001Motion for agenda for the Bolder Valley School District regular meeting November 18, 2025. Members may participate either remotely or in person. Laura, please take attendance. I apologize, I didn't start the meeting. Chávez present. Misnick present. Queneda present. Rashpente Serge present. Hunger present. Dr. Anderson is eager to begin and my microphones are working. Congratulations to the team. Please, let's read the acknowledgment to the land. The Bolder Valley School District resides on ancestral lands unjustly taken from the Ute, Pueblan, Arapajo, Chayan, Apache, Abajo, and 48 other nations associated with these lands who have called them home since time immemorial. We acknowledge the atrocities committed here, including the painful history of genocide, the forced assimilation to alienate indigenous inhabitants from their lands with the support of the United States government . The BBSD is aware of the many
002indigenous peoples and dignified cultures that care for the land with strength and resilience. The district recognizes the stories of the Land in Colorado and the survival of the many nations that have carried their oral traditions to the present day. It is BBSD's responsibility. Educate our students so they can celebrate and respect the wisdom and knowledge of indigenous peoples and actively join together to address injustices. By offering this recognition of the land, we affirm and honor the history, wisdom, oral traditions, and resilience of indigenous peoples. and recognize the responsibility to care for and cherish this land together. I want to remind everyone that the district's mission is to create meaningful, challenging learning opportunities so that all children thrive and are prepared for a life of success and civic engagement. Thank you all for being here both
003in person and remotely. Motion to make an amendment. of tonight's agenda, moving the executive session after the first briefing session. Hey, does anyone second the motion? Seconded by BEF, any discussion on this? Lora can pass the vote. Chávez, yes. Medler, yes. Disnck, yes. Queenlera. Yes. Rushp. Yes. Surgent, yes. Her. Yes. The motion is approved. I would now like to give the floor to Dr. Anderson for the student segment. Thank you, member president. It's nice to see them . Today we have Isaac and Max tonight who came from Boulder Canyon, who come from Shenuk West. There you see an opportunity for younger students to coordinate academic youth, so that elementary school children can move on to secondary school. Successfully. Max, go ahead. Thank you so much for inviting us. My name is Marx. I am a
004community activist. We have a coalition in the mountains. I started in 2022. Uh, when I started the task was a mentoring program, we did n't know how to start moving things around. We sat down with them and discussed that summer, Caleb, Sean, and Steven talking about how to get together and make this show happen. In January 2023, we officially created this council as mentors for the fourth grade. I think there were 26 students, and now we have 38. We are already in the fourth year of the program, and we have 22 mentors and 32 fourth-grade students, and it's all a bit chaotic, it's exciting, lots of laughter, lots of energy, and the idea was for the elementary school children to connect with the high school students by talking about the protective factor and establishing relationships.
005We worked very hard that year, we started, things began to take off, we obtained funding from the parent-teacher associations of both schools. Year after year we hear a lot of support in the community to continue with the program and with a high level of sustainability because it is for youth, organized by youth with activities that are for fourth-grade children and created by high school children. And we have four training sessions throughout the year, and in the middle of the year, we plan the activities and start implementing them. We have two mentors, but most of the time it's individualized attention, and the first class are already in seventh grade, and well, they're going to start freshment soon, and we'll see what results we get. Now I'll give the floor to Isac, who is a senior mentor.
