001good evening and welcome to the regular session for the Board of Education may3rd 20177 all nine board members are present and so we will call the meeting to order and tonight the moment of silence and Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Miss deathridge if you'll stand flag salute I pledge Al to flag of the United States of America and to the stand andice okay please bear with me for our announce ments just another reminder this is my favorite week May 8th through the 12th is Teacher Appreciation Week be sure to show your support for our amazing Educators during this time also as I shared um at our work session on Monday evening the announcement of our student representative for the 201728 school year was delayed until tonight's meeting because of the timing of the
002interviews of the top four finalist and difficulty in contacting them over the weekend but I'm happy to share um that announcement with you this evening I was thrilled to have the privilege of serving as our board representative on the selection committee the students who applied for this position are not just good students but they are simply amazing people as I shared before we had a total of 14 applicants from nine different high schools and after a review review and ranking by the committee the top four C candidates were moved through to the interview process the four finalists who are all Rising seniors were linkoln dilman of KS High School Michelle he of faragut high school Kenley C of West High School and Carolyn Whitehead of Powell high school I want to thank each of the
003finalists personally on behalf of the committee and on behalf of the board if these students are any indication of our world's future I can assure you that we are in good hands so let's give a round of applause to the four finalist following the interviews the committee members totaled their interview scores with the application scores and I'm happy to introduce to you our Board of Education student representative for 201718 from West High School Kinley CS will be sharing more detailed information about Kenley at our June board meeting when she joins us at the table with Sydney thank you so yeah I just I said gosh I feel old I uh had the pleasure of teaching Kinley when she was at Hall's elementary school so it's a special moment thanks for joining us Kenley we're very
004excited oh sure that's so sweet we want to recognize our elected officials tonight the only one I saw come in was uh commission chair Dave Wright oh and Bud Armstrong back there our county law director thank you for being here and who else oh and commissioner Evelyn Gil we are so privileged to have so many of you all tonight thank you very much so change changes to the agenda but let me make some announcements for first board members as discussed at our work session items 6 C12 6 C13 and 6 c14 were withdrawn and also you received information today regarding a rental agreement for the beon high school program via email so that you will need that will need to be added for our consideration as item C 6 c27 additionally due to the withdrawal
005of The Proposal from the Stars Nashville vendor which was received by the Knox County procurement Department late yesterday evening item 9f has been withdrawn from the agenda out of necessity further the Knox County procurement department has cancelled the cultural compet competency training proposal as a whole pursuant to procurement division Vision regulations another RFP will be issued as soon as practical with guidance from the board and the Knox County Personnel change are there any other changes to the agenda Mr Norman thanks Madam chair uh if there's no objection uh I'd like to uh postpone item G in the policy section it's uh F150 new project planning for 30 days if we don't have any objections can you give me that number again item it's uh item G and policy F150 okay 150 7g policy 150 is
006there any objections okay do I have a motion to approve the agenda with this change I moved second all in fav favor all I'm sorry okay did you wish to address that Miss okay are you sure okay then okay so motion is approved and passes okay the favorite part of the evening special recognitions and it's my pleasure to introduce Bearden High School principal Dr John Bartlett ladies and gentlemen of the board it's my privilege to present two of our students as National Merit finalist this year will you will Lewis who's not here tonight because he's playing soccer for Bearden High School is a son of Brad and Carrie Lewis in addition to being a National Merit scholar he is an all Knoxville and all state soccer player a youth soccer coach and certified referee for
007soccer and football AP scholar with distinction and Bearden High School Valedictorian he plans to attend the University of Tennessee and study business analytics and he's just a great kid Juliana pelli pulsinelli excuse me is the daughter of Gary pulselli and Linda Schilling in addition to being a National Merit scholar she is a president of Mu Alpha Theta and an AP scholar with distinction she attended Governor school for computational physics received a silver medal and the national Latin exam is the head of the control systems for the robotics team and has appeared in four Bearden Advanced acting shows she is also a two-time category winner at her test center for the Tennessee math Teachers Association competition and co- salutatorian she plans to attend Princeton and study Physics and electrical engineering and she also is just a
008fantastic young lady so those are our two National Merit Scholars Juliana so uh I'm getting ready to read a lot of names and I'm kind of excited about that but just for the sake of protocol do they all come up at once how do we want to do that all right so they're at the end while come up at once I'll read your names uh I have worked really hard today on pronunciation uh but it's possible I might Mis mispronounce something so bear with me I'm Ryan CB the principal of faragut high school and it is with great pleasure that I'm here today uh the first student we would like to recognize is Roa dotelli roxa is the daughter of Lea and Lea ragavan and sudarshan doell in addition to being a National Merit scholar
009she is Vice President of the United Nations Club Secretary of HOSA and the National Honor Society and a member of the Knox County Youth Health Board she has a re re SE Arch internship in a UT Knoxville genetics lab where she is optimizing the RNA interference of the separase protein I probably mispronounced that too she received the gold key in novel writing in the Scholastic art and writing Awards and the first place in veterinary science at the hos of state competition she was also recognized as the best delegate at the shs model un conference she plans to attend Duke University to study biology the next student we'd like to recognize is zachi Hussein he's the son of gal and desire Hussein in addition to being a National Merit scholar he is the team captain of
010the F faragate robotics team Flagship 3140 winner of the 2017 Smoky Mountain Regional and he made a perfect score on the ACT he plans to attend UT Knoxville to major in mechanical engineering and physics Amina ikbal is the daughter of farzana and M Muhammad ikbal in addition to being a National Merit scholar she is a US presidential scholar candidate and a national AP scholar a USA biology Olympiad semifinalist and made a perfect score on the ACT she was a silver and bronze medalist on the national French exam and won first place in anatomy and physiology portion of the Tennessee Science Olympia she plans to attend MIT to study biology next student is Omar ikbal he's the son of fana and Muhammad ebal he is a National Merit scholar and an AP scholar he plans to
011attend the University of Tennessee Knoxville to study computer science next student is ABJ he's the son of Miwok sin and jwok juu in addition to being a National Merit scholar he is a national AP scholar with distinction a presidential scholar nominee and made a perfect score on the ACT he won seventh place in the National Science Science Olympiad he is a cross country Varsity Letterman won first place in the individual Regional Deca competition he is Vice President of Mu Alpha Theta State club and president of the Mu Alpha Theta school club president of the chess club vice president of the TSA and becc and event coordinator for National Honor Society he plans to attend Dartmouth College to study economics and finance thank you for the water Terry Sam Landon is the son of jald and
