001Good morning. Welcome. The time is now 10:00 a.m. The date is December 17th, 2025. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, including close session items. I'm going to read out the purpose and authority for the close session and then we will begin public comment on item specific stuff which is the stuff they'll be discussing in close session and then on to general public comment which is on items any items that are within district business. So all right under tab one student discipline matters pursuant to education code 48918 CF. Tab two, uh, personnel under government code section 54957, public employee discipline dismissal and release, superintendent evaluation and evaluation of the executive officer of the board of education. Under tab 3, conference with legal counsel, [clears throat] uh, pending
002litigation pursuant to government code section 54956.9 D1, uh, Jane Doe Mr. VLAUSD and Alex G atall vla. These case numbers are available on our website if you want to go look them up at the LA Superior Court online portal under tab 4 conference with labor negotiators pursuant to government code section 54957.6 and negotiators Dr. Murphy. The employee organizations represented are Associated Administrators, I mean Associated [clears throat] Administrators, Los Angeles, uh, 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 Union, SEIU Local 99, Teamsters, United Teachers Los Angeles, and District Represented Employees and Contract Management Personnel. And let's see, we have public comment on tab two personnel. I'll call on the folks who are listed as being
003in person and then those who have listed themselves as being remote. So tab two again is personnel. Let's see. So Margarita Giron, Margarita G. Hon David Tokovski, Carol Nand Verde. Are any of you folks here? I'm going to check to see if they're here online under tab 2. [clears throat] Uh, not here. And then Kiana Bean Smith, also not here. Oh, you're here in person. Please come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. >> [snorts] >> The floor is yours. Thank you. >> Thank you so much, sir. Good morning, president, board members, and superintendent. My name is Kiana, and I'm the parent of three students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. I am here because on December 11th during a meeting at 42nd Street Elementary School, Principal Jeremy McDavid physically
004grabbed me by both arms and restrained me inside his closed office as I was attempting to leave. I had my hand on the door knob and turned to make a final remark about the meeting when he stopped me. He held me tightly for over a minute, visibly distressed, repeating that I was not listening. My seven-year-old child, who is a student at the school, witnessed this. I did not consent to being touched. This occurred after I raised concerns about a staff member, Miss Matthews, who had yelled at my seven-year-old during a school field trip the day before. The yelling was witnessed by another parent chaperone, who then comforted my child and by my 12-year-old child. Immediately after the incident, I calmly introduced myself to Miss Matthews as my child's mother in an effort to deescalate. During
005the meeting, when I attempted to reference LUSD policy that prohibits yelling at students, I was told by principal McDavid that I was just a mom and had no relationship to LUSD. I was also instructed not to use the word abuse desri district despite district policy recognizing intimidation of students as misconduct, but parents do have a relationship with LUSD. We are partners in our children's education. We should never be dismissed, intimidated, or physically restrained for advocating for our children. Since this incident, I have experienced difficulty sleeping, stomach pain, and intermittent heart palpitations, as well as arm and elbow pain. I am deeply concerned for my children's safety and for retaliation. I have been informed that the student safety investigating team and region south is handling this matter. I need the board to understand why I have
006serious concerns. My oldest daughter previously attended Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. She was an exuberant, engaged student, a black belt martial artist, a singer, and an animator. She regularly performed at LA USD art festivals, moderated onampus events, and was selected as the maiden speaker for her fifth grade culmination. While at that school, she was repeatedly subject to racist and sexist slurs and physically assaulted by her peer under the supervision of principal Chanel Thomas. When I formally reported this on April 19th, 2024, intervention did not occur and my daughter was not protected. After she reported the >> time, thank you so much for your time. I ask that an independent oversight committee look into Jeremy McDavid's physical restraint of me and that you understand why I have concerns about Regent South's handling. My oldest daughter
007now struggles with mental health issues and is in therapy pending the Region South's rogue leadership. Chanel Thomas must be held accountable and principal Jeremy McDavid must have to resign or be relieved from his duties as principal and have having access to children and parents and staff pending your investigation. Thank you for your time. Thank you for hearing me on this matter. >> Okay, Mr. Tokovski, I think I saw you come in the room. Come on up, Mr. David Tokovski. Thank you very much. Uh I'm speaking on item uh two of the uh close session of the board of education um on two parts. Both the evaluation of superintendent evaluation of the executive officer of the board. Uh first I want to uh congratulate the superintendent's comments yesterday. Uh, I think this goes to the heart
008of leadership, which is to say, how do we work with our labor partners and move collectively to Sacramento to have the support of your labor partners, which includes some of the most significant players in the state of California from the Teamsters to SEIU to CTA to the building trades and to go there in an era with surplus money coming in whether it's one time or not one time is significant. There are literally the LAO says over $7 billion of money. That money, as many of you talked yesterday about special ed, as you know, the LCFF, Governor Brown, who I was there at the press conference when he announced it and quoted John Dunn and all sorts of great literature, uh he left out special ed out of the LCSF, its title one, its uh poverty,
