't exist for glue or scissors or any other aspect of
026education. Why does it exist for the devices? I think the answer is because the district and the schools knows that these devices can cause harm and that's why they're asking parents to wave liability for the district if in fact horrifically god forbid a student is harmed on those devices. Thank you. I I really ask you to reconsider the use of devices especially in light of the the policies like this the district knows Thank you for your time. All right, we'll cycle to the folks who are speaking remotely. Uh let's see. Dantoine Dixon, I see you're on the line. Please press star six to unmute yourself and you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Dantoan, >> good morning. My name is Detoine Dixon and I Mr. Dan Initiative. >> Mr. Dixon. Yes, >> we'll
027start your time over, but if you could just speak up a little bit and I'll I'll raise the volume because I I don't know that folks in the audience can hear you. >> Okay, >> that's great. So, we'll restart the time. Please go ahead. Thank you. >> Okay. Good morning. My name is Deanto Dixon and I am a fellow with the village initiative at the Watau Foundation pursuing a credential in elementary education. I speak today as an educator in formation and as someone who has witnessed directly and intimately the difference that presence can make. I once worked with a second grader who ran out of the classroom every day. No one could explain his behavior and on that campus I was the only black man in the classroom and the only one who asked him
028what was happening. He told me no one spoke to him, no one advocated for him and no one saw him. When someone finally did, he stopped running. Not because he changed but because the system finally acknowledged him. Compassion is not sentimental. It is structural. In schools with no black men teachers, black boys are often labeled before they're understood. Yet, when I entered those classrooms, behavior shifted, engagement increased, and learning deepened, presence changed outcomes. I chose teaching because I saw my capacity to influence future leaders and disrupt inequity in real time. Black educators are not supplementary. We are essential architects of equitable systems. Today, across LA, students need to feel safe, seen, and understood. Black educators matter. Research confirms what communities have long known. Black teachers improve academic outcomes, reduce chronic absenteeism, and decrease dropout rates.
029In the face of an ongoing budget crisis and fiscal stabilization plan, I asked the board to continue its commitment to the recruitment and retention of early career black educators by partnering with community organizations that provide support and community for black educators, including organizations like the Wat Power Foundation through MUS or contracts that create safe care spaces for black teachers. Secondly, publicly reporting twice a year disagregated by race and ethnicity on the recruitment, retention, and outcomes of LA Unified educators. And lastly, making third, making data on the retention of black and diverse educators transparent and publicly accessible to the community. When black teachers thrive, students thrive. When students thrive, Los Angeles rises. Thank you. >> Thank you for your time. The next speaker is Dr. Iikinstein. Dr. Iinstein, I see you're online. Please press star six
030to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Dr. Iikinstein. >> Hi, can you hear me? >> We sure can. Please go ahead. >> Hi, my name is Dr. Deie Iikinstein. I'm a parent in LA USC, a child psychologist, and member of Schools Beyond Screens. Today, I'm asking you to invest in teachers over tech. Teachers are everyday heroes who are underpaid and overworked. Rather than paying teachers a decent wage in one of the most expensive cities in the country, LA USD has funded ineffective and harmful tech. Reading specialists have no money for physical books because funding has been earmarked for I Ready. In addition to being ineffective as a teaching tool, you are asking teachers to monitor over 25 children on 25 different internet connected devices. Kids themselves are reporting seeing
031porn, gambling, and circumventing any supposed guard rails on their schoolisssued devices. This is not a fair fight for anyone. Not for teachers and not for kids who cannot be expected to stay on task on a device designed to function like a gambling slot machine. EdTE is not designed to educate children, but to quote Google's own internal documents to create a pipeline of future users. We want our tax dollars supporting teachers and students, not big tech companies. May I remind you, you are elected officials. We have been speaking about this at board meetings for over a year and nothing has been done. Schools Beyond Screens has over a thousand members at 75 different LA USD schools. We are an organized far-reaching group that will support support candidates who receive feedback, invest in teachers, not tech, and
032help keep our students safe. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Alex Sherman, you're listed as calling in. Alex Sherman, but I don't have you online in front of me. Are you in the room, Alex Sherman? So, uh, we'll go to the some folks who just showed up. Danna Guen, are you here? Da Guen and then after Miss Guen will be Carol Land of Verde. Miss Guen's going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English, please put your uh hands up for a translation headset if you do not already have one. Okay. Gracias. >> Good morning members. My name is Diana Yen and for the first time I'm here to complain as a mother of a student of special education who is in sixth grade. My son goes
033to Irvin school and they let him leave the day of the of the strikes or the walkouts. So the person uh related to operations on the west sent me a bulletin number that wasn't even she didn't even send me the bulletin. She just said look for it. Okay. So that truly I'm a mother. I'm not working for the district so that you can treat us like that with that kind of lack of respect. So I was reading that bulletin because I have to find help because you do not help us for anything. There's people who work for the district and do not help the parents. We have to find it elsewhere. So according to this bulletin related to behavior. So when a student wants to voluntarily abandon the school campus during a walk out, it
