6/6/24 KCS BOE Regular Meeting

001e e e welcome to the Board of Education June 6 2024 regular session meeting please stand as we observe a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mr Wright flag United States ofer stands na indivisible andice Miss Henderson will not be in attendance uh tonight due to out of town travel and as super superintendent risewick announced at the work session Knox County Schools will be closed on Wednesday June 19th in honor of the juneth holiday our next policy review meeting is scheduled for June 28th at 9:00 amm in the summerplace community room uh also want to remind everyone that in keeping with tradition our July board meetings will be held the second week of July due to the July 4th holiday our work session is scheduled for July 8th and then

002the regular session on Thursday July 11th both meetings will start at uh 5:00 our normal time uh we thank all of you for being in attendance tonight uh we would ask you be respectful and courteous at all times to everyone who is speaking and uh if you need to speak to a neighbor take a phone call anything like that please uh please step out of the room to do so uh board members you received an email this morning I just wanted to announce publicly due to time sensitivity for the project Dr riswick and I approved the addition of agenda item 6 c19 regarding an outdoor learning Space Project at West High School uh the KCs facilities department has reviewed and approved the project and the finance department has verified that the funding from the West

003High School Foundation is in the school's internal accounts uh we can certainly have discussion answer any questions you may have uh when we are considering the consent agenda items are there any other requested changes to the agenda motion by Miss Horn a second by Miss Christie all in favor say I I any opposed motion carries um Miss Horn I think we have somebody that we'd like to recognize and celebrate today we certainly do thank you Mr triplet I had the pleasure of being on the committee that chose our student representative for this school year and so I have the honor of honoring um Miss Celeste erle this evening um and since this is her last board meeting um we wanted just to recognize her and thank her for her um diligence in attending our board

004meetings and bringing us the student perspective and representing her the student body and keeping students casy students informed um Celeste graduated from Bearden high school on May 23rd with a 44 4.42 weighted GPA and her act super score was 34 very impressive very impressive in addition to serving as our board student representative Celeste played school and Club volleyball and served as the captain of the Bearden varsity volleyball team during her Junior and Senior year she served as senior class Secretary of bearden's student government Association and as co-chair of their teacher appreciation committee and as a member of their marketing committee Celeste served on bearden's senior committee she participated in bearden's dogathon a school club raising money for East Tennessee children's hospital where she was selected to be on the treasury committee marketing committee and fundraising

005committee she served as the Bearden Key Club social media manager and historian and was selected by the Bearden High School faculty to serve on the School's prom committee she also T tutored students in math and English she worked as a concession stand manager babysitter and house sitter she collected and organized um donated Christmas trees for the fantasy of trees annual event and she volunteered at boo for the zoo Vu at theoo excuse me she packaged and distributed food bundles for families in need at Faith Lutheran food pantry and served as a middle school volleyball coach Celeste attended the 2023 Governor school for the Humanities she was a member of the National Honor Society her Junior and senior years she was a member of the National Junior Honor Society for her freshman and sophomore years and

006she earned the leadership three award a biology award a national Latin exam silver award and she was awarded the top dog award chosen by the teachers of Bearden High School quite an honor every year we all agree how hard it is to say goodbye to our student representative and this is certainly no exception Celeste we will miss having you on this board you've done a wonderful job representing your um colleagues your your fellow students and we're so proud of you and all these wonderful accomplishments and we will be so excited just to see what the future brings for you and we hope you'll stay in touch with this board so that we can continue to cheer you on every step of the way thank you and I have a I have a little thing for

007you so we'll go take a [Applause] picture everybody okay a [Applause] also like to thank her parents for being here tonight and glad you'all are able to make and enjoy watch and be a part and allow us to have your daughter these evenings so we thank you for that uh just a a reminder our uh the board of education's had uh detailed discussions on all these agenda items on June 3 in our work session a couple of days ago and Miss cotney thank you Mr chair um item six consent agenda we have a motion by Miss Horn a second by Miss Christie and we have some discussion Mr Watson thank you Vice chair um so item C seven is a data sharing agreement with ol Tre Early Learning Academy I just want to make the

008board uh want to make it known to the board that I'm the president of allive tre Early Learning Academy the intent of that data sharing agreement so that way we can understand the impacts of high quality Early Education as kids move through the K12 system so because of that I won't be voting on it I'll be passing but would ask for a roll call vote thank you Mr Watson Mr dupler thank you sir chair there um I um on 19 under consent agenda which which you had announced earlier was the West High School addition to for construction I just wanted to let the board know that I have that that that uh contract had some issues as far as as as legal U form for the board I have I have made those changes it

009will now be up to the contractor to accept those changes should the board approve the contract I just want to let you know that that's what's going on here obviously I only saw this contract this afternoon but but so I wanted to let you all know so we are approving your contract the one you have reviewed and changed that's correct and so they will have to just accept what you've changed if not we'll have to come back cor correct okay yes pretty good Miss Owen thank you do we need to pull those two items from the agenda and do them separately I mean from the consent agenda I can say as far as the item I'm talking about it's fine on consent but once you approve it on consent it will be with those changes

010okay yeah for the roll call vote do we need to remove that one for or do we need to roll call the consent we can we can pull it okay so we need to amend that motion to the consent agenda minus Olive Tree correct okay so I offer an amended motion to approve the consent agenda minus um item number seven the Olive Tree Early Learning Academy yes so we'll just do it next we'll just do it next so motion by Miss Horn second by Miss bike or Miss Christie and all in favor say I any opposed all right motion carries so then we'll do item C7 approv data sharing agreement with all tree Ernie Learning Academy for our one-year term motion by Mr Butler second by Miss Christie any discussion all right and we'll do

011a roll call Vote with that thank you Dr Butler yes Miss Owen yes Mr Watson yes Miss bike Miss Horn Mr triplet yes Mr Wright Miss Christie that's SE yes votes and one pass motion carries item 7A discussion and possible action on Knox County Board of Education policies i211 selection of instructional materials other than textbooks and i212 reconsideration of instructional materials and textbooks move to approve the updated policy i211 I'll second that second okay motion by Miss Horn second by Miss Christie I know we have some discussion we also have some public forum so we're going to do public forum first and then uh on this topic and then we'll get to uh the discussion uh Susan and I pardon me if I don't I can't read the last names all the way through but

012Susan grony Susan if you'll state your name and County of residence you'll have three minutes right Susan grany uh severe County um I've stood in front of uh the board before um and as many of you know I've uh excuse me just one second sure I apologize um to to have somebody that's outside of Knox County speak we do need to approve that is that correct any discussion on that are we do need a motion we have a motion we have a second we have a motion by Mr Watson a second by Miss bike any discussion we typically have allowed teachers to speak that are from Knox County I don't know how often we've had somebody from outside Knox County speak we need to do roll call or all in favor all in favor say

013I apologize for that you can carry on all right thank you um I've been training uh beginning middle school and high school English teachers at the University of Tennessee for over 20 years uh my husband's a middle school science teacher at wh Springs Middle has been in the classroom for over 20 years um I just wanted to say tonight that one of the arguments that we continue to hear from wouldbe book banners is that books that contain descriptions or depictions of sexual content are danger dangerous and harmful to young people but research actually supports that such books can be safe ways for young people to explore topics that they can't or won't discuss with parents or guardians or other adults in their lives research supports that reading such books actually prevents young people from engaging