009its language, and its foster youth. and the press asked him, "Why did you leave special ed out?" And he said, "Well, it's too expensive." So, he knew that and picked an important foster youth, but he left special ed out. Our natural instinct is to complain about Washington DC, which bipartisanly special ed could happen. But I think you go to neurodeiversity, not special ed. That's not the the word is neurodeiversity and you pursue LCFF additional money between January and May to help the issues you were talking about yesterday. Superintendent is your employee. Mr. McClean is your employee. The inspector general is your employee as a board and Andrew Thomas is your employee. Also D'Vorah is both the superintendent and yours. You need to evaluate as a collective body those people and give them the assignment and
010search for an inspector general as the board of education. Thank you. >> Thank you for your time. I'm going to call again for Margarita Hiron and Caroland Verde. All right, moving on to general public comment. I'm Oh, okay. Okay, folks. So, uh, Miss Landa Bird is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you'd like to hear what she's saying in English as [clears throat] she's speaking Spanish, please put your hands up and we'll get you these simultaneous translation headsets. Come on. >> Thank you. >> Okay, Miss Hon. Gracias. >> Okay. >> Gracias. >> Good morning. Thank you for uh giving me some time. I am here because I want to report that my daughter my daughter's account was hacked in on October 12:25 at 7:37 p.m. and October 13 at the principal >> Enrique Salasar
011and Dr. Leticia Vayjo interviewed my daughter and they made her read some sexual content. this message which was highly sexual and aloud and my concern is that they violated my daughter's right uh being a minor an 11year-old and did so without my consent and I want to know what are the consequences of their actions and I would like for for to have the policies for uh employees because Alex Vasquez a doctor we had an appointment with him yesterday and the actions that they have with your employees. We as parents do not have anything to do with it if the investigation if they uh are at fault. I just want to highlight it once again my daughter's rights of being a minor and she's an 11year-old and they were her rights were violated and I need
012an answer to the problem. Thank you so much. >> Thank you for your time. Okay, moving on to general public comment. I'll call on the folks who listed themselves as being here in person and then we will cycle to those who are remote. Laya Bayak is first and then Isabel Gonzalez and then Maria Luis Palma. So come on up Miss Bayak. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. I'm Leela Bay from Schools Beyond Screens. Recently, LA USD celebrated Computer Science Education Week with a district-wide hour of AI featuring lessons designed to quote, "Empower students as young as kindergarten to lead, create, and innovate with artificial intelligence." that same week. Sorry, my it's this problem with technology. My tablet just died. Sorry. That same week, an LA USD fourth grader received a homework assignment.
013Design a book cover for Pippy Long Stocking using Adobe Express for Education, which features built-in generative AI. The child's perfectly innocent prompt was long stockings, a red-haired girl with braids sticking straight out. The result, as you can see, was far from innocent. Is it empowering and innovative to allow products like these on our children's devices without adequate safeguards and without even notifying parents? And what is the pedagogical value in having nine-year-olds create art with AI prompts instead of their own hands? I stand before you as a conscientious objector to this technology and everything it represents. Not just because of its reflexive tendency to sexualize girls, as you see in these images, but because it relies on the theft of creative work, including my own, because it erodess critical thought. Because it pollutes our air and
014wastes our water. Because it exploits workers. Because it exacerbates psychosis and depression. Because it corrods our collective reality. Because it makes rich men richer while destabilizing our economy. Because it's a vector for propaganda. and because its creations are ugly and incipid. It's against these staggering ethical costs that we must weigh any benefits. Benefits like efficiency because of course it is more efficient to let the computers make the art. It saves time which children can otherwise devote to joylessly plunking away at their eye ready minutes like little conscripts in the edtech goolog. And this way, we can forget all about the missing $77 million that voters approved for additional art teachers. After all, AI doesn't demand pensions or cost of living increases. AI doesn't unionize. But if there are any more meaningful benefits, benefits to our
015children, not to tech companies CEOs. It's time for the district to step up and make that case. We're waiting. >> Appreciate it. Uh, Isabelle Gonzalez. [applause] Miss Gonzalez is going to speak in Spanish. So, if you like to hear what she's saying in English and do not yet have a pair of translation headsets, please put your hands up and we'll get one to you. >> Okay. >> Good morning to all. >> Why is it that you discriminate parents voice? Why do you come and place programs against ICE? And we're not bad people. Why do our children, our students are discriminated? Why do you allow more deaths in the schools? Why do you allow fights, beaten, bully, and drug abuse, fentanyl? Why do you allow sexual abuse against our students? Last week, Miss Grigo went to
016my school and according to her, she says that she hears the voice of the parents and she takes to every school what parents are asking for. That is not true. She only imposes her agenda. When we asked her about school police, she stayed silent. She be she stayed silent. When a mother told her that we want that she wanted that we did not want a doctrine from LG LGBTQ. Miss Carla left and she left the mother speaking to herself. This is embarrassing. It's a left to have public servants like you and you say create a parent group so we can talk about this topic. But when we talk here you don't even take us in consideration. What has happened with the resolution that we presented so you can have school police return to school? Nothing
017has happened with that. We had to tell Miss Palma that day that I am shocked that they are not asking anything because at the end of the day you make us your own question. Why are you assuming that you will protect special needs funds and blame the Trump government the Trump administration knowing that you said that you weren't going to touch that? Exactly. You make it seem that you're fighting for our students. This is embarrassing with you all. >> Stop being the laugh of education and stop blaming people from blames, right, Miss Carla? According to you, they're the ones who guide this. Why are you just sitting there? You just warm up your seats. We ask for school police educational and quality education. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you for your time.