012marleene Landon in addition to being a National Merit scholar he is an AP scholar with distinction a secretary of model un he also has internships with Fort ladden State historic area and the the faragate West KN Chamber of Commerce he plans to attend the University of Chicago to study anthropology next is Alex Levy he's the son of David and Suzanne Levy in addition to being a National Merit scholar he's an AP scholar with distinction a two-time All State bassoonist and a Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra bassoonist and a project exuse semi-finalist he is a university scholar recipient at the University of Chicago where he plans to study mathematics and economics Nan Vara is the son of Lori and vagal Vara in addition to being a National Merit scholar he is an AP scholar with distinction and
013an eagle scout he won a silver medal for level three and level four of the national French exam he was also winner of the L&M train Bowl the East East Tennessee PBS Scholars Bowl Tennessee State Science Olympiad the 2017 Smoky Mountain regionals and a two-time winner of the pelp state Regional Science Olympiad he plans to attend the University of Maryland at College Park the next student is Jerry J he's the son of Juan Fang and J Lee in addition to being a National Merit scholar he is the president of the science club state Secretary of Mu Alpha Theta captain of the tennis team former president of HOSA and a principal chist of the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra and Tennessee State Orchestra he placed at the Tennessee host estate conference in 2014 2015 and 2016 he
014placed fourth at the National Science Olympia tournament he placed eighth at the Mu Alpha Theta National Convention and served as Speaker of the House at boy State he plans to attend Yale University and study biology Aiden Thomasson is the daughter of Melissa and Robert Thomasson she's a member of the student government Association the National Honor Society and nahs she attended the 2016 youth education Summit in Washington DC and won a scholarship for her performances in debates she was selected as girl State Delegate and has had artwork displayed in the 201627 East Tennessee Regional student art exhibition she made a perfect score on the ACT she is undecided about both her college and major at this time Hayden Allen is the son of Christopher and Lynette Allen in addition to being a National Merit scholar National
015Hispanic Merit scholar he is a member of the National Honor Society the Spanish Honor Society the Latin club the Spanish Club technology Student Association and an integral part of the faragate robotics Flagship team 1340 he plans to attend UT Knoxville to study Aerospace and mechanical engineering Michael Lynn is the son of jun Lin and Ying Wang he is recognized for winning the senior division of the Southern Appalachian science and engineering fair with his project titled identification of volatiles produced by agrobacterium he also won the Y science and engineering award and the superintendence award and is the state Secretary of mu alphaa dat he is undecided on his college and major at that at this time I also have four students who could not make it that I'd like to share their names uh Ava Victoria
016ostram is a National Merit scholar Lauren feat is a National Merit scholar Lily gal is a National Merit scholar Elliot Fang made a perfect score on the ACT and Jackson Johnson is a National Merit scholar all of my incredible students would you please please join me on the stage at this [Applause] time of want to come we can do a single photo instead of a group photo so let's start with Rocka yeah you can let her hold it got it zie is Amina here Omar isn't here either Abe isn't here Sam Alex okay n Jerry got it Aiden got itan J uh Michael 314 got it I'd also like to thank I see there's a couple of uh our staff members that came to support them tonight and just thank you all for being here
017good evening my name is sel Reynolds and I'm here on behalf of Harden Valley Academy to recognize two of our wonderful students um first of all Chase mattle is not able to attend tonight but he is a National Merit finalist with us tonight is Rowan Palmer Rowan is the daughter of Robert and Heather Palmer in addition to being a National Merit scholar she is the business team captain of the hva rooh htics first robotics team the co-editor and chief of the yearbook a seven time State and Regional gymnastic Championship qualifier a region 8 gymnastic Easter national team member an AP scholar with honors the hbaa homecoming queen runnerup and recipient of the daughters of American Revolution good Citizenship Award she interns at the Oakridge National Laboratory and plans to attend Yale University to study me
018mechanical engineering Rowan [Applause] Palmer got it good evening I'm Becky Ash the principal of the lnn STEM Academy and I am thrilled to introduce to you tonight the first ever National Merit scholar from the uh lnn Jacob sear is the son of Janet and John Sear in addition to being a National Merit scholar he is also an AP scholar with distinction a member of the all district golf team and winner of Team District golf championships he won second place in the PBS televised Scholars bowl and fifth place in the state science Bowl he placed fourth and fifth place in Science Olympiad he attended the Governor's School for computational physics and received a silver medal for the national Latin exam he will be attending the University of Tennessee Knoxville to study computer science and he will
019be our fourth ever valedictorian from the alenn STEM Academy in a couple weeks Jacob good evening I'm Ashley Jesse I'm the principal of West High School and so I'm going to do a a thing a little bit different I'm going to recognize each of mine separately so we can take a picture of them separately U for their recognition the first one is pin Shin win she is the daughter of Ming and Jay Gingrich uh in addition to being a National Merit scholar she's an all state singer president and founder of the West High School chapter of the girl up Club an associate justice of Youth and government captain of the B team and president of the student body she attended Governor school for science she's a recipient of the IB higher level chemistry award a
020Vanderbilt Chancellor scholar and an intern at long chemical group she plans to attend vanderbelt University to study chemistry and she is an awesome girl let's recognize pusin shin win Noah Mesa Noah is the son of Gabriel and shulie Mesa in addition to being a n a national Hispanic scholar he is the valley Victorian of West High School he's an AP scholar with distinction and an IB diploma candidate he's president of muo alpha Theta a member of the National Honor Society and the Society of torch and Laurel he's the founder of the psychologist of West and was voted most likely to succeed he attended Governor school for scientific models and data analysis and was a participant of the national Congress future scientist and technologist he's a future boner scholar he plans to attend rh's college as
021a neuroscience major and a minor in biostatistics or Phil philosophy he is awesome a student and person and I am here to recognize Noah [Applause] Mesa good evening I am West Edmonds the principal of fargate middle school and I'm here to introduce adid nand and K CH who are here to be recognized for winning the junior division of the Southern Appalachian science and engineering fair with their microbiology project entitled germ Wars these two incredible young ladies are only in sixth grade so I think there's a good chance we might see them back here in about six years as National Merit finalist so um adidi and Kate come on up going do one together [Applause] um the varied accomplishments and Leadership of these academic Scholars deserves another round of applause before our agenda item superintendent Thomas