014in Risky sexual behaviors as a young girl I was woefully naive about my own body and Sexual Health my father was never around we worked long hours and my mother was an addict lost in the throws of her own addiction thank goodness for Judy Bloom and her book are you there God it's me Margaret that taught me at the age of 12 what it meant to have a period that was not a conversation I could have had with any of the adults in my life and thank goodness for Judy Bloom's book forever about two High School seniors who fall in love and have consensual sex Judy Bloom has said that she actually wrote that book for her daughter who wanted to read a book where teens have sex and actually don't die from it I

015learned about the importance of consent from that book and about safe ways to protect myself from getting pregnant and from sexually transmitted diseases again conversations about any of these topics were not ones that I could have safely with any of the adults in my life these books were a Lifeline for me as they are for many young people today I would just ask the board to please trust teens trust teens with books that contain sexual content trust that they need them and trust that they can make decisions about what's appropriate for them and what's not and what's too mature for them and what's not thank you thank you Susan Dana hofseth if you'll state your name and County residence you'll have three minutes uh Dana hofseth Knox County uh currently sitting on Knox County school

016library shelves are books that are written for teens and pre-teens which present sexual experimentation and gender identity exploration as a healthy and normal part of growing up ENT Defenders of these materials claimed their necessary accommodation to a changing culture we even heard in the April meeting that they improve student reading scores seriously that study whatever it said was clearly misapplied in opposition to these materials are those who recognize that sexual experimentation and exploration is just sanitized wording for promiscuity and high-risk sexual behaviors and therefore have no place in the school libraries they are accessible elsewhere but in our school libraries they shouldn't be which position will hold sway what is the resolution to this ongoing controversy it shouldn't be that complicated the solution is found in the current laws of Tennessee Tennessee code to title

01749 which deals specifically with education chapter six deals specifically with Elementary and secondary education part 13 specifically 1304 indicates sex education must quote emphatically promote only sexual risk avoidance through abstinence end quote it goes on to say that instruction of the curriculum shall not quote promote implicitly or explicitly any Gateway sexual activity or health message that encourages students to experiment with sexual activity and quote that includes quote providing or Distributing materials on school grounds that condone encourage or promote student act sexual activity can it be more clear I'm not a lawyer but I can read the books being challenged are not compliant with Tennessee law we don't need a hand select committee to arbitrate each book you've seen the pictures you've seen the content or you certainly should have by now what possible justification our

018schools are out of compliance our Librarians are out of compliance and we need school board members to draw definitive lines based upon the will of the People based upon the code of the law the only reason you've been not inundated by outraged parents is that so few are aware of the depth of the pervasiveness of the vulgar materials available to their children when informed they simply can't believe it's that bad or that adults would purposely put these things before our children or young adults but it is that bad and you've seen seen it and there are adults who advocate for these things even if there was no law it's outrageous so the question is why why the reticence to implement current law hopefully Miss Horn's proposed policy update will move County a little closer to

019compliance with the law and with common sense sanity thank you Becky Becky hoffet Becky if you'll state your name and County of residence you'll have three minutes good evening my name is Becky Hof from Knox County and I am here as a mother of seven and grandmother to 11 standing in the gap for young parents who are in the beautiful Fray of raising children very few having the time to show up at a 5m Schoolboard meeting we must be mindful that their absence cannot be construed as disinterest and certainly not as approval of the child targeted sexually explicit book sitting on school library shelves I venture to say that if a survey was done of Knox County parents it would show that very few have any idea of the extent of the debase content available

020in our libraries let alone that their school board has yet to act on removing books which would be considered by most entirely inappropriate at the April meeting the library collection process was likened to do weeding a garden weeding is an entirely apt way of describing the pressing need to uproot and rid our libraries of the invasive and harmful species of books that have been condoned and justified by those who had placed inclusivity over the clear will of the people as evidenced by Tennessee law consider Tennessee was one of the first states to ban transition procedures in Miners and the first in the nation recently to pass a law that penalizes adults who help minors undergo these treatments we have laws that b ban miners from attending drag queen shows prohibit the availability of obsene materials

021and mandate abstinence-based sex education and yet we continue to witness the dismissal of these current laws moral traditions and even Common Sense by some of our school board members Educators and Librarians who unabashedly defend the use of taxpayer dollars to provide children with uh children and teens with sexually explicit gender dysphoric books such as never before seen in all of history on its face it is a Brazen and audacious position and Unworthy of the trust of the citizens of Knox County wide-eyed leaders will plainly see the lie that dares to justify the benefit of these books there is no comparison to the Judy Bloom book books that were referred to Courageous leaders will act accordingly know this you are not approved you're not an extremist a homophobe a racist a transphobe if you think sexually

022exisit books should not be available to youth you are a good person who clearly sees the truth thank you Susan horn for bringing the proposal that would require any books or materials with sexually explicit imagery to be removed from Knox County Schools with that proposal comes a Churchill Chamberlain watershed moment for each of you will you comp continue to appease the crocodile thank thank you can I just finish I have two more sentences we do have a lot of folks and I have to give everyone their their equal time I'm sorry okay God bless him may he direct your [Applause] decision Stacy Reese Stacy if you'll state your name County residence you'll have three minutes as well oh I've been here before you know me don't you uh I'm Dr Stacy Reese I live in

023Knox County um I'm the chair of West book challenge committee um and as such I've thoroughly dived into the language of both KCs School Board policy and the Tennessee code annotated one thing that I noticed about the KCs board policy I 241 and TCA 496 3803 they have the same wording so each of these states that Lea's develop a procedure for the board to quote receive and evaluate feedback from a student a student's parent or legal guardian or a School employee regarding one or more of the materials in the library collection of the students or employees School uh I'm an English teacher I have been for 31 years and immediately what stuck out to me is the use of the article the specifically use of the phrase the students school what this says to me

024is that a challenge to a book in a library collection is relegated to the school that the student attends no matter who the Challenger is further research led me to read Tennessee's house amendment 0657 that would add a new section to TCA title 49 chapter 3 part excuse me chapter 6 part three again stating that Lea's adopt a policy that allow parents or legal Guardians to report to the director of schools that quote material that is obscene or harmful to minors as defined in 39-1 17-9 is being made available to students through the parents or legal Guardians students schools Library West has a challenge to a book in our library however the Challenger does not have a child who attends West High School I am by no means a legal expert but I do know

025a little bit about how language is used and it sounds to me like the Challenger in our specific situation doesn't have a legal standing for this challenge um I would love some clarity on this going forward so that I can execute the responsibilties of chair to the best of my ability and to the letter of the law and as to all of the book challenges being made lately allow me to to say this please never in 31 years of teaching never not one time has I have I heard an educator promote sexual activity for teenagers never to me saying a sex scene in a book promotes sex is akin to saying you read Kill a Mockingbird and that promotes racism you read Romeo and Juliet and that promotes teen suicide and teen marriage we know