018Appreciate it. Uh, Maria Louisa Palma, come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. And after Miss Palma, it is Julie Edwards and then Aaron Craig. Good morning everyone. My name is Mariela Palma. The elephant in the room here yesterday seemed to be that no one touched was the question what programs not just the expenditures what programs drive student outcomes. No one discussed that. You only talk about the positions. We want to know what financial investments as you like to call them are the ones yielding the improved student outcomes. Not one of you asked. We have a great lack of financial transparency in this school district as some of you clearly demonstrated it when you had a long list of questions of this financial area and this one and this one. Imagine
019how parents feel. So I am going to be sending you all of you board members a request to have a meeting with us so we can talk about this in detail so you can support hopefully a resolution to bring more transparency. And I'm not going to call it budget transparency. This is financial statement transparency. Financial statements are much more than just the budget. Let me give you some examples. Uh in the CAC committee, we are tasked with reviewing the SULPA, which includes a number of pages on the special education budget. No one on that committee can recall any information being provided other than very big line items that are in the SULPA plan. Uh in the uh pack committee and the DAC committee, we are supposed to review the LCAP. We cannot get any financial
020transparency on any of those dollar amounts in that plan and we have never been able to get despite that we have asked over and over again about in training for parents about how the entire budget works on the entire school district budget and how the LCFF funds and the LCAP fit into that on the school budget transparency tool. I've been asking anyone that will listen to change that tool so that we can see which funding sources pay for which positions at the school sites. We need much more transparency across the board and I hope that all of you board members will take a meeting with us so we can discuss this in more detail and get your support for bringing forth a resolution on this matter. Thank you. >> Thank you for your time. [applause]
021>> Julie Edwards, come on up. Julie Edwards and then following Miss Edwards, Aaron Craig. Following Mr. Craig will be Sandra Row. >> Thank you, Superintendent, President, board members. My name is Julie Edwards. I'm with Schools Beyond Screens. Um, but I'm also a mom of a kindergartener and a fourth grader. And I'm afraid for our kids. Um, I'm afraid that iPads in kindergarten are denying our kids the opportunity to develop their own attention spans or learn to tolerate boredom or sit still and listen to another person talk. I'm afraid that my kids will never read an entire book from beginning to end because AI can summarize it for them. I'm afraid their eyesight will be damaged from staring at a screen so long and so often. I'm afraid that in spite of having to compete all
022their work on a laptop, they'll never actually learn how to type. I'm afraid they'll never learn patience, how to stick to hard tasks, how to think critically, how to solve complex problems because they have generative AI like Gemini, Adobe Express for Education, and Canva. And I don't even know what other AI apps on their schoolisssued Chromebooks. I don't know how to safeguard my fourth grader school Chromebook because there are no parental controls available to me. And because the district no longer pays for GoG Guardian for every school, I have to hope my school can be able to continue to afford GoG Guardian if I want to make sure my kids can't access distracting games, pornographic material, hate speech, violent video, and untested AI apps on their Chromebooks during class. I'm not afraid they won't learn
023how to use tech. Humans don't need years of uh foundational instruction to learn to use apps and browsers. An 18-month-old can learn to use an iPhone in a few minutes, right? So, please bring back paper and books and computer carts to elementary and middle schools. implement comprehensive teacher training on GoG Guardian say so they know how best to use it and give it to every school so we can protect our kids from these massive information machines we've handed them offer no questions asked alternative learning modules to those who need to opt out of screenbased learning some people can't learn on a screen make cursive and typing educational standards and remove all generative AI and AI chat bots from all elementary and middle school devices immediately. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >>
024Aaron Craig, come on up. After Mr. Craig is Sandra Row. Aaron Craig and then Sandra Row. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Aaron Craig. I'm here with schools beyond screens and today I want to talk about opportunity, cost, and tradeoffs. We spend a lot of time talking about whether tech the techoiced on our children in school is safe, legal, and effective. But we don't spend much time discussing how much money we spend on these platforms and whether that use of money is the most effective way to teach our children. So my family is fortunate enough to pay tens of thousands of dollars annually on our property tax, a substantial portion of which goes to the LUSD budget, and a portion of my not insignificant state taxes go to that budget as well. Despite the
025significant am amount of money that I and other homeowners and taxpayers contribute to our schools, my school comes to me each year asking for more because the money that they get from the district isn't enough to pay their cost. So each year, my family donates thousands more directly to our school in order to cover costs such as supplies, teacher assistance salaries, music, and art activities that we believe are fundamental to the good upbringing of our children. And despite the fact that it's taxpayers money that funds these schools, we don't have a clear view of what the district spends on what. And even as a pack member, that information is hidden from me. So whether it's by design or dereliction of duty, the fact remains that how this body spends our money is hidden away from
026us. All the same, I can surmise that a substantial amount of money goes to pay for programs like I Ready, Roblox, Minecraft, and the like. despite a growing movement of parents who don't want their children anywhere near such things. And I bet we spend hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, on these technologies, even though they have yet to be proven safe, effective, and legal. So, as we begin to turn our plans for to turn to our plans for the 26th and 27th school year, I ask that the board consider the alternatives. things like more teachers or better compensation for teachers to ensure that we have the best of the best in our classrooms. Non- tech programs that teach m that teach music, art or analog life skills that will be important to future
027generations. And that's just to throw out a few ideas that we could be spending our money on. Let's be transparent what we're spending on unsafe, ineffective, and possibly illegal edte software so that we can discuss better ways to spend that money. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you for your time. [applause] Sandra row Sandra R. Hola is Sandra Martinez organiz Martinez Rose with organization Schools Beyond Screen representing families that cannot be here to make a public comment in regards to technology topic within our schools. public education. I was on the SEC and ELAC and I'm familiar with the budgetary deficits and challenges. As former co-president of our parent booster club, I continued to actively fundra for school initiatives and resources the district's budget can't cover. My son came home with a Chromebook at seven
