Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County School Board, 2nd Tuesday School Board Meeting, Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Place: Loudoun County Public Schools / School Board meeting (see BoardDocs / LCPS-TV)
Length: 4h 7m (video)
Official meeting video (Vimeo / LCPS-TV): https://player.vimeo.com/video/912707569?rel=0
BoardDocs (School Board): https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/loudoun/Board.nsf/Public

Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting.
Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-19. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:01:15] It's time to start our, I call to order this February 13th, 2024, Loudoun County School Board Meeting. However, before we move on to our first agenda item, I would like to raise a point of privilege, personal privilege. February is School Board Clerk Appreciation Month. And this afternoon, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation and recognition for the unwavering dedication and exceptional service provided by our school board clerk Sherry Byrne and deputy clerk Hope

[00:01:54] Casserly. As new board members they have been an incredible support and have helped to ensure our smooth transition. They're always available to answer questions no matter how small. The attention to detail, organizational support, and commitment to transparency demonstrated by the school board clerk and deputy clerk have played a pivotal role in ensuring the efficiency of our administrative

[00:02:26] and board processes. Their ability to navigate complex tasks with grace and professionalism has significantly contributed to the success of our school board and community at large. We are truly fortunate to have such diligent individuals overseeing the essential responsibilities of record keeping communication and logistical coordination their commitment to the betterment of loudon county public schools deserves our deepest gratitude and we extend our sincere thanks for their outstanding contributions to the success of our schools miss burn and miss casserly would

[00:03:06] you please meet me up here on the dais so i can give y'all a little thank you so now we'll move

[00:03:51] on to agenda item two approval of the consent agenda and before that vote we have two proclamations to read. The first one proclaiming the celebration of Black History Month will be read by Dr. Deans. Dr. Deans? Good afternoon. Loudoun County Public Schools is proclaiming the celebration of Black History Month in February 2024. Whereas Dr. Carter G. Woodson, noted black scholar born in Virginia

[00:04:28] and son of enslaved parents initiated Negro History Week on February 12, 1926. And whereas the celebration of Black History expanded from one week in February to Black History Month in 1976.

[00:04:51] And whereas, during Black History Month, we recognize and celebrate the contributions, influence, and spirit that Black Americans have shown since our country's inception.

[00:05:09] And whereas, especially during Black History Month, we acknowledge and highlight the many achievements and profound contributions made by Black Americans to the economic, cultural, spiritual, educational, and political development of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the entire United States of America.

[00:05:37] And whereas 7.4% of enrolled LCPS students are black and 6.4% of Loughton County Public Schools workforce has self-identified as African-American.

[00:05:56] And whereas 97.8% of black students graduated on time in 2023 compared to 97.6% of all students in LCPS in 2023.

[00:06:15] And whereas, Loudoun County Public Schools has adopted a commitment to equity to ensure student growth and success for every child. To create student-responsive environments where all students can see representation of themselves and identity.

[00:06:39] to have a sense of belonging, to eliminate opportunity gaps, and to increase division-wide efforts in diverse recruitment, hiring, and retention. And whereas the school division continues to collaborate and partner with various community-based individuals and organizations to further its efforts of forming strong relationships in a culturally sensitive, responsive, and appropriate way.

[00:07:20] And whereas the Loughton County School Board continues to operate with a select committee on equity composed of various stakeholders from the Loughton community to demonstrate our commitment to closing opportunity gaps for black students and creating an educational environment where all students can benefit from high-quality, rigorous educational programs offered.

[00:07:57] And whereas, during Black History Month, we focus on the critical role of education in the history of black Americans. Now, therefore, we, the Loudoun County School Board, do hereby proclaim February 1st through February 28th, 2024, to be Black History Month in Loudoun County Public Schools.

[00:08:26] Be it further resolved that the Loudoun County School Board strongly encourage our staff and community to observe, recognize, and celebrate the culture, heritage, and contributions of Black Americans to our country, the Commonwealth of Virginia, our beautifully diverse county, and our schools, not only during Black History Month, but throughout the school year.

[00:09:00] In witness whereof, the Loudoun County School Board issues this proclamation to honor and recognize the contributions of black Americans. Their aforementioned impact is evidenced both nationally and globally. Thank you.

[00:09:28] Now as chair of the Loudoun County School Board, I have the pleasure and distinct honor to read a proclamation celebrating Dr. Linda Deans, the first African-American female elected to the Loudoun County Public Schools Board of Education.

[00:09:53] Whereas the Loudoun County Public School Board acknowledges and celebrates the historic achievement of Dr. Linda Deans, who has been duly elected as the first African-American female member of the Loudoun County Public Schools Board of Education.

[00:10:12] And, whereas Dr. Dean's unwavering passion, dedication, and commitment to the education of all youth are evident throughout her distinguished career, spanning three decades, during which she served as Director of Education, Dean of Girls, Secondary School Counselor, Secondary School Principal, Deputy Superintendent, Director of Alternative Programs, and Adjunct Professor.

[00:10:41] And whereas Dr. Linda Deans has nurtured, supported, directed, and mentored numerous prospective leaders during her tenure at the prestigious and well-respected George Washington University.

[00:10:59] And, whereas in her role as a member of the Loudoun County Public Schools Board of Education, Dr. Linda Deans will continue to champion equitable education for each and every student in the Loudoun County Public Schools.

[00:11:20] She will serve in the capacity of school board member, chair of the Loudoun County Public Schools Equity Committee, church elder, and as a staff mentor. And, whereas Dr. Linda Deans exemplifies leadership aligned with the core values of Loudoun County Public Schools, advocating for an enriched division comprised of individuals dedicated to maintaining an inclusive, safe, caring, and rigorous learning environment, which forms the foundation for student growth.

[00:11:56] And be it resolved that Dr. Linda Dean's appointment to the Loudoun County Public School Board of Education shall be duly recorded as a historic first, marking her as the inaugural African-American female elected to the Loudoun County School Board.

[00:12:17] In witness whereof, the Loudoun County Public School Board issues this proclamation to honor and recognize Dr. Linda Deans for her trailblazing accomplishments and commitment to educational excellence by beating the odds by achieving beyond expectations.

[00:12:51] Personally say, Dr. Deans, it's an honor to know you and serve with you.

[00:13:15] Thank you for your service to our community. Now, is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? Vice Chair Struffy.

[00:13:31] yes madam chair thank you i motion to approve the consent agenda we have a motion by vice chair streffi to approve the consent agenda is there a second we have a second by ms chandler it's been properly moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda as a reminder there is there are no discussion there is no discussion for items on the consent agenda and at this time we'll take an electronic vote clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please

[00:14:07] close and display the vote the motion passes unanimously we will now move on to agenda item three the advisory committee update and 3.01 the loudon education alliance of families update

[00:14:25] presented by the leaf chair miss cherry colby miss colby good evening chair mansfield vice chair school board members staff in the community i am sherry colby chair of the loudon education Alliance of Families known as LEAF. I represent Sicklin Creek Elementary in the central Loudoun

[00:15:02] district and I am pleased to share the LEAF Alliance update with you this evening. For this update we will review LEAF's current status as it is in the middle of its second year. I will begin with an overview of 2023-2024 updates and conclude with anticipated next steps. Next slide please.

[00:15:24] LEAF empowers and informs parent leaders of children within LCPS. With representatives from the schools throughout our division, the goal of LEAF's two-way communication approach is for parents and educators to work together to review challenges, explore options, and provide feedback to those who make decisions in the best interest of LCPS youth.

[00:15:49] Per the LEAF Charter Bylaws, LEAF Alliance members help advise the school board and serve as liaisons to their communities. Next slide, please. LEAF members are asked to provide constructive insight on and summarize the topics discussed in meetings to facilitate two-way communication with their respective schools.

[00:16:13] A lot was learned during LEAF's inaugural year. The highlights and learning opportunities informed our next steps, long-term planning, and how we look forward to this school year. LEAF's representation includes 67 of 98 schools.

[00:16:31] This is down from LEAF's inaugural year's 83 representatives. LEAF chairs are working together alongside staff to discuss and increase parent participation. Each agenda is created with a membership voice at the forefront. Topics are member-driven, suggested verbally, through discussion or online feedback.

[00:16:51] When shared, topics are prioritized by the chair and staff and shared throughout the year. The image on this slide provides all topics shared with the Alliance for this school year. In addition, since August, LEAF members have been asked to provide feedback on 25 policies during the policy review process.

[00:17:11] Next slide, please. LEAF's annual organizational meeting in August sets the stage for the year, including voting on the new Alliance leadership. This year's leadership includes me as the chair, Erica Daly, Vice Chair of Planning, Mattel Gandhi, Vice Chair of Membership, and Kathy Summers, Vice Chair of Communications.

[00:17:36] Staff supports the alliance with secretarial functions. LEAF leadership has obtained LEAF-specific LCPS emails to use for all LEAF business. This is new this year. now that we have entered the second half of the school year the 2024-2025 school year membership drive will soon begin staff will start reaching out to schools in March for member participation this may result in the current member continuing on or a new member participating the board must

[00:18:08] approve any and every member we hope 2024-2025 will see 100 school representation LEAF also saw a shift in information sharing. We moved away from board docs. This year, all LEAF, including bylaws, the handbook, meeting agendas, and materials are on the website at lcps.org backslash LEAF. This change aligns our practices with all the other advisory groups. We continue the established communication cadence that supports reminders and feedback opportunities, including

[00:18:44] meeting reminders three to five business days before the meeting, posting the agenda two business days before the meeting and providing a meeting summary five to seven days after the meeting. Lastly, in another effort to align with the other advisory groups, the Alliance voted on a bylaw amendment to Article 7, quorum in August. Leaf members voted to amend the definition of a quorum to be greater than or equal to 25 percent of the voting members. The bylaws have changed the language and both the online handbook and website have been updated. The handbook was updated and

[00:19:22] shared with Alliance members, and all of you have a copy for your reference. Looking ahead, our next meeting is on Monday, March 18th at 5 30 p.m., and like all meetings, we are very intentional about our agenda, which includes a learning experience, interaction engagement strategy, and multiple feedback opportunities for the members. Agendas will include additional time for discussion and feedback. We are thrilled to be having Dr. Spence join us on March 18th. Next slide, please.

[00:19:56] As the chair, I am pleased to be a part of Leif's continued development and contributions as we continue to an established parent voice. Developing any new venture, committee, or advisory group takes time. An essential element of a strong committee is trust, built through courtesy, kindness, honesty, and the habit of keeping commitments.

[00:20:19] Moving a large group forward is always a work in progress, which is why leadership has been very intentional about asking for feedback making shifts in the agenda to fit the needs of the overall group and communicating regularly we will continue to do so moving forward thank you for the opportunity to share our leaf update i'm happy to discuss any additional questions that anyone may have thank you miss colby board members do you have any questions for miss colby yes miss griffiths mrs griffiths thank you so much thank you for the update on the LEAF committee. I'm especially interested in the feedback from a group that

[00:20:59] was established to elevate the parent voice on educational concerns. I do have some questions. Are LEAF members provided an opportunity to relay the most pressing issues topics pressing at their prospective schools? Does the format for the meetings allow for members to speak their concerns? How does the division respond? Is this committee meeting the intent of the organization if not what should be done to fix that I know that's a lot of questions at once no that's fine I can go back no that's fine I think I was a part of the inaugural year as well and I

[00:21:36] know as I said anytime you establish a new advisory group that takes some time so I feel like the first year we were really trying to get our footing and see how do we want to structure this and how do we want to become a really impactful group so that parents feel that their voices are heard and that we increase transparency. We were fortunate that, and Dr. Spence came on, he allowed us the opportunity to meet with him and provided us with some feedback. We shared with him some member concerns about, are the voices being heard? How can we close a feedback loop

[00:22:10] when we're providing feedback with a feedback form that designates that it is coming from a LEAF member but their concern was how do we know that our our feedback has been heard and what can we do to close that loop so we're working with Dr. Spence on ways so that we can ensure that that feedback loop is closed and then we continue to the feedback forms we see as and we look at those and we make adjustments per meeting so as I said we started with very much the first year was we were gathering a lot of information. People were coming and presenting information, which is very

[00:22:50] helpful because I feel like as a member, you need to be informed if you're going to go back to your community and answer questions. So that was all very helpful, but that format needed to change so that people felt not only were they informed, but we needed to be able to ask questions and feel like our concerns were being heard as well. So we have adapted and changed the format of the meeting so that when our presenters come to speak on topics, for example, last night we talked on the instructional framework, fentanyl, and security and safety, and we had discussion groups.

[00:23:23] We were very fortunate that people can't take their time to present to us, and they presented the information, and then everyone in that group, we were in three groups, were able to have an interactive conversation with them, and then the presenters moved, and so they got to hear each one of those topics. We're going to gather feedback on how they feel about that format for the meeting.

[00:23:43] But I really feel like we're starting to get our footing and start to make some traction. I am thrilled that Mrs. Chernoff is our liaison and she is on our committee because she was on the inaugural year as well. And we will build a partnership to continue to move that forward so that we're increasing that transparency and that those parents feel that their voices are heard.

[00:24:06] So I hope that answers all your questions. Thank you. it does. Anybody else have any more questions? Yes, Ms. Chernoff? Not so much questions, but I just wanted to thank you for presenting, and last night was my first LEAF meeting as a school board member, but as Sherry mentioned, I was on for a year and a half as the Tolbert representative, and really felt like this was a place where parents could come together and have some authentic dialogue, and I just really want to praise Sherry right now, because her leadership this year has really internalized that feedback and taken the committee in a new direction. And I wish all of you could

[00:24:43] have been there last night because it was really unique to see the staff stepping in on some, you know, not easy topics, right? Like safety and fentanyl, which we're going to have some more information about tonight. But they pressed right in. And it is a true sit around the table dialogue. People are asking, you know, just off the cuff questions. It's not very, it wasn't very formal there wasn't a presentation it was it was really an engaging conversation and I don't know if you mentioned but it was divided by elementary middle and high so the staff was able to speak to those parents to those unique communities because we know that our schools are so vastly different

[00:25:23] by age and these issues are hitting the different age groups in different ways and there was even a continued discussion into the parking lot last night of a group of people including myself that that stayed with staff actually, um, and continued that dialogue because they, they had even more to talk about. So I just really want to praise you for that.

[00:25:43] I thank you for inviting me into this partnership. I'm excited about the work that we're doing. Um, and that the feedback is really, it's starting to churn now and you can feel the membership responding to that in such a positive way. So thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. And I thank you all for your time.

[00:25:58] Any other questions? No. Thank you, Ms. Colby for your time. And for your dedication to LCPS as LEAF Chair and also for the LEAF School Board update. Thank you. Absolutely. Thank you. We will move on to the work session item 4.01 from the Office of the Superintendent.

[00:26:24] First quarter forecast presented by Dr. Daniel Smith, our Chief of Staff. Dr. Smith. Chair Mansfield, members of the board. As a follow-up from the board discussion last month, tonight we bring you a forecast of work session and information items. The staff is planning to present to the board during the first quarter, or January through March of this year.

[00:26:45] Most quarter forecasting will include six meetings, two per month, over three months. For this first quarter forecast, you'll see that we have topics for meetings in February and March, noting that there is only one school board meeting in March due to spring break. We take the time to forecast board topics for several reasons.