026none of that's true because the gentleman who quoted the TCA and the the definitions for obscene left out the part the language that's used right the book taken as a whole has literary value and that's how we look at books as a whole not in independent Parts Additionally the TCA defines a minor as a person who's not reached 18 years old and is not emancipated so taking books out of high school librar specifically means depriving some 18-year-old students legal adults of information I just want to teach I just want to be treated as a professional and I want some clarity and I so appreciate you all providing that for me and as always any of you are welcome in my classroom at any time thank you thank [Applause] you Lance [Applause] mle Lance if you'll

027state your name and County residence you'll have three minutes as well I'm Lance mold Knox County um Mr Vice chair and members of the board um I I don't know how this is going to go but I do think that it's important for us to recognize what's really going on here um this is all about politics um we are presented this thing by a group that calls itself moms for Liberty and as we've seen most of the people who come here and speak are not moms in our Knox County Schools and Liberty is the last thing they want in this case in particular they want to take options away from people their objective is to deny people the Liberty to choose what their children read what's in our schools they want their uh perspective to

028dominate over everybody else's that's why they're here that's what they're doing and our board members are are faced with a political challenge because there's a certain minority that believes that oh this is terrible and we have to protect the SI the little children and we have to protect the parents we have to do all this stuff because we are smarter than the people who we are protecting that's what's really going on here these are people who are setting themselves above everybody else and saying we have the right answer we have the values we know what's right for you guys this is what the real story is here now um you know I've got a simple solution for this you know and I don't know whether it's a good one but it makes sense to me

029it's like so if there's an image in a book that somebody and I don't know how we decide this because the this terminology sexual activity boy you know it could be kissing in the parking lot some people would see it that way so we're opening ourselves up to a lot if we choose to to adopt this thing but here's a simple solution buy some stickers and if there's a picture that somebody finds objection will paste it on there and leave the whole book the rest of the book there because the the librarian or the teacher who brought that book into the school evaluated on the basis of the whole book covering up just those words or that picture allows all the good stuff that comes along with the uncomfortable stuff to be available throwing out

030the whole whole book you know is like throwing out a whole person because they broke their leg it's crazy thank you very much Sherry super sherff you'll state your name and kind residence you'll have three minutes as well Sherry super Knox County chair of the dreaded moms for Liberty I received an reply from Miss bike today from to an email that I sent to everyone this morning quote Sherry I'm going to be honest here I don't hear about this from many other people or from any parents families from District 4 do you not trust our district leadership or our library science department the short answer is no I don't trust District leadership or the library science department as they are clearly aware these materials are available in our school libraries and have done nothing about

031it the current Library policy is in direct contradiction with the Internet safety policy and the sexual education laws in the state both are both use similar language to the amended inappropriate materials act that becomes effective July 1st the language is also found in federal obscenity laws for minors Summoner Rich sum Summoner Rutherford Williamson and Wilson County School boards have all removed inappropriate materials while Knox County fiddles you may not hear from parents but moms for Liberty does here are a few comments from a Facebook post about gender queer and funhome what is this real they arrest people for this crap unbelievable WTF I don't even know how to put into words how I feel about this that's disgusting to think a grown person looks at these and thinks to themselves this porno will be perfect

032for students I agree with Mr triplet sentiments it makes me sick to have this conversation common sense and morality dictate that images of and passages like this one any kind of penetrating sexual activity involved the anus is typically called anal sex this can involve penetration with the penis fingers or sex toys sex toys for anal penetration made of silicone are the best because they are they can be cleaned and disinfected just boil them in hot water for 5 minutes or run them through the dishwasher Are We Now educating children on how to disinfect butt plugs is this where we are on Monday some of you did a complete 180 claiming you don't want to do anything that harms students prove it and vote for Miss Horn's policy until a more comprehensive one can be implemented

033thank you Sherry [Applause] Garrett Sheriff you'll state your name and County residence you'll have three minutes I'm Sher Garrett I live in no County I'm Vice chair of the dreaded moms for Liberty and before you have a policy which states that um the change in it is any material containing images depicting a sex act or sexual activity shall be excluded I really appreciate Miss Horn bringing that policy to us this month um however the new state law that has been passed the amended state law in section 496 States for purposes of this section A material that in whole or in part contains nudity or descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement sexual conduct excess violence or masochistic abuse as those terms are defined in 3917 91 is not appropriate for the age or maturity level of

034a student in any of the grades kindergarten through 12 and must not be maintained it doesn't say cannot be maintained or it shouldn't be maintained it says must not be maintained so I think the law is very clear in the legislators that have passed this and Miss H I really do appreciate you bringing this I know you were working on this even before we knew this law had passed and that's all I have thank you Donna TR [Applause] Donna Donna if you'll state your name and County of residence you'll have three minutes hi my name is Donna trassy and I'm a resident in Knox County I wanted to take the opportunity this afternoon to recognize the hard work and dedication of so many in this room we have had hard conversations tough debates about very

035real issues in our community that don't always have a simple answer we don't always see eye to eye or agree and we have it all at times left these meetings frustrated and worn but we come back we come back meeting after meeting because we all love our kids kids and it is our god-given responsibility to protect our children and their childhood there are far too many that for selfish reasons want that childhood to end early when we have something to celebrate that protects our children we must share in it together and today we celebrate we have been heard and you have been heard heard for months we have worked together to remove inappropriate materials from our school libraries KCs by default of its email screening software conceded that these materials were indeed inappropriate this board

036acknowledged the need to examine and review these materials to remove them you voted to create committees tasked with that examination a few weeks ago the state legis legislator legislature passed a bill that Governor Lee signed shortly after as of July 1 by law these inappropriate materials will no longer be in our school libraries and today we celebrate together thank you that concludes that concludes public forum on this topic we have a motion and a second and we have discussion I think Miss bike thank you um it's correct today that I did reply all to some emails that I copied the whole board on and so I feel it's only right that I read these publicly for everyone um we got an email today from Miss super that says and I'm only going to read parts

037of it to introduce the idea all it has never been my or mom's for Liberty intention to ban books but to develop a system that is fair and appropriate as a National Organization I have access to information and policies throughout the state and nation that may prove helpful this information was provided to me by the moms for Liberty Wilson County chapter she goes on to talk about Wilson County I replied all to that which um has the board many other District people on it I said uh Sherry I'm going to be honest here I don't hear about this from many other people or from any parents SL families from District 4 do you not trust our district leadership or our library science department I would also like to point out that we are a different

038and larger District than Wilson County schools by approximately three times Wilson County has about 20,000 students we have about 60,000 students we are a large school district that part was not in the email but to explain that um she replied I'm not going to read all of this but if anyone does want a copy I did post it online I'm happy to share it um Katherine the email was a courtesy she goes on to explain her side I then replied to that and said Sherry these parents should be using the systems and channels in place rather than Facebook perhaps there would be more effective action I have done no 180s perhaps it's your assumptions about me that I have done a 180 she replied to that that said she had encouraged parents y y y

039that was also a reply all um I don't usually get all into this but we have a system in place we have gone over and over and over the systems in place I understand that there is a new law and I am always here to abide by laws I also do take offense to the idea that I would be wanting to harm children I take a great offense to that I have two children I Mentor children I Mentor little girls in through mountain biking I take a huge offense to that um we are representing a public school all schools all families in Knox County and we have to figure out systems and we have systems in place that work for all of that you know what families are reaching out about to me school security