022has some brief remarks that he would like to make thank you madam chair uh Madam chair members of the board um our faragate community and our Knox County school system system has experienced some recent losses and our hearts go out to those families we've been very intentional about protecting our students and we're not going to change that want the board to know that that Dr riswick and Miss Massie and I walked the Halls today and spent some time uh at faragut speaking to some students and some teachers today and we were very impressed with how they're handling this and caring for each other we are starting feel like we're starting to see the healing begin uh the support that the district uh has provided as always and has always provided is helping we are working
023very closely with our Community Partners and mental health professionals to educate and find solutions to protect our students health and well-being tomorrow night there is a meeting with the parents at faragut high school at 6:30 and I believe that that will help us to work with the community to begin the healing process thank you madam chair okay thank you Miss cotney item six consent agenda do I have a motion to approve so Move Motion made by Miss de seconded by miss rree all in favor say I I I all opposed motion carries Miss Owen did you have a St that you want to make about you you can still make statement there are two items on the consent agenda that we just passed um six and seven one is to approve an agreement with Knoxville
024Plumbing Heating and Cooling contractors facilitating a postsecondary apprenticeship program at Lincoln Park technology and Trade Center the second is to approve an agreement with resource Valley Construction training Council contractors facilitating a postsecondary apprenti ship program at Lincoln Park technology and Trade Center and um I just want everyone to know that this is a hugely kept secret that we have Lincoln Park Technology Center uh it's we have had this adult apprenticeship program at least in the electrical field that I know of and the only reason I know this is because I went to their certificate program last night and they've been there since 1986 in some building in Knox County Schools and they are very thank F to us for providing a location for them to be able to have their apprenticeship program um in the
025electrical Fields there apprentices are required 144 hours of classroom time and 2,000 hours of apprentice work every year for four years um if if they miss any of that time they don't move on to the next year and they are they are very serious about it um these gentlemen range in age anywhere from from just out of high school to um my age and up so so they are anywhere from you know 19 to in their 50s and they are very dedicated to their program last night um there were about 25 uh folks who have finished all four years so they've done 144 hours of classroom instruction for four years and 8,000 hours of apprentice Hands-On work with their um with their cooperating employer so it is a it's a a huge um resource for
026our community and since losing our money from the state for adult education their cost has significantly increased to have this contract with us and though they say that they still feel very fortunate um if there is any way we could find any way to reduce their cost they would hugely appreciate it I think it went up about $9,000 this year um for each of those so anything that we could do they would appreciate it thank you thank you I think what you shared was very valuable information that the whole board needed to know Miss cotney yes item 7A approve second reading to resend Knox County Board of Education policy e121 fire and safety regulations do I have a motion no moved and Miss rre second Miss Horn all in favor I I all opposed oh
027sorry I didn't ask for any discussion I don't see any does see anyone okay motion carries item 7B approv second reading of kns County Board of Education policy e122 emergency preparedness plan as amended second motion by Miss Owen second by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 7 C approved second reading of knots County Board of Education policy e172 agreement for Pupil Transportation Services as amended second motion by Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 7D approved second reading of kns County Board of Education policy e180 use of school system owned or leased vehicles as amended second motion by Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman all in favor any discussion okay all in favor say I I
028all opposed motion carries 7e approved second reading of knots County Board of Education policy e190 Food Service management as amended second motion made by Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman any discussion okay all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 7f approv second reading of knot County Board of Education policy f130 retirement and Disposal disposal of facilities as amended second motion by Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries item 7g was postponed 7h approve second reading to resend Knox County Board of Education policy F160 recommendation of Architects involvement of Architects moved second motion by MRE yeah okay and seconded by Mr Norman I any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries S I approve first reading of KN
029Kenny Board of Education policy c180 advertising and solicitation in schools as amended I moved motion by Mr rre seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I I'll oppose motion carries 7j approve first reading of Knox County Board of Education policy e173 private vehicles for transporting students as amended second motion by Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I I all oppose motion carries 7K approve first reading of knoxx County Board of Education policy g130 employee complaints and grievances as a amended second motion made by Miss ow and seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I I all opposed motion carries 7 L approve first reading of KN County Board of Education policy g131 complaints about school personnel as amended motion by
030Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 7M approve first reading of KN County Board of Education policy g140 staff student relations as amended second motion by Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 7 n approved first reading of knots County Board of Education policy g150 staff community relations as amended motion by Miss Owen seconded by m Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 70 approved first reading of knot County Board of Education policy g180 Personnel files as amended motion to put this off for uh 30 days okay motion made by um Jennifer and seconded by Mr Norman is there any discussion to put this off for
03130 days I'll just say this is the one that I was going to talk about at the beginning that I missed okay and it's no Bigg I all in favor say I I motion carries to put it off for 30 days thank you 7 P approve first reading of not County Board of Education policy g190 salary deductions as amended second motion by Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman any discussion on this item okay all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 7 Q approv first reading of KN County Board of Education policy g200 academic freedoms as amended second motion made by Miss Owens seconded by Mr Norman any discussion okay all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 7 R approved first reading of knots County Board of Education policy g220
032harassment of employees as amended second motion made by Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 7s approved first reading of knot County Board of Education policy g230 Personnel definitions as amended second motion made by Miss Owens seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion passes T approve first reading of knots County Board of Education policy g240 compensation guides and contracts for professional personnel as amended second motion by Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries seven you approve first reading of KN County Board of Education policy g280 qualifications and duties of teachers as amended motion made by Miss no and seconded by Mr Norman any discussion on