006Hello everyone, my name is Isaac. The first thing I want to do is give this wall a compliment. The design is very good, I love it. I like the basketball court. One thing I love about being a mentor in this program, based on my experience, is something very beautiful. Living with young children is so good for the soul, and getting to know them is a beautiful thing. I am a spiritual person, I like to be around them, to be on the same wavelength. And finding out what they like to do is amazing. Here's a picture of me talking. Very good posture. Well, I'm not hunched over. We talked to the fourth-grade children; we got to know them. I've been doing this for 4 years and it's a very nice experience. I have students who, for
007example, there's a boy who only talks about basketball, it's the only thing he says, it's his only topic, or another boy who talks about God, and I'm like, how are these children so different? And it's very productive, and I always want to talk to them. I admire them because this brings out a part of me that recognizes the creative aspect of life; as people grow up, many lose their sense of creativity. They talk about Minecraft, video games, and the adults, the teenagers, well, they still keep it in their lives. Children, well, have a role model in their mentors and vice versa. Adults should act a little more like children. Or well, although not, for example, if they hit another child, they're going to say, "No, I mean, you don't do that. I'm about to graduate
008and I'm going to be sad not being able to see them. It's something when you're the leader for the children, it's very emotional, but when the cycle ends and you have to move on, it's very emotional, you get sad, but everything is positive in the photos, you can see everyone smiling. And thank you. Yes, thank you Max for helping facilitate this program. Um, it sounds like you're going to be a teacher. It seems like you're going to be a teacher. You would be a wonderful teacher. And I love how you work with the children. You're putting your whole heart and soul into this. Board members, any questions? How do you decide what activity to do with the fourth graders? Good question. Well, first we have to establish rapport and relationships. Sometimes at the beginning there's
009an awkward silence. For example, tomorrow is day 4 of the program and, for example, with marshmallows and toothpicks they can build something. The first For 15 minutes, when they have their lunch, we ask more questions and learn more from each other. We have training before we start the program. It's about building rapport, and by mid-year, everyone decides what activities they can implement and how to coordinate all of them. Thank you so much for the work you do and thank you for coming to talk to us about this. The next item on the agenda is the superintendent's report. Go ahead, Dr. Anderson. Thank you, Board President. Good evening, everyone. Today, I am very grateful to all the Board members who participated in today's school visits. For the general public, we have been scheduling school visits during
010the workday. We saw an electric bus in Mesa, and as an organization that coordinates, we are looking into the drop in enrollment in Douglas. Thank you to all the teachers who allowed us to visit their classrooms, and to the principals of these schools. It was very nice to see the activities in the schools and the differences, and then what to do in those schools most impacted by the drop in enrollment. Last Friday, some of our schools participated in... Ruby Bridges, who is the legacy of this civil rights activist. She was the first person to attend a previously all- white school in New Orleans. Every November 14th, Ruby's story is commemorated. It's a story of valor, courage, and community. All of these schools, Mesa Hills, wore purple shirts to commemorate this occasion. An update on our
011student winner, Cameron Parker from Centaros. He competed at the national level in oratory and finished in the top 10. Great job, Cameron! We hope to see you on the next Superintendent's Honor Roll. We also talked about the AP Apax students. It's the new name for what used to be Boldertech, as they've frozen their stamp benefits. The students from the Culinary Academy, coordinated by the America Club, prepare hot meals for neighbors in need, especially around Thanksgiving. I commend these students for what they 're doing. Council, the first modular home unit in the Ponderosa community was built by APAC students in collaboration with Flatons Habitat by Humanity and the Boulder Valley School District. These units are still on the assembly lines in North Boulder, providing affordable housing. As you can see in the video, the community is
012very proud of this collaboration, which is making a difference for families in housing. And finally, regarding the Council, we finished construction on the high school. The old Nuvista building has been demolished, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony was held . I want to thank everyone who was able to attend the groundbreaking, including council members and those who have already toured the facilities. It's a very beautiful thing. Finally, this high school has a very innovative building that aligns with the program and philosophy of [unclear - possibly "unclear - context needed]." It was built with the 2000 bond. And that's my report for tonight. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Do any council members have questions? I see there aren't any. Let's now open it to public participation. The Board respects the right of the public to speak about matters concerning
013the operation of the schools. The Council does not endorse any speaker's remarks. Each speaker has 2 minutes. You will see a yellow card when you have 30 seconds remaining and an orange card when you have 10 seconds remaining. If you run out of time or have more information, you may email the council. The first community member to speak is Mr. Richard Garcia. Can you hear me? This is my first time standing here behind this podium. I'm used to being on the other side. Good evening, Madam President, council members, Dr. Anderson. The purpose of my being here tonight is to make a simple request. In Colorado, we have a law, 2776, which states that Colorado families must stay together. This is part of protecting privacy and constitutional rights. And on account 26/27, I gave Laura some