040access to food third and fourth grade retention and student supports I hear about those pretty constantly one time so far in my almost two years have I heard about a book and that book was not any of the books that have been brought up or challenged and I have the privilege of asking people in the district about it it was a math studies book that was very sexual in nature and even the front uh made math sexy and it's in our libraries but no one seems to care about that one and I asked Miss cotney and several other people so that I could get some clarity and so that I could help this parent kind of understand that book more I talk to Librarians I talk to other people in our district and then that

041parent with the those explanations was very happy at the end and Let It Go I think parents have the freedom to choose parents can choose to have these books not allowed to be checked out by their students I think that is a freedom that is available to every parent and guardian in Knox County what makes me sick is that people are insinuating that our teachers and our Librarians are grooming children when we know that that is not true we know who is grooming children and I would really just love to focus on abiding by the law and actually protecting children thank you Miss [Applause] El thank you Mr triplet um I would just like to make sure all of our board understands that sex education laws are specific to curriculum and that is completely separate

042from library materials so all of those references to what can and can not be in the health curriculum and the sex ed curriculum that's not part of the library law okay um in this policy we have a reference that goes to TCA 496 1305 and 1306 but I don't see any reference to TCA 391 17901 which is where we should be looking to find the definitions that are referenced in both the current and the new new law um there are a lot of words that we could come up with a lot of phrases a lot of descriptions that could be considered sexual and inappropriate um even the word fiddles could be considered to be very inappropriate um so our legislature has pointed us to definitions to make sure that we understand exactly what they mean

043and I think we absolutely need to take time to add a reference to TCA 391 17901 so that our Librarians and our teachers can take a look at those and understand exactly what the definitions are we don't need them to go out and try to determine what the legislature might mean when we have the definitions right there and they are very very clear um I I mentioned some concerns Monday I want to reiterate that anytime we try to shove something through really quickly we tend to end up with a problem on our hands and so I would implore you to use the policy we have in place regarding how to adopt policies we have a policy policy it's supposed to go to policy review first where we can take time to make sure all of

044these things are in the policy and that it's ready to go before we end up bringing it out and and having discussions over things that may not be even relevant my other concern with this um besid the corrected language is fine but my other concern is that on July 1st the Law changes and the Law changes in some very specific ways one thing that it does it says that the um the library collection must be suitable for the age and maturity level of the students who may access the materials and we know that we have students who are 18 19 20 we may have 21y old students the other part of this says that it must be suitable for and consistent with the educational mission of the school and if we are looking at policy

045that encompasses all of our schools then and I think it's reasonable to look at the mission for all of our schools and that includes opportunities that are accessible and when we are removing books we are very specifically making those books inaccessible so if our mission statement is to be accessible the law says it must be consistent with the mission and we are removing things to make them inaccessible it seems that on July 1st we might have a problem problem thank you Miss Horn thank you um okay so there have been a lot of things stated um I'll just point out that in the um updated version of policy i211 that Mr dupler um submitted based on the conversation that we had Monday night um the the language that uh he I think changed it a

046little bit if I'm not mistaken so that it more closely matches the updated um code and moved it so that it's now under criteria for selection and also at the bottom of that listing referenced that we shall comply with all requirements of that law so that so that kind of takes care of a lot of the issue about what we need to explain or not explain um Mr dupler if you want to weigh in on the other um the more referencing the more specific language I don't know if you wanted to weigh in on that but I feel like the changes that you made um address some of the conversation that we had and I'll just say too I feel like you know obviously we've already established that on July 1 this is not um

047this will become state law so this is not going to become a matter of whether a Review Committee reviews a book and thinks it's okay or anything of that nature the law will be relative to the images that we've been disc discussing and uh not to mention the content the the uh written content but specifically we're talking about the images here so so it will not just so everybody understands it's not going to be a Review Committee it's it becomes them part of the the code and it's up to the school system to to uphold the law so if we approve this right now we are basically and we can approve it tonight and then we can have policy review at the end of the month and if we decide we want to make a

048change or an addition we can certainly do that and bring it and and then we'll have it on the agenda for second read in July um but but this this becomes part of the law so my feeling is we've been talking about this I know I heard first heard about it in October or November and I've been hearing from community members in my community for the last probably six weeks maybe longer but specifically the last several weeks um and so I feel like if we can approve a change an update clarification to our policy now um to me this is something we ought to do in my view so I feel like that we should do it now and um we would have to we have to do it in July anyway Mr dupler you

049thank you Mr Vice chair I was just going to expound upon what Miss Horn was saying which was I mean she and I had spoken before this meeting you know and after mon Monday's meeting obviously uh so that I could make sure that I was um trying to produce what what what she was asking about and you know her goal was to try and get something clear as far as some language and that's the language that in the U in the revised i211 appears on the um on the first page under line 34 uh so it so it adds language that was called for on Monday night it ALS o adds language that U that is very specific in the amended uh 496 3803 uh and those terms are defined uh under uh 3917 901

050and so that citation was indeed added at the bottom of page two uh and then and then finally Miss Horn wanted to to make sure again that that that it wasn't just that change she was trying to make a very clear change but she also wanted to make sure that that the board and the administration complied with all the new requirements under 496 3803 so that's why that that that additional line was was was added on page two so I just wanted to explain that thank you um I support uh Miss Horn this change to the policy um and I feel like it is the right move there really two questions here one is you know is this policy something we need and then do we need to pass it now right those are the

051questions we asked uh to the first question is is an absolutely resounding yes we do need a policy like this um we have U we've tried since October for a long time to have this discussion to to develop some sort of standard by which folks can review books um and and we have not got anywhere with it and haven't had a lot of support for it um but this one is very clear very plain very simple very well defined um not does it not real gray I mean it's pretty black and white and I think it it sets a clear standard and I think we need to enforce that standard um Beyond um just being state law I think it's the right move whether state law did it or not it's it's the right thing

052to do um I I feel very strongly that everyone on this board this should be a a a unanimous yes vote is really what it should be um and I know not everybody would agree with that and you you don't have to agree with me but um what we're discussing here is whether or not we want to give sexually graphic images and make that available to the students in our school ruls and and there currently there's not a according to Mr duper and Dr riswick and the standards we have set we don't have a clear standard on that and this sets that clear expectation um you don't have to agree with me I I I I come maybe from a different Viewpoint than some strongly believe you know um that that what I'm asking to

053be done is is scripturally correct and all of that but you don't have to agree with that we also have state law that agrees with that and uh to the second question um you know do we need to do it now uh we have we've been at this so long and we haven't really got traction anywhere we finally reached something that everybody's felt like was very clear on Monday night and uh what Mr duper will bring I I think will create a lot of discussion there's going to be some gray areas Mr dupler has mentioned that maybe some things that we're going to have to some nuances we're going to have to dive into to figure out this policy that she is bringing is not part of that gray area it won't be part of

054that discussion because it's very very clear so we need to pass what is very very clear now and that will give uh Dr Wilson Dr riswick and those folks time to get things organized and implemented for the start of the school year we can discuss at the end of June um you know what the law looks like for in other areas and that may be some robust discussion we get something started July and then August at the second reading we're already in school so it's too late so I I feel very strongly that this ought to be a yes vote um and I encourage everyone on this board to vote Yes um I'm not sure how you can vote no to this policy uh and I encourage you not to pass I mean a yes