[00:27:03] First, it provides board members with the opportunity to identify key topics that they would like to learn more about or receive updates. It also allows us to work together to tentatively schedule some information that may be required to present on a regular basis based on policy or code.

[00:27:19] Forecasting supports a strategic approach to sharing information and updates when will be most beneficial for the work of the board. It also allows staff time to adequately prepare to develop and prepare. And finally, it demonstrates transparency with the families and the community about when topics will be presented and discussed.

[00:27:38] It's important to know that forecasting is simply a projection and these items are not set in stone. Per school board policy 2430, agendas for the board meetings are prepared by the superintendent at the direction of the board chair. However, they do provide the board and the public with a projection about when particular topics will be discussed by the board.

[00:27:56] On this first quarter forecast, the items displayed for February 13th are items during tonight's work session. At our next meeting, we'll plan to provide you with updates on Dr. Spence's entry plan and a mid-year update on our strategic plan 1LCPS 2027 strategic plan for excellence.

[00:28:13] On March 12th, MSAC will be invited to provide an update, and we'll plan to provide the board with information about our work with Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, or MTSS, and our progress towards the recommendations from the Mental Health Task Force. As we begin to think about the second quarter of this year, upcoming items are listed in the right two columns based on board feedback.

[00:28:35] Tonight's forecast is focused on the first quarter of the year and is for information only. We welcome your feedback and are happy to answer any questions you may have. On March 12th, there'll be a forecast for quarter two. thank you thank you dr smith board members do you have any questions for dr smith regarding the first quarter forecast seeing no more questions we will move on to our next work session item thanks dr smith next on the item is next on the agenda is item 4.02 from the department of student

[00:29:12] services restraint and seclusion report presented by miss tedra richardson assistant superintendent of Student Services, Ms. Richardson.

[00:29:32] Good evening, Chair Mansfield, Vice Chair Estreffi, members of the board, Dr. Smith, and my distinguished colleagues.

[00:29:54] In 2015, the Virginia General Assembly enacted House Bill 1443, which directed the Virginia Board of Education to adopt regulations governing the use of restraint and seclusion in public schools.

[00:30:10] The subsequently adopted regulations governing the use of restraint and seclusion in public elementary and secondary schools in Virginia were effective on January 1st, 2021. Any school division that chose to use restraint and seclusion must now follow the new regulations. As stewards of our students' well-being and guardians of their educational experiences, it's imperative that we engage in a thoughtful and transparent discussion about restraint and seclusion.

[00:30:45] Our presentation aims to shed light on LCPS Policy 5345, supportive measures across LCPS, and a review of the comparative data surrounding the use of restraint and seclusion, exploring both the necessity for such measures in certain situations and the ethical considerations that must guide our decision-making.

[00:31:11] By fostering an open dialogue, we can work together to ensure the safety, dignity, and inclusivity of every student within our school community. Thank you in advance for your time and attention and commitment to this important matter. I would also like to introduce Mrs. Donna Smith, our Director of Procedural Support, as her office leads the charge on managing and reporting this data on behalf of LCPS.

[00:31:42] Helps if you turn it on. All right. During our time together this evening, we will review LCPS Policy 5,345, Restraint and Seclusion of Students.

[00:32:03] Policy 5,345 serves as the compass for guiding our practices in restraint and seclusion of students by providing a framework that ensures consistency, fairness, and effectiveness in decision-making and actions.

[00:32:18] It establishes clear guidelines, objectives, and boundaries within which LCPS operates. Moreover, Policy 5345 provides a mechanism for accountability and transparency. It also serves as a tool for continuous improvement, allowing for regular evaluation and adaptation of practices to better achieve desired outcomes.

[00:32:43] Policy 5345, Restraint and Seclusion of Students, serves to protect the rights and interests of all stakeholders while promoting efficiency, equity, and progress. It is through the implementation of thoughtful and inclusive policies that we can navigate complex challenges, uphold our standards of excellence, and drive positive change in LCPS.

[00:33:09] Our first supportive measure in LCPS is our multi-tiered system of supports. The Department of Student Services promotes a multi-tiered system of supports, or MTSS, for all students through universal targeted and intensive interventions these interventions include and are not limited to positive behavioral interventions and supports or pbis social and emotional support through unified mental health teams and individualized behavior plans the mtss

[00:33:47] framework provides a foundation that fosters safe and supportive learning environments for all students and staff. Our second supportive measure in place across LCPS is our annual employee training requirements. Our training requirements are comprehensive and multifaceted in helping our staff to understand and support student behavior. All LCPS employees have the responsibility for understanding and complying with policies and regulations related to the

[00:34:24] appropriate response to student behavior. Each school must have a team that includes members who are trained in the use of physical restraint and seclusion. The school-based team is composed of administrative and instructional personnel, including staff who, by reason of their training and job responsibilities, work with students who exhibit challenging behavior or have the potential to engage in dangerous conduct under policy and regulation 5345 restraint and seclusion of

[00:35:00] students the following staff are trained special education teachers teacher assistants behavior assistants special education deans administrators and any staff member on the school-based behavior intervention team must complete self-paced modules and the corresponding assessment The behavior intervention team includes positions listed above, as well as general education teachers and other designated staff, which may also include school counselors.

[00:35:33] The next annual training feature for staff is the MANT system for relational and technical intervention. The MANT system uses a trauma-informed approach to teach staff to build positive relationships with students, use effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills, manage personal emotional response to challenging student behavior, verbally de-escalate potentially aggressive situations,

[00:36:04] and utilize physical techniques and restraint to intervene to prevent imminent danger or serious physical harm to self or others. Select employees who work with students that exhibit challenging behavior or have the potential to engage in dangerous conduct receive annual MANT training.

[00:36:27] These employee positions include special and general education teachers, school-based staff, central office staff, transportation administrators, teacher assistants, behavior assistants, bus drivers, bus attendants, deans, and behavior intervention team members, as well as student services staff.

[00:36:52] Our next annual training component is the Ikuru Crisis Management System. This system is training that uses a trauma-informed approach to resolve conflict as well as physical techniques and with the use of cushioned blocking pads to manage physically aggressive behavior.

[00:37:16] Again, select employees who work with students that exhibit challenging behavior or have the potential to engage in dangerous conduct receive this annual eKURU training. Our next annual training is in conjunction with Virginia Commonwealth University Autism Center for Excellence, Safety for All, Autism Training for Transportation Staff.

[00:37:43] In LCPS, we have partnered with VCU ACE to provide various workshops for staff that support students with autism spectrum disorders. Student Services Office of Special Education collaborates with our support services team of transportation to facilitate group discussions after viewing videos that highlight the characteristics of autism, positive behavior supports, bullying, and unexpected changes in behavior, restraint and seclusion, and collaboration on strategies that bus drivers and bus attendants can use.

[00:38:24] Our participants in this training experience include bus drivers, bus attendants, lead drivers, and transportation administrators. This team continues to provide specific training to bus drivers and bus attendants as student needs arise.

[00:38:42] Lastly, our documentation of restraint and seclusion is also an annual training component here in LCPS. The Restraint Incident Report and Seclusion Incident Report forms are included as a section of Regulation 53-45.

[00:39:01] The Incident Report form captures information described within the regulation, and administrators and designees are provided access through our Phoenix Student Information System and are trained and required to input information to document the use of restraint or seclusion.

[00:39:23] The incident report form is kept within the student record and is provided to the parent or guardian. Now we will review the working definitions for aspects of restraint and seclusion as defined by the Virginia Code.

[00:39:44] Restraint and seclusion may only be used in emergency situations when other interventions would be ineffective and only to prevent a student from seriously harming or injuring themselves or others, quell a disturbance or remove a student from a disturbance in which the student's behavior threatens serious physical harm or injury to persons, defend self or others from serious physical harm or injury, or obtain possession of weapons, dangerous

[00:40:20] objects, controlled substances, or paraphernalia. Restraint and seclusion must be discontinued as soon as the imminent risk of serious harm has dissipated, and it may not be used solely to prevent damage to property when the property damage at issue does not pose an imminent risk of serious harm or injury to people.

[00:40:51] Seclusion and restraint may never be used to punish or discipline, as a means of coercion or retaliation, as a convenience or for any other reason beside those that are explicitly allowed.

[00:41:07] Our children's safety, well-being, and dignity are paramount in any educational setting. As educators and stakeholders in the educational system, it is our duty to ensure that every student feels safe, respected, and supported to thrive academically and emotionally.

[00:41:29] The following slides capture the last three years of restraint and seclusion data for LCPS. The number of instances of physical restraint, seclusion, and mechanical restraint are disaggregated by students without disabilities, students with disabilities under the IDEA, which is the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act, and students with disabilities under Section 504 only.

[00:41:59] It is important to note that the number of incidences reported are not reflective of the number of students, as some students may have multiple incidences in the educational setting. slide captures the decrease in incidences of physical restraint across LCPS school locations for all students during the 2022-2023 school year. You can see in the previous years, in 21 and 22, we had three incidences of students without disabilities requiring physical restraint,

[00:42:38] 15 students with disabilities requiring physical restraint. No students with disabilities on a 504 plan requiring physical restraint. And we had a reduction last year, zero students with no disabilities, from 15 down to six, and then zero for 504.

[00:43:00] This slide now captures the number of instances of seclusion across LCPS school sites. It indicates a decrease in incidences of seclusion for all students during the 2022-23 school year in LCPS.

[00:43:18] So you can see we had five incidences last year for students with disabilities under the IDEA, and we've had a reduction from that prior year down to three for 2022-23. This slide captures the number of mechanical restraint instances across LCPS school locations.

[00:43:43] The one incident for the student without disabilities during 21-22 was handled by law enforcement and not LCPS staff. You can see there were no incidences of mechanical restraint for 22-23.

[00:44:00] This last slide captures our data by student and student age. It represents the total number of students from the previous incidences reported. You can see that five students contributed to the incidences of physical restraint in 2022-23.

[00:44:22] No students were subject to mechanical restraint, and three students had incidences of seclusion in 2022-23. The Children's Services Act is a law that was enacted in 1993 that establishes a single-state pool of funds to support services for eligible youth and their families.

[00:44:50] State funds combined with local community funds are managed by local interagency teams who plan and oversee services to youth. The core value for CSA is support a system of care, child-centered and family-focused, provide a continuum of care, integrate services across agencies, foster collaboration, fiscal accountability, and inclusive excellence.

[00:45:20] The CSA process in Loudoun County is administered locally through county-operated units. Loudoun County's CSA unit is based within the Department of Family Services, or DFS. The services that are typically funded by Loudoun CSA are for behavioral and emotional difficulties and can include community-based, residential, and special education services.

[00:45:47] CSA policy is set by a local community policy and management team, or CPMT, which is made of appointed members from the community and local government. DFS, which includes foster care, child protective services, and the juvenile court services unit, is a member of the CPMT.

[00:46:09] Other CPMT member agencies include LCPS and the Loudoun County Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Developmental Services. In February 2023, LCPS had 28 students placed in private day services, with LCPS placing 27 of those students in February of 2023.

[00:46:37] In residential, LCPS had 13 students placed for residential services, with LCPS not being the placing agency for any of those students. To give you a frame of reference, as of this January 2024, we have 30 students served through CSA-funded placements in private day schools.

[00:47:01] Of the 30 student placements, 28 were initiated by LCPS, with two by other community agencies. Additionally, at this time, LCPS has 10 students served through CSA-funded residential placements.

[00:47:19] LCPS has not initiated any residential placements to date this school year. All 10 students have been placed by other community agencies. Please note that educational placements for students with disabilities and private day placements are one of the final considerations along the continuum of special education and related services.

[00:47:43] The continuum of special education services ranges from general education classroom to the most restrictive of residential placements. As reported in our review of LCPS school-based incidents, the reporting for private day and residential student placements is reflective of the number of instances of physical restraint, seclusion, and mechanical restraint disaggregated by students with disabilities, students with disabilities protected under the IDEA, and students with disabilities protected under Section 504.

[00:48:19] As previously shared, the number of incidents is not reflective of the number of students, as some students may have multiple behavioral incidences. You will see that we had an increase in private day or residential placements with the instances of physical restraint, with an increase from 34 instances in the 21-22 school year to 57 incidences during the 22-23 school year.

[00:48:49] As you can see, there have been no incidents of mechanical restraint in any of our private day or residential placements. This slide reflects a total of 67 instances of seclusion, and the following slide will review the number of students for the total amount of incidences.

[00:49:16] You can see that 11 students placed in private day residential make up for the 57 incidences of physical restraint. As noted, there were no incidences of mechanical restraint, and six students account for the 67 incidences of seclusion in private day and residential facilities.

[00:49:42] Through our open dialogue, collaboration, and a commitment to best practices, we can work towards creating safer, more inclusive learning environments for all students. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that every student feels valued, respected, and supported on their educational journey.

[00:50:04] Thank you for your attention and dedication to this very important matter. Together, let us strive to uphold the highest standards of care and compassion in all of our schools, for all of our students. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Richardson, because this is one of the populations that I've worked with for a long period of time.

[00:50:25] I was wondering, is there any way to discern without identifying students what if we're looking at more autism, more emotional disability, or dual diagnosis?

[00:50:46] We certainly have that data, and we could share numbers by disability category, and that would not disclose individual student information. Yes, we can get that for the board. and also the residential placements are these medical residential placements um they're out they're placements outside of lcps so sometimes it's been court services unit placing it's been department of family services placement placing so we would have to dig into that information i'm sure that we could get the reason behind the why we would want to be thoughtful with how we disclose

[00:51:24] that because that could lead to sharing some individual student in uh info i was just wondering because sometimes we're talking about kids who are using some medication of some sort, and sometimes they're taking kids off and putting kids on.

[00:51:43] Certainly. And so, therefore, that can increase your seclusion or even physical or mechanical restraint. Correct. Okay. Any board members? Do you have any other questions? Yes. Mrs. Griffiths.

[00:52:00] Thank you so much for this presentation. It's kind of hard to listen to, and I know it exists. As far as seclusion, can you give me examples? What do you do for seclusion in those cases? And also examples of restraint, if you're able to mention those.

[00:52:22] So the definition of seclusion is anytime a student is alone in a room by themselves and they can't leave the room. So sometimes that's used when students are physically aggressive and harming other staff and we can't keep the staff safe, even with the UKERU pads, which was a new initiative that came about with this special education ad hoc committee.

[00:52:45] I think it was in 2018, 2019. And those pads are often used to block and it's to block from staff getting hurt and also to help block from students getting hurt. But sometimes those are not effective. So people have to remove them, the staff have to remove themselves and other students from the room for safety until the student can get through that crisis cycle.

[00:53:02] And then we help the students reintegrate back into the classroom. So seclusion can look like different things in different buildings as far as where the seclusion occurs, but it's always when a student is by themselves because of the safety concern of staff and students.

[00:53:18] Do we have set rooms for situations like that? No. Sometimes classrooms get cleared. Sometimes they happen to be in a location that we can seclude a student. They always have to be observed throughout that. So there are regulations around what that room can look like.

[00:53:37] There has to be a window. You have to always keep vision and sight on what's going on when a student is being secluded as well. But we don't have seclusion rooms. But some of those residential treatment centers and medical centers probably, I mean, end-date treatment could.