014papers. I want to ensure transparency and the protection of constitutional rights in the school district. We have protocols where AC must present a search warrant to implement immigration laws and to have access to our school facilities. What I'm asking for, especially now that the atrocities we all know about are being committed and are in plain sight in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Charlotte, North Carolina, is that the school district work with the community and create a task force to protect families. We've come together with teachers and parents, listened to ideas, and kept us at the forefront of preventing the atrocities happening in our district. The task force will include parents, community members, law enforcement, school staff, and so on. BSD has always been a leader in protecting student safety, protecting transgender students, and has been a
015model for others. I want BSD to continue being a leader, and I am willing to participate. Thank you, Richard. The next speaker is Tere Garcia. Please turn on your microphone. Good evening, my name is Teresa Garcia. I have been a bilingual teacher at Johnny Hill. As a bilingual teacher, I am here to demand that the district develop a strategic plan to safeguard students and communicate effectively. We need to make this plan effective for families. The district has the support of allies such as the Police Department, the University of Colorado, and many organizations in Bolder County and the community. We will all be ready and well- informed about the plan. I hear there is a protocol and that principals are aware of it, but I'm sorry, a protocol is not enough. We all need to ensure
016that our students continue learning without interruption, that teachers can focus on teaching without worrying about student safety. Students need to know that the district says, "We are ready to protect every child." Students need to know that there is a plan, that there is a plan to protect them. They need to know that each of you, the teachers, the principals have a plan to ensure that they can safely go to school and home. As you have seen on television, we are all at risk once we arrive at school. Please don't wait until he has caught one of our students or one of our teachers. Thank you. With this we conclude the public participation on behalf of the council. Thank you for taking the time to share your comments and experiences with us. Ah, the next point
017is communication. council members. Who wants to start? V. Well, this is my last, uh, almost my second-to-last meeting. I'm going to leave the goodbyes for December 2nd. Richard, thank you for being here. Thank you. What I wanted to mention today is that I was, uh, as a member of the community and I hope to be part of the committee if I am approved by you. I was joking about where members go when they retire. They're in rock. And I wanted to mention, we had a conversation on October 23rd, about how to get the public involved and what response we're going to give to the decline in registrations. And I wanted to make sure I mentioned this, and that's all from me today. Yes, I'm really looking forward to the next meeting where we can talk
018about Beth and Kitty and their great service and see how schools are being impacted by low enrollment. We see the variety of schools, the wonderful teachers, and how these schools are managed. What parents may not see is the importance of leadership or how they are working behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly. It's a big commitment from adults in the school and how this works. Another thing they could be doing with more energy, and are now working in small groups. It's your turn. Thank you. First, thank you so much to the Team Ink team, and I love listening to you. I know you're not here, but hearing you talk about your experiences as mentors is really nice. We see the positive impact on both the mentor and the student. It was incredible. Thank you
019so much, Richard and Tere, for coming and sharing with us. It's great to see you, Richard. And you too, but I didn't serve 6 years with you on the council. And I also want to thank the voters for approving the lunch program. It means a lot to our students. Thanks a lot . Next part. I'm going to try not to cry, but please I want to tell you about a friend of mine and sister in solidarity, Dana Casey. I was expecting that I would give this tribute as a public comment many years after leaving the council, but I'm going to do it at my last business meeting. Dona loved teaching the children. She taught in California and Northern Colorado, a small town on the west side of the mountains, but most of her career was
020spent at Crest Elementary School. The students loved her very much, and she also had the respect of parents and colleagues. She didn't have children, but she probably didn't want them. She dedicated her life to the children she taught, starting in 1995, sorry, just a moment. Beginning in 1995 and continuing every year until her retirement in 2011, she produced a Shakespeare play that she adapted with her students, and the students performed it. These students had elaborate costumes, and they learned the dialogue, although they adapted it, they did not change the language. She instilled this love of Shakespeare in thousands of students. And I attend the Colorado Shakespeare Festival every year, and she frequently met her students and their families there . From time to time a student was at the play and they loved finding her