055vote a pass vote is just like saying no that you don't support this so let's vote Yes and uh we'll get this policy in place and then some of the more nuanced discussion we need to have we can have uh in at the end of June um Mr Watson thank you Mr chair uh thanks for the opportunity to speak to this as as you all know I wasn't here on Monday night was vacationing in Clear Water Beach Florida with my wife uh for anybody's married out there get away with your spouse at least once a year no kids uh so it's it's a good thing good practice um so but I did go back and listen to the meeting and and appreciated the opportunity to do that I'm so glad we have that kind of

056technology I can't imagine trying to get you know the breadth of that just the reading reading meeting minutes uh Miss waren I appreciate you being responsive to your constituents and um to others who have come and spoken before us on this issue um I do agree uh with Mr triplet that I think there's you know two things that we uh really debating and maybe for me it's just really one it's just about the timing of it um and I know there was a lot of conversation about that on Monday night um I've been on the board now for almost four years and um we have wrestled through a lot of policy in four years and uh one of the things I've appreciated about that is we wrestle through policy and we do that um in

057the context of policy review meetings I also know that it was pointed out on Monday that uh currently our Librarians are not on contract is that correct did I hear that right Mr Wilson yes is that correct that our Librarians are not currently on contract correct they're they work teacher contract so yes they are off for the summer yeah and and we also know that our kids are not in school at the moment and I think we all know that the impending date for the law change is July 1 but we certainly have time to have a more robust conversation about this I I mean I know Miss Horn is picking up specifically on the new language around sexual conduct and sexual excitement we know that the former policy and even the version that we

058have tonight also has other language earlier up in it about explicit sexual content right so there's just more um commentary now relative to the law and online 34 and 35 but there's also some change around uh we have in in our policy current policy in this policy here graphic violence the language now is excessive violence I don't know if maybe that's not being pointed out for a change because we have less agreement about what excessive of violence looks like on pages in a book I don't know but to me we do need to have a robust conversation about this and and I'm fine with having a conversation and getting to work and doing a policy and voting on it um I don't think anybody necessarily has any interest in continuing to extend it we do

059know that the law is changing um and I heard a lot of comments on Monday night that this sends a clear statement it's interesting because we used a lot of that same language some of us did the meeting before um about the law that passed related to possibility allowing teachers to come armed in schools and some of us wanted to make a clear statement on that and didn't feel like we got it just by adding the word only and the reason I bring that up is not to put that in anybody's face but what I'm saying is we argued about one word because we want to make a clear statement and I'm guessing that we need to argue about some more words on this um and I think it's important for us to not Rob

060ourselves of that conversation and I think the statement that will be made is to moms for Liberty and others who have been advocating for this and it's your right to advocate for it and I think you will send a clear statement hey we heard you and we did something but I don't think us rushing it to make a statement is the right move I think we need to actually take the time and and discuss it because there's a lot of things that have changed in the law um and I think we need to try to get it right and again my comments are not about the law whether or not it's good or bad or indifferent I mean like Miss Mike stated we've all committed to follow stat law um and a lot of our

061conversations over the four years that I've been on the board Rel relative to policy is updating policy regarding to law so to me this is a shift in practice for us uh I actually don't remember a time where we've been given a suggested change to a policy without discussing it ahead of a meeting and then being asked to pass it on first reading and again I do think your point in doing that is to send a very specific statement I'm just saying that I don't know that it's our role to um send statements that are not clearly articulated and I know that we even between Monday night and tonight we've already made some changes I mean what you proposed has already been shifted in the per in in the course of a 30 minute conversation

062on Monday night and to me if if that's true if it already probably wasn't what it exactly needed to be and it never is right like it's it can always be better I don't know why we wouldn't give ourselves to discuss that more in June as a board Focus just on that issue um so I will be passing it's not because I want kids to see pornographic materials so you know you saying that like my past vote means that is not appropriate I don't think my past vote means I think we need to take the time as a board and discuss a policy at length and give it the credit that it's due uh because as we all know the law has changed um so miss Owen thank you I appreciate that Mr Watson was

063so diplomatic in talking about what his vote means I will probably be less so um if we are following Robert's Rules I believe it is pretty clear that attacking motivations of other board members is inappropriate and I don't appreciate having anyone Define for me what my vote means if you want to know what my vote means you get to ask me you don't get to tell me and I have already said that I disagree with the premise of even voting for this because we have a policy that we are violating by doing so we have a policy that says that our changes will go in policy review before coming to the board it then says that we will pass on two readings there is no emergency situation right now that says that we must do

064this quickly or expediently or anything else and Dr Wilson told us on Monday that Librarians are off contract right now so really all we're doing is getting them to pay attention to something while they're off contract and knowing teachers as I know teachers they're probably going to try to go to school and start doing something about it that's not appropriate um we should be following our policies when we're making policies if there's no inherent reason that we shouldn't my question is when this was brought to us we had 211 and 212 but I 212 we're now not looking at and that's a bit confusing because if we needed to add the language to I to1 I would think we would need to add language to i212 because the law did not remove the reconsideration of

065instructional materials and textbooks so you know if we are if we are looking at adding this language in one of these policies it seems that we are going to have these two policies that are no longer aligned so that is also a concern and just one more reason why we should take the appropriate time time that is in our policies thank you Miss Horn thank you um if you'll notice in my in my motion I just moved to up to um pass policy i211 and I I was not recommending that we pass policy 212 I think if you look at line 13 on policy 22 it references directly policy i211 so I really don't think we need it in both places I don't think the language needs to be there because it it basically references

06621 which list a listing of criteria so I think that it doesn't need to change because it already references to 11 is that it Miss yes and I'll I'll just say since I have the floor again thank you that um you know we' we've been talking about books since since April or since October and um we need some traction on this we need to get moving on it we didn't have a policy review meeting in May I think the meeting was cancelled or the LA I think I think it was in May that we were supposed to have one um so um this is an important issue I don't think that this is an issue that I would prefer that we wait for state law to dictate that we make the change I think that

067we should make a change like this just because it's the right thing to do and um so that's why I would prefer that we go ahead and move on this now thank you Mr Watson thank you Mr chair so um I think because it's been referenced several times I just wanted to read a minute from the policy itself so uh policy b200 policy development adoption I mean I think it's I think Miss waren is correct that if if this policy is voted through I think I mean we are absolutely going against our policy so starting on line eight on policy b200 I'm not going to read it all but the important section relative to the conversation here says either the administration or a board member May propose policies or policy amendments Miss waren is absolutely

068doing that and within po within this policy to do that um all proposed policy or policy amendments it does say All Shall first be brought to the director of schools or the director of schools design for addition to the policy review process our polic policy review process is having a policy review meeting following the review process then proposed policies or policy amendments shall be submitted to the board for consideration as a part of the agenda so I just want to make it known that if we don't do that we are circumventing our policy related to it and you know I know that there's reasons at times to not follow your policy I just think it's interesting that when we're proposing a shift to a policy we're not following the policy related to that when that's