033this item okay all in favor say I I I all opposed motion carries 7v approve first reading of knot County Board of Education policy g290 hiring personnel as amended second motion made by Miss Owen seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 7 W approve first reading of knots County Board of Education policy g310 job sharing as amended moved motion by m rry seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 7x approved first reading of knot County Board of Education policy g330 tenure as amended I moved second motion by Miss rre seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion passes 8A approve local Consolidated Grant application and receipt of funds from the
034state of Tennessee Department of Education for federal Title One title 2 a and title 3 funding for fiscal year 2018 in the amount of 15 m865 786 motion by m round Tre second by Miss Horn any discussion on this particular item okay all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries item 8 B approved Consolidated Grant application and receipt of funds from the state of Tennessee Department of Education for special education services in the amount of 13,27 6,211 for preschool special education services in the amount of $35,840 I moved motion by m round tree second by miss deathridge any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 8 C approve application and receipt of funds in the amount of $5,000 from Oakridge Associated universities for a 2017 extreme classroom makeover contest
035grant for creation of a full maker space in the stem Lab at shannondell elementary school motion by Miss Owens seconded by Mr Norman any discussion okay all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 8 D approve Amendment to The Cooperative agreement with the Federal Highway Administration approved by board on October 1 2014 for the Garrett a Morgan technology and transportation education program grant for the purpose of adding and or replacing Key Personnel listed on the agreement at no cost to the Knox County Schools I moved motion by m rre seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries item 8 e approve memorandum of understanding with digital promise for the 201728 school year for continuation of innovative learning environments projects at Bearden and Carter ele uh
036middle schools as supported by grants from Verizon corporate Resources Group LLC and celco partnership doing business as Verizon Wireless so move I should move Mr Norman seconded by Mr McMillan any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 8f approved request of sore green Magnet Academy for installation of a disc golf course on the school grounds using donations from Knoxville Disc Golf Association Home Depot Knox County Public Works fulcon materials and the great school's partnership with an estimated value of 9,885 and in kind donations from staff members with an estimated value of $1,000 motion made by MRI second did by Miss Owen any discussion okay all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 8 G approve application and receipt of funds from a Great Smoky Mountains National Park grant for
037lawdale elementary school for reimbursement of $500 for the cost of buses for a third grade field trip on May 3rd 2017 motion by Miss deathridge seconded by Miss Owen any discussion okay all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 8h approve receipt of funds from the Tennessee Department of Education for re to be ready summer grants for green Magnet Academy lale Elementary School and sore green Magnet Academy as aone schools for Rising first graders in the amount of $ 41,321 third graders in the amount of $433 and for Sarah morg Green Magnet Academy for Rising second and third graders in the amount of$ 50 I moved motion by Miss rre seconded by Miss Horn any discussion all in favor say I I all oppose motion carries 8j approved request of Harden Valley Elementary
038School to purchase and install playground equipment at a cost of $5 51,3 18571 using Harden Valley Elementary School donations funds in the amount of $31,385 71 and internal School funds in the amount of20 ,000 don't move motion by Miss Hill second by Miss Round Tree any discussion oh sorry Miss Horn knew that all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries 8K approve receipt of funds from a ur- ch2m oid LLC education mini Grant in the amount of $750 for beard in high schools using swivel to enhance mathematics inside and outside of the classroom project motion by Mr Norman seconded by Miss Owen any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion passes n9a approved contract between the knoxx County School's maintenance department and Bruce Terminix Company Incorporated to provide termite control
039services for up to $120,000 annually so motion by Mr Norman seconded by miss deathridge any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries nineb approved contract between the knot County Schools maintenance department and hydrotech Incorporated to provide water treatment chemical services for cooling towers and boilers up to $60,000 annually as needed motion by Mr Norman seconded by Miss death any discussion all in favor say I I I all opposed motion passes N9 C approved contract with Premier Food Equipment service for provision of kitchen equipment preventative maintenance and repair moved motion by m rre seconded by m uh Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all oppos motion passes 9d approved contract with TNT produce company for provision of fresh produce for knot County School nutrition motion made by Mr
040Norman second by Miss Owen any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries nine e approved contract with IC System Incorporated for provision of collection services for KNX County Schools motion by Mr Norman seconded by Miss Owen any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion passes item 9 F was withdrawn 10 a approve special courses for High School curriculum for school year 201728 introduction to animation simulation and Motion Graphics and advanced animation simulation and Motion Graphics motion by Miss rre seconded by Mr Norman any discussion all in favor say I I all opposed motion carries public forum is next Miss Madam chair thank you madam chair um we have 13 speakers signed up for a public forum this evening and I'd just like to remind you all to when
041you come to the podium to state your name in county and that you have five minutes our first Speaker this evening is Crystal I hope I pronounced that correctly I apologize if I didn't you can go ahead and begin hello my name is Crystal yamazaki and I'm here today because I would like to talk about the importance of supporting transgender youth in our schools and in particular the need for Knox County Schools to establish trans inclusive restroom policies my daughter attends school in Knox County unlike every other student at her school my daughter is prohibited from entering the restroom that corresponds with her gender she is forcibly segregated from her female peers and denied access to restroom facilities she would like to use the girl's restroom like all her friends do but she isn't allowed
042to because Knox County Schools is uncomfortable with the fact that she is transgender I would like to share with you today some of our experiences with these restroom policies and explain how denying restroom access to transgender children is psychologically damaging misguided and completely unnecessary my daughter's sex assigned at Birth is only one very small part of who she is but to Knox County Schools this seems to be the only part of her that matters she knows that her school doesn't accept her for who she is but she doesn't understand why she is scared to use the restroom at school out of fear of being punished and being seen singled out and barred from the girl's restroom makes her feel sad and embarrassed she worries there cameras in and near the restroom so that the school