021and she was delighted to see them, to see them, to enjoy Shakespeare. In 1997 he won the $1,000 prize which she used to travel to England and study Shakespeare. She was heavily involved with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and was instrumental in founding the Will Power Festival. It brings Shakespeare to different fourth and fifth grade programs in public and private schools with the participation of 200 students each year. Each student receives a different script for the play and they do not meet until the day of the play. Sorry. There was much more to it than what I shared, but I want to focus on the impact on our students. Thousands of students in the district and other students in the Boulder area have developed a love and appreciation for Shakespeare because of a woman whom I
022have the honor to call my friend. In June 2024, Dona was diagnosed with brain cancer. She went to Germany for treatment and despite hopes that she would overcome it, she died on October 25. The district was lucky to have her as a teacher, and if they want to name a school after her, she is the best teacher to have a school named after her. We're going to continue with the news topics and there's an update with Dr. Anderson and the legislative update. Dr. Anderson. Thank you, Mr. President. Rash Paul. We are moving the legislative update towards the session. One particular topic. There are two issues that are reflected in our choices. This LMM was approved through the state of Colorado and we are extremely excited about that. And the voters of Boulder County approved the
023mental health and wellness tax, and we're going to send a letter to the Boulder County commissioners to engage with them on our BW action plan that we presented to the board in October, and we feel we did a good job of thinking about mental health and wellness for our students, and we have investments that we can utilize. I think it would be good to have dollars from the commissioners, while they are collecting and distributing this tax. We feel that these dollars would make a big difference for our children here in the district. Nicole and I are going to send a letter this week, and hopefully we'll be able to participate with them, and hopefully they can send us some of the money raised. Thank you. Do you have any questions? We are also trying to
024schedule the legislative breakfast in January as normal. We'll do that after the winter holidays. As indicated on tonight's agenda, we have topics to discuss in executive session on a line motion. I hereby make a motion pursuant to CRS24-642B to agree in executive session to receive legal advice regarding litigation related to the Marshall fire and Council policies related to negotiations. Seconded by Jason, Laura can take attendance. Chavez medler sinck yes stays yes Raj Paul yes serent hunger passes the motion this council. We're going to meet in the Glacier Room. I would like to log back in. The next topic is consent grouping. 8.1 Personnel issues 8.2 Approval of the minutes of October 28 8.3 Acceptance of Luisveld donation 8.4 Acceptance of Southern Hills donation 8.5 Aspen Creek contract amendment 8.6 HPIX contract amendment 8.7 7th amendment
025to the Centennial contract 8.8 Cresview school contract amendment 8.9 Fairview high school contract amendment 8.10 Manhattan middle school contract amendment 8.8.11 Plat High School contract amendment 8.12 Southern Hills contract amendment 8.13 Marshall fire litigation settlement 8.4 4. Approval of computer network renewal purchase 8.5 Purchase of school buses. 8.16 Assistant Superintendent of Schools Grant 8.17 Sustainability Grant Is there any song you'd like to remove from the list, considering none of them? Is there a motion to pass? Sorry. This second motion by Kiri for the line discussion about the grouping of topics. Laura, you can now take attendance. Chávez, yes. Medler, yes. Nick, yes. Conida, yes. Rashp, yes. Sergeant, yes. Anger, yes. I pass the motion. Next topic. This is a grouping of topics 10.1, Council policy H, 10.2 Council policy this negotiation objectives 10.3 Council policy
026H6 or 10.8 Council policy, negotiation powers and duties 10.5 Council negotiators agents . 10.6 Method for determining organizations. 10.7 procedures for negotiation meetings 10.8 HLHM preliminary arrangement announced by the agreement 10.9 Council policy HN procedures in case of deadlock. 10.10 ICA and ICA-R Council policy school year school calendar 10.11 Igel Council policy in schools 10.12 12 selection and adaptation of teaching materials 10.13 IQ Council policy to assessment systems 10.14 IQB3 Council policy school 10.15 Council policy on curriculum 10.16 KHB Council policies sponsorships that was a lot. Is there a topic you'd like to bring up? 10.10 and 10.11. We need a motion to approve all items by low consent with the exception of 10.10.1 motion this because I have no further comments. We need a motion to try and then we can discuss. Motion by
027B. Second by Alex. This, members discussions, there's a lot of low consent tonight. Council members, there is discussion about the grouping. Those that have been taken out, we will address next. I have several comments, one of which I made in the executive session that I want to make here. I'm not suggesting we change anything today, but I would like to see any election for a group representing employees elected by an absolute majority rather than a simple majority. And I have a question in KC about groups that cannot officially participate in religious events. We're going to talk about that because that came up . That was one that was taken out. Sorry, I forgot because he said it by number, not by name. Okay. And I do n't take out AI. So, I have a question
028about IK and IQB. It speaks of how schools should encourage consistency. I think it's in grades and because it's a must, it 's only a must. That's why I'm asking. I'm looking for changes. Council member Sargent. Sorry, did he say homework or grades? Sorry, the note I wrote should encourage coherence or consistency. It appears in IC policy and IK R, sorry, not E IB. So it's grades and homework. I believe that's a language that exists, that we've moved forward. I know it's a little different from what we 've done in the past. Because of the council's prioritization of these policies, what we are trying to do is clean up the language that we know is not consistent with practice and may be a barrier to understanding the policies. And then we're going to work with