069been our practice um I don't know so yeah any further discussion is there a second so now we vote on the all in favor of call for the question say I all right you want to do a roll call vote on the motion on the floor Dr Butler yes Miss Owen No and this is for call for the question yes we just we just voted all in favor say I I'm so sorry we voted all in favor say I everybody agreed to go for the vote I apologize I didn't make that clear so this is related to miss Horn's motion on this this is motion on the updated policy Dr Butler Miss Owen Mr Watson Miss bike Miss Horn yes Mr triplet yes Mr Wright Miss Christie that's four yes votes two no votes and

070two passes Dr Butler did you want to change your pass vote Mr Watson no motion fails item 8 a approve Consolidated GR application and receipt of funds from the Tennessee Department of Education for fiscal year 2025 Federal Title 1 a Title 1 C Title 1 D Title 1 n title 2 a title three and title four in the amount of 18 million 646 motion by Mr Butler second by Mr Watson any discussion all in favor say I I motion carries item 8 B approve Tennessee Department of Education fiscal year 2024 summer learning camps Grant in the amount of 7,570 758 motion by Miss ow one second by Miss bike any discussion Miss Kristen yes Mr chair I don't have any discussion on that but I'm hearing I'm having a hard time hearing I'm hearing noise

071I think some folks stepped out so I think we're we're good we'll ask folks if they'll U be quiet while we do this any discussion on item 8B all in favor say I I any opposed motion carries item 8 C approve Tennessee Department of Education fiscal year 20124 turnaround action grant for Austin East Magnet High School Vine Middle School Northwest Middle School lawdale elementary school Sarah Mor Green Elementary School and mayard Elementary School in the amount of 1, 89,4 $459 motion by Mr Butler second by Miss Owen any discussion all in favor say I any post motion carries 8D approv Tennessee Department of Education fiscal year 2025 Carl D Perkins Career and Technical education grant in the amount of $943,000 75 motion by Miss Christie second by Miss Horn any discussion all in favor say

072I any opposed motion carries 8 e approve TBA energy right learning environment grants in the total amount of $30,000 for Dogwood Elementary School Halls Elementary School and Northwest Northshore Elementary School motion by Miss Christie second by Mr Butler any discussion all in favor say I any opposed motion carries 8 F approve United clean up oakd LLC stem education minig grants in the total amount of $3,250 for Amhurst Elementary School KS high school and mil Creek Elementary School motion by Mr Butler second by Miss Christie any discussion all in favor say I any opposed motion carries n9a approved Construction contract with skilled Services Quality Construction LLC for Innovative School models projects at Austin East Magnet High School Carter High School Carter Middle School faragate High School Gibbs High School Gibbs Middle School Gran Middle School Hall

073High School Holston m Middle School South D High School South D Middle School West Valley Middle School and will Springs Middle School at a cost of $3,110 th000 using Innovative School models Grant funds motion by miss Warren second by Miss Owen any discussion all in favor say I any opposed motion carries nineb approved contracts with DPM Enterprises Incorporated doing business as DPM surface Care Service Master contract Cleaning Solutions and Zion Imperial Solutions in orated for provision of carpet and Flor tole cleaning services up to $500,000 annually for the term of July 1 2024 through June 30th 2025 which may be extended for four additional years motion by Mr Butler second who was that second by Mr Wright any discussion all in favor say I I any opposed motion carries 9 C approved contract with HSC

074building Automation and controls for provision of energy and water effic goods and services for Cedar Bluff Middle School as set forth in tip Center local purchasing system Cooperative number 231020 up to $500,000 commencing on July 2024 motion by Mr Watson second by Mr Butler any discussion all in favor say I any opposed motion carries n9d approved contract with HSC building Automation and controls for provision of energy and water efficiency goods and services for for Central High School and green Magnet Academy as set forth in tips inter local purchasing system Cooperative number 23122 up to $175,000 commencing on July 1 2024 motion by Miss Owen second by Mr Butler any discussion all in favor say I any opposed motion carries 10 a approved fiscal year 2025 fund balance designations in the amount of $2,719 102 motion

075by Mr Butler second by Miss Horn we do have one public speaker uh public forum speaker on this topic Michelle mean is Michelle here there she is no she's not Michelle nobody moving is anybody in the community room that you know of I apologize for the bay just want to make sure she's here or not give her opportunity to speak okay very good any discussion looks like uh Miss bike yeah I just have a couple follow-up questions because to the questions that I asked on Monday about that um $430,000 that's um kind of wrapped into this um I really appreciate all the clarification but I think I need a little bit more clarification is there any sort of RFP that's related to this chunk of money what is can you explain that process a little

076bit I'm sorry and thank you Dr Brown thank you thank you Mr triplet Miss bike yes um if you will notice one of the line items uh in in this um fiscal note is for $375,000 um again that that is just a that's an estimate we have no idea what it will cost we we did put the item out for RFP um I've been informed by federal programs uh and procurement that we have had a respondent um and so I'm waiting for procurement typically we would need three respondents and then we' put together a committee and we review those and then we would bring a recommendation to the board uh so I think at this point in time we either have to accept the one respondent that we we' have had um and I don't

077have the details on that yet uh Miss Martin has that she's worked with procurement um and then we would bring that recommendation to you all would um when did that open for for acceptance the RFP uh so it published on April 8th and closed on May 8th okay so then at this point no one else could that is correct and and if we chose not to accept this one it's my understanding that we would have to repost post and the next window I believe is July 1st okay is this um forgive me for not knowing more is this something we've put out an RFP before for not that I'm aware no is and this one is directly related to what the task force recommendations were yes okay yeah so we are looking at a third-party

078uh vendor to do a full analysis of the special education department um I think the task force specifically pointed out inclusion and we are aware that inclusion is one piece of special education but our intent just like we did with literacy just like we did with 865m just like we did um with um I'm trying to think there was another one oh the region five plan we want to get somebody to to take a holistic approach and look at our entire special ed Department point out you know the the the pluses and the minuses and then help us identify areas where we can improve and then build a 3 to five your strategic plan from that would this include um because I know sometimes there's um other areas is this um for special education would

079this just be for the area of students that have IEPs would it also be 504s and then just IEPs yes 504 is not covered under idea so would this look at um fam's process of getting an IEP or would it just look at how we're serving the students for inclusion that already have an IEP so I would say that that's that's an interesting question um I I I would say that part of the process for idea is is a process called child find which is how we identify students and so that would be a component of idea and that would also be subject to the analysis so yes making sure that we have clear Pathways and I will say also one of the other recommendations one of the things that we most recently did was

080update the website and we're doing a complete I know Miss lner's department or division is doing a complete overhaul of the KCs website uh but we've gone ahead and tried to launch some things on the special ed page to make sure that we are making that process easier and and trying to make it as as as quick and as easy as possible for our parents okay yeah it would just be one of my big concerns with that process that we really look at um how how we are helping families get to the point of an IEP if that's what the student needs yeah absolutely yeah thank you thanks miss Helen thank you um did procurement give you any indication of maybe reasons why there were so few is it because there are few who do

081it or anything like that uh Miss Owen I have not had a conversation with procurement so I I don't I I was a little disappointed myself I really thought um and they actually reached out to several people who do this kind of work and we did not receive responses from some of them so um I don't know if it's it's the size of our district or you know I again I this is my first round with procurement and an RFP uh so I don't have any experience but I was a little disappointed that one was all we got um I I will say that they are very thorough in how they put those out so they they can usually they usually have some feedback about the wise yeah so they might I will definitely ask