028years old as a second grader, expected to learn, test, and apparently thrive on a computer. I was shocked and disappointed. I mean, we couldn't afford an art teacher, but hey, Chromebooks for everybody. A seven-year-old who never took a typing class is expected to type, read, do math equations on a screen, and obviously develop his writing skills. He was obviously more interested in learning about games, the ones I hid from him all these years, YouTube, avatars, and technology Tuesday. Co has come and gone, but the dependency and push for tech continues. Not because of the overwhelming success stories, not because students are surpassing grade levels, and certainly not because educators think it is helping students focus or achieve excellence, LUSD's mission. These multi-million dollar contracts are outdated and need to be challenged. We are, after all,
029the customer. The research is out, yet LUSD seems to be allin. Corporate CEOs are keeping their kids off tech, but insist our kids need it in order to succeed. Private schools are opting for computer labs, yet LA USD provides kinder kindergarteners iPads. AI is not yet regulated, but LA USD is calling it equity. AI and the worldwide web couldn't get more disturbingly complicated. Yet, young students are being asked to sign a three-page digital citizenship document. As costs go up and budgets dwindle, this is a time to collaborate and revisit policy and use proven metrics for providing quality education, a safe learning environment, smaller class sizes, greener schools, compensation for teachers and staff, and most importantly, successful students. I'm not anti-technology, but the research is clear. Please pay attention. >> Thank you for your time. >>
030Thank you. All right, we've got Maria Daisy Ortiz and then Diananna Guen. Maria Daisy Ortiz, are I think you're here. Uh, and then Miss Guen. Okay. >> Good morning to all. My name is Maria de Des de Ortiz and I want to show evidence that yesterday when you were presenting the budget that Miss Carla Grigo and Miss Rivas were lost than were more lost than Alice and Wonderland. They did not know they were restrictive funds and they didn't know what that was. They were restricted and non-restrictive funds. They were discretional funds B in the past. This is not it's not bad because we all learn. I am not here to put shame on anyone. They don't know. Doesn't mean the power is taken away. It's an evidence that if a board member does not know,
031can you imagine how parents are at the schools? This is what we need to start doing. Be transparent, Mr. Scott. And yesterday at your you said that you wanted that. Therefore, I am asking you again, how will you better that transparency? Uh in the past the parents and all personnel before coming here they would give a training to them that had to do with budgets. So we can all understand the quantity that we re that we received per per school and all the f funds that were paid off because title one was reduced when low enrollment is uh at the at the bottom. and category funds are the ones that have restrictions because they are to supplement the learning. Right? Therefore, Mr. Scott, please, we need for the budget to be more transparent. We need
032for it to be to be used to pay the academic necessity and the social emotional part of our students. Therefore, reduce the bure bureaucracy that's in this building. And that is not happening. Nothing's being done. Lastly, I want to say that safe passages. We also need to know who or with what fine what funds are being finances. I know it's $18 million and who is taking this decision? Who stop making these dumb decisions? >> Uh, Miss Ken, come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. And then it's Alicia Mnik and Michael Boio. Thank you. >> I just want to follow the rules. My name is Diana Gueen and I represent the parent network for school safety and we have submitted more than 150 signatures because we want school police to return
033to our school sites where they're needed because here there's a lot of people that have their ideology who do not want police and they think that would be an ideal world but we're not in that ideal world. That's perfect. Our kids are victims of drugs, alcohol, gangs, all the traffickers all around. And you are wanting to close your eyes. Yesterday, there was a meeting with one of the mothers with one of your employees, Mr. um what's his name? Alex Besses from Region South saying that a mother made a a lawsuit and due to an act of faith, we need to believe that you're going to do the correct thing when this is the public education and as parents have rights. How is it possible that one employee of yours who is submitting a claim is
034responding to us? Is this a is are we at the church? Is this a religion? No. This is public education. We're parents. We have rights. We've already said, Mr. Carvalo, that there is not transparency and we are not being heard and our complaints are being thrown in the trash and on table. We need to see what are the policies for these teachers, principles that are abusing of our students, putting them sexual content. We are tired that you are not listening to our voices. We're here to represent thousands of parents that are giving us the right to be their voice. And you are only hearing the unions who in 2023 give you a 25% of an increase in their of their salaries and for the teachers. But now you want to give an 8% but they're
035not it's never enough. And also UTLA 4.5% but it's very little for them. And now they want to do a huge demonstration so our kids will suffer. What are you doing in those negotiations? We cannot ask that so many employees when the student progress has gone down by 25% and you're taking money away. No one's taking money away. The >> the student enrollment is going down. That's why there's no funds. >> Thank you. [applause] Okay, Alicia, come on up. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. And then it's Michael B. Then Christina Brown, come on up. You have two minutes to speak once you begin. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. My name is Alicia Mnik. I'm the president-elect of the California Art Education Association, faculty at Sea Sun and Cal Arts, and an
036award-winning nationally recognized art educator with over 15 years of classroom experience. I am now also the parent of a first grader in LA USD schools. My concerns about I Ready are not theoretical. They come from a career studying child development, pedigogy, curriculum design, and advocating for culturally responsive, accessible, and artsrich instruction. Today, I want to speak specifically about research quality. I Ready is researchbased, but this is not the same thing as researchbacked. The vast majority of studies I Ready uses to claim efficacy are vendorfunded and measure growth based on internal diagnostics. Growth that does not consistently transfer to state assessments. When we compare these marketing studies to independent peer-reviewed research, the contrast is stark. Independent neuroscience and child development research consistently show that screen exposure undermines attention, comprehension, socio emotional health. Child development and pedigogy