029the schools and collect more data, and also with the district-level accountability committee. At this point in the policy process, I didn't take the words that we're going to consider more carefully to make them mandatory, because I think it's important that we hear from the schools before we do the review. That makes sense. Thank you so much. I appreciate the agreement with the public and council members that we will return to these policies, because I agree that these policies are not where we want them to be; they reflect current practice, which is useful. So, what we've shared with the council, we have two inclusions that I'm dealing with, without knowing how suitable they are or if they create more confusion for staff, so they're not perfect at the moment, but they're more in line with current
030practice and I think it's going to help the community give better feedback because the other policies were unnecessarily long and confusing and not aligned with what we're doing or not aligned with the law. So it's a step in the right direction. members. Another discussion on the other policies that I missed at the last meeting, but I appreciate the DAC committee and their care and this memorandum which can inform what we are doing. Then I appreciate that. There is no further discussion about these issues. Laura can take attendance this time . Chávez, yes. Mler, yes. Nick, yes. Quindo, yes. Rush Paul, yes. Sergeant, yes. Hunger, yes. The motion passes. Now let's move on to the action topics. Item 10.10 that was removed from the agreed agenda. This school year, calendar, member. Would you like to start
031the discussion, and why did you want to bring it up? Under the development process I am in ICA instead of ICA-R. In the second paragraph, under the development process, we add the honor of recognizing public participation in a development process. We have always welcomed it in that part, this, when the calendar is in front of us, the district members, the students and parents, I don't know why it's there. And it would be better to consider public participation in the development process; that would be more appropriate. And why are we bringing it into politics? In this paragraph, honor is new. It probably wasn't the best choice on my part. What I wanted to do in this paragraph is to have language that talks about ensuring that in the negotiated agreements we also ensure that we share
032the draft schedule publicly and if there are revisions, that the council allows a month for opinions about the additional revisions. But I don't think the language means that every time we change some detail in the calendar, there's an extra month; there's a safeguard that once the board discusses the calendar and proposed revisions, we need time to listen to the opinions. We have a month, we have the opportunity for opinions, but it's not a series of one-month delays that creates a barrier to adopting the schedule. So, honestly, I wanted to separate those thoughts so that I could separate the one-month waiting period, but possibly I thought, I had created another, different difficulty. I would love to be able to move this forward for a vote. And I understand what you're saying, that this 30-month period is
033important to get other opinions. I believe we can say the council will consider these public opinions within 30 days and be specific. It was something nebulous that we were trying to do. Then I'm happy to do it . A friendly amendment. Alex, thank you. I appreciate that, and I believe that what I'm sending is something that's implied in every policy we make: that we honor public participation, but what I 'm talking about is that we are honoring contractual agreements, this contract, and also aligning it with our policies. So, I like what the line suggested in aligning with our public participation process rather than honoring it as a process point. Someone is going to make an amendment with exact language that we can agree on. I want to make sure the board members understand that. I
034can ask Kathn about exact language, his opinion, the appropriate language. Since there is no pending motion, the motion could be, I make a motion to adopt the policy as presented, replacing the word honor with consider. That would be the excitement. So, remove " honor him" and replace it with " consider participation." That could be it. My question is for Kat or council members. That makes it clear that we are considering public participation in the development for the next 30 days. Because we talked about that later, it's in the next sentence or later in the sentence or the following sentence. I believe the council should make the revised schedule available at least one month before adoption to allow for additional feedback. It should be considered, but after the following sentence. There is an opening clause. If
035the council reviews or changes the tentative schedule, then if they review or change what is presented, then the council will consider public participation. Do you need this prayer? Anyway, Alex, I don't think it adds anything. I believe we don't need this sentence; that's my opinion, and I don't think it harms public participation or the process, and having this sentence is more ambiguous. Jason, I'm going to suggest the same thing. I believe it is unnecessary and as Alex indicated, there is a process for public participation. So, I recommend that we remove, delete this sentence. So, I'm going to make the motion. I make a motion that we remove the sentence that reads, sorry, I have a contact lens, I can't read very well. Yes. The council is changing the tentative schedule. The council will honor the