043can spy on her I've had to go to the school multiple times to personally check the restroom for cameras to put her mind at ease she has frequent accidents from trying to hold in her urine and bowels all day no child should have anxiety about something as simple as using the restroom yet Knox County Schools is ensuring just that by policing my daughter's restroom use lack of acceptance and support is a very serious problem among transgender youth over 40% of transgender individuals will attempt suicide research shows that depression and suicidality among transgender individuals are not a direct result of being transgender but instead a result result of being mistreated by others for being transgender when transgender youth suffer from depression or attempt suicide this is a direct result of the harassment and abuse they have
044suffered at the hands of others it is a direct result of the Discrimination they face in public spaces including in their schools it's important for Knox County Schools to understand that when you reject a child child's core identity when you segregate a child from their peers when you tell a transgender child Your Existence is not welcome here you are effectively creating mental health issues in this child that wouldn't be present otherwise the transgender Community does not pose a risk to others in restrooms transgender people enter restrooms for the same reasons everyone else does they use the toilet wash their hands and then leave many school districts around the country have implemented trans-inclusive restroom policies and what we've learned from these schools is that trans-inclusive restroom policies do not allow encourage or result in increased sexual
045assaults rather trans-inclusive restroom policies result in improved mental health among transgender students as well as a more positive and community-like learning environment for all the issue of restroom access is about the right and ability of transgender individuals to exist in public spaces my daughter and all transgender kids have just as much a right to a public education as any other child my daughter and all transgender kids have just as much a right to access public facilities including School restrooms as any other child yet Knox County Schools chooses to deny transgender students these rights every day my daughter attends school she was reminded that the grown-ups around her don't accept her and don't care about her she asked me recently all the other girls get to use the girl's bathroom how come I can't she asks
046me why her school is doing this to her why they are bullying her and I don't have answers for her no child should be subjected to the abuse and indignities that my daughter is being protected to at school every single day I told her I would be coming here today and I asked her if there was anything she'd like me to tell you this is what she said I belong in the girl's bathroom because I am a girl I am transgender and there is nothing wrong with that the rationale for barring transgender students from restrooms is based in ignorance I implore you to prioritize the health safety and dignity of transgender students over the irrational fears misinformation and bigotry of others by implementing trans inclusive restroom policies in Knox County Schools thank you thank you
047just just a friendly reminder just a friendly reminder we do have um 13 speakers so if everybody would be respectful of each person's five minutes we have our next speaker is Pastor Chris battle and remember just state your name and your county please good evening I'm Elder Chris battle Knox County I'm the pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church and also the co-president of Justice kn and I would like the members of Justice Knox that are here just to please raise their hand Justice Knox is an Interfaith collaboration of congregations throughout Knoxville that have gathered together to do justice in a series of 40 house meetings last fall members gathered to talk about what makes us angry about our community and what worries us person after person from congregation from various parts of Knoxville were angry
048about the inequalities in education they were angry about inequalities because of race poverty and disability they were angry about inequalities and educational outcomes many kids cannot read and do not have basic skills they were angry about inequalities and discipline too many kids are suspended from school and minority kids are over represented and alternative schools when we gathered as congregations last November to share stories from the house meetings 230 leaders from more than 14 congregations voted overwhelmingly to choose education as the justice issue to begin researching and taking action on this year in fact while all members present had two votes among five different issues members of Our Own congre ation chose to put all of our votes into education in December we began a research process to narrow the problem to a piece that we
049could begin to address almost 50 people from our congregations joined the education of research committee they read and analyzed your disparities report the report from 10 years ago and the independent studies that have been completed about Knox County schools over the past years they sought guidance and listened to Educators from within our congregations they conducted research interviews with Community advocacy groups members of our your disparities task force District employees law enforcement and experts and other communities who have addressed educational problems successfully as the research progress we had to make a choice between focusing on disparities in achievement and disparities in discipline after initial research we made the decision to focus on discipline knowing that ineffective and harsh discipline practices directly affect achievement members of our research committee were very upset to learn that students were
050being arrested at school for minor offenses like disorderly conduct stories which sounded like violations of school rules uh dressed up as criminal Behavior other communities are solving these problems with aggressive adoption and implementation of proven strategies to manage classrooms more effectively and to restore relationships in school last week more than 1200 people from more than 20 congregations in our community gathered at Justice knock's first Nehemiah action assembly to say with one voice that our teachers and administrators need these strategies and tools our children who are being cast out of school and into the pipeline of prison need these strategies We Gather to ask you our school board members to actively educate yourself about these strategies and advocate for them and we will continue to make that ask thank you our next speaker is Courtney Shay
051my name is Courtney Shay I live in Knox County and I serve on the committee for Education resource for research described by Pastor battle our research identified school systems that have succeeded in reducing harsh discipline actions while still creating a more positive and orderly School culture these school systems used a proven model known as whole school change restorative practice developed by The International Institute of restorative practice and the plan that the Knox board adopted last spring included implementation of restorative practices in all schools over a three-year period a pilot project this year high schools in the upcoming year and then middle and elementary schools the following year five pilot schools have begun but they have not completed this training and implementation practice we also learned that that your School District staff has identified the same
052International Institute of restor restorative practices model as the most effective model to implement and suspensions in the district are slightly down this year although s disparities based on race poverty and disability have generally remained the same Fulton High School the school that has most fully implemented The International Institute of stor of practices model is the only School in the district that has shown success in reducing both suspensions and disparities and today we ask and our action we asked that you as school board members develop a deeper understanding of this model for restorative practice and that you advocate for Effective implementation to change the culture of our schools and improve the lives of our our our children we specifically asked today that each of you commit to visiting Fulton High School visit a restorative practice Circle