037experts around the globe agree that the most effective instruction for young learners remains teacher-led, hands-on, and deeply relational. No major body of research recommends replacing any social learning experiences with one-on-one devices. And yet, the district has issued a strongly worded OC that pressures our educators to meet their weekly minutes on I Ready. We need a clear evidence-based parent-f facing edtech policy developed in dialogue with all stakeholders. And in the meantime, I urge LUSD to immediately lift the recommended minutes outlined in past IOC's and stop tracking each school's compliance. Our classroom teachers and school administrators deserve the professional freedom to choose developmentally appropriate instructional tools free of pressure from above. >> Thank you for your time. [applause] Thank you. >> I'm Michael Boio and Christina Brown. >> Good morning. My name is Michael Boio. I grew
038up in LA USD. Uh my mother taught 25 years for the district. I always assumed that if I ever had a child, they'd attend public school. Now I do have a child in kindergarten region east. As a parent, I'm heartbroken by the screen time in the classrooms. Our 5-year-old's most memorable part of the school day isn't working on a project or playing with friends or even eating lunch. It's brain breaks on YouTube. We love our current public school. The principal is fantastic and the community. We all walk to school together. But with screen time mandated by the district for kids so young, I feel compelled as a parent and district 5 constituent to voice my heartfelt concern on behalf of countless other parents I know who are also deeply troubled by the negative dumbing down
039effects of staring at pixels on a screen has on our child's developing brains. This is so bad we're willing to leave our neighborhood school over it. Test scores and screens in schools down nationally. People know around the world that screens are addictive. Learning games don't motivate learning at all. They perpetuate addictive habits, not to mention mental health problems in children and adults. We all know this. And then there's data and privacy concerns. I don't want the AI of the future stealing and selling my kids personal data collected in the classroom. As parents, we are pleading for a simple opt out pathway from the Google grip on public school districts. As school board of the nation's second largest district, you have a unique opportunity to open a path for parents desperate to protect their young children's
040memory, spatial awareness, ability to focus, and personal data. You can be historic leaders setting a precedent for the rest of the country. Look, we all know screens are here to stay. There's a picture of kids on a screen behind you. But please let our youngest learners remain immersed in real tactile world learning with biological interactions before opening Pandora's box of isolating screen addiction. Please, thank you for your time. >> Thank you for your time. Christina Brown. After Christina Brown is Rosiosa. Hi, my name is Christina Brown. I have a kindergartener at Mitchell Terrina. Um, this is mostly for Superintendent Carvalo. Um, I am just going to read off I I look more into you, I guess, after getting involved in all the screen stuff because I think it's insane. And I just went to code.org,
041which is right here on the internet, right? So you're you're at the top, you're in the middle, you're in the center, you are you are the board on the board of directors, right? So on this board of directors, there's a bunch of people. Most of them are just from YouTube, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Google, Salesforce, Uber, Sequoia Capital. It's investor, investor, investor, entrepreneur. And then going to who's donated to it. 30 million from Amazon, 30 million from Microsoft, 10 million from Google, 10 million from Facebook, 10 million from Infosys, five million from Amazon Web Services, 5 million from Vista, which is a private equity company, 5 million from the Gates Foundation, 5 million from a cryptocurrency company, 5 million from Anonymous, 5 million from the Uber founder, Travis Kalanick, 5 million from Rebecca and Alfred Lynn, VCs
042at Sequoia, 5 million from Kenneth Griffin, who's one of the top three wealthiest hedge fund managers, in the world. Annual supporters include Salesforce, Zoom, my favorite person, Elon Musk, Musk Foundation, Anonymous, Cryptocurrency, VC, IT Consulting, Adobe, here's one, a digital storefront for video games, Cisco, Fortnite, in sorry, 40, investor, investor, investor, private equity, venture capital, hedge funds. I mean, it's all just money funneling in to this other board that you sit on. And I just don't know how you serve two masters. I really don't know how you can be on that board that is $800 million of a war chest to get one-on-one devices to every child in the world, which is ultimately just trying to sell them stuff, right? So, the other thing, the other thing, another member of the board of directors on
043this same code.org, or Robert Runsey. So, he was charged with a felony perjur felony perjury in Broward County, Florida, which grew out of an an investigation into a school district's technology chief who was criminally charged for fraud. It was alleged that he steered business to a tech vendor in exchange for personal v benefit. That's there's also somebody on the leadership team who did basically the same thing. Mark Johnson, the head of government affairs, who's a a hearing officer in North Carolina. He served one term. Thank you for your time. money. This is all money. >> Yes. >> Thank you for your time. Rosia Allorsa, come on up. You have two minutes to speak when you begin. Good morning everybody. Thank you for uh giving me the time. I'm here to actually thank you because I
044know there's a lot of issues that we need to pro um to progress in the district. But if we are united, nothing is ever perfect. Nothing is all bad or all good. But I think we can improve. Thank you, Mr. Carvalo and the whole board because I know there's different things that are being addressed. Mr. Scott, we really appreciate you and I also am a voice of many parents who are very grateful for you all because perhaps everything that the district has offered is not something we can find in our home countries. So that's appreciated. I also would like if permitted there's a lot of people that I would like to thank and that would like to thank you uh principles and a lot of other people but there's people that help us a lot
045as parents and we never recognize them and it's the interpreters. So, I I dared to to create some certificates if that is something that I'm allowed to to distribute because we need to be grateful for all the people that do something for us and I think they are the the hidden heroes because we don't really give them the appreciation sometimes. And I I just want to thank you all and hope you all have happy holidays. I hope you enjoy with your families and uh thank you and wish you the best. So may I please uh distribute these recognitions to the interpreters at least to Loose? Yes. May I call upon them? >> They're they're they're translating in this moment. [laughter] >> CC Yes. Yes. if I am able to at least um give this to
046them. Thank you very much. [applause] >> Okay. And Mr. Todd Grabarski, come on up. And then after Todd is Monica Razola. Hi, my name is Todd Gbarski. I'm a parent of a first grader in LUD schools. I want to thank the board for hosting those listening sessions over the past couple weeks organized by region and topic. I think however they led to a lot more questions than answers. I know a lot of parents including myself had a lot of very basic questions about LA USD's tech policy. Um so, you know, we couldn't get any answers at those sessions. So, I'd like to ask some questions. Um hopefully we can have answers here to clear things up. So first, does the district require students to complete a certain number of weekly IR ready personalized instructions minutes?