036public participation period in the development process and we adopted the policy without that sentence. I may request a point of clarification. I think he's trying to remove the new text. The motion would be: we are removing the entire sentence. If you remove the new language in this paragraph, we will preserve the language you said. If the council changes the tentative timetable, the council will be available for a period of one month prior to adoption. So it's removing the language that 's in green text in the third paragraph. Jorge, I think it's the whole sentence because the previous sentence says the council will formally adopt the school calendars, um, or set a specific date for the adoption of any changed calendars and then it can say that, right? We have this public participation in the first
037paragraph. We do n't want this to become a perpetual calendar where we'll have public feedback every 30 days. So, we don't want to guarantee or assure that every time there's a review we'll have another 30-day cycle. If there is a review, it will start those 30 days only once for proper adoption of the calendar. Since this is not the first time they have looked at this policy, the language at the end of the paragraph, the last sentence at the end of this paragraph, is new language from this adoption of the latest policy. So, that will be clear, however, because this language was never debated again. The green thing is new since the last time he looked at politics. There is language to address this sequential problem. The motion on the table is to remove. I
038lose my way because I'm doing a bad job of correcting them. We are removing the green words or the entire sentence. What is the intention? I've heard both things. I don't second any of the motions, do I ? No, I just need this as a foundation for something. Kiri, I like that, honoring the public during the development process, and I would say no if we remove or omit that sentence, but I know it would pass without my vote. Then it wouldn't matter. I want to end this policy, but we still need a motion and a second one to be able to move beyond this policy. I, Alex, move that we pass this revised policy after we remove the language in green that says to honor public involvement during the development process. Members of the Second
039Bet Council. So, seeing as there's no argument, Laura, can you take attendance? Chávez. Yes, Metler, yes. Nesnek, yes. Kulenira, yes. Rashpa yes. Sergeant, no. Hunger, yes. The motion passes. Next point for study is 10.11 and Geligas schools. Ah, noad is going to talk about this point. If we go down to the bottom of Iga A, subheading E, I wonder, Kathlen, is it possible to extract the second half of the last sentence of the first paragraph? It says, "And no religious invocations or blessings or formal prayers will be included in schools or at sponsored events. And again, we should say that the district shall not do this and put it under a new subheading, maybe F, and bring F down to G or maybe a new G. Yes, I would be very happy to say it
040again. We're in the first paragraph, the last sentence, the second half of that sentence. I would like the second half of that sentence to have its own subheading, reading that it says, 'The school district will not include religious invocations, blessings, or formal prayers at school-sponsored events.'" I'd like point G to go all the way up, or if it's more appropriate to move F to G. Can I ask you a question? If you're not changing the sentence and just moving it around, what are we accomplishing with this? What is your justification? So, what do you hope to achieve with this? I believe it is included, nestled within graduation, and I believe there are other places where we need to be clear that there should be no invocations, blessings, or formal prayers at school events that have
041become associated with graduations, and I believe our policy would be clearer if it had its own subheading. Alex, one clarifying question, please. We are going to try to recreate this first paragraph without the word baclareado. It's online, I don't think we can just leave that there, that second sentence of the first paragraph, and end it after the word nature and leave it with, uh, how is it? With the elimination of non-involvement, we will not include religious invocations, blessings, or formal prayers at school or school-sponsored events, including your own, that are not only associated with graduations, but with all school events. And I find it a little confusing that it's under graduations. It could be there as well, Jason. Yes, I was looking and I think I understand what they're saying. I don't know if we
042can remove the word " high school" from the subheading of the first paragraph, which refers to religious activities and all events or activities of the school district. Yes, it can be done that way, but I still think there are some religious things in the recordings that have occurred that are not associated with the district. We're not trying to ban that. What we're trying to do is prevent the school district from doing that. So yes, it is an alternative way of doing what is at that point. There is a particular reason for this, and that is so that we must include the language about high school services in invocations and blessings. It could be that this language already existed in politics, and if you look at these points, uh, graduation ceremonies, historically they did have elements
043of religious worship, and I think that language was already included in politics because there was a concern of previous assemblies, not only Boulder's, but based on national practices. Alex, if I can make an amendment from the Department of Repetition, maybe we'll add a point G that isn't about high school services, but rather about school-sponsored events where the district does not sponsor or conduct religious services, and that we will not conduct or sanction any kind of religious service or service of that nature, and that includes religious invocations, blessings, formal prayers at sponsored events, and we'll make that very clear. Now I see where it makes the second point more or less repeat itself, and I think that due to the historical nature of including these practices seems appropriate to me. I'm coming back to the fact