[00:53:56] Would we transfer them? Oh, would we transfer these students to a specific center? So the students are placed, sometimes there are IEP team placements. very rarely as an IEP team placing a student in a residential facility, but over the years we have had to do that.

[00:54:17] As a division, due to the needs, we can't provide the services because there's additional supports that are needed in the home and in the schools. Sometimes we can't safely transport students from home to school, so it requires a higher level of placement.

[00:54:34] We transport wherever they're required to go, if it's a private day placement, it's a residential then they're often taken there and then sometimes parents come and go and bring them back and forth and sometimes transportation will support that but we don't place kids in hospitalized settings and things like that these are more IEP team placements and sometimes other agencies place students and when that happens with students with disabilities we're obligated to the educational services for those students yes miss Chandler thank you madam chair thank you both for this informative presentation I was

[00:55:13] hoping that you could speak to LCPS's relationship with the residential placements while a student is placed in a program what oversight and responsibility do we have as a division? I was going to say thank you for that question because I am so proud of our CSA coordinator team we do monthly or they do monthly visits to the placements all of the placements our students with the exception of we have had students placed by other agencies in Utah but we do have a CSA coordinator now that goes monthly to Pennsylvania they go to Maryland

[00:55:53] so that's part of what our team does to keep that connection and also the connection with the families they visit the private day placements once a month as well doing observations reviewing of data collaborating at times our related service providers will provide services and training to the private day facilities if our students are struggling with a technology device or they have hearing services that are required so there is a collaboration on a regular basement basis with the placements I'm very proud of the CSA team that we have they do an amazing job

[00:56:28] thank you any other questions yes miss Donahue thank you thank you madam chair thank you ladies for your excellent presentation and the service that you do for our community I have a few questions about some of the information that you have shared first do you have numbers on companion statistics for so far into this school year for a number of instances of seclusion or restraint we keep that data

[00:57:07] on a regular basis there's a little lag for the private facilities because we get that data from the facilities and then we put it in our system to be able to keep track of them but we actually we get up my office gets a report every week for incidents of restraint and seclusion and they're reviewed every week to ensure the the reports are completed comprehensively if there's any questions or concerns and reviewing them sometimes we go to the schools and we retrain staff or we'll debrief to make sure we have clarity on what occurred so

[00:57:41] that's an ongoing process for us. So it seems clear from your data that 21-22 school year had some higher instances of incidents, but hopefully was an outlier. Do you have a sense right now of what the trend is this year, if it is similar to other years or significantly higher or lower?

[00:58:08] So I think there's some uniqueness to the 2021 school year and that 22-23 school year or 21-22 school year. I will say throughout the pandemic, we still had our students with disabilities in the public schools.

[00:58:24] We brought them back to provide services because they had the highest level of needs and we needed to be able to support them. And we learned a lot from that year because we had very few, if any, if I remember correctly, there may have been none, incidences of restraint and seclusion with our most involved students in the schools. And I think it speaks towards really the conversation about an alternative school, public separate school for students with disabilities. They weren't in these large comprehensive schools with all the transitions, the large volume of other students, and they were very successful, as were our staff, with managing and supporting students. In the 2021 school year,

[00:59:03] we didn't have a normal root student population in the buildings. That very next year, we had a spike in behavioral concerns. A lot of children were having really across the Commonwealth, likely across the country, were having significant behavioral difficulties transitioning back out of COVID. So we did have a higher number then. This year, we seem to be on trend for where we were last year. The private residential and private day schools numbers are high. It is primarily a very few number of students who have very unique and intense needs.

[00:59:40] Chair Mansfield, you were right when sometimes it's medication changes. They're changing from one to another. They have to go completely off. So there's a spike in behavior sometimes. And some of these students, the families are having equal difficulties in their homes as well. So I think we're on par with very similar.

[00:59:59] Prior to the Special Education Ad Hoc Committee coming together in early 2019, Loudoun County implemented regulations regarding restraint and seclusion, the numbers were not tracked as closely as they are now, but there was a definite, much higher incident of restraint and seclusion in the division.

[01:00:17] Bringing on the UKERU and the regulation and the policy has made a tremendous difference in Loudoun County. That's good to know. So, speaking of, what is the standard to impose the two different types of restraint or seclusion and who makes the decision as to what is appropriate in a situation?

[01:00:38] It's really based on the judgment of the professional that's working with the student and trained of whether or not it's a restraint or a seclusion for the students. It really is an in-the-moment judgment that they have to make for the crisis cycle that the student is in.

[01:00:55] And is there a written standard anywhere? As far as there's training that talks about the different types of restraints and the seclusion, and you practice them as part of your training, so you learn how to manage different types of behaviors, and then in the moment it really is a judgment of the staff.

[01:01:14] You mentioned in response to a question from Mrs. Griffiths that there are requirements for the seclusion rooms. The student has to be monitored, there has to be a window, etc. Are there also guidelines or requirements regarding how long either seclusion or restraint can be used?

[01:01:33] I hope the answer is yes. related, what systems are in place that allow us to, or you, to ensure that these guidelines are being followed? So there's very strict guidelines in the regulation regarding the length of a restraint, the length of a seclusion. Sometimes students, you have to release a restraint, sometimes in the student spike again, and you have to re-engage into it for the safety, but there's very clear guidelines and requirements, and no student is restrained or secluded in

[01:02:09] isolation so there is the requirement for observers note takers um to be there as part of the process as well and then it's all documented in the restraint incident form that also goes to the family and those are what we review um on a weekly basis to ensure that we are following the protocols and there's also a debrief within this with the staff following a restraint or seclusion as well. If I could ask a follow-up, our schools have video? Our schools must have surveillance

[01:02:43] videos in them. There are locations and buildings that have cameras, but oftentimes situations with restraint or seclusion end up happening in a classroom, but there are people that are observers to take the notes. Thank you. Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you ladies for um all the work you do um your professionalism around this very delicate topic um i have a

[01:03:17] couple of clarifying questions so when you say that lcps lcps initiates the placement of a student in a day school or of what was the word you used um residential residential thank you uh can you kind of walk me through that process and what i'm trying to also understand is the numbers in lcps seem relatively low if those are LCPS students that go to these centers and then the numbers are so high what causes that discrepancy and are we do those numbers no longer count for us once they

[01:03:51] move or can you explain that transition piece certainly so when I say LCPS initiated placements those happen through the individualized educational planning process for students protected under the IDEA for special education. We're very fortunate in LCPS that we have replicated the better part of the special education continuum for our students. So we do have programmatic offerings for self-contained as well as intensive program settings, which is why our out-of-division

[01:04:25] placements are so low. So when I say that we've initiated 28 out of the 30 current placements this year, it is because we've exhausted that continuum. We have moved along the steps. We have had those IEP meetings. We have written functional behavior plans. We've done the behavior intervention plans. Sometimes we consider the addition of additional staff to building locations, and we still haven't been able to maintain the safety for students that would allow

[01:04:59] them to access the instruction for which we're holding them accountable. And so that leads us to then look at placements outside of LCPS that offer a higher level of therapeutic and educational services, which is what the private day model is. So that process is run through their individualized educational planning teams. It is a new reporting requirement, and Donna, you could help me to remember when we had to start being accountable for incidences of restraint and seclusion within the private day and residential settings. I would say that came on board maybe in the last three

[01:05:35] years or so, that the state added that element as a data piece that public school systems had to report. Prior to public school systems having to report it, the individual private facilities were reporting that information to the Virginia Department of Education. Thank you. And then just kind of piggybacking off of Ms. Donahue, sort of the idea of liability for teachers. I know it's built into the training about what's appropriate and what's not. I've actually been MANT trained, so I've been through that. But if you could just speak to, for the public, a little

[01:06:12] bit about what is the liability for teachers in those situations. Often they are spontaneous and can be, you know, reactive. And so can you speak to how we protect our teachers in those situations when things escalate? Thank you for that question.

[01:06:29] It is built into the training for the staff, for the certifications, keeping up with the certifications as part of a way that sort of supports the staff in ensuring that they're properly trained. But also in Virginia Code as well, when you're responding to an emergency situation, you have protections for yourself as well.

[01:06:49] So unless there is some significant egregious act and they're just following the protocols in place for restraint and seclusion, there are protections that they would have as a teacher or any staff member. And just to follow on, are general education teachers who are not trained also able to report?

[01:07:09] Can you speak to the, is there professional development or information around the incident reporting and what do we do as a division to make sure that all stakeholders can have say in that? Because it can happen in gen ed or in the special education environment, as I have seen.

[01:07:25] So are you saying how are they involved in the reporting of the incident? Yeah, to LCPS. Like what do we do on the front end before those things happen to ensure that everyone knows what to report and when? So there's training for everybody involved for restraint and seclusion.

[01:07:43] If a teacher is having significant concerns and they feel like there's a possible need for their students, they often do team meetings to problem solve. Anybody that's in the area and observing the incident is part of the reporting of it for the incident report.

[01:08:00] So there's collaboration on that to ensure it's adequately reported. I'm not sure I'm answering your question correctly. No, that was perfect. Yes, thank you. Yes, I'm going to go with Dr. Deans first and then I'll come back to Ms. Chandler.

[01:08:16] Having worked in one of those private residential facilities, I can compliment you, Loudoun County Public Schools, for your oversight in terms of not only the ones that you placed, But if there were others there placed by other agencies, while your people were there checking on your placement, they also were willing to take or receive information on the placement of other students that would be Loudoun County Public Schools.

[01:08:52] So I commend you for that. My question is, is there a time when that other agency or when that residential agency, Is there a list of approved residential agencies? Maybe that's my question. Is there a list of approved?

[01:09:10] There's actually a state document that VDOE provides on an annual basis with all the approved private day and residential facilities in Virginia. And they also notify school divisions if any of them are provisionally licensed or are at risk of losing their license.

[01:09:27] They also, that document indicates which disabilities the schools serve, and then each of the facilities also notify it's part of their handbook requirement. They have separate regulations than the public schools, but they have to notify families of whether or not they utilize restraint and or seclusion at their facility.

[01:09:49] So that's part of the process. And just for clarification, regardless of the placing agency, if it's a Loudoun County student, our responsibilities and our CSA staff monitor and track all students in those placements. I commend you for that.

[01:10:06] You were outstanding in that area. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Dr. Deans and Ms. Chandler. Thank you. Actually, as a nice follow-up almost to what you were just saying, I'm curious about the criteria that's specific for our students and how they are assigned a CSA when they're in a placement program.

[01:10:32] Do they have to be working already with someone in school to be assigned when they're in a placement program? I'm wondering if this is how we serve our students who might be in mental health crisis and might be placed in that way, or if that falls into another jurisdiction?

[01:10:58] So for some of the students that are in mental health, like the hospital settings, sometimes they're actually considered homebound because they're not necessarily in a private day school. So for those students, it just varies on the type of, sometimes there's a therapeutic residential placement for mental health reasons, and we actually provide services to those students as well.

[01:11:21] If they're placed for non-educational reasons, we still are obligated to meet the educational needs of those students as far as place the IEP teams determine the needs and then the CSA team finds the appropriate facility to meet the needs of the students and that's how the placement himself the location is determined in collaboration with the families the question about how they get to CSA that's part of the community CPMT which Community Management Policy Team?

[01:11:55] Did I get that correct? Okay. So that's a pool of funds in the community that is utilized to fund placements. So most of our placements are, once a student is determined to require that by the IEP team, it's called a mandated service. And CSA, the Children's Services Act funds, are utilized for those placements.

[01:12:15] We do have other unique situations every once in a while where they're not funded through CSA, but 99.9% of our students are funded through the Children's Services Act. Thank you. Board members, any other questions?

[01:12:34] Let me go with Dr. Rasheed. Thank you for the awesome presentation. The struggle is real when you really see the data. While working with professionals that you mentioned, is there any data of the injuries that they kind of experience while doing something like this at the LCPS school locations?

[01:12:53] And if so, hopefully the answer is no for this one. Are the results proportional to the restraint numbers that you presented? So we do have a mechanism through the incident reporting process, but certainly if any staff member is injured while responding to a behavioral incident, not only do they have to complete the incident report for the student, they would then also have to complete an incident report that runs through our Human Resources and Talent Development Office for any workers' compensation claims.

[01:13:24] Mrs. Smith does work very closely with a representative in HRTED, and they monitor those incidences monthly to see what types of injuries, what are we seeing from particular schools, and we do look at the alignment. We are able to sort of correlate impact of disability, who was this student, who was this person responding to, and then we do review that data.

[01:13:49] We use that to inform our professional learning for that particular school site or all school sites. And then that does serve as a data piece for individualized educational planning teams when they need to make placement decisions for a higher level of service and care.

[01:14:09] And then from a medical standpoint, is there a medical team that is closely worked on when the restraint happens? Like you mentioned, like medications stop. And when they stop, maybe there's a crisis or maybe the student can go through a crisis mode, is there a team that kind of works with the professional?

[01:14:28] And if the medication stops, do the professionals know in advance? If parents inform us of the changes, then yes, we work to provide those wraparound services. We will make sure that the school nursing staff is knowledgeable. All of the educational stakeholders that work with that student, we would make sure that they know.

[01:14:46] We would have asked the parents, you know, can we get some more feedback from the doctors? What are the look-fors that we might see some behavioral changes so that we can be prepared for those? It's nice to say that most of our parents do share that information, but we are human, and sometimes they forget.

[01:15:03] Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Mrs. Griffiths. Just to piggyback on that, injuries. I'm very concerned about teachers having something happen to them spontaneously. Do they have assistants that may be able to help them?

[01:15:25] And as far as restraints, can you give any examples of what may have happened in the past? I'm very concerned about the teachers that might have a spontaneous reaction. Thank you.

[01:15:42] Certainly. So all of our LCPS school sites have what is called a BIT team. That's their behavior intervention team. Again, it is composed of unified mental health team members. administrators special educators teacher assistants behavior assistants school counselors really it's the discretion of the principal to build that team as large as they need it to and so if a teacher has an emergency call and say this teacher has not been mant trained or a guru trained the bit team is the one that provides the intervention so teacher injuries

[01:16:17] Again, that is something that we are monitoring very closely with HR and looking at that data. We're using it to inform and improve our practices, whether it be professional learning or, again, using that data to inform educational placements.

[01:16:35] Instances of restraint, as Mrs. Smith has shared, when you're in the moment, you have to make a decision of do I restrain or do I clear the room to provide safety? there is no script for this behavior then this response that's why we train staff in both forms of restraint and seclusion so that they can respond in the immediate to secure the safety of the student that is having the behavioral crisis as well as themselves and the other

[01:17:09] students that may be present board members any other questions when this will be my last question i promise when we do um if and when more when because we did have it in our budget the alternative school um i know that you will probably be training all teachers and staff in ukuru and mant training but are you also going to have well first of all how many trainers do you have on

[01:17:42] staff for both of those sorry if i stumped you you can get back to me with that we will get back with you with the number but we do have school-based trainers okay that's nice um that is something that's been um ongoing for the past couple years so we have division level trainers and we also have school-based trainers but we can get you the exact number for that um i'd like to add to the restraint and seclusion training component of it when it comes to concerns for teachers i think one thing to highlight is all student all special education staff are trained

[01:18:17] in the relational MANT. So that is really the preventative relationship building that you do to help avoid the need to utilize restraint and seclusion. The staff that are trained in the technical MANT, which is the restraint and seclusion component of MANT, are our teachers who are in our intensive programs, our teachers who are in autism programs, where the likelihood of those being required are higher and then anybody that's responding to as part of the BIT team but not every staff member is trained to do restraint and seclusion we have to do refreshers and touch

[01:18:55] base with that on a regular basis so all staff special ed staff are trained in the relational part and then the technical is a smaller number of staff who would be the responders when there's a critical situation in the building or crisis situation so for the alternative school and also the increased needs for more higher-need special education students that we're considering.

[01:19:22] You will have school-based staff trainers for both items or just MANT? School-based trainers for MANT, and they will also all be trained in a new care room. Great. Oh, I lied.

[01:19:37] Here's one more. Mr. Struffy, Vice Chair Struffy. Thank you so much, Chair Mansfield. Thank you all for the presentation and for indulging us in all the questions. My curiosity is with the experience of parents, guardians, caregivers, understanding that the circumstances of every family are different, right?

[01:20:01] What does that experience look like after this type of an intervention or an incident? I know that regardless of the needs of the student, right, whenever there is an incident in school with your child, that is quite an experience for the parent, right, to be called in, regardless of the circumstances. And so what does that engagement look like and how are we supporting so much of the success of that? Everything is an opportunity, right? And so some of that, you know, how we support the parents or caregivers in that aspect can give them the tools to really just know how to move forward from there. So just wanted to see if you could

[01:20:36] speak to that. According to the regulation that we have in Loudoun County, the families are notified the same day of an incident as best possible sometimes things are happening at the end of the day things that happen off like where students are leaving so as best possible we are trying to reach the family the same day of an incident to let them know what had occurred and when a student we have very few that are required and the division to have restraint and seclusion which is we're very fortunate but in those instances where we have students that are requiring it

[01:21:10] We try to meet with the parents to see if they're seeing similar behaviors at home and to try to collaborate. If a student, once a student has had more than one incident, if it's a student with a disability, the IEP team needs to convene to consider the impact of the student's disability and the need for the utilization of restraint and seclusion.

[01:21:33] Restraint and seclusion is not just for students with disabilities. It's really a training for all students. But there is collaboration between the school and the parents when there is a restraint or exclusion. It is an overwhelming experience for families to go through as well. Board members, do you have any more questions?

[01:21:57] Did you want to say something, Ms. Smith? We also offer MANT for parents. So that is a training that the Office of Special Education also offers. Well, I love that. I think that's wonderful. Thank you so much.

[01:22:13] You've got so many questions because this is a curious board, but we appreciate you guys, And this is a very serious issue. Nobody wants to put hands on a child at all. And we always want to work through it first and verbally.

[01:22:32] So thank you so much. All right. With that, we have 10 minutes until 6 o'clock that we were supposed to break. I think that I would like to break early and come back at 6.20 for dinner. And then we will move on.

[01:22:48] And then we will move Ms. Evans to our first information item. Is that all right, Mrs. Evans? Thank you for your, thank you for your flexibility. All right, so at this point, we will break for recess. Board is now in recess.

[01:23:07] Thank you.

[01:51:57] Good evening.

[01:55:10] The board is coming out of recess at this time, and we will be picking up with item 7.01, the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. The Pledge of Allegiance will be led this evening by Tal Oyanme.

[01:55:26] Tal is a fifth grader at Tolbert Elementary School and was recently mayor for the day for the city of Leesburg. Tal spent Friday, February 9th, with Mayor MacKelley Burke, where he received a personal tour of the Leesburg Town Hall, Leesburg Police Department, and even flew a flight simulator at the Leesburg Executive Airport.

[01:55:51] Tal's experience will be highlighted later in the superintendent's report. Our national anthem will be performed by the Willard String Ensemble. The Willard String Ensemble is a small group of 8th grade students from Willard Middle School. The full Willard 8th grade orchestra is comprised of 88 students, but this particular ensemble was formed especially for the performance this evening.

[01:56:15] Excitedly, the Willard Strings program is the largest in the county, as it includes over 400 young musicians this year. These students and their directors, Bryce Anderson and Brittany Dinsmore, are deeply grateful to be part of the thriving music program at Willard, which includes 85% of the overall student population.

[01:56:38] That's pretty cool. They wish to take this opportunity to thank the school board for their support of music in our schools so that students can experience all the vital and enriching aspects that music programs have to offer students. At this time, I will ask everyone to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing for the National Anthem.

[01:57:01] Three, two, one, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[01:57:18] So as I said before, we're going to move one of our items from our work session into information item a little later.

[01:59:22] And right now, we will move to our student and staff recognition, starting with 801-1-LCPS Spotlight, Digital Innovations and Student Internships, and J.L. Simpson Solar Array Project.

[01:59:38] It will be presented by Aaron Smith, our Chief Technology Officer from the Department of Digital Innovation, and Kevin Lewis, our Chief Operations Officer from the Department of Support Services, Mr. Smith and Mr. Lewis. I don't think I need that.

[02:00:06] Good evening, Chair Mansfield, Vice-Chair, Shreffi, and Board members. Mr. and Lewis and I and a host of other LCPS staff and students are here tonight. I'm pleased to share with you our one LCPS spotlight. We have Mr. Carlos Barreta, who is a student at Freedom High School, who will be here to join us for our presentation.

[02:00:27] I've got to turn it on. And so we will go first with the DDI presentation, and then I'll hand it off to Mr. Lewis, and he'll do a support services presentation. So our support teams work behind the scenes to ensure LCPS has safe, secure, and functioning schools, schools and infrastructure to support our learning environment.

[02:00:50] We help provide holistic support to students. We also provide unique opportunities for individual success and are constantly striving for improvements, which aligns with our core values of our strategic plan. Tonight, we'll touch on two of our aligned actions. Aligned Action 1.2, Expanded Opportunities for Students, and Aligned Action 3.3, Productive Working Environments for Staff and Students.

[02:01:15] So tonight, I'm here to review the Department of Digital Innovation Student Internship Program. This is a program that we've had in place for a couple of years, and I'll give you a highlight of the program, and I'll invite some staff up here to talk about the program and the students to talk about the program.

[02:01:34] So I'm thrilled to highlight the DDI initiative that was introduced over the last several years, which pairs in-school digital experience specialists with a high school student for hands-on learning opportunities. Students work at an elementary school prior to the start of their high school day.

[02:01:50] They assist students with Chromebook issues, help teachers with Promethean boards or copier issues, review incidents in the service desk, and work on projects like our student inventory, which is critical to ensure that our devices are ready for daily instruction and for testing. I'll also add that there's nothing cooler to an elementary school kid than seeing a high school kid come into their classroom to help them, that we're peanuts compared to the high school student who comes in.

[02:02:16] So on this slide is just a couple of pictures of our onboarding sessions that the team held. You can see digital experience specialists, again, their primary role is providing in-school support for devices, for teachers, for students, for anything at those schools. So this is something that we ask digital experience specialists to take on as an additional role to help provide an opportunity for a student to get some hands-on learning experience.

[02:02:37] They apply through the process, they're selected, and then they review expectations, which they're doing as part of this onboarding meeting. And then they hit the ground running and start providing some support. So tonight, I have Justin Donovan, who is our director of digital experience. I have Chris Watson, who is our supervisor of digital experience for elementary schools.

[02:02:55] And I have Carlos, who is here, who, if you wouldn't mind, coming to share a few words about his experiences so far. Good evening, everyone. I'm Carlos Breda. I'm in 11th grade, and I'm a student at Freedom High School.

[02:03:12] And I'm an intern at Liberty Elementary School. To start off, the reason I applied for the digital experience internship was because I've always had an interest in computers and IT in general. I wanted to make sure that I've had enough interest in it to go into college with it.

[02:03:27] And through this internship, I can very much say that I do have a lot of interest and I want to do this in the future. Through this internship, I've learned a lot from how to debug Chromebooks to fixing computers, printers, all around the school to help teachers out and help teach their students. I've also learned how to communicate differently when I'm talking to students and to other adults.

[02:03:50] One of the things I really like about the internship is whenever I help a student, they're always so thankful. And the satisfaction of helping them throughout their school day, it really feels great. I also enjoy helping my DES out with tasks because it gives me experience and helps her, so it frees her up to do other important things.

[02:04:11] One of the only things I dislike about the internship is the time restraint. Whenever I go into my intern school and I start working, it's only for about an hour, and I don't feel like that's enough time. Personally, I would like a lot more time to working with my DES to help her out and learn more myself.

[02:04:29] There's always just so much to do around the school and just so many people to help, but so little time. Lastly, I would really like to thank my DES, Ms. Huda, Mr. Watson, my ACI's teacher, Ms. Williamson, and most especially my parents, who have always supported me throughout everything and will continue to for this amazing opportunity.

[02:04:50] I know this experience has helped me in so many ways, and I'm grateful for them to make this program possible for kids like me. Thank you. Thank you. I will now hand it over to Mr. Lewis to review the support services learning environment.

[02:05:13] Evening everyone. So we are here to talk about Goal 3.3, which is the safe and productive learning environments, but tonight we're specifically focusing in on the energy savings part and a program we've had in place for a number of years, for the last three years actually. And you can see here some numbers on there, we won't go through all of them, but essentially one of the most fascinating parts is we have 5.9, almost 6 megawatts of solar panels installed on our schools, on 15 different schools we've invested 71 million dollars out of our capital improvements budget and that's going to result in over 33 million dollars of savings over the life of those systems

[02:05:52] and you know in contrast we could have just replaced those systems and like they were but replaced them with more efficient systems and are saving half of what we were spending on that so that's a pretty impressive thing and at the same time we're also improving the indoor air quality for our students and our staff that are working in the buildings every day so we did include 16.8 million dollars if there's a couple years ago with we we got a grant to put it in some of these programs so those are helped us to provide those and 21 million dollars come out of our cap which is our capital asset preservation plan and all those topics we we talked about during our capital

[02:06:27] budget thing this past fall prior to your arrival and we'll have those conversations this fall so it's it's great to be able to share these statistics with you all in preparation for next year's conversation there's a little bit of background about the contract itself and it's the important part is we're running using a department of energy contract that actually provides a guaranteed savings so a lot of the energy conservation programs don't actually guarantee the savings this one actually does and we're going to show how that has has worked out over the the course of the last couple years we're going to do that with spotlighting the jl simpson middle school

[02:07:03] so we have several phases in our energy program right now it's up to 11 we're probably going to expand that a little bit because some of the products the cost of things have gone up some and we'll extend those out, and we'll talk about that this year in association with the CIP discussions. So we invested $1.95 million in the Simpson project.

[02:07:24] There's 593, almost 600 kW solar array on the building. You see the photograph there, all the little black squares are the solar arrays on that system. We also did retro commissioning, which is we take all the HVAC and electrical equipment in the building and we make sure it's working correctly. We have a whole system coming in and run those through there, just like tuning up your car.

[02:07:42] when you do those types of things got rid of all propane which is not as efficient as our electricity is and the key component here and you'll see in our strategic plan updates where we we use the cape the eui the energy use intensity as our metric of how well we're doing on the building and that's how much how many k thousand btus we use per square foot of the building when we started this project was 42 and you can see we're down to 15 now so it's an amazing amount of energy conservation in that one building alone and that's just the first one of

[02:08:14] all those and 326 tons of co2 is reduced every year a lot of numbers on the chart but the key to this is you'll see on the left hand side guaranteed savings annual savings to the right side of that group you'll see their total savings so we'll go down and across the road you see 2021 2022 and 2023 so the guaranteed savings which is what the contractor guarantee as i mentioned earlier on that contract from the Department of Energy, the contractor guaranteed us we would save $330,000 over that three-year period. If you go all the way to that same total savings column

[02:08:53] in the actual savings, we exceeded that by $67,000 and saved $397,000. So in the three-year period of time, we saved almost $400,000 on one building by doing these systems. And so it's just It's a critical system of replacement that we're doing.

[02:09:10] It's very helpful, and all those dollars go back into the classrooms. A little bit differently, take a graph here, and you'll see the years across the bottom. And this is the J.L. Simpson project itself. The black line, you see right under $2 million.

[02:09:27] I mentioned earlier, we invested $1.95 million. You see the black line going across the page. And then the green and the blue, the blue line indicates what was guaranteed, And that's just for this project. So the blue line, the contract guaranteed us that we would pay for this project in 16 years, 15.96 years.

[02:09:48] We've exceeded those savings in the rate that we're doing that. We're now on track to pay for that building itself in 14.5 years. Those systems have at least a 20-year system, lifetime, so they are going to be paid for before they are into their life.

[02:10:04] So we're really proud to share with that, really proud to share the savings, and look forward to doing many more as time goes on. And I think that's it for us. Thank you very much. Appreciate the time. Thank you. Board members, do you have any questions for Mr. Smith and Mr. Lewis related to this one LCPS spotlight?

[02:10:27] Yes, Ms. Donoghue. You always get that look on your face, Madam Chair. What face? Sorry. Not a question. I just wanted to thank both of you for the presentations. I'm thrilled about the student opportunities, and I'm also very excited about the solar energy, and I hope to see expansions in both of those areas in the future.

[02:10:49] Thank you for what you do. Any other questions? Thank you very much. Thank you. I appreciate you. And I hope to see the intern back at LCPS after college or whatever, and DDI.

[02:11:09] The next item on our agenda is the student school board representative's comments. Our students for this month are Sanjana Rao and Madison Ruff.

[02:11:25] We will start with Sanjana Rao, who is the student school board representative for Rockwage High School. As an active member of the student council for three years, Sanjana has been dedicated to making a positive impact within the school.

[02:11:43] Throughout her journey, she has collaborated with fellow students and faculty to organize various events and initiatives that aim to create a vibrant and inclusive environment for everyone. From organizing school dances to pep rallies, Sanjana has always sought to foster a sense of unity and engagement among her peers.

[02:12:04] In addition to the student council, Sanjana has a strong affiliation with her school's theater programs as well as their debate club. She is extremely excited to have this opportunity to be her school's student representative. Ms. Rao, you have the floor.

[02:12:21] Good evening, everyone. My name is Sanjana Rao, and I would like to first thank the members of the school board for giving me the opportunity to speak here tonight and taking the time to listen to my speech. Additionally, I would like to thank my SES sponsor, Ms. Prince, and my principal, Mr. Duhlman, for continuously giving me support and guidance throughout the current school year and for always persevering to make Rockridge a better place.

[02:12:43] The fellow students and staff have gotten off to a great start this year. Over 1,000 students attended our outdoor game night homecoming. Additionally, our Spirit Week, which included Barbie Day, received lots of excitement where many of our students dressed up in pink. The SCA has spearheaded numerous other events, such as the clash of classes between the juniors and seniors, the hallway decorating competition resulting in the junior win, the student versus staff volleyball game, Frost Fest, and the upcoming Phoenix Feud as well.

[02:13:13] The SEA and our officers continue to grow and listen to the concerns of our students as we implement new and old traditions and improve the communication among the classes. Our pep rallies, football tailgates, and spirit weeks have sparked cheer and spirit throughout the school and we continue to expand even more.

[02:13:31] In addition to these events, our students have continued to demonstrate their talents and have excelled in various extracurricular activities. Our sports team in particular have garnered the excitement of many of their fans as the men's varsity basketball team continues their season with a current record of 13-6.

[02:13:46] The Rockridge swim team recently headed to districts with the boys team becoming the district runner-up, as well as the team having five first place, one second place, and three third place finishes. Additionally, Rockridge's volleyball team had an amazing record this season with the team scoring 18-5 overall and nine to zero during districts.

[02:14:05] Overall, our fall and winter sports teams have continued to improve and break school records, and we are looking forward to the beginning our spring's tryouts taking place in the next few weeks. Rockridge debate team continues to amaze us with their skills. They had two teams placed in varsity and one team received a 4-0 in junior varsity in the recent WACFL5 competition.

[02:14:24] As of right now they have four qualifiers in varsity for Metro Finals and seven qualifiers in junior varsity. Moreover, the newspaper team was awarded first class for the news magazine production and trophy class, which is the highest distinction for their online news content at the Virginia High School League Media Championships. This is awarded for the work in the 2022 to 2023 school year and presented to them in October. Our performing arts department continues to excel. Rockridge Performing Arts performed the English play Treasure Island in the fall and recently performed the musical Rent in January. They were chosen as one of the nine shows to perform at the main stage

[02:15:02] during the International Thespian Festival and will be performing the musical this summer. With such a successful first semester, we're excited for what these few months will bring in and out of the classroom we're especially looking forward to the women's summit in March the spring musical in May our spring pep rally prom the student versus staff basketball game and maybe not so excited for but anticipating our AP exams in May our students faculty and staff are all working diligently to continue to succeed and are thriving in the supportive and inclusive environment we work so hard to cultivate once again I would like to thank the school board for the continued support and service towards Loudoun County students and families, and thank you for giving

[02:15:42] me the opportunity to speak in front of you all tonight. Thank you, Ms. Rao. Next, we have Madison Ruff, who is a senior at Loudoun County High School. Madison is the president of the CSA, SCA, sorry, French Club, and is one of the founders and co-presidents of the Black Student Union. Her main goal for this year is to make sure the county is as inclusive and welcoming as possible and to make sure it is a safe space for all of its students. Outside of school, Madison

[02:16:21] works at a restaurant and is a lifeguard. She enjoys playing volleyball and volunteer coaches the younger teams. Ms. Ruff, you have the floor. Thank you so much. Hi, my name is Madison Ruff. I'm a senior at Loudoun County High School and I'm currently serving as a student council president.

[02:16:39] I was lucky enough to be given the honor to represent my school tonight. To build off of what my predecessor, Alex Ejedo, mentioned at the school board meeting last year, Lownton County High School is an incredibly historic building, first opening its doors in 1954 for white students and then finally allowing students of color to join in 1968. However, this history didn't stop in 1968. In the last year, we have had some incredible students step up and make school history and I would like to take some time and acknowledge them tonight. First, I would like to recognize our school's cheer team for winning states on November 4th. This is the first state

[02:17:14] cheer title in school history. Along with that, I would like to recognize the LCHS marching band for winning nationals on November 5th and the NJROTC for winning orientation regionals in December. This is just a few of many accomplishments our students have made. Secondly, our school has made great strides in supporting our diverse school population. Last year, our school elected its first African-American Student Council President. Three students, Saree Davis, Samira Cummings, and I made school history by creating our school's first black student union and with the help of staff we have made efforts to make the school environment more inclusive and welcoming. Another new club I

[02:17:53] would like to highlight is the Sources of Strength Club led by students Pia Patel and Madison Rice. This club is centered around mental health awareness and in light of recent events at our School has provided the students of Loudoun County with a safe space to feel heard and understood. They have raised almost a thousand dollars and donated much needed supplies to the Loudoun County shelter. I would also like to spotlight student Selah Campbell who will be competing in this season of American Idol and student Mia Anderson who will be competing in Miss Teen Volunteer America. Finally our DECA team recently partnered with our basketball team to hold a

[02:18:29] fundraiser at a home game for Team Matias, raising over $200. In addition, we also have a group at our school currently participating in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Student Visionaries of the Year fundraiser, which raises money for patients with blood cancers. Last year, one of our school's LLS teams raised over $66,000 in seven weeks' time and won first runner-up in the Nova LLS campaign. And last year, one of our minithon clubs raised over $600 for pediatric cancer in our first ever Rowdy Rough Boys Volleyball Tournament. Lowndon County High School is proud

[02:19:05] of its many students' accomplishments and community service. In other historic news, Lowndon County High School is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Recently, we congratulated the top 10% of the 70th graduating senior class, which happened to be 28 students at our recent excellence and education banquet um louden county is excited to announce that in celebration of its 70th birthday we are planning to have a parade in september and a spirit week leading to a concert on the lawn in april with more fun activities to come in the fall

[02:19:37] we hope to see you all there and thank you for your time thank you miss ruff thank you miss rau thank you both for being here with us tonight for your remarks now we will now move on to agenda agenda item 10.01, the superintendent report presented by Dr. Smith, our chief of staff. Dr.

[02:20:02] Smith. Good evening, Chair Mansfield, board members, community. It's my privilege to share some good news from around the division this evening. New this school year, Broad Run High School is offering unified theater. This class pairs advanced theater students with students in the special education program to study drama plus key life skills. Broad Run drama teacher kathleen hudson explains that theater teaches communication public speaking and social skills as well as acting in addition students learn strategies to make theater more accessible for the entire school population the students in this class say it's the best part of their day

[02:20:41] miss hudson hopes other schools will also offer this class saying it helps make theater accessible to a broader community let's take a few minutes to watch this video and learn more about what students gain through this class unified theater is a program that pairing advanced theater students students in our special education program. So we are having students who have

[02:21:19] already been through theater that are teaching communication skills, social skills, how to project and general theater terminology. As a mother myself of a student with autism I realized that theater has a lot of connections to integrate both the kind of special education social skills and communication skills needed as well as the theater curriculum into a class. I found students that were willing to give up their study hall that to help kind of create this program so that's why we came up with Unified Theatre and we're hoping that it will be something that catches on and more and more classes around Mountain County. Mrs. Hudson she she asked me if I would come and do

[02:21:56] Unified Theatre and you know I did it because I really just enjoy that sort of work I mean I've worked with with special needs kids before it's a very good feeling and it's also just it's just it's it's nice to be able to help someone move forward and on a path to like do theatre.

[02:22:15] when otherwise it's not as accessible for them in a regular theater class. Oh, I like making new friends and having fun, dancing and drama, acting. I think it's so fun to get to know all the people here because I really love interacting with them and I love seeing their smiles.

[02:22:42] 70 student equity ambassadors met in person on Wednesday, January 24th to discuss collaborating with student and school leadership to create action plans to foster equity.

[02:22:58] They also discuss how to advocate for positive change in their schools and how to be advocates for others. We can go to the next slide. There we go. The students represented 14 LCPS middle schools and 16 high schools.

[02:23:16] Student equity ambassadors are student leaders who focused on collaboration with school leaders to ensure their schools are welcoming, inclusive, accessible, and affirming. This student leadership group provides the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility and the superintendent with student voice about their LCPS experiences.

[02:23:34] The Student Equity Ambassadors meet as a group throughout the year. And in addition, subgroups of students provide input to the superintendent and the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility on a regular basis. We thank these students for their commitment to equity and LCPS. Tal Oyenomi, a fifth grader at Tolbert Elementary, served as Leesburg Mayor for a Day on Friday, February 9th.

[02:23:58] Tal was nominated for this honor by two of his teachers who said that he is kind, great with his peers, and always tries his best. For his part, Tal said he was interested in learning more about the town's facilities. His day as mayor started with him meeting Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burke and getting a tour of the Leesburg Town Hall.

[02:24:20] He also received personalized tours of Leesburg Police Department, Leesburg Executive Airport, and the Leesburg Water Treatment Plant. and he met a police canine and experienced a fight-flight simulator. Congratulations, Tal. Three Willard Middle School students, Harsheni Amarat, Julia Gross, Kayla Nguyen, were recognized by the Sons of the American Revolution for their entries in Sergeant Modus Adams Memorial School Brochure Contest.

[02:24:55] The brochure contest, which is named after a young Massachusetts man who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Revolutionary War, is viewed as a memorial honoring those thousands of men and women who, like Sergeant Adams, gave their lives for their country. Contest entries were required to focus on the foundational documents of the United States.

[02:25:15] The three winners from Willard selected the Declaration of Independence as their theme. The winners were presented with their prizes on Tuesday, January 30th, by Barry Schwer, president of the Loudoun chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Kayla placed first, Harsheni placed second, and Julia third.

[02:25:33] For placing first, Kayla automatically advances to the Virginia state-level contest. Congratulations to all three winners. Six LCPS high schools were recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English for the composition and publication of their literary magazines.

[02:25:51] First class rankings went to the Broad Run High School for its literary magazine, "Unbound," Light Ridge High School for "Thoughts of Thunder," and Rock Ridge High School for "The Renaissance." Stonebridge High School earned a superior rating for its literary magazine, "Spiritus Mundi."

[02:26:08] Heritage High School's Uproar earned a distinguished rating. And Dominion High School's Letters to Memorize earned honorable mention. Congratulations to the student contributors and their advisors. Four middle schools, Harper Park, Riverbend, Seneca Ridge, and Smarts Mill, participated in the first Intramural Middle School Volleyball Championship on Saturday, February 3rd.

[02:26:30] More than 400 middle school students participated in this first season of Intramural Volleyball. The winner of the Intramural Volleyball team was a team from Smarts Mill, the McDonald's Elite. The pilot intramural sports program started earlier this year helps to reinforce leadership qualities, teamwork, and respect within the structure of fun competitions.

[02:26:50] The middle school intramural sports program is open to girls and boys at all skill levels. The sports included in this pilot program are flag football, volleyball, basketball, and soccer. The intramural middle school basketball season started February 5th, and soccer will be ready to kick off in April. Loudoun Valley High School Director of School Counseling Paul Hall was the recipient of the January Shine Award.

[02:27:13] Mr. Hall was nominated for this award by Loudoun Valley High School Principal Dr. Sue Ross for going above and beyond on a daily basis for Loudoun Valley High School students, staff, and families. In particular, during a recent snow day, Mr. Hall made us certain that a Loudoun Valley High School senior was able to participate in a virtual interview for a college award.

[02:27:33] SHINE, which stands for Spotlighting Heroes in Education, is a joint LCPS and Loudoun Education Foundation employee recognition program. Members of the LCPS community are invited to nominate LCPS employees who inspire, who are innovative, and who go above and beyond.

[02:27:50] Loudon Education Foundation works with community partners to provide a gift worth more than $500. Congratulations again to Ms. Hall, Mr. Hall. And that concludes my report. Thank you, Dr. Smith. At this time, we will move to item 11, which is public comment, starting, and since I'm out of sequence, we'll start with our virtual speakers.

[02:28:16] The first one is Brenda Bankston, and the second is Lauren Sickler. Thank you for engaging with the school board through the public comment process.

[02:28:43] The school board welcomes comments from Loudoun County residents and believes that strong community engagement and outreach are important components of a successful school system. Speakers must limit comments to the time allotted. Based on the number of speakers and the agenda this evening, all speakers have been allotted two minutes each for public comment.

[02:29:03] Please be advised that the speakers who've missed their time slot will not be called at a later time. All audience members shall maintain civility, decorum, and respect for the functioning and dignity of the school board at all times. Please remain seated unless arriving, departing, speaking at the podium, or during a break.

[02:29:24] Violations of civility, decorum, and respect include shouting, heckling, jeering, applause, or other noise which disrupts or dislays the meeting. obstructing speakers from being able to see the school board and vice versa, interrupting speakers, attempting to speak when not called to do so by the chair, and approaching a speaker or otherwise attempting to intimidate, disparage, or distract a speaker, staff member, or other meeting attendees.

[02:29:56] Speakers should refrain from vulgarity, obscenities, defamation, profanity, or other like breaches of respect, nor may speakers target, criticize, or attack individual students and or individual division employees during public comment. Speakers should communicate those concerns to their school principal or an appropriate school official. The school board requests that comments on an individual student or employee-related matter not be shared at public meetings, where the disclosure could violate applicable confidentiality requirements. Speakers

[02:30:33] should face the dais and direct their comments to the school board. Per LCPS policy 2520, members of the school board will not answer questions or respond directly to the public during the public comment period. Violations of decorum or civility by any meeting attendee may result in the chair directing staff to remove the attendee for the remainder of the meeting. Repeated or persistent violations of decorum or civility by the audience may result in on the decision of the chair.

[02:31:06] Public comment being tabled until a later point in the meeting's agenda, limiting the number of attendees in the meeting room during public comment for safety reasons, or the public comment period ending for the evening. Copies of materials for board members should be given to the public information officer in the media box at the back of the boardroom prior to the start of the meeting.

[02:31:29] Please provide 12 copies of the materials. Under no circumstances may a speaker approach the dais. The public is reminded that access to the school board meetings is available through LCPS-TV on Comcast Channel 18 and Verizon Fios Channel 43.

[02:31:47] The live stream of the meeting may be viewed on the website. We look forward to hearing your comments. And like I said before, we'll start with Brenda Bankston, followed by Lauren Sinkler for our virtual speakers. Thanks to the majority of this board who value DEIA, who voted to maintain and improve our commitment to equity.

[02:32:14] Thanks also for restoring elementary virtual distance learning. Thanks for supporting democratic decision-making, not autocratic whims and influences. Please work to keep the politics of bias and disinformation out of classrooms.

[02:32:33] Bullying on social media and in schools is a continued threat to our students. It's no wonder kids these days are stressed. Let's not further damage our youth's dreams. Instead, by respecting all children and youth under our care, with myriad abilities, interests, needs, and beliefs, we honor them.

[02:32:56] For Black History Month, I share the life of First Lady of the Black Press, Ethel Lois Payne, whose passion for truth and power of the pen brought a voice to the Black community, largely ignored by the white press and people in power.

[02:33:15] She elevated civil rights issues to the national level and far beyond the U.S. Her journalism left a legacy of speaking for those once unheard. Ethel said, when it comes to issues that really affect my people, I think that I am an instrument of change as she pushed for desegregation legislation. May LCPS be also an instrument of change for our students, teachers, and administration with respect for diversity,

[02:33:50] equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Thank you. Next, we have Lauren Sigler. Sorry, I'm not there in person tonight so that you could look me in the eye for the third meeting in a row and still ignore me and refuse to do something to help my daughter's mental health heal.

[02:34:16] Lily has been put through so much over the course of her high school career and your refusal to do anything to help her has made it worse. So much worse, in fact, that she continues to suffer bullying and could not even bring herself to be there tonight. As she puts it, why would I put myself through it again?

[02:34:32] Why would I go beg people to listen to me who don't care about me or my health? A student in your county with documented mental health issues is saying that about you, about her elected officials in positions of power. The position you should be using to help students, to show the county and people across the country who are watching that you care about the students in this county and that you will take action instead of just talking.

[02:34:56] One week from tonight, high school students all over this county will try out for lacrosse teams. Among them will be some of the students that made my child's experience in high school unbearable. So unbearable that she had to leave her school to save anything of her mental health and leaves her begging for help.

[02:35:14] Lily should be trying out for the lacrosse team at her school. You have the power to make sure that she's at that tryout just like every other student who wants to be there. Taxpayer dollars do not have to continue to be spent on the court battle you are waging against our daughter.

[02:35:30] you have heard from us every day for six weeks. You have heard from our daughter. You have heard from countless constituents. We are asking you to do what is right and rehear Lily's case using the proper policies. Please stop listening to the staff telling you what outcome they want in this.

[02:35:49] You don't work for them. You work for us. You work for the students in this county who deserve your support around mental health please do your jobs thank you next we will move to aaron white

[02:36:08] followed by bill sigler our fight for my daughters and other students mental health concerns to be taken seriously by lcps and the board as you know and as my wife just mentioned we're involved in a legal case on this issue and i wanted to make sure that you the press and the rest of the public are

[02:36:47] aware of the positions that LCPS's lawyers have taken in that case. First, we all know that LCPS requires students, parents, teachers, trainers, principals, athletic directors, and referees to strictly follow VHSL rules. The VHSL sign is hanging in every gym and stadium in this county, and any student who wants to play sports must complete VHSL paperwork and training to even have an opportunity to try out. And my daughter and other students who transfer have to apply for what the county calls a quote VHSL waiver unquote to play sports after transferring. But in our case

[02:37:24] LCPS has argued that the county administrators and the board don't have to follow the VHSL rules on transfers and waivers in deciding whether to grant a waiver. In other words they say LCPS can deny waivers for whatever reason they want to or no reason at all. It doesn't matter what the VHSL rules say. They could deny requests because the student has blue eyes. Second, LCPS is arguing that since the decision in our case was made by a board committee of three members, it can't be reviewed by any court of law. So if that's correct, the board can just assign any

[02:37:59] decision it wants to a committee of eight or fewer board members and no court can ever review it. That includes decisions like what books are allowed in schools, what school students are what school students are assigned to and how to allocate money. Taxpayers and board members, are you okay with this? Do you think it's fair that administrators can just make up their own rules about who gets to participate in sports? Do you think it's a good idea for LCPS's decisions about your children to be free from any court review? Do you believe less oversight of LCPS

[02:38:32] is better? Thank you. Beth Bernat followed by Cherie Brooks. Cherie Brooks followed by Brian

[02:38:53] Davison. Brian Davison followed by Lisa Rios. During your time on this board, you will make many decisions, which textbooks to choose, which vendors to purchase produce from. You have students first when you make these decisions, in part because you are not friends with anyone who works

[02:39:29] for these vendors. But make no mistake, as you participate in capitalism and because of the size of your purchases, some workers at the vendor not chosen are likely to lose their jobs. In the same way, everyday citizens choose doctors that provide the best health care, even as they pay with public funds such as Medicare or CHIP. Medical providers who provide lower quality service will cut jobs, even doctors may lose. But since a patient feels no obligation for the doctor's livelihood, patients choose what is best for them. During the last board meeting, the chair noted that the board

[02:40:05] and staff had, quote, built bridges, end quote, during the budget. In essence, you have developed friendships with adult staff members that will influence your decisions going forward. But have you developed friendships with the students who sit in the classrooms of the ineffective teachers?

[02:40:25] Have you developed friendships with the students who suffered because of the reading programs that this administration held way well up into 2021? Ms. Mansfield, as Denise Corbo sat here and worked to change the reading program, you worked to get the state to change the rules.

[02:40:41] And we see today Lucy Calkins at Teachers College at Columbia University is no more. They're so bad, they are completely gone. Yet in 2021, I think, or 2020, Ms. Ellis sat up here and argued with Ms. Corbo that Lucy Calkins was still the right program for LCPS.

[02:41:02] There's no research for that, just like there was no research for project-based learning. So I asked you that you actually make friendships and talk more with students who suffer the consequences of this staff, then you do make friendships with them so they don't lose their jobs. Thank you.

[02:41:19] Lisa Rios, followed by David Milam. David Milam, followed by Andrea Weiskopf. Hi, Reverend David Milam.

[02:41:40] That's okay. I've been here since 4.30. Happy to be here to hear Dr. Deans read about Black History Month and have her recognized. So congratulations again. I even wore green. It's against what I usually wear because my kids all went to University of Michigan.

[02:41:59] So I have to say, go blue. I came here tonight just to say something I didn't get to say last week because I was here speaking in favor of the DEIA program, being thankful for it. I wanted to speak on behalf of LEA, too, to support their efforts at collective bargaining and the process of coming to that.

[02:42:23] My wife, Bonnie, gladly is not here tonight because she would be embarrassed that I would boast about her. She retired as a teacher here from LCPS three years ago now. I taught at Eagle Ridge Middle School. I know she was a fabulous teacher.

[02:42:40] She loved teaching Shakespeare, Greek mythology. She used to have a March Madness contest and have students write to prospective colleges to go to. And I know at least of one of her students who chose her college because of that assignment that she had.

[02:42:59] My wife has taught in Detroit public schools, in Imperial Valley, California, and upstate New York, in very different kinds of school, where she's always had an ability to be one who is part of a union and so could negotiate through her union for collective bargaining.

[02:43:17] I think it's a wonderful democratic practice that really lifts up all people, and so I'm glad that it's being considered by this board. I know the last board was not able to complete the work on that, but I want to urge you to continue to work on that and to support all our educators in being able to work for collective bargaining.

[02:43:40] Thank you for your time. Thank you. Andrew Weisskopf. Last Thursday, February 8th, the Curriculum and Instruction Committee and upper administration discussed policy 50-30, the one-size-fits-none grading and assessment policy.

[02:44:09] Not one classroom teacher was in the room, not because they don't care, but because it was 9 a.m. While the CNI committee and administrators discussed theory in isolation, classroom educators were in action.

[02:44:25] Holding a committee meeting at 9 in the morning indicates that this board and administrators do not value the expertise and experience of classroom educators. It is yet another attempt to silence educators.

[02:44:42] Since December 2022, LCPS administration has limited the ability of educators to work with the LEA. Dr. Spence, on October 28th, assured educators that he would remove that limitation.

[02:44:59] His assurance was a lie. If this board passes draft policy 6330, as it is currently written, it will enshrine those limitations. Yes, I am concerned about these attempts to silence me, But I am far more concerned that you will intimidate and marginalize students who are already marginalized and intimidated.

[02:45:26] On Thursday, the Student Services Committee will review dehumanizing changes to Policy 8040 in order to conform to Youngkin's cruel need to disenfranchise transgender students. lesbian gay bisexual transgender and queer students belong in lcps their rights are non-negotiable black lives matter thank you thank you all for coming out today and providing your

[02:46:00] public comment and i think that will conclude our public comment for today we will now move on with agenda item 12 and our action items for tonight with 12.01 from the equity committee and its annual appointment of equity committee members. I will now entertain a motion for the appointment of the equity committee members. So moved. I make a motion to approve the appointment of the equity

[02:46:33] committee members. I have a motion by Ms. Chandler. Is there a second? Second. I second. Seconded by Ms. Donahue. The motion that the Loudoun County School Board approves the appointments for the 2024 equity committee members has been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion?

[02:47:01] Seeing no discussion, we will now vote on the motion that the Loudoun County School Board approves the appointments for the 2024 Equity Committee members. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote.

[02:47:20] Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously. We will now move on to item 12.02 from the Finance and Operations Committee, Revise State Cost Per Pupil for Tuition Purposes with Sharon Willoughby, our Chief Financial Officer, presenting.

[02:47:41] Ms. Willoughby. - This item was brought to the school board as an information item on January 9th.

[02:47:57] It is now brought for action. What I can share about it is that typically per policy 4010 of establishing the tuition rates for out of state and out of county students is done after the budget is adopted. And this is typically in the May or June timeframe due to last year's prolonged budget adoption process for LCPS as well as for the state.

[02:48:21] We set, or the school board set an initial tuition rate for the school year back in September of 2023. At that time, information was shared that once the state budget was finalized, we may bring back a revision to the tuition rates once the final budget was settled.

[02:48:39] And that is what this action is doing. It's bringing back, recognizing that the County Board of Supervisors approved an additional budget supplemental to lcps's budget based on the final state budget that was adopted in september this was brought to the fno committee during i think was like november and december and then with the changing of the board it finally has worked its way and now we have it as an action for the school board this

[02:49:09] evening thank you miss willoughby do the board members have any questions seeing no more questions i'll now entertain a motion for the recommended action yes vice chair estraffi thank you madam chair yes i move um to entertain or i i move that um school board adopt as the revised tuition rates for the 2023 and 2024 school year uh fourteen thousand dollars fourteen thousand four hundred

[02:49:47] and eighty two dollars for in-state out of county and twenty one thousand fifteen dollars for out of state students i have a motion by vice chair estraffi is there a second i see a second by Ms. Chandler. The motion that the school board adopt as the revised tuition rates for the 2023-2024 school year $14,482 for in-state out-of-county and $21,015 for out-of-state students has been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Yes, Ms. Donahue. Thank you,

[02:50:24] Madam Chair. Ms. Willoughby, what is the basis for the cost difference between in-state but out-of- district versus out-of-state students the state establishes a formula where we arrive at the calculation of a cost per pupil and based on that formula it distinguishes categorizing expenses based on the available federal funding for that year as well as the state funding and local funding and so it's based off of that calculation where we arrive at the out-of-county versus the out-of-state

[02:51:04] tuition rates. Thank you Ms. Willoughby if I if I can make a brief comment as an aside this is this is another reason why I would like to explore the possibility of waiving these fees for our LCPS staff because if educators who cannot afford to live in Loudoun would like to bring their kids to school with them here where they teach I would like to help them do that so I would like to follow up with you on how to pursue how to gather the information we need to put

[02:51:38] together a proposal to make that change. Are there any more questions from the board? Seeing none I will now entertain a motion for the recommended action. Sorry. Okay so seeing none we'll now vote on the motion to move that the school board adopt as the revised tuition rates for the 2023-2024

[02:52:14] school year $14,482 for in-state out-of-county and $21,015 for out-of-state students by electronic vote clerk we please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote the motion passes eight to one with carrie labelle opposed we will now move to

[02:52:47] action item 12.03 department of support services town of leesburg proper funds presented by kevin lewis our chief operations officer mr lewis thank you chair mansfield so tonight we bring to you the action from the discussion we had on January 30 where staff has recommended that we apply the Leesburg proper funding of approximately two million dollars to the inclusive playgrounds at several schools and then the remaining of those funds would be continued to be watched and to be applied to other projects as they become available. Thank you Mr. Lewis. Do the board

[02:53:27] members have any questions? Yes Mrs. Griffiths. Just to be clear can you state again what you're going to use the funds for. Yes, ma'am. We are going to provide inclusive playgrounds at Balls Bluff Elementary School, Evergreen Mill Elementary School, John W. Tobert Elementary School, and Leesburg Elementary School. Thank you. Any more questions? Yes, Ms. Chernoff. I just wanted to make a comment, not have a question, but being the Leesburg rep, I appreciate the work on this,

[02:54:07] and after our last information item on this, I got an influx of emails from especially the special ed communities of parents who have worked very hard with the county and their school administrators to make this happen. So this has been a lot of work behind the scenes that I did not know about. So I wanted to make sure that the board understands that this was a community effort.

[02:54:28] So I'm really excited. I think I'm a little biased because it's my district, but I'm really excited and hoping that we can support this. Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. Any more questions? Seeing no more questions, I'll now entertain a motion regarding the town of Leesburg, proffer funds. Yes, Ms. Chernoff. I move that we adopt the Leesburg proffer funds for the listed

[02:54:56] elementary school inclusive playgrounds. Is there a second? Ms. LaBelle. I have a main motion that the Loudoun County School Board confirm the school projects for construction scheduling as well as the subsequent submission of required documentation to secure the town of Leesburg proffer funding reimbursement. The projects include four playground enhancement projects at Balls Bluff Elementary school evergreen mill elementary school john w tolbert junior elementary school and leesburg

[02:55:35] elementary school further the identified proper funds will be appropriated to reimburse the fy 2024 cip capital facility renewal and alteration budget for capital improvements and enhance enhancements at the identified schools it's been properly moved and seconded is there any discussion i see none so we will now vote on that motion clerk will you please open that vote board members please record the vote clerk please close and display the vote

[02:56:12] the motion passes eight to one with mrs. Griffiths opposed so our next agenda item we're going to move back to item 4.03 department of student services substance abuse trends interventions and updates by ms jennifer evans director of

[02:56:41] Student Mental Health Services. Mrs. Evans. Good evening, Chair Mansfield, Vice Chair Estreffy and school board members, as well as our student reps. I appreciate the opportunity to present to you this evening as a parent of a 15-year-old, a 13-year-old, and a four-year-old and a mental

[02:57:15] health professional with experience and expertise in substance abuse treatment and assessments. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. We will be covering a lot of information and a short amount of time, to include the common challenges that teens face, substance use trends that we are seeing, fentanyl specifically, available supports, and then some next steps and some planning with programming.

[02:57:45] And I look forward to answering any of your questions you may have, and I appreciate your attention to this topic. So before we get into the substance use trends, I think it's important to know really what are our adolescents dealing with at this time.

[02:58:01] And I would invite any of our student reps to chime in if you feel like I'm off base. The slide got a little messed up there. So when we look at there are three domains there. One is academics, one is relationships, and one is mental health.

[02:58:22] When we look at those, the first thing that comes to mind for me is I'd like to ask each of you to imagine being a teen right now. For those that are already teens, you don't have any issue doing that. But as the adults in the room, if you could think about what it would be like to be a teenager in 2024, and feel free to chime in, but for me, the first word that comes to mind is overwhelmed.

[02:58:50] I feel like when I look at those domains, there's similarities to what I experienced as a youth that were similar to my much younger years, but what I see is an increase in intensity in all of those areas. So when we think about academics, I don't think I knew anyone that had over a 4.0.

[02:59:10] I did not know about AP courses and honors courses, and that kids now are kind of comparing and looking at 4.4s as the goal. They're taking X number of AP courses. There's the comparison among peers that happens.

[02:59:27] So there's an intensity with not only the academics, but also with performance, whether it's theater, whether it's sports, that everyone has gotten better and better. So the playing field has kind of shifted. So I see that as an intensity. And then I think just the internal expectations as well as the external expectations are really high. Relationships, thank goodness I didn't have social media. I cannot imagine texting. You know, I actually had to go home and wait for someone to call me which is a blessing right you your mistakes didn't follow

[03:00:03] you onto the internet and now that happens to our teens so I empathize in so many ways and we're looking at a false sense on social media of what is what we're aspiring to and you're only seeing people's highlights you're not seeing low lights so a lot of times we're looking at what's wrong with me why am i not like why am i not at that party why am i not having that vacation even as an adult we do that to one another so i think then we shift to the mental health some of that's because of social media but we also saw an increase before the pandemic with mental health

[03:00:43] concerns and they were becoming younger and younger then we had the pandemic where we all went through trauma we don't really like to talk about it now we're like pretending everything is fine but we lost people family members died we were isolated for two years we lost the ability to practice social skills and now we're coming back expecting everyone to be great and we're not like we're just not okay right now so I am extremely proud of the work of our student mental health staff members who prioritize the needs of our students and their families they're dedicated to fostering resiliency promoting healthy decision-making and increasing protective factors while reducing risk factors and they are there

[03:01:23] They support students with prevention, education, and programming, targeted interventions in our schools, and they support families with finding resources. Now we're going to move into the trends, which for some it's kind of scary from the other presentations that I've done, but I want to point out the majority of kids are not using drugs.

[03:01:45] The majority of kids are making healthy decisions, but we have a small population of students who don't have the skills, don't have refusal skills, don't have that sense of self, and they're making poor decisions. As adolescents, you're supposed to make poor decisions, but then add those layers of mental health concerns or other conflicts, family stress that may be going on, financial difficulties that might be happening.

[03:02:08] So why do kids use? I think it's important to note some of the themes that our staff are seeing. Peer pressure, just trying to fit in, wanting to have a sense of belonging. Other kids are doing this, and they don't have those refusal skills to back them up when they want to say no.

[03:02:25] so we're working to empower them with those. Mental health symptoms, so navigating anxiety, navigating ADHD, having depression, not wanting to feel the pain anymore. Performance management, wanting to be the best, wanting to stay up all night to study. That's where we see our stimulants being abused. Then there's the natural experimentation and curiosity, and then just kids wanting to show their independence and do something a little rebellious. So I think that those are important to note that we all went through some of those stages. But the decisions we had to face

[03:03:01] at our age back then were not deadly. There weren't mistakes that we could make that would kill us. And now we have that with fentanyl, which we will get to. I want to first start off with alcohol. It's still here. Kids are still drinking. They're not drinking socially. They're not having a glass of wine. They are binge drinking. And the alcohol out there has intensified with the percentage. So if you've seen those buzz balls in the store, you have 15% alcohol, and those are easy to steal. They're so small, you can stick them in your pocket at the store.

[03:03:38] And then you see the beast, which is mixed with caffeine. So when you take alcohol, which is a depressant, and you mix it with caffeine, you don't realize the effects that it's having on you. And sometimes there's repercussions, there's risky behaviors that can happen, and alcohol poisoning, of course.

[03:03:59] When we look at e-cigarettes, there was a lot of information here. Vaping was originally marketed, the Juul, was marketed to the public as a smoking cessation tool for those hoping to stop using tobacco cigarettes. However, we quickly realized that any teen who started vaping was much more likely to begin smoking tobacco cigarettes.

[03:04:21] So it was kind of a gateway to getting the other cigarettes. Vaping devices allow the delivery of a higher concentration of nicotine than traditional cigarettes. And companies have now begun to use synthetic nicotine or nicotine salts to even increase the strength of the nicotine.

[03:04:38] And they've been trying to get around the Tobacco 21 law, which limited the ability to have certain flavors. And now we are seeing disposables that are available to get around that law as well. So the appearance and functionality in the vaping over time has changed to improve the marketability and the response to the regulations.

[03:05:01] When you inhale an electronic cigarette, I think it's important to know that it's called a vaping device, but you're actually, you're breathing in an aerosol, not a vapor, which means you're breathing in droplets of liquid chemicals and toxic metals into your lungs and these liquids as well as the heat.

[03:05:20] There's an autonomizer that causes damage to your airways and your lungs. So there are hundreds of chemicals in these products, and they're being marketed as a healthy alternative to cigarettes. And there's cancer-causing, there's lead products as well.

[03:05:39] I wanted to show you some of what they look like, and this is probably outdated because I've heard of newer devices. Some that look like highlighters. You'll see those later with the Stash products. But this is a new one that I just added to the slide.

[03:05:56] So the slides on the website don't have Zine. So all of these are examples, but Zine is a newer tobacco-free nicotine pouch that has exploded in sales over the last year. They are sold in various forms and sold as a healthy alternative to nicotine.

[03:06:14] So this sounds familiar to the marketing that Juul did. They've been marketing to youth, and the company has sold 350 million cans in 2023. So the FDA and now the Federal Trade Commission are looking into how they're marketing.

[03:06:30] Regardless of the method, the adolescent, when they use nicotine, the brain actually receives a larger dopamine rush than the adult brain does, which makes it more primed for addiction and kind of rewires the brain.

[03:06:45] and it makes adolescents much more likely to continue down that path and use additional substances. And as we know, adolescence is a sensitive period for the brain, regulating cognition, emotion, attention, learning, and impulse control. There is substantial literature indicating that nicotine has long-term maturational effects on the functions of the critical stages of development. There's also been some studies that link vaping, nicotine, and worsening depression and anxiety so a lot of students will use this to self-medicate their

[03:07:21] anxiety or their depression but it's really ultimately making it worse okay um carts has anybody heard of a cart okay so it is a highly concentrated form of marijuana it's also called wax dabbing goo they take the marijuana leaf they extract the thc and it makes like a wax which is then put into devices and they're smoking that but what is really scary about it is that the marijuana of the 60s and 70s was about three percent THC what we're seeing now

[03:08:01] with the concentrated is about 80 to 90 percent so some some students will have an overdose experience on nicotine it's called and not on nicotine on marijuana it's called greening out it can cause agitation psychotic symptoms nausea hearing voices and distress which can look like a psychotic break so we have seen that and then found out it was because a student admits they've been they smoked marijuana and then we get into edibles so here's another interesting approach to marketing when I look at those on the top right my I think of my four-year

[03:08:40] old who would easily just open those up and think they were the cereal but they're also really appealing to younger adolescents these are edibles and if you look closely at the back it'll say only take a fourth of the cookie only take a fourth of this bag and we have seen and heard from heard stories of a in colorado i think when they first legalized marijuana and edibles a young man ate an entire cookie it was supposed to be a fourth of the cookie he jumped off of a parking garage and died because he thought he could fly um so these are really really scary

[03:09:18] these are um if you go to any city where it's legalized you'll see them on the streets um i was in New York and I saw this DC you'll see these on the streets being sold the next is a really interesting slide there is also a whole market on devices to hide drugs there's hats which you can see have a pocket in them there's a vaping sweatshirt which the actual string is a vape there's the stash pocket backpack which when someone gets that there's a little pocket inside

[03:09:53] that says congratulations you found your stash pocket so there's all sorts of money being made off of kids using and when I look at that backpack I don't think it's an adult that would be wearing that backpack it feels like they're marketing to kids these are just some other things I've mentioned previously that I think we just need to be aware of these are in the vape stores these are in the gas stations these are dietary supplements that we saw early in the school your kids shared that they had used these and accessed these we're not seeing them recently but they're right there available and as much as they say don't they don't sell to anyone under 21

[03:10:32] kratom is more like an opiate which can be purchased in the store it can cause lots of side effects fenibit is supposed to be a mood enhancer but it helps boost the high when you drink and then there's this pre-workout which is taking obscene amounts of caffeine And they're just scooping and eating the powder.

[03:10:57] Prescription pills, these are the most commonly seen. The Xanax, Valium, Klonopin are depressants. Percocet, Oxycontin, Vicodin are the opioids. And then Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, stimulants. Lots of kids have prescriptions, valid prescriptions for that.

[03:11:14] So sometimes they will share that. You see that a lot at college. And I've heard those stories from parents. and what we're seeing now is the pills having fentanyl and that's really what we're here to talk about is that if you look that's an oxycontin on the left that's real and then a fake one on the right and then there's an adderall you can't tell the difference so kids are buying these illicitly believing they're actually these drugs and not knowing there's fentanyl in them so i think it's

[03:11:51] important to note that 7 out of 10 actually have fentanyl in them. And one of the difficult things is that people have asked, like, what about those test strips? Can we test it? In order to test one of the pills, you would have to liquefy the substance and stick the strip in it because it could be in one teeny crevice of the pill. Because they're not, like, unifying and pressing them evenly. These are people who were drug dealers who were making pills to look like other pills.

[03:12:22] So they're not formulated. So it is 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. And we're calling it illicitly manufactured fentanyl. And it's available in the drug market in different forms.

[03:12:39] And it is available in liquids and powders. That amount is a lethal dose. I think it's really eye-opening to look at the amount recorded from the DEA.

[03:12:56] They've recorded 62 million seized to date in 2023, which was way beyond the totals of the previous year. I also did some research today and found out that the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth completed a research study in February of 2023.

[03:13:18] They put out a report, which I can send all of you if you'd like, that talks about the Virginia teens. They surveyed 443 teens and young adults between 13 and 25 to participate in an online survey. According to their report, Virginia teens are being exposed to substances.

[03:13:37] 79% have seen peers using pills or powders between ages 13 to 25. Most have been offered these substances. Male teens, 84% are more likely to have had a friend or an acquaintance offer them pills than females who were at 51%.

[03:13:54] and males at 87% are more likely than females to have seen peers using the pills and the powder. So I thought that was interesting, and I wanted to share that with you all too. Signs of an overdose. If you see someone, the coloring is off.

[03:14:13] Their gurgling sounds is one of the telltale signs that their breathing is shallowed. If their lips look blue, if they're nodding out, you should immediately call 911. All of our staff, all of our schools are equipped with Naloxone.

[03:14:31] We have 1,000 folks who have been trained in our schools with our partnership with Loudoun County Mental Health. We're still doing trainings at our presentations for parents and community members. And at this time, we are looking to have trainers on staff. So I'm hoping to become a trainer.

[03:14:47] I have a training on Thursday and find those next steps so that we can just have internal staff who can provide training as we hire new folks. But the goal is to have at least 10 kids in the high schools, five kids in the middle schools, and two kids at the elementary school. And speaking with VDH, that is their guidance.

[03:15:07] These are some of the important resources that we like to share with our families. The Student Assistance Services page, you all know about student assistance specialists. We have one in every middle and high school. We're very excited to expand that.

[03:15:23] The DEA website has a ton of information, and we have created a fentanyl awareness page that we will continue to update with new information. Our current efforts, as you all know, we have had many events in the community in partnership with the Williams Center, Loudoun County Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Developmental Services, and our Student Assistance Specialists and Law Enforcement.

[03:15:51] We have had three events, four events so far, and our next event is this Thursday. at Woodgrove. One of the changes that we've made to the presentation is to include the parent voice. We have, unfortunately, Tedra and Dr. Spence and I had the opportunity to meet with families who have come forward after us doing these presentations to share about the loss of their kids. A family from Fairfax just reached out to me. They want to be part of these presentations to make a difference. So we have one parent who is an advocate.

[03:16:26] She has come to at least two of them and plans to be at the next two. And we're going to expand that because I really think parents need to hear it from parents. I can stand there and say it could happen to any of us, but when you hear of a parent who lost their kid, and you can relate to that parent, the stories were some, it was the first decision, first experimentation.

[03:16:48] Some had substance use concerns, and their parents were trying to get them help. But to be able to see the similarities, it wasn't the kid, it's not the kid you would typically think would have substance use concerns, right? And that's what I think we need to get away from. There's the stigma of what it looks like to be a substance user, and we have to redefine that for our parents and for our students so that we can get folks to get help and normalize that it happens.

[03:17:17] It's an addiction. So how do we navigate those conversations? And that's by sharing stories about what is happening to our students. We also launched parent guidance, which is free parent coaching to all LCPS parents.

[03:17:37] This is a way to get early intervention strategies to support conversations at home with your kids. So I was very excited about this. And then Care Solace, I don't know if anyone here has tried to find a mental health therapist or a treatment provider. Six-month wait list.

[03:17:52] We don't take insurance. You will have to pay out of pocket, and many people cannot do that. So we found a navigation portal with staff who support it where they have a database of all of the MPI license numbers for providers, and they will help families find a treatment provider within five days.

[03:18:14] And then if our staff make the referral, we can see the progress, and we know when that child's been seen. Then we can loop back to the parent, get a release of information to collaborate and put things in place at the school that complement the treatment that they're receiving in the community. But it also includes individual, group, psychiatric, residential, detox, which, as we've talked about, there's a lack of substance abuse treatment in this immediate area.

[03:18:41] The VIVE training, as I spoke of, we're continuing to do those. And we've enhanced our substance use education with 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade, 9th grade presentations. Our 9th grade presentation is collaborated in a collaboration with Loudoun County Sheriff's Office.

[03:18:58] And then the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth just rolled out fentanyl awareness lessons. And I've connected with our Health and PE supervisor, who's going to share this with her teachers so that they can continue that dialogue and support. because the conversation needs to keep happening.

[03:19:14] And then we also have a fentanyl flyer that went out to all of our schools for them to display. It also went to all of our parents. And then some new efforts, we are working on an elementary drug awareness flyer, which will focus on students knowing that there are safe drugs and there are not safe drugs.

[03:19:36] And what is a safe drug and helping them define that. And we will send that as well home to all parents so they can have that conversation with their kids. We have recently been working with Song for Charlie, which is an amazing resource for fentanyl information, illicit fentanyl information.

[03:19:54] And we will be doing a three-part series in our high schools. So this will be an opportunity for parents to hear from a parent who lost their child, watch a video about fentanyl, and then have a panel presentation with myself, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office treatment provider to answer any questions and then the next day or the next days that week we'll have student assemblies with Gina Maligold. She is someone who lives in our community who lost her brother to fentanyl and she is going to volunteer her time

[03:20:31] to speak to our students and share that information and we will have the same structure for our students. We will provide a discussion guide for the classroom teacher to continue the dialogue And as I discussed before, we're in the process of hiring five more student assistance specialists to meet our highest needs high schools.

[03:20:50] And then from there, my hope is we'll have one for every middle school, which will give that middle school student assistance specialist the ability to go to the elementary school to do more prevention work, maybe fifth grade presentations. We are responding to elementary schools if there's a child who has addiction on their family.

[03:21:08] if a student does have a violation at the elementary school which does happen typically it's something they brought from home that they should not have brought from home and they wanted to show someone not that they were using it but we do have those situations and it's a learning opportunity for not only parents but for those students and the last thing I want to point out is the xylazine awareness information that just went out to all parents that is a new drug that is being mixed in with fentanyl and the other prescription pills and illicit prescription pills. It's called Trank or Trank Dope, and it is a

[03:21:45] non-opioid sedative and tranquilizer that is in our neighboring communities. So I do believe it is in West Virginia. I've heard of incidents there. It's in Philadelphia. It is in Maryland. It is in Richmond. So I believe it's only a matter of time before it is here, and it does not respond the same way to Narcan. So I think it's very important for us to get information out there about this, and it's coming in the same way that fentanyl is coming in. And last but not least,

[03:22:22] what I am really excited about, and I know Tedra is here and excited as well, some of our educational programming that we are launching. We have two program areas that we've identified with other division leaders, short-term and long-term discipline placements. When students have repeat behavioral infractions or substance use infractions, could we have them removed from that environment to really focus on themselves, focus on their educational learning, and then transition back once we feel like they're in a good place? In addition, we have talked about, Tedra shared

[03:23:00] this in her presentation, about the need for a transition center coming back from hospitalizations. When students go to mental health hospitalizations for two weeks or four weeks or six weeks, whatever that might be, and we're supporting them there, when they come back, they are often not ready to go right back into their full population of students.

[03:23:21] So we would love to have the ability and will have the ability to support them in a more structured, separate learning environment where there's a whole entire mental health team there and teachers on staff to help them and transition them back to their homeschool.

[03:23:37] and then the recovery academy which you have all heard a lot about that would be short-term or long-term voluntary we want to make sure that kids want to go here and parents want them to be part of this community for students who have substance use or co-occurring disorders we would provide individual and group counseling there would be a parent support component provided by the williams center we would provide random urinalysis from prevention and intervention from the Loudoun County Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Developmental Services.

[03:24:08] We would do transition support with our SAS team, and then we would expand community partnerships to include peer-to-peer recovery specialists as well as the prevention and intervention specialists from Loudoun County Mental Health to co-facilitate groups. And we also have a new partnership with Family One Mentoring, so if there's a targeted need, we will bring in their staff to do one-on-one mentoring in the community and in the school.

[03:24:34] So that was a lot of information, and now I'd love to open it up for questions. Thank you, Ms. Evans. Just to give a little background, many of us went to the VSBA conference in Richmond, and we heard an immensely informative presentation by VCE professor Dr. Michelle Peace around electronic cigarettes and cannabinoids in Virginia public schools.

[03:25:05] And I would love to be able to bring her here to do a presentation for staff and for families because I think there's information around e-cigs and vaping and CBD and cannabis that people should know. And so my first question is, how can we assist in getting that done?

[03:25:23] Yes, please. So we have reached out to her. Darren Madison, the supervisor of student assistance services, has been planning to bring her to Loudoun. But she's really busy. So if there's any support in reaching her, that would be wonderful. I know Melanie Myers with the Prevention Alliance of Loudoun did have a dialogue, but she wasn't able to provide dates because we hadn't connected yet.

[03:25:45] So I'd love any support in scheduling a meeting with her, and I would be glad to take the lead on the meeting once we have it. But we want to bring her here to the community to talk about, share the expertise that she has with not only our staff and our families.

[03:26:02] And the second, please correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that no one really tests the confiscated e-cigs and vaping products. And therefore, we don't know what's being inhaled. Dr. Peace stated in her presentation that VCU has a program at the Laboratory for Forensic Toxicology and Research where school districts may send their confiscated e-cigs and vapes so her team may do that testing.

[03:26:29] And I realize that this is done in a general manner, but my understanding is that we can have access to an overall report of the chemicals found in these things. And so how would we go about putting together a program in partnership with VCU to assist Dr. Peace with this endeavor?

[03:26:47] Because I think it's important for policy and to see what their trends are and everything else. Absolutely. And when I've presented before on substance use trends, we have our vaping numbers, But some of those are actually marijuana numbers, but we don't know because we're not testing one-off situations.

[03:27:04] I did speak with Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, and I do know that when students are caught with vape devices, they're confiscated by the SSO or SRO or an administrator. Ultimately, they all go to the SRO to then dispose of them properly.

[03:27:21] So I think there is an opportunity to, whether it's pull just some from each area, to share them, to find out what's really in the devices. I think that would be really valuable information to know what the scope is and how much of this is marijuana and not just vaping.

[03:27:41] Okay, I'll open it up to other board members. Yes, Ms. LaBelle. I also, last week, Ms. Donahue and I spoke with Sheriff Chapman and mentioned this program where we could send in our vapes.

[03:27:58] And the Sheriff's Department was very excited about working together with us to do that. So that is something we need to keep in mind when we work through this process of getting all of this together. Absolutely.

[03:28:13] We work very closely with Loudoun County Sheriff's Office on our SRO program. So I will reach out to Lieutenant Safford, who's my contact, and tell him a little bit more about this once I get information. I did look at the website because I was trying to get Dr. Peace here as well, but I didn't see anything about the program.

[03:28:32] So I'm hoping we can take some steps. Any other questions? Yes, Ms. Chernaff. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a lot. It's kind of a heavy evening, but I've had the benefit of hearing you multiple times now at LEAF, in, I think, somewhere else, one of the events.

[03:28:54] And so I just really appreciate your expertise. You said something last night that I would love for you to repeat for all of us around the data. Because we're really-- we hear a lot from the community, like, we don't know what's going on. There was an issue in the beginning with the reporting. I feel like we've really responded to that now.

[03:29:12] And sometimes there are privacy issues in terms of reporting. But more in terms of the overdoses, I think a parent asked you last night, well, how do we compare? how many overdoses and you know you said something that I didn't realize so if you could expand upon the piece I'm going to give you a little tip here the piece where you talked about how it's presumed because that we don't really know um what the overdose is we can presume that it might be something but if you could you so eloquently delivered that to us last night so we had a parent asked specifically why can't we know the numbers of overdoses and what I explained is that

[03:29:51] it's a suspected overdose we will call 911 we call the parent we transport but once they go to a medical facility we don't always hear back and when we reach out and say are they okay what happened sometimes we get a wall and I think that has to do with stigma which is really what I want to change so that parents will share that with us so that we can get the kids the support that they need if we don't know we don't know how to respond to that what we do do is the student assistant specialist will always talk to the student, whether there's a discipline infraction

[03:30:27] or not. My goal is to have the interventions in place and have that relationship with the student assistant specialist and the family so that eventually they'll share what's really going on with them. But it's suspected. Occasionally we get the feedback from the parent to say what was in their lab results, but that's the only way for us to know if a student had a fentanyl overdose or an opioid overdose or if they greened out. We don't know that but what they're presenting with is something that is a medical emergency and we respond to that. I appreciate that and I appreciate that perspective. I think it it's easy to be like well just give us the numbers give us

[03:31:06] the numbers but there is some roadblocks there in terms of really understanding fentanyl and THC and how we can report that. I know as a leader like I want to be data driven you know we want to create solutions. I know every person on this board, we've spoken at length about this issue. We're going to, we're excited, I think, to be partnering with you all to visit the recovery school in Chesterfield on March 1st, which I think is an incredible opportunity for us to learn and grow as we, you know, pursue this. Also just want to, you know, that's down the line, right? Like that's going to take some time, but the alternative school. So really appreciate your work on this.

[03:31:44] any way we can partner with you to get the word out, get the community involved. I know I've mentioned Leesburg before. We have some other community resources. So I think you can probably get the sense that we're all behind you in this and want to do better for our kids. Absolutely. Any other questions?

[03:32:01] Yes, Dr. Deans. As it relates to creating that programming, I know you have a very talented administrative staff, But what other groupings are you involving to create the programming for both the alternative education and the recovery school program?

[03:32:28] So as far as groupings, we are going to be working closely with our community partners. So we have the Williams Center who's providing treatment in the community right now. We have Loudoun County Mental Health who's helping with prevention groups. We will have peer-to-peer recovery specialists helping us develop this just to make sure that we're not missing anything.

[03:32:49] We want this to be done right. We want to hear from the students who have been in those shoes, who have gone through recovery, what helped them. So we will be looking at all the angles. I don't want to make a program on my own. We're working with our Office of School Administration.

[03:33:06] We're working with our special ed team to make sure that all students have access and we are supporting their needs. I do believe within the building we will align the mental health transition programs with the recovery academy.

[03:33:23] And then we will have more of an alignment with the discipline and repeat substance use offenses in a separate part of the building because we don't want all those to mix. So I think that that's got to be strategic. We'll have separate doors, separate staff for each population.

[03:33:39] So we're going to be thinking about all of that information. Madam Chair, may I ask one other question? Of course. Along those lines, do we have any alternative education programs in neighboring cities or neighboring school districts that we also might be able to access some of their experiences?

[03:34:14] I can start that real quick. I did have a conversation with Fairfax County a while back because they do have a lot of different programs and they shared what's working and what's not working and how they're trying to revamp their programs. So I think we can lean on them as well as Chesterfield, where they do have a recovery academy.

[03:34:34] We want to go see that in action. I do believe there's another one in Frederick, the Hope Academy, that I want to reach out to as well. Yes, and as I shared in the presentation on February 1st, Dr. Deans, of the 19 school divisions that make up Region 4, 10 of our sister school systems have either alternative education or non-traditional programming.

[03:35:00] And just today, we had some administrators in special education to go visit the PACE program in Prince William County. So we are definitely doing our research and our homework in preparation for launching our own alternative educational programming in the 24-25 school year.

[03:35:21] Any other questions by board members? Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. thank you very much for this presentation it's really scary so we've had several sessions on drug awareness for the in the last year what's the impact do you feel like you're making a difference I also have a couple other questions but do you think do you feel like you're making a difference in these students lives I do and my goal is if we can just save one kid right if we get the message out to one parent who then has that conversation but there's a ripple effect because

[03:36:00] the parents who are coming are really taking in all the information and there's light bulbs that are going off and recognizing it could happen to any of them they're going to share the information with their communities and their friends and their kids friends so they're having these dialogues so I do think we're having an impact the numbers aren't fantastic but each of them have have had about 50 um this school year so that tells me that we're we are reaching folks and we're pushing out a lot through the communications office i'm pushing out things on social media so

[03:36:34] collaboratively we are making a huge impact um also what are we doing to mitigate the problem on school property and you speak to that as well when we do have situations that are happening we have protocol with office of school administration and their response when students are seen with substances we have the discipline process that they go through and that's really through the office of school administration so that looks different depending on the substance so if it's vaping it's three days of ISR with the student assistant specialist doing nicotine education if

[03:37:14] it's drugs and we know it's drugs or it's alcohol then we're doing the substance use education class with four days of ISR with repeat offenses we are tailoring that to support the students needs and making recommendations to treatment providers talking to the parents providing group support to those students but the safety measures are really part of safety and security in school administration and there's a process that they follow thank you I was going to ask you about the discipline piece is the safe to talk app being used

[03:37:49] to notify administrators as well yes I actually am on the safe to talk app so I get to see all of them that come through and you can tell immediately which ones are going to be routed to the administrator and you can see law enforcement responding to those and then I will loop in I will follow up with the student assistance specialist if it's drug related to see if that student was referred to them or they're doing an intervention with them and if not if they don't have anything for the discipline I'm still gonna have them pull that student to talk to them and just say I'm available here if there's anything you need. Well as you know a lot of these kids don't have a drug

[03:38:27] problem they're just trying one thing and they get into trouble. So thank you very much for your presentation Jennifer. You're welcome. Vice Chair Straffi. Thank you madam chair. Thank you very much for the information presentation we've probably all of us probably seen some form of this presentation. Appreciate you being on the front lines and your teams being on the front lines of this in the schools. Also, I appreciate how you've showed us how substance use and fentanyl is really an inflection point for us as a community and how we think about students' needs and what they're

[03:39:04] going through, as you've mentioned in the presentation, and how we can kind of support them through this. I'm also very grateful for all of the partnerships. I think that it's something that you highlighted a little bit, but the expansion of our partnerships, as I understood it through our previous conversations is really amazing and so you mentioned a few of them um telehealth platforms as well um youth for tomorrow was one of them family one mentoring a few that you didn't mention um care solace obviously um song for charlie amazing um i am particularly interested in the student-led efforts because i've seen a lot of the research and you know data

[03:39:43] in other divisions or other communities where those can have a huge impact it's different when adult is telling you about awareness of drugs and what can happen versus somebody that's your age so so just wanted to highlight that I think one of them that stood out for me was project one life that I've heard of and I'm encouraged despite kind of the challenges I'm also encouraged because we're not waiting around and staying in the context of our schools or the context of traditional education we're actually going out there and trying to be in our community and and our public schools are the heart of our community.

[03:40:22] So I would just only encourage that we try to reach as many of the community organizations as possible. And, you know, the awareness events are amazing, but there are community organizations that are really plugged in to families. And so really trying to intensify those efforts from the ground up, I think grassroots, could strengthen all of the other amazing things that we're, you know, you all are doing.

[03:40:46] Yeah, and that was pretty much it. The only other thing that I'm curious about is in terms of curriculum. You mentioned presentations from your teams, but are we rethinking curriculum and maybe health sciences or DARE or any of some of the other programs where they might get adjacent level information and just thinking about how to make it more relevant to the current crisis?

[03:41:07] Yes, so health and PE has information that is embedded in their standards of learning. We do have additional training that the student assistant specialists completed related to, and it was from the Karen Foundation, which is the most reputable treatment center that I'm aware of in Pennsylvania. So there's three different tiers of services, and it's a module.

[03:41:27] It's a class that they walk through with the students. One is focused on nicotine. One is focused on drug and alcohol use. And then one is a cessation program that we're getting ready to roll out for students who really need help getting off vapes. So the student assistance specialists have that skill set now, and they will be able to do an eight-week course for students who are interested in doing that.

[03:41:48] We also have been talking with Shatterproof, which is an organization that helps reduce the stigma and shatter the stigma. So we're working with our community partners to do a Shatterproof 5K walk-run at Morven Park on September 14th.

[03:42:04] So we'll be starting the planning for that as well. So I appreciate you pointing out all the other partnerships that triggered that we are working with another organization as well. Thank you very much. Any other questions? thank you ladies so much for your time and the amount of work that you have done in the last what three years is quite amazing and it's a real testament to your passion and i would say your

[03:42:37] love for these kids and i think it's it's it's a beautiful thing so thank you so much we will now move on to agenda item 13 information items starting with 1301 by the curriculum instruction committee revisions to policy 5080 class sizes presented by Ms. Chernoff, the curriculum and instruction committee chair. Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm excited to share my very

[03:43:12] first ever information item from a curriculum. We are talking tonight about policy 5080 on class sizes. This was up for the five-year review this past year. The policy was updated by staff to align with the Virginia Code specifically regarding music and PE class additions.

[03:43:30] Additionally, it was updated to clarify around class sizes. The policy provides guidance around maximum class sizes for general education grade level classes. It does not reflect staffing standards which are approved annually by the school board through the budget adoption process and either meet or exceed VDOE standards of quality. Schools are staffed at the staffing standard and are not above the maximum class sizes outlined in this policy. In addition to multiple views by the CNI committee, the policy was posted for public and committee feedback May 9th through 23rd, 2023. Staff received feedback from the community, the equity committee, the leaf

[03:44:09] committee, and SEAC. The CNI committee reviewed the feedback with staff and approved the policy as presented on January 25th, 2024. Tonight we are recommending that the school board approve recommended revisions from policy 5080 for class sizes and I just want to reiterate again the name I think it can be a little misleading we are not changing the staff standard to maximize class sizes as listed in the policy this is a provisional policy that addresses when there are maximum class sizes how we can support and so it I just wanted to be clear that we are not changing our

[03:44:45] lcps staffing standards for class sizes are there any i guess you will ask if there's any questions thank you ms shirnoff does anybody have any questions for ms shirnoff so if there's no further questions we'll move this for action at the next board meeting on february 27 2024 thank you ms shirnoff and we'll now move on to information item 13.02 curriculum and instruction committee revision to policy 8360 school publications digital and or print presented

[03:45:24] by Ms. Chernoff, the Chair of the Curriculum and Instruction Committee. Ms. Chernoff. Back to me. All right. Policy 8360 was last revised on June 12, 2018. A committee consisting of the Supervisor of Secondary English and Reading, the Instructional Facilitator for the Office of Secondary English and Reading, and the two teacher leaders for LCPS Journalism met several times to review and propose revisions to the existing policy. Proposed changes include an elaboration on the role of journalism sponsors, and an alignment of the language-defining obscenity to the