047Can >> Can we have an answer? >> Let's pause the timer real fast and I I don't want to take away from your time. So, the way public comment works under the strictures of the Brown Act, which I'm sure you're somewhat familiar with, is that the board cannot immediately respond to inquiry during public comment because it's not a specifically agendaized item. So, you can certainly lodge your questions, but you will be disappointed if you're expecting a direct response in this moment because it's not an agenda item. Um, we can't have someone uh approach members afterwards if you have the questions written down and submit them. Or another way that the board would get the is if you a ask the questions specifically via email, send them to each board member and then um they can
048either respond individually or as a group. I hope that makes sense in terms of their ability to respond in this moment. It's just a procedural >> aspect and someone in the back of the room will also approach you afterwards. >> Might if I seed some of my time, might the members of the board or superintendent Carvalo be able to answer? They just can't respond directly to questions that are addressed during public comment specifically for the Brown Act. It has nothing to do other than than that. It's not it's not agendaized. So, the board cannot address stuff that's not specifically agendaized. >> What if we're willing to meet with the What if we're willing to meet with the board members right after this meeting outside either here or um in the hallway or Superintendent Carvalo? Can
049then they answer? This meeting is going to continue probably until 3 or 4 pm. So, I think the best way to do that is to specifically email and say, "Hey, I'm requesting a meeting on behalf of this group and then go from there." And that's that's the best I can do. >> Can we meet can we commit to coming back at 3:00 or 4 p.m. and and having them answer our questions? Apologies if I'm pressing this a little bit too forcefully, but we've asked these questions at the listening sessions and in writing to uh over email to um assistant superintendent or the edtech innovation edtech and innovation director um other other folks. Can we right now make a motion to agendaize the item right now? >> The the the answer the answer in this moment
050is no. I I've I've got the request now and if you want to email my office that's michael lausd.net I will respond to you the best that I the best that I can but in this moment an ad hoc request is not going to be honored. >> Can can we make a motion to agendaize the item or a committee meeting right now? >> Uh you can't and >> can I request that someone on the board make a motion to agendaize the item? You have to there's a 72-hour agenda items have to be agendaized 72 hours in advance. It's a transparency motion. Well, that wouldn't be 72 hours and today wouldn't be 72 hours in advance. >> I understand there's not like an emergency or I mean we've we've been asking these questions for weeks and
051weeks and weeks now. So surely you can understand our frustration about not having any clear responses. These are basic questions about LUSD's policies that parents need to understand in order to instru help their kids learn about the things that this is requiring them to learn. So might is there something in the bylaws about sort of a >> exception or alternative way to have these questions answered? >> So I >> can I just say publicly to my colleagues on the board and you email board members at lusd.net and you at least have my commitment that your email will be responded to and the district will will respond to the questions that you're asking. Um, and if you want to email individual board members, whether it's our vice president who chairs the committee at the whole to
052agendaize something, you can. So, Mr. McClean is correct as Miss Gon is about the rules right now, but if if you email board members lusd.net, put your questions in writing, you will get a response. Is there someone from the superintendent's office that we can also include in in these questions in addition to board is the board members just the board members or does that include superintendent Carvalo or members of >> you email board members I will respond and I will CC the superintendent. >> Okay, we're going to we have to restart your time. So So I would say announce it all for the record and then when the time is over um that that's it. I appreciate your persistence. So please go ahead. Principles, parents, teachers are confused about whether the district requires weekly IR
053ready minutes. This is a simple question. Again, I'll invite it again. Clear up this confusion. Answer right now. Are weekly IR ready minutes mandated by the district? Yes or no? Speak maybe not in your capac. I invite you to speak to answer this question. Parents, principals, teachers are confused about this. Please clear up the confusion. In addition, and I've asked this question before the board and at those at those we at those listening sessions, the responsible use policies requires students to agree that they will not meet people off the internet whom they meet on their devices. My question is, do the schoolisssued the LD and schoolisssued devices allow students to meet people on the internet over the internet? again hoping for an answer. Are students able is the technology enable them to meet people on
054the internet? I hope that the answer is no. >> Thank you for >> I can't I can't assume that the answer is no. Probably the answer is yes because the district requires students to agree that they won't meet people in person that they meet on the internet. Thank you for your time. >> In addition, can Thank you. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your time. >> Uh Monica Arzola, come on up. You'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. >> Buenos Diaz. >> Good morning. My name is Monica Rasola and I am a mother of two students. And before anything, I want to say I have to put it on my hand because I don't know how to say it. LGBTQ IA that I don't have anything against this. Uh that's their