034will they will be told to enter the school. To my son, they never told him. They open the door for them to leave that. You're not supposed to promote any kind of walk out. And my son said there was signage in the school. So these are the things that you in your policies you you put in place to protect yourself because once the student walks out, you're not responsible. What would have happened if something happened to him? He's a 12year-old with special education needs. And I called at 11:00 in the morning to the school. When I received that text, I said, "Do not let him leave." And of course, the operations representative said, "We can't physically detain him." Okay, you don't have to. You just if your mother called and said you don't want to
035leave, speak with your mother. My son doesn't have a cell phone because I don't give him one because this is a tool that is negative for them at this young age. So, what will you do to change so that us parents are taken in consideration and listened to because your policies that you don't follow? And likewise, I spoke with the supervisor of the school and the Mr. Carvala, by the way, all the directives that you make here and policies that you put in place, you need to pay attention and for once listen to us because if something happens to my son or another student and you will not be responsible because it says so here. >> Carol Land Verde, are you here? Come on down. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Miss
036Lander is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's in, okay, she's going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English as she's speaking Spanish, please use the translation headsets or put your hands up if you need one. Okay. >> Gracias. >> Yes. Good morning to all of you. Thank you for being in this committee fighting for all the kids, the boys and girls. I'm here specifically because first of all I'm thankful of the parents and the mothers who also made possible our the return of our teach our history teacher and the jobs that they have done. But first of all I want to thank God for that. Secondly, I'm only here to tell Rosio Rias to please consider that by June the
037case will be closed again for the history teacher. Thank goodness now they're going to be between 10 and 12 students. My concern was that there were 20 in a class and we're talking about severe autism who can hurt themselves or are in wheelchairs. And something good that parents did was was provide their concerns. And first of all, thank God and the work that you do, but we have so much more work to do. Please, Miss Rosio, cuz in June the case will be closed and we don't want this to happen or occur again. I also I want to bring to your attention the school police, right? I'm very worried because of the things that are happening not in just one school that happened yesterday where they left. Okay, sure walkouts are okay in our country
038in the United States. There needs to be good policies, not corrupt ones and it's good for kids, but we need to have more discipline and safety for the kids. If we're going to be help them to express themselves and walk out so it could be a good country, can we please assist them? Because we see ourselves conflicted working and then seeing our kids outside. What if they're robbed or killed or imagine if they take their organs? Can you just imagine? Please just be conscious of this. Thank you for listening to me and helping me. And I just ask you that, Miss Rosio. Thank you. >> Thank you for your time. >> All right. The next speaker speaker is remote Dolores Gomez. Dolores Gomez, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes
039to speak once you begin. Dolores Gomez. >> President. >> Hello. I will be speaking in Spanish. >> Gracias. >> Great. >> Uh, good morning. My name is Dolores Gomez. I'm a mother and volunteer in Fishburn Elementary in Maywood and in this school there are not paying attention to the different pillars that are supposedly implemented by you guys like pillar number one we have been in the red digits with only a 30% with the grade level for 5 years so our principal Antonio Garcia is when he arrived to the school I asked about the improvement plan and the only thing that get in response is everything in the district are forwarded to the teachers. Do you think that's an good response that's going to improve the student achievement? I don't the participation and the involvement of
040parents as well. He has a lot of parent participation and volunteers and even then there's constant issues with Antonio Garcia the principal for example we can't bring any food at the parent center and even though there's always been a registry at the entrance of the school we have to do this again and we also speak with the principal Antonio Garcia Serio Franco the regional director and we have not had any response responses no support whatsoever. I ask you to please listen to us and hear our concerns because you're taking our rights as parents away and everything we do and contribute to the school is so that the students have a very good education and be prepared for the world. Thank you for your attention. >> All right, the next remote caller is Ana Mexen. I
041see you're on the line. Anya, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Anya Mex. >> Hi. Um, my name is Ana Mex and I'm a member of schools beyond screens. Um for almost a year um members of schools beyond screens have been attending board meeting after board meeting asking for you all to listen to the research and the worldwide alarms that are being rung about um tech in schools and how harmful a lot of these products and devices are for children. And yet, um, you guys continue to do nothing. Um, we've outlined our concerns and reform proposals to you in person at these board meetings, on our website, and in the petition that we've submitted to you, which now has almost a thousand signatures. We've
042continued to reiterate these proposals in countless emails we've exchanged with your technology department and with you yourselves. Yet, every time one of our members gets a one-on-one meeting with a board member, you inexplicably say that you don't know what our requests are and that you are unaware of the research surrounding these issues and that you're unaware of the reforms occurring in other districts and other countries related to children's safety and technology. How can you continue to plead ignorance of these issues when all of you have a staff whose job it is to keep you informed about issues affecting children and education? There are articles in the press every single day about the dangers of addictive text to children. And yet you guys act as if you're hearing about all of this for the first time.