053so you can have a fuller understanding of how this program works and its potential for our community at our action last week and today we ask that school board members advocate for full funding at each of the pilots five pilot schools for training all staff and teachers according to the model that your staff has recommended following our nemiah action last week Melissa Massie contacted us to give us more details about the efforts by the principles to ensure that this full training will take place she and Jeffrey Wright are still providing us with information but it's our understanding that four of the five pilot schools are on track to complete full training in the model of restorative practice this coming school year and this is a great start at our action last week we we asked
054that school board members advocate for a phased and sustainable implementation plan for restorative practice developed in consultation with and evaluated by Certified International Institute for restorative practice consultants and we learned that Jeffrey Wright has become a certified trainer with with this International Institute and he's working with them to develop a phased implementation plan Miss Massie has given us a commitment that she will share the inflamation plan with Justice Knox leaders at this point the plan does not include costs and today we urge the school district to develop an implementation plan that includes costs until you consider the cost of implementation there is no viable plan and finally is our understanding this summer District staff will present new discipline policies to the board that will will help have an it will have an emphasis on restorative
055practice we urge you as a board to vote in favor of revisions to discipline policies and guidelines which will enable our schools to carry out the changes in culture and discipline envisioned by restorative practices and on a personal note until May 12th you can vote with USA Today for Central High School's video and proposal for um trying to get a grant for additional El resources thank you thank you our next speaker is Reverend John Mark wiggers good evening I'm John Mark wiggers I'm from Knox County and I'm the pastor at St James Episcopal church and the other co-president with Pastor Battle of Justice Knox so I conclude Justice Knox remarks tonight by telling you that our members were excited to find that whole school restored practice was being looked at by the district we're excited
056because our research has shown that that is something that works to reduce suspensions as well as flatten the disparity among those those suspensions and while it's easy to get excited about a program it's harder to sustain it by giving it the resources that it requires and needs to succeed the effective model and restorative practice requires training and follow up for entire School staffs not just a few administrators and we urge you to follow up on this and make sure this is done well and not halfway and we Nam that because also from our research we learned that 10 years ago that were there was a proposal presented addressing issues of discipline and suspension and pretty much not much has changed so we realized that this school district like other school districts like many institutions has
057a history of starting programs and ucing new ideas without adequate followup and commitment so that those things continue especially things that are actually working and make a difference so we're asking that don't that you don't let that happen in this instance do not let another 10 years go by with little or no changes in the way we discipline our students and the outcomes we get there so use our money all of our money well for something that works so that our students and our entire Community can reap the benefits thank you thank you our next speaker is Charles Fels my name is Charles fails I'm a former State prosecutor in this courthouse I'm a for former Federal prosecutor in the federal courthouse across the street and I stand before you to say that every time
058our community locks up a kid in school and takes them away in handcuffs in front of their peers and puts them in a squad car and takes them to jail we start recruiting for the gangs every every arrest in public school helps the gangs there has to be a better way there is a better way you have before you a specific proposal for that better way and for the sake of our children and to put the gangs out of business I hope you will Embrace these proposals as swiftly as humanly possible thank you next speaker is coral gatino minute coral jino and Justin stino nox County let me start by saying what a wonderful display this evening of students intelligent students and what diversity was shown i' like to take a few seconds to recognize
059my son who is not a scholar um but he will be graduating in two weeks Justin has been an ox County student since he was three and now he's 22 so we've been with the system for 18 years he has attended for sander School Bluegrass Elementary Brooky Hill a Lots West Valley Middle School beardon High School West High School and Richdale alternative school he has an immigrant mother and he is an immigrant student but what is important to say is that it took a long time for us to find a program for him I have to commend his teachers um I wrote an article when he was little that was entitled it takes a village and it does take a village um there are too many teachers but I want to mention Caroline Hill Martha
060irof Mrs gree Mr Co Mr villis some administrators therapist teaching assistants too many to name just in when he was in kindergarten he was mainstreamed that was the word of the time then we called it inclusion um thanks to teachers regular education teachers like Miss Gordon and Miss Lon through Elementary science was his favorite subject and uh one of his accomplishments is toore in 70% un modified content in science in fifth grade when he was in Middle School he spent 50% of the time in regular educational classes mostly electives and science when he got to high school he was placed in a cdca class and started to work more on daily living skills he no longer could go to science because students had to do labs and there was a required test about lab safety
061that he couldn't take with modifications so that year also he started talking he now uses the device to talk um and he also developed severe behavior problems that is the reason that he has spent the last five years at Rich alternative school I thank every day I thank God and I thank no kindy school system that there is the rich there because as we graduate and exit there will not be an alternative wmart there will not be an alternative um Health Care you know Health Department so uh this is it we were given a gift through um special education he um well he was a student um in reddale he worked for three years deliver in mail at the AJ building and we will be asking for a letter of recommendation um because he's going
062to need it he's not going to have a high school diploma he's probably going to have an occupational diploma if I had a dollar for every time I have heard judge Irwin in juvenile court that students need to stay in school and earn a high school diploma because they won't be able to support their families um well I'm standing here today for my son and those 70% of graduating seniors with intellectual disabilities who will be sitting at home next year 70% that's indicator 14 State Department of Education 90% to 95% of uh people with Autism are unemployed or un underemployed so I'm urging you to look in depth into cultural competency because this is what it's going to take all means all and no more you're not allowed in science class all means all thank