055life and they can do whatever they want with their life. But what's interesting of me is my children. And I have sent my children so that you to school so that you prepare them academically to be someone in life. And it's not fair that you're supporting all these organizations and schools. You, Miss Carla Grigo, that you feel proud to have those colors on your neck and to motivate children that to be confused of what they want to be. Children are uh minors, ladies and gentlemen. They are minors and you cannot be confusing them. That you can go to bed with a woman or you can go to bed with a man. That is not your problem. That is not your issue. That's not of your interest. That's about us as parents to guide our children
056of what they want. And that's why there's a certain age to do it. This is a time for students to focus academically. Please go back to paper and pencil that has always been used. Leave aside the technology that is confusing them. And what about gender? You're confusing them and it's not fair for you to tell the child. Do you feel microwave? So I'm going to call you now a microwave. Do you feel like a dog? I'm going to call you a dog. That's not fair because in the time that I enrolled my student with a name and a last name has to be respected. Has not been respected. It turns out that after a year, my daughter's name is not Erica and Max and the teachers knew and I was always there on my daughter's
057side and I've always been and now it turns out that she's confused and she has been cutting herself. Why? Because you have confused her that you're giving so much freedom to the students and that's not fair. You should inform parents that you have rules and I think that they give you a very good amount of money so that you keep giving fooling our children and that is not fair because you're confusing them and that's why there's a lot of suicide. >> All right, we'll call on the folks who listed themselves as being remote. Amanda Walsh Baker, I see you're on the line. Amanda Walsh Baker, please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Amanda Walsh Baker, I see you're online with us, Miss Baker. Please press
058star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. >> Hi there. Thank you. Um, I'm calling because I wanted to share some of my experiences at LA USD. I'm the mom of a now third grader, but I just wanted to go back to the beginning. I was so happy to sign my son up for our neighborhood LA USD school. I trusted the school and the district with my child and that you had his best interest at heart. And it wasn't long before he started to come home from kindergarten singing the first songs he learned. But I was surprised because it wasn't his ABCs or Old McDonald. It was Grammarly ads. Because it turns out the kids were all memorizing the ads that would pop up as their teacher was
059showing them YouTube videos. In fact, what's your favorite ad has become a popular conversation amongst L USD's elementary school students because that's how much they're being exposed to random advertising at school without parental consent because the teachers can't control what is popping up accidentally as they ceue up these videos. I ask you on this board, who here thinks that that is what a kindergarten education should look like? And doesn't this violate LA USD's own policy prohibiting advertising to students on school property? So, what is LA USD doing to take responsibility for exposing children to unknown content? Of course, an easy fix would just be to play less videos. Which brings me to my next question. Why isn't there a maximum cap at how much screen time a teacher can impose per day? This seems obvious
060and in line with pediatrician recommendations. So why isn't this kind of guidance a priority for LUSD? To be clear, I am in support of intentional and responsible use of tech, computer labs, computer science, but every subject through a screen as young as kindergarten and TK has got to stop. Does anyone here really think TK kids should be watching movement videos instead of being guided by their teacher or better yet going outside? Do you think a third grader should be learning an arts and crafts project from a video instead of a teacher? Is that what you really think? The research is out there. >> If you know better, it's time. >> Thank you for your time. The next speaker is [applause] >> Marcela Garcia. You listed as speaking remotely. Are you in the room, Miss Garcia?
061>> Uh, let's see. Karina Lopez. Oh, >> Karina Lopez, I see you're on the line. Please press star six to unmute yourself. >> Karina Lopez, I see you're on the line. Please press star six to unmute yourself. >> Yes. Hello. Okay. Gracias. >> Thank you so much. Good morning. My name is Karina Lopea and thank you for the opportunity to make a public comment. We are very concerned with about investing so much money in an organization that we truly don't know what they're focusing on. and listening to the previous mother. Well, it's very concerning that you are teaching students actions that students that do not have to do about education for children and I don't know when you have to be accountable for it about students that are minors that are vulnerable and that they
062still knowingly and still doing it. It is a sin to mess with children and that is not acceptable. It is a sin above all for all the hacking that's also does it's unforgivable. It's unforgivable by God to mess with children and school safety is a priority. The school police should be they should be invested the money for uh safe passage better give it it should be better best for the school police for the special education interpreter we need it we need it we should take legal action uh for all of that that you're focusing on school safety with support for school police so that you can increase the personnel of officers we should meet and have uh make a legal action. Thank you. >> All right. Raquel Diaz. Raquel Diaz, you listed as speaking remotely.