043One of you actually told a constituent and one of our members that you don't care about public comment at board meetings and that you don't even bother to listen, which is exactly what we feel like is going on when we look at you and see that you're looking at your phones and your computers while we're talking. Maybe you're addicted to your technology the way that you're trying to get our children to be addicted to their technology. This is truly outrageous. You are literally paid by our tax dollars to listen to our concerns and protect our kids in school. We have offered to come educate you by holding a special >> Thank you very much for your time. >> Thank you for your time. The next public caller is remote Bridey Lee. I see you're on
044the line. Bridey Lee, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Bridey Lee. Can you hear me? >> We sure can. Please go ahead. >> Can you hear me? >> Okay. A candidate running for L USD school board was interviewed. He said, "I oppose the LA USD iPad program. Instead of spending millions of dollars to get electronic devices into the hands of our students, we need to make sure our students can read and do math." The year was 2015 and the candidate was Anker Patel. 11 years later, the sentiment is more relevant than ever. Today, the fight against big tech harms that parents, teachers, whistleblowers, researchers, thought leaders, activists, and legislators have been waging for the past two years will be on the ballot for LA
045USC school board because Anker Patel is running again and his recent statement stand in stark contrast to what we've heard from current board members. He says, quote, "Banning cell phones while leaving children in front of screens for hours every day is inconsistent. Children need to learn to enjoy books and real play, not be conditioned to master AIdriven multiplechoice assessments and gamified learning. The old definition of the digital divide was about access to devices. In 2026, the real divide is about access to quality learning. When affluent families choose schools with fewer screens, more books, more field trips, and hands-on learning, while lower income students receive more device-based instruction as a substitute for resources. That is not equity. That's the bifurcation of the education system. Addictive entertainment apps do not belong in the school day. YouTube, video
046games, and other non-educational content should be blocked on individual student devices. And finally, schools should be places of learning and growth, not testing grounds for corporate data practices. While while some districts are suing big tech companies, ours has chosen to do its bidding and knowingly refused to meet the moment. The polls are not on your side. The law is not on your side. The evidence is not on your side. The research is not on your side. The parents and teachers are not on your side. It's time to ask, which side are you on? Thank you. >> Thank you for your time. [applause] Andrea Self, I see you're on the line. Andrea Self, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. >> Hi, this is Andrea. Can
047you hear me? >> We sure can. Please go ahead. >> Thank you. Thank you for your time and attention. I'm a parent of two middle schoolers in LUSD and a proud graduate of LUSD and with Cleveland magnet and um I'm also a member of uh school beyond schools beyond screens. However, I'm here to report a critical failure in our district's content filtering that is exposing our children to descriptions of child sexual abuse material and disturbing content on schoolisssued devices. And as a parent, I refuse to take responsibility per the LUSD responsibil responsible use policy. Here's the problem. Students are accessing Department of Justice Epstein case files on their school iPads. Documents containing graphic descriptions of crimes against children. A game called Five Nights at Epstein's Island is currently accessible on these devices where students play
048a victim trying to survive on the island. The game features audio of small children's voices saying, "Hi," and giggling when played. Multiple students have received attention at our particular middle school for quote joking about being on Epstein's Island, normalizing one of the most horrific criminal cases involving children. YouTube, which everyone has access to on these LE USD devices, and streaming platforms remain unblocked, providing tutorials on how to access this content, as well as mirroring the content from the DOJ and Twitch streams of the Epstein Island scheme. What we're seeing here is a huge gap. LUSD provides one:1 devices, but has failed to implement proact proactive content filtering. Other districts use agile filtering systems that block these sites, these harmful sites before they reach students. We are behind. I'm asking the board, one, to pay attention.