082those questions when when I do get the opportunity to sit down but um Miss Martin is our point of contact for that so I'm kind of waiting for her to give me some direction on where we go next if you ever want to do a super nerdy thing you can go down there and look at a whole stack of them it's I I'll do that in my spare time any other discussion all right all in favor say I any opposed motion carries item 10B approve the schematic design for the new faragate area elementary school by Mardi Hall sapple mccardy Incorporated motion by Miss Horn second by Miss Christie any discussion all in favor say I any opposed motion carries we'll move to public forum Jennifer rose Jennifer here I do not see Jennifer uh William

083Rose oh Jennifer's coming there thank you Cody sorry about rushing you over here Jennifer I apologize sorry we were trying to get over here Jennifer you'll state your name County resident you'll have three minutes Jennifer rose Knox County good evening everyone during Monday nights works session we discussed two major concerns new salaries and the book ban Mr horn emphasized the importance of the book ban stating that taxpayer money funds these books and wants to ensure KCs complies with Tennessee state law it's ironic that we focus on taxpayer money spent on books and state law compliance yet KCs seems indifferent to significant taxpayer funds spent on lawsuits due to multiple federal law violations including Ada idea and fape I'm not here to debate the book issue but to highlight that KCs selectively enforces laws and prioritizes

084taxpayer money only when it aligns with their interest for instance on Tuesday Morning the administration released a new administrative procedure for the J 359 private practitioner policy the health services supervisor promptly sent this to all private practitioners this procedure is setting Cas CS up for more lawsuits and more taxpayer money wasted it grants the Health Service supervisor and School principles greater control over approving or denying medically necessary Services ordered by a child's doctor the procedure even states that principles can override the J 359 policy over a year ago I first asked a crucial crucial question that remains unanswered why does anyone within the KCs Administration down to the school level have the authority to decide whether a child's Doctor's Medical prescription is allowed for example parents have to monitor their child's glucose levels from home

085or work and if the child needs insulin they must leave their location to administer it at school this is because Casey is Administration and the health services supervisor believe they know more than a child's medical doctor during one of the board discussions last year Mrs Owen stated that she didn't think anyone within KCs including herself should make medical decisions about a child that override a doctor's orders all of you agreed so why is this still happening why does KCs continue to allow it and create even more procedures that enable it why are we more concerned with taxpayer dollars spent on books than the amount spent on lawsuits due to such procedures and medical neglect if someone were to request documents showing the amount KCs spends on books versus lawsuits I bet the lawsuit expenses would

086be higher what will it take for KCs to wake up and make changes I hope it doesn't take a child being seriously hurt injured or Worse dying due to kcs's neglect and the attitude that Health Service supervisor Administration and others know more than medical professionals thank you thank you William [Applause] Rose there we go William if you'll state your name for us and your county of residence and you'll have three minutes to speak William Knox County I actually have something with my time being in Bowmont I can tell something that all the teachers have nothing to do there and I can say I'm going say that that they do need to get to do something different with their lives because I have shown and what I have seen as a kid from bont I really

087have seen some things after seeing teachers yelling at children and mostly even but also I been bullied nothing but I do before Knox County Schools to do get something to happen with them and I actually hope Knox County will get to be able to make sure that they have better schools especially they do what they know especially from especially from me and from bont I will I can really say that I have that I have had seen and and heard some things that that I don't like from teachers and also know that Knox County I I believed more I believed a lot more could I believed act a lot more better in them in Knox County Schools especially bemont because I believe because I believed that they could have that they could make sure that

088they had uh that the kids really there had a fun time and be able to actually so the teachers can do what they say and especially send to me that they're going to make school fun it did not look fun it did not even sound fun be that mean that I'm that the reason is that I believe Knox County has the time to be able to at least change the teachers or at least give their teachers more training because I have shown and seen mostly not so but I've seen in are some things that I do not like and some things that I wish could possibly go away and and everything has went better since I have got homeschooled thank you it's been it's been a pleasure to speak you thank you William Jessica turn

089Bill Jessica if you'll stay your name and County residence you'll have three minutes we'll give you time to get the podium back up as well thank you okay um my name is Jessica Turell and I live in Knox County thank you for allowing me to speak here in front of you tonight I come to you as one of the many nurses in Knox County Schools we are concerned about the removal of our experience from our pay steps many of us had number of years experience prior to coming into Knox County Schools when when we were hired we were credited for up to 5 years of the experience just as teachers are with the new pay system these are being taken away from us we bring bring our critical thinking skills multitasking and initiative with us

090we are responsible for all students and staff in Knox County Schools but the loss of the credit makes us feel de devalued my personal Clinic averages around 50 kids a day um and more during the cold and flu season there have been multiple injuries all of which have avoided ambulances because of my knowledge in the medical field and knowing the difference between an emergency and a visit to the ER there are other situations in schools where quick response of an ambulance or even CPR has helped to save students lives and yet when it comes to raises we are valued less than teachers another concern we have is that someone with the same degree as several of us a bachelor's degree in nursing can teach a health science class and receive all the benefits of a

091teacher but the rest of us being School nurses and Knox County do not get those benefits we are certified by the state we have a license to upkeep and we are required to accumulate inservice hours just as teachers are we reduce the liability of Staff members by making sure medications are dosed and received properly medical professionals have to calculate insulin dosages for diabetic students several times this year misprints on food items in the cafeteria could have led to a lethal dose of insulin being administered had the school nurse not the CAU they the errors we are responsible for tube feedings caiz tra suctioning and changes along with multiple other duties we have no guaranteed lunchtime and are often called off lunch to take care of Staff their students we have done so for years because

092we are nurses and we care additionally we cover after school dances field trips community experiences and other special events that require nurses and um if these if nurses weren't here these could not happen as administrators educator parents and nurses we work hard to teach our kids to compromise come up with Solutions and be fair we feel we were not offered this opportunity having pulled our nurses I it appears that a majority of us would receive less than a 2% raise under the new pay scale we are only asking that the board take up this issue concerning the decrease of the steps and look further into the situation we are asking that we be valued as employees of Knox County Schools and as healthc Care Professionals thank you again Alexis roads Alexis roads if you'll state

093your name and County of residence you'll have three minutes William is much better at this than I am okay Alexis roads Knox County my son does not struggle with autism he is quite good at it one could argue that he is good at it naturally but my husband and I know that he has often and able to excel in his strengths and is learning to cope with his discomforts because of the services and treatments that we have been fortunate enough to provide for him the very supports that Knox County school had dragged their feet for months to allow him access to one of his strengths is a common autistic stereotype of being good with numbers to take a page from his book I have gathered some numbers for you at the public policy review meeting

094in March KCs confirmed that there were currently 42 students receiving ABA services within Knox keny schools at that time KCs was also knowingly restricting access to some of those students and also publicly stated that they were doing so with the knowledge that those practices were not in any violation of any law or school policy back to the numbers though at least nine out of those 42 students were impacted by this restriction that's 21% and to be exact these students were denied access to services for 60 school days which is exactly one-third of the school year what's worse these numbers were impacted due to what KCs claimed was one parents concern one parent of one student one student makes up 0.16% of the 60,000 plus students within KCs making that one parent 0.008% of potential parents