044that I don't like this repetitive language in our policies, so I don't know if we can simply amend the title. Perhaps this would change the title only to " add sponsored events" in the two paragraphs and not have to change or add a subtitle. Then, school-sponsored events . I'm wondering if it might make sense to add that sentence to the neutrality section at the end of the policy, instead of creating an additional event in the subheading. We can add the first sentence of the neutrality paragraph, but perhaps after the second sentence, as the council member with Noera read it , that means the school district shall not include religious invocations or formal prayers at any school-sponsored events. We need a motion and someone to come in second. Alex, well, I think with a small amendment
045you would add the language that is already within e that is more inclusive, it is the part of the second sentence that ends in services that are uh of a religious nature. So we can say that maybe it's not a prayer, but it's nature's way of letting us know that we shouldn't do that. We are monitoring this more closely, but we are still aware that we are not having a school-sponsored or staff-sponsored activity of a religious nature. Alex, you're saying that if we go down to 'e' in the second sentence, we take out the word 'bachillerato' (high school), we take that sentence and put it at the top, not taking out 'e', but putting that sentence at the top in the neutral part and taking out that word. Correct? Because I'm making that motion. Yes,
046if that's what you 're saying. If it's the first paragraph, second sentence, and I'm going to read the sentence, we're going to take the sentence I'm going to read and we're going to raise it to neutrality, but we're not taking it out. Yes, I'm going to do it, and I'm going to go slowly, and then Nico is going to hit me. Okay, very good. I would like to adopt this policy by adding the following sentence to be placed under neutrality below the first sentence. The sentence must be read. As follows. The school district should not conduct or sanction any service that is of a religious nature. Religious invocations or formal prayers should not be included at school-sponsored events. We have a second motion. Second by Kiri. Council members, any discussion? Seeing as I have no
047argument about that, but it's another thing I was going to mention about it and I'm trying to find it here, but it says something about school groups not being able to perform in front of a religious ceremony. Something I thought of is, let's say we have a choir and someone in this choir was killed and they asked him to sing at the funeral. They would not be allowed to do so, or if they did, they could do it without the choir director. I would hate to see, and I hope this never happens, but I would hate to see something so significant to the family and not be able to do it, but I understand that he can't make it an official district official. Is there any way to adapt that? I think the way we
048would adapt that in policy, that is, unless there is special permission and it is granted with that nature, and that would open a can of worms or unwanted things. Well, if I had a ball, uh, a crystal ball, I'd have a lot more money. This policy has already been in place; it's not new, it's already part of the council's existing policy. And if I believe council member sergeant, what you explained is not a formal school presentation, if they are not doing it as a school event. This is just what official school groups say . So, for example, the high school choir could, and of course, anyone can attend the funeral, they could sing, I mean, it would have to happen so that it wouldn't be official, it wouldn't be a student-required event. So, anyone who
049wants to do it can do it. I don't want the "I don't want this to be impossible" scenario if someone wants it to happen. Alex, I think that scenario is very, very dynamic, but at the same time it's problematic. If a district employee is doing something that is expected of students who are in an official group, that's a point on the part of people who are not going to join in a Christian prayer because of their faith or lack of faith. This is the type of behavior we are trying to eliminate so that it doesn't become a problem. So, if the staff are in a position of power and they have students, they're trying to make it easier for the students to say, "What if I'm not going to be on the team yet, or
050I'm not going to be a member of the choir, or maybe I'm not going to be a good member of the choir if I do n't go into a Christian church because of my faith?" That's the problematic aspect I see with that scenario. So, it will be possible. Okay, so my other question is, under this policy as it's written, would it be permitted to go and sing at a funeral if asked? I think potentially with many specific factual considerations where not and under a specific scenario it would n't be a violation of that policy because I completely agree with what Alex said, this power structure and we've looked at the sentences of football teams and I definitely don't want to see that. There is a difference between saying a prayer in the opposite field and
051whether someone who wants to sing at the funeral can go to this place if they want, but I do understand your point. Any discussion or further discussion on this policy before voting on the amendment? Seeing that there are none. Laura, can you take attendance? Ches. Yes. Merlin, yes, Nesleek, yes, Colen Aen. Rashp, yes, Rp, yes, her, yes, the emotion passes. Council members, we have a policy that we are going to study, it is the educational goals policy and Kin is going to present it. Thank you, RushP Council member. The council had identified some policies they wanted to see. There are two: ADA policy, educational philosophy, which was last revised in 2018. And this remains in Chapter A, where they placed the neurodiversity policy and where most of the philosophical or aspirational policies remain. Interesting. We