049Two, to conduct an emergency audit of current content filtering on all student devices. Block access to game hosting sites and unmodderated streaming platforms during school hours and beyond. Implement real-time filtering that identifies and blocks emerging inappropriate content. Provide parents with transparency reports on what content is being blocked and accessed. Our children deserve protection, not exposure. This is urgent and I expect action within your 30 days. Thank you. >> All right. The next speaker is Clement Avalos. I see you're not online. Are you in the room, Mr. Avalos? Next speaker is Ivan Uloa. Ivan Yu, I see you're on the line. Please press star six to unmute yourself and you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Ivan, you. >> Hi, good morning. My name is Ivan and I have a concern regarding my child's
050uh children elementary school which is Fulbright Elementary located in Kenova Park. Um I have raised the uh concern to the principal. This is her first year as a principal in the school and my kids and several other mothers have concerns that their kids have to sit in alphabetical order during lunch. Um I disagree with this since there this provokes tension between the kids or they have to sit still throughout the day and then during lunch is their time to socialize uh create friendships move around if they wish. Um I brought this up concern this concern to the principal and um all I got in response was that there is changes. Uh she hears me but that doesn't mean that there will be any change that she's going to be making. uh I sent her an
051email as well regarding that you know there is studies showing that it is both positive and negative to have alphabet alphabetical seating and from the experience that I'm seeing with my children I'm seeing the negatives which is they don't um they don't want to sit to certain p next to a certain person um they don't want to go eat uh they want to stay um sitting alone if necessary um they don't they don't understand why they have to sit in alphabetical order. Um and I mean to me it sounds it feels like a prison where we have to line up tell us where to eat. There's no no freedom of choice of where we can sit. And that's it. That's all I have as a concern. >> Thank you for your time. The next remote
052caller is Daniel T. McKenzie. >> Daniel McKenzie. Please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. >> Hi there. My name is Dan McKenzie. My fir my child is a first grader at Wonderland Elementary and I'm here with schools beyond screens to express my concern about the steadily increased use of screen time and public education. When I dropped off my son this morning, I noticed that the huge screen at the front of the classroom, seductively radiant and luminescent pink, was already captivating the collective attention of the children. Even though most of these kids can barely read at this stage, it beckoned them with a themeoriented question about kindness. Now much as I appreciated the topic itself, I felt repulsed by this screen and the powerful way in
053which it was commanding the attention of these vulnerable kids and their delicate senses which are still in the formative stages. Wouldn't it be far healthier for the teacher to turn off that screen, sit in circle with these first graders and attract them with the radiance of her own wisdom, knowledge, and caring attention to engage them in a real interactive conversation about kindness. Now, something along these lines probably hopefully did happen eventually. But in a world so obviously encroaching upon us all, children and adults alike, with the overwhelming omniresent intrusions of screenbased technology, shouldn't we be leaning into our human resources rather than unconsciously allowing them to be subsumed by these glaring, cold digital replacements? The radiant allure of screens is eye candy. What happens to the visual cortex of a child when you constantly feed
054it candy? Every single moment we put a kid in front of an educational screen, instead of a living, breathing educator, we are not only feeding candy to their eyes and brains and attention spans. We are actually normalizing screen time. We are programming these children to accept that sitting in front of a glowing digital device constitutes normal human experience. when in the 300,000year existence of humanity, this is a brand new thing and we don't really know what the long-term fallout will be. I fear that our tech policy in schools, like almost everything else, is dictated more by the mercantile interests of corporations than it is by careful scientific and hum. >> Thank you for your time. That concludes general public comment. The board will now recess into close session. If there are matters to report out,
055I will come out and report them. Welcome back. The time is now 3:20 p.m. on February 11th, 2026. I'll be reporting out items from close session and we have four board members in attendance. Miss Newell, board presidentson, Mr. Melvinne, and Miss Ortiz Franklin all present giving us a quorum uh reporting under reporting out under tab one student discipline. The board of education approved the expulsion of students in case numbers 31 and 32 with a recommended disposition. The vote was six eyes and one no. Board President Schmurson. The board of education approved the expulsion of the student in case number 33 with the recommended disposition. The vote was seven eyes. Uh the board of education approved the conditional enrollment of the students in case numbers 15 and 16 with the recommended disposition. The vote was seven
056I's. Under tab two, personnel, public employee dismissal and release, the board of education authorized the dismissal of three classified employees, two certificated employees, and demotion of one principal. The vote with seven eyes. Under tab 3, conference with legal council pending litigation. The board of education authorized a settlement in the case of Jane McBo at all va. Terms and conditions will be available upon the finalization of the agreement. The vote with seven eyes. Under tab four, conference with labor negotiators. The board authorized the following conversion of senior management contracts to regular senior management contract positions. I will note that Miss Gomez is also in attendance now, bringing us to five uh the following positions. classified deputy director of facilities program support services deputy director of facilities project execution associate general counsel 2 uh deputy chief information
057security officer deputy director of facilities planning and development deputy director of facilities project execution in the following certificated positions executive director student integration services executive director federal and state education programs executive director adult and career education executive director special education Executive Director Multilingual and Multicultural Education. Executive Director Secondary Education, Senior Director, School Culture, Climate, and Safety. The vote was seven eyes. The board of ed education authorized the non-reelection of 31 probationary 2 certificated employees. The vote was seven eyes. That concludes the items I have to report out. Are there any objections to an adjournment? No objections. The time is now 3:23 and the meeting is adjourned. Thank you everyone.