095of KCs students so to summarize KCs made the active choice to not meet the needs of 21% of students for 33% of the school year to make 0.008% app parents comfortable now I'm no mathematician but those numbers seem wildly disproportionate to me at that March meeting the board made one simple request to revise admin procedure to allow for remote observations they made a clear simple plan to do so it's now June and that procedure was just approved by the superintendent what took so long is it because KCs took the opportunity to make unrequested revisions that further restrict these Medical Treatments these revisions are poorly written and the only that clearly outlin is the lack of knowledge KCs has regarding private practitioner services and the combative relationship they intend to have with private practitioners and families

096I ask that the KCs staff and superintendent re-examine this procedure over the summer and actually collaborate with appropriate stakeholders this also means therapists rbts bcbas and parents to develop an educated clear procedure that prioritizes prioritizes the students needs and not 0.008% of parents I also ask that you begin to respect the time of your students as their medical needs require this time around thanks Allison Allison past if you will state your name in County residence you will have three minutes Alice ponac Knox County good evening it's been almost a year since I last spoke in front of the board last July I stood in front of you to express my gratitude for the unanimous passing of the private practitioner policy an entire school year has passed since then and I want to let you know

097the impact that policy has had on my son last August my son Alex began his e8th grade year at faragate Middle School prior to that Alex's ABA provider and I submitted all required documentation on the KCs portal and we were granted approval for Alex to receive ABA Services during the school day for the first time in over three years Alex was able to attend school 5 days a week while also receiving the ABA therapy recommended by his Physicians for the first time in three years Alex was able to be included in the general education setting for the entire day apart from one hour during which he received pullout services for math the administration and staff at faran Middle School worked in collaboration with Alex's therapist to make sure all parties were able to do their

098jobs follow their procedures and most of all make sure Alex had the most successful eighth grade year possible there was a learning curve along the way but the school administration was communicative and professional whenever a concern arose the administration teachers and staff were willing to collaborate as Professionals for a common purpose my son I believe this is what was intended by the implementation of the private practitioner policy at this point I would love to say thank you and good night unfortunately nothing is that simple as grateful as I am for my experience last year I am also disheartened to hear that not all Knox County students had an experience like Alex it is understandable that issues will arise when a policy is newly implemented and rarely is it possible to foresee potential shortcomings and pitfalls

099of a policy until it is put into place I was not surprised to see that an administrative procedure had been written to accompany this policy after it had been in effect for full school year I was hopeful this would provide some countywide guidelines that would result in a more consistent experience for private practitioners and the students who are benefiting from their services unfortunately the administrative procedure recently signed by Dr risewick gives an enormous amount of discretion to the principal while that worked out just fine in my case that wasn't the case for other Knox County students I would like to ask that a written and that written and transparent guidelines be made countywide for both parties to follow thus remove moving the ability of an of a principal to interfere with or even deny services

100that they may not fully understand written transparent guidelines will go a long way toward minimizing the contentious Dynamic some parents and providers have felt this year from their KCs administrators Alex will be going to high school in August and I can only hope that his experience there will be the same as he had in middle school but with different administrators I can't be sure please help create consistency across Knox County so that every student can have the type of school experience Alex had last year thank you Tara Wilson if you'll state your name and County residence you'll have three minutes I'm lay that right now good afternoon everybody who is on the Des uh and I want to thank you all for your service to the youth in um Knox County my name is Tiara

101lady Wilson and I stand before you as a concerned constituent in this County but more importantly a black mother to two beautiful brilliant and bold black children of Austin e magnet high school who have an IEP and 504 plan and who love their black community that seems to be underserved by Knox County Schools I am here um to speak on the public education system that fails black parents by number one discrediting our valid concerns of mistreatment and abuse of power by white Administration and staff we are made with met up rules and policies that protects Knox County School Employees instead of our children and those in charge then number two dismiss our words with no merit as if they have no merit and our desire for our black children to be treated with decency and

102we as parents to be respected and if we dare to stand on business then it becomes a mission to demonize those of us who refuse for KCs to sweep unresolved problems under the rug this strategy has been pulled out by play with undisclosed civility codes against passionate parents in order to number four destroy our characters giving away erroneous causes not to address the issues that were blatantly ignored when we were first dismissed today I want to stand and list the names of those on public record who refus to allow me to State my claims when it came to accommodations for my children and their failure for me Sylvia fro Seth Smith Jennifer Sutherland Dr Charlene Lewis Tommy Watson of career magnet Jill black SEL Reynolds and Corey lther I'm here today because these people have

103failed to follow the policies that Knox County has in place I've made calls I have made emails and I love policy and procedure and that is the only reason why I stand before you all today because you all have failed to do that not you all but the people who you all oversee so I'm here today because I don't want to have to come back here every month and outline what these individuals did on public record all I would ask is that the people who are in place the people who are in charge would actually follow your policies and respect parents who have issues and concern versus sweeping our issues as if they don't mean anything under the rug thank [Applause] you Sylvia Woods Sylvia if you will state your name and County of Resident

104she'll have three minutes uh my name is Sylvia wood S I raised born and live in Knox County um I was um elected Knox County PTA president 1978 and 80 so I've been around a while I've been active with the PTA Clothing Center all that time uh I have been president several times I've been treasur secretary I've been a volunteer and I've always been a donor uh yes that's over 46 years over half my life uh I am very active in the community and I am I consider myself an activist um during the years I was active with the PTA Council I went seven years to Schoolboard meetings and never missed a one I was at oh old Knoxville High School the night caught fire when the school board was having a meeting and I

105set through one whole summer of negotiations when the teachers started first negotiations so I've been involved with the school system and the clothing Center for a long time but I want to talk to you about the PTA Clothing Center and what's happening to it what the devil are you all doing to our clothing Center we've been in business since 1935 helping Knox County Schools and helping the students and uh we've been we' I can remember us being moved four times during my 46 years uh we were happy at the seirus building I don't see any for sale signs outside um I know it's been talked about but we were told we were mov moving everything was packed up and moved away and we're not happy about it um the Administration staff has decided they don't

106want to make they they want to make the decisions on how to run our organization that is the PTA has success sucessfully run since 1935 our mission is to make sure students have clothes that look like everybody else's and we all know that a happy child is easier to teach it is more open to learning children unable to to attend school because of their clothing means a child is missing out on what you all do educate prepare children to grow and survive and succeed the PTA is a 501c3 nonprofit organization we file 990 forms with IRS and uh we get United Way Grants that helps pay for the clothes you manage the the we manage the clothes and you all have provided the staff since the merger in 1986 you've provided us two and a

107half people almost all that time your staff and maybe you are responsible for packing everything up that we own and moving it to Cedar Bluff a long way from Center City it is not conducive to parents um social workers that have to come by or funders and we see no reason why moving us like I said is a sold building I don't the building sold for for we didn't see it plus School sta staff has decided how we are to operate we are told how we must operate while we serve the students of Knox County Schools and that has always been our Focus oh gosh my time I'm so sorry everybody gets three minutes I apologize you'll hear from me again or somebody will and you are welcome back [Applause] absolutely and with that meeting

108is a jour