063[Applause] you our next speaker is Andre [Applause] KY Andre are you here I don't see him our next speaker is Carl wheeler good evening to all and I thank the committee for allowing me to speak uh I've spoken several times in the past uh this time um I've got two basic topics we've talking about this training to deal with these Deo issues that are facing us as a community uh that is facing us as individuals parents and teachers alike you know when we talk about uh culture competency training and all the things that we need to do in this school to reduce the Deo disparities we have to look at the whole system we can't look at this right hand we've got to look at both hands we've got to look at the entire program
064and that means parents teachers students what is it systemically that we're doing that is causing these high rates of disparities to show up in our documentation the other piece of this is that uh when we look at the whole system we look at the schools we look at the students we look at the teachers we look at the parents and on the other end this gentleman just spoke a couple minutes ago from the Justice side of things and talked about what he believes and I certainly agree with him in terms of uh pipeline the prison issues the thing that we have to do also is look at this memorandum of understanding that we have with our police department and our County Sheriff because the the moment you introduce an officer in a situation at school
065the odds are that he's going to be taken out and begin that pipeline to prison this gentleman was talking about a few minutes ago so how do we impact that we look at this thing we call theou we have talked and talked and talked about this I have been told personally by the uh um by Mr Thomas's predecessor that A draft copy of that would be prepared by the third by the the monthly meeting regular meeting in SE in uh April that has come and gone no one has seen this through the that I'm aware of through through the uh task force the steering committee excuse me so I urge you Mr superintendent and your staff to include the public in the development of this new mou include the public and you have and I
066com and I and I commend you for that for those of us who serve on these various uh discipline subcommittees okay that is something that is very useful and it needs to be expanded to include the memorandum of understanding and the last thing I would like to say to you Mr superintendent we're still waiting to meet with you thank you speaker is Amelia Parker I don't see Miss Parker our next speaker then is Lance [Music] mold good evening I'm Lance mold I live in oox County um I wanted to say just briefly to you today that um we I think I mentioned last month that that the school district has started something really good they've started actually engaging with the community around issues um I've been hanging around the school district for six years and
067every all the time the board has been encouraging the superintendent to engage with the community well you have the community with you and ready to engage and uh the the district has actually has actually engaged with people from stop School push out and inviting them to take part of some of the the Committees that are doing the work and that's a really good example um behind us we have people with Justice Knox who want to do the who are also concerned about issues around the schools and I would encourage the administration and the school board to encourage the administration to include them in the preparations the ways that we're going to solve these problems um it's not always going to be easy it's complicated we come from we have the staff and the citizens have
068sort of different cultures different expectations but that's the way we're going to solve these things um so that's what I want to do thank you our next speaker is Brianne Rosen Bon thank you for your time and consideration today um my name is Brianna rosenbom I'm a mother of a child in Knox County Schools particularly SEO Elementary a first grader um and I also urge the board today to consider trans inclusive bathroom policies um as part of that I'm also an attorney and I thought it would be most helpful to read from a brief in the case of Glouchester versus the minor GG this was the case challenging the school board's bathroom policy in Glouchester County New Jersey in particular I think that's helpful because there um a group of medical associations Prof medical associations
069professionals um doctors Etc listed the medical consensus and scientific evidence concerning the treatment of trans gender adolescence and and specifically the impact of that board's policy and the fact that it undermines the health of transgender transgender citizens and particularly minors um and I think as the board considers these policies it's helpful to actually know the scientific evidence and the consensus so I'm just going to read from a few Snippets and I urge you to actually read this brief and I'm H I'm happy to if you reach out to provide you links to this information um Medical Science recognizes the reality of transgender identity and the importance of supporting transgender persons in living healthy lives consistent with their gender identity gender identity is a person's inner sense of belonging to a gender ID to a particular
070gender it is an innate deeply felt and core component of human identity everyone has a gender identity and for their sex assigned at Birth um and for most people their gender identity is consistent with their sex assigned at Birth transgender people however have a gender identity that's is different from the sex they were identified at Birth the medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria refers to the often severe emotional distress resulting from this difference all major professional associations of medical and mental health providers recognize that having a gender identity that differs from a person's sex assigned at Birth is not in itself a disorder but the associated distress is a medical condition requiring appropriate treatment that affirms the person's gender identity according to the established medical consensus the only effective treatment for the disabling experience of gender
071dysphoria is to provide medical and social support to enable the transgender person to live authentically based on his or her core identity the protocol for gender transition is well established and highly effective social transition involves bringing a person's gender expression and gender role into alignment with their gender identity it may include wearing clothes associated with one's gender identity using a different name name and pronouns pronouns and interacting with peers in one social environment in a man in a manner matching the person's gender identity um the the support consists of affirming a person's gender identity and supporting their efforts to live for young people as the girl or boy they know themselves to be including by referring to them with the appropriate pronouns and treating them as one would any other boy or girl in contrast
072re protecting the person's identity demeans the individual and exacerbates the dysphoric condition leading to Serious negative health conditions in particular because young people spend so much time at school and because schools play such a major role in a person's development the failure of schools to support a student who has undergone gender transition can have predictively devastating emotional and developmental consequences schools have an obligation to protect the health of all their students a supportive School eases the Social Challenges of gender transition and sets an example that stigmatizing gender students is not to be tolerated a school that denies support for gender students undermines their health and well-being the school board's policy of denying transgender students access to the same rest restrooms used by other boys and girls marks these students as different and Unworthy of equal