063Uh I do not have you online. Raquel Diaz, are you in the room? No. Anya Mexen, I see you are online. Anya Mex, please press star six to unmute yourself. And you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Anya Mex. >> Hi. Uh, my name is Ana Mexen and I'm a member of schools beyond screens. For months, we have been begging this board to listen to the science on excessive screen time in schools and what it's doing to our children. So today I will be sharing the science with you directly from a new book by neuroscientist Jared Horvath called The Digital Delusion: How Classrooming Technology Harms Our Kids Learning and How to Help Them Thrive Again. In his book, Horvath presents decades of data that shows a clear pattern. The more schools digitize, the
064worse students perform, leading to a very sad truth that our kids are becoming less and less intellectually capable. Starting around the year 2000, for the first time in the history of standardized cognitive measurement, generation Z is consistently scoring lower than their parents on many key measures of cognitive development from literacy and numeracy to deep creative c creativity and general IQ. And the early data from generation alpha born after 2012 suggests the downward turn isn't slowing, it's accelerating. The program for international student assessment, PISA, is the world's largest standardized test. And over the last 13 years, this test has consistently shown that the more time students spend on screens at school, the further their scores in reading, math, and science fall. Other major national and international tests show the same trend as do more than 25
065years of academic, clinical, and classroom research. The evidence is broad, consistent, and impossible to ignore. All showing that when schools replace traditional learning with digital tools, student performance declines. But why is that? Because of how our brains have evolved to work over millions of years. Humans learn through multimodal, multi-ensory experience, not by staring at flat screens teeming with distraction. And that is something that the tech industry, despite their best efforts, can't simply change overnight. So instead of adapting tech tools to fit our children's brains, tech companies are trying to reshape our children's brains to fit their tools. It's irresponsible and frankly it's abusive and you will not stop hearing from our growing movement until it stops. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you for your time. >> Okay, Marcela Garcia, I see you're on
066the line. Marcela Garcia, you've joined us online. Please press star six to unmute yourself and you'll have two minutes to speak once you begin. Marcela Garcia United States. >> Good morning to all. >> Good morning members of the board. Once again, I am here because I am a member of of parent group. I am here because I'm also worried about school safety. We need school police. We need to have enough officers because our children's life is is at risk. There are toxic substance people that are are hurting them and robbing them. And even though there's especially now it's it's getting dark sooners. Children are going home after after going home they go back to sports and therefore we need safety for our students and it's dark outside. Our children generate work and it is your
067job. Please please don't continue to remove school. Please uh interpreters uh thank you for interpreting. You're not interpreting. You are interpreting where you are now. You are not interpreting at the schools. Therefore, you as interpreters, you create the voice and be the leaders that in every school we have. We need to have interpretation at every school because you more than anyone else know the necessity of parents that need interpretation because when you give us the budget uh if we don't understand it in Spanish how are we going to understand it in English we need interpretation 100% at the schools because if you don't understand the budget imagine how Miss Desi Ortiz mentioned as parents if we don't understand it as parents how do you want us to understand it let alone where when it is
068not our language but we need interpretation 100% not a resume or not a just an explanation I thank you for that also I want to say I want to congratulate to all happy uh merry Christmas to all but guess what the index is lowering we have less students >> Brody also on the line Kate Brody please press star to unmute yourself and you have two minutes to speak once you begin. Kate Brody. >> Yes. Can you hear me? >> Yeah, we sure can. Please go ahead. >> Um, so this is just an aside at the top, but before I published my first novel, I taught high school English. And one of the reasons I rarely allowed laptops in my classroom was because I found that more than anything else um they function not only as
069a distraction but as a barrier and just severed any tie between the students and myself preventing understanding learning preventing any kind of human connection. And any seasoned teacher can tell you that you can tell in a glance if a student is working or simply scrolling turning class time into a charade and wasting everyone's time retreating into a world of their own unreachable. the last board meeting, um I was dismayed, uh how many members of the board reminded me of those students scrolling on their laptops answering emails when they could have been listening and making eye contact with the brave students who took the time out of their day to see you and seek your help. And I just want to say I find it rude and dismissive and it does not inspire confidence that you
070are the people who are going to save this generation of children from the many harms that threaten to befall them. these green addiction, dysregulation, loneliness, etc. What I was going to talk about today is the scourge of I already, but so many of so much of what I wanted to say has already been said more eloquently by my fellow parents. So, I just wanted to add one thing, which is that the anger you see here comes from a place of deep hurt and from a place of grief. I'm a public school kid through and through. Education saved my life. When I was a teenager and my dad died and my mom fell into addiction, I knew the way out was through education. And I was right. In more than more ways than one, books saved
071my life. And all I want for my kids is the kind of education that I received. All I want for them is a life of the mind. All I want for them is the promise of this country that public education can transform you and change your life. And this is what we all want. We want our children to have a childhood, a proper beautiful, imaginative, embodied childhood and a life that flows out from their own curiosity and hard work and it is very clear that these private tech interests are standing in the way of that and we can't allow it. That's all. >> Thank you for your time. And Carol Verde from Tab 2, it looks like you're here now. So, please come on up. You have two minutes to speak to Tab espanol. Okay.
072Okay. >> Good morning. Thank you for allowing me to be here again as a mother, a leader, a single mother and my son, special needs student. I am here with a lot of interest and I'm referring to you, Mr. Rosio Rivas. had a meeting at Thomas uh Stark King with the principal with principal Rousa. Do you know that's a big school, right? It's a beautiful school where a lot of white people attend, a lot of Caucasian people, a lot of Latino people. And my child is one of those students that are attending special needs. We have a very big problem because they want to remove a teacher from special ed. Therefore, they are giving the teacher more students. We're talking about children with wheelchairs, people that students that can't speak. They have severe autism. Therefore,
073they are giving them more than 15 students to a teacher. And that's not correct. Therefore, we spoke about this. I received uh signatures from Caucasian parents and they will be here too. What I want to say is well we have a because we had a good communication with you. I hope that next year that this is resolved. We don't want that teacher to be removed because this is so essential. Your right hand is general school but your left hand is special needs school. It's like the government. Without the system that holds this, we won't be held firm. Now my this is my worry. This school was funded in 1904 and it began to generate what it is activity with district in 1926. Therefore, there is no it says Thomas star king and this was for
074religious ministers in the past. But what I do want to say is that I will have a lot of communication with you because you said you will open doors to speak and I hope I receive an answer to speak with you because I'm not the only one who's going to speak with you. >> There will be many parents and several parents. Please. Thank you. >> Merry Christmas to all and God bless. >> Thank you for your time. >> Okay, that concludes public comment. The time is now 11:11 and the board is going to recess into close session. Six eyes's and one no. Mr. Smurlson, the board of education approved the conditional enrollment of the student in case number 12A with the recommended disposition. The vote was seven eyes. Under tab 2, employee discipline dismissal and
075release. The board of education authorized the dismissal of three classified employees. The vote was seven eyes. Under tab three, pending litigation, the board of education authorized a settlement in the case of Jane uh do Mr. RV LUSD at all. The vote with seven I's. Terms and conditions will be available upon the finalization of the agreement. That concludes reporting out and this meeting is going to recess until the following date until January 13th at 10:30 a.m. Thank you very much.