052also have an AI advisory policy that includes instructional goals. This policy has not been reviewed since 1979. It is not a policy that has a Casby sample. And the third point I included for the council on this agenda is Casby's sample for the ADA policy for educational objectives. Since the Board has not spoken about either of these two policies, I refused to draw a red line. changes. So, we have put the two current policies for the council's consideration with the CASBI sample so that the council can talk about those items that may or may not be helpful and then perhaps present them with an amendment. Kat, yes, you can share to what degree of change those policies are required, and I don't know if they are related to other policies that will be presented in
053the future. Ig. IGA is the basic instruction program and originally during prioritization I was thinking about that job and I was thinking about those policies and how they fit together. But when I entered them, IGA includes much more content that is related to instruction. So I think it's going to require a more in-depth review. These two policies, ADA and IA, are not required by law. You can see Casby's sample, it's very straightforward. It includes five points as objectives. The current policy of the Council, and if the Council hasn't amended it since 1979, I believe no one else has amended or revised it since then because it doesn't have the directional content we seek in policies, and I know that the language of 2018 is more current. What I will say is that it reads little
054differently from Casby's sample. that they are not watching it or are watching this meeting online. For example, in the first sentence it says aware of the great excitement of humanity from the classic journey of knowledge and stimulation given the adventure of the mind and discovering this world full of challenges and convincing young adults that it must challenge and take responsibility. Yes, yes, we're making the point. We try to motivate our teachers and students to take notes. I don't think our politics requires illuminators or pencils to raise flags, but rather what they understand and what they are trying to say. I brought these policies in because I believe there is no benefit in them. I think Casi's exhibition is very good. I think the main thing comes from the IGA policy and I would be very
055happy to say that neither of these two are useful and remove them completely. Or we can use a sample of C hasby, but we shouldn't continue using a language that people don't understand. Doctor Andren, I understand that point of view. It takes a lot of time to review policies and present them. The lens through which I view policies, what does it tell us to do? What does it tell us not to do? In the strategic plan. We know what we 're doing. We have a vision, a mission, and I believe that any policy we can take off the record and not lose anything is a gain for the school district. I'm seeing a lot of thumbs up from our board members. I believe the direction would be to bring in these amendments that eliminate these
056two policies, and we can use our time delving deeper into those that do create more meaning and purpose clearly. And yes, I appreciate that you were reading that because I was like, wow, that's interesting. Rodinaia, I just wanted to ask, when will IGA be presented? When is it on our calendar? We do n't know, we don't have a specific timeframe yet. This discussion is more about or further discussion on these points of study. Seeing that there are none, let's move on to these requests for the future agenda. This is where we can include these points for the future. And Pet, well, they do n't have to say anything right now because they wo n't be with us at our next prioritization meeting in January. Members, I would like to say, I know we already looked
057at and reviewed policy K and KH and again received public feedback on that policy. We receive a lot of feedback because I think that sometimes policies are bad, they are confusing, it is not clear what the policy is trying to do or not do, and it creates challenging conditions. We've done a lot of work this year. We have approved sponsorships. Tonight we have been very focused on promoting this policy and other council policies to raise funds with students. I think if we ever go back to KH or K it's going to be from a different lens, maybe starting from point one. And I wanted to say that as a district we also need to keep in mind the different ways in which we generate and collect external sources of income, and what our overall goal
058and plan will be for this. So when you think about sponsorships and promoting this, what's the plan, how are we going to work with partners at different levels, what do we want to achieve, and do we need to be very aware and strategic about that? when we think about external sources of income to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our students in schools in a very meaningful way. And before we return to KH, I'm going to encourage the district to think about different sources of income from outside and how to plan to do this in a way that meets the challenging conditions under which we operate. So, I just wanted to say that. Jer, thanks, Neco. It's done , it's not ready yet, but I wanted to expand its scope. Perhaps Nicole and
059Alex had already suggested technology policies. I know it's going to go beyond cell phones. I read an article in the New York Times about computers and I agree with all the points that were sent to us, but I also think it's important to include the use of Chromebooks in that technology review and how often children are using Chromebooks. Perhaps they are using it when it is not necessarily useful, and adding more to that and specifically putting that point about the use of chromboxes in the class. Thanks for that, Jason. Alex. Uh, a small amendment, not only in the classroom, but also at home. One thing parents complain about a lot is more screen time and more time spent driving around the house. I want to thank the Garcia family for coming tonight, and I want
060to put on our agenda a discussion of SB, sorry, no, 276, and how we can best care for our immigrant population . Seeing that there are no additional points, the session is adjourned.