073treatment the stigma caused by such discrimination makes it much more difficult and in some cases impossible for the Adolescent dealing with gender dysphoria to resolve their distress and with the help of their health care providers to make progress toward successful treatment because schools play such a major role in students lives the impact of a discriminatory school policy is significant that discriminatory treatment is harmful contrary to contemporary scientific understanding of transgender health health and based on unsupported fears and stereotypes that have no place in our society or system of law again I also urge the board to consider trans inclusive restroom policies thank you our next speaker is Lindsay burett good evening thank you for having me um Lindsay Brett Knox County I am the mother of three children uh one which is transgender I think
074the reason that most of us are here is the safety of our children um I think that we've missed the mark on how important it is to keep all children safe decisions need to be made based on facts and not fear especially when it comes to the well-being of underage children who cannot make changes for themselves we are their voices we are their protection and we are their Advocates 83% of teachers win ped recently believe that they have a responsibility to ensure a safe learning environment for Trans students and yet 75% of trans students F unsafe at school let's make sure that we're enabling these teachers not only to protect their students but to be a positive influence on the other students around their trans students in their classes and in their programs every time
075time you escort a trans child to a special bathroom or you force a child a little girl in a sparkly dress to the boy's room you were outing them how many times a day is a child outed at school this Perpetual reminder that a child has been labeled other is noticed by other children it's noticed by them otherness leads to bullying isolation sometimes violence this likely explains why trans children consistently have have lower grades and higher Dropout rates than their peers regardless of home life if we want our students to thrive in an educational environment and there's a simple solution to clear that path why would we not clear it the adults set the tone for the treatment and inclusion of the children this is not state rights this is human rights I don't want
076to believe that a misinformed policy is more important than a child hundreds of school districts around the country allow transgender students to use facilities based on their gender identity there is zero data of any kind to support the contention that this undermines the safety of the rest of the student body what informed reasons do we have to exclude children the Knox County School Systems tagline on their website is Excellence for every child some excerpts from mission statements of schools around the county are providing a safe learning environment a respectful learning environment Fosters open-minded caring young people a supportive Dynamic learning environment challenges every child to meet high expectations and therefore succeed in a diverse Society safe learning environment fostering open-mindedness and caring in preparation for a diverse Society Excellence for every child every child if
077allowing a trans child to use the bathroom with which they identify as statistics repeatedly show harming no one and allowing them to go through their day less distracted and less distraught and happier healthier helps them learn and helping and help I'm sorry and also helps their peers accept them why does that not Encompass all of those mission statements combined Knox County has endured too much loss this past year I hope and pray this board does everything they can to prevent more loss I hope and pray pray that you choose to stand with your at risk students safety and inclusivity for every child that would be Excellence thank you our last speaker is C stepanie web good evening I'm panie Webb of Knox County I'm a director of P flag marille vice president of the Foothills
078LGBT Center and vice president of the trans empowerment project and a transgender woman I am here on behalf of the transgender youth that are attending Knox County K through2 schools transgender students are being denied basic dignities while at school this treatment is evidenced by the actions of peers teachers and administrators one manif manifestation of this is the restroom policy that is currently in place transgender students are not being permitted to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender instead they are told to use a staff restro or whichever corresponds to their gender assigned at Birth here's why this supposed solution is detrimental if a student is segregated into a staff restroom the message the school is sending is that they are different and do not belong this physical isolation and special treatment can easily be
079extrapolated to insinuate mistrust or any other number of negative con Pati if a student is forced to use the restroom that does not correspond to their gender identity the message again is that the child is wrong for being who they are and that Society does not need to tolerate them either scenario can also have the consequence of outing the child against their will this can lead to increased instances of bullying and it is statistically known that transgender children are bullied at much higher rates than their peers no student should be forced into a position where they need to justify their their existence to anyone be their teachers their peers or whoever while simply trying to attend school the psychological effects of not affirming a child's gender are well studied and documented by numerous reputable institutions
080policies such as this cause anxiety fear confusion and can lead to depression and other very serious and very real real problems such as suicide this is not hyperbole or speech intended to dramatically shock these things do happen are and are preventable with the right approach here are just a few of the organizations which have policies and studies contradicting the current practice the academy American Academy of Pediatrics the American Psychiatric association the American Psychological Association the American College of osteopathic pediatricians the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry the American Academy of Family Physicians the American College of Obstetricians and gynecologists the American Public Health Association the American school counselor Association the association of medical school pediatric department chairs the National Association of school psychologists the National Association of Social Workers the indocin society the world
081profess Professional Association of transgender Health my concern here is not focused solely on transgender students the practices put in place and the attitudes which are enforced affect all within a school policies become indicators for how students should treat others and how parents should treat their children and how people in general should consider the rights of others you your lead is being followed I have deep concerns that there is an unwillingness to work together and take this issue seriously attempts to have dialogue have been dodged with the repetition of generic platitudes which do not address the problems or offer Solutions the LGBT community does not see its role here as one of conflict our questions and concerns are not some sort of trap we simply see a problem and want to work with the system to
082make everyone comfortable and safe the current policy of discrimination cannot continue it contradicts Decades of medical and psychological research and has been proven to cause serious harm to children it is the board's responsibility to work with all concerned parties to Foster an environment that is affirming and receptive to the needs of trans transgender children and all involved don't make the mistake of dismissing this and thinking that it doesn't cause actual direct harm to children ignorance is no longer an excuse when it comes to doing the right thing for transgender youth I and my organizations are more than willing to work with everyone here to start dialogues help educate and address the questions and concerns of Administrators teachers parents and students please reach out to us please involve us please let us help to make sure
083that children no longer needlessly suffer just for coming to school thank you that concludes public forum move journ Mr rre move to adjourn with no objection meeting is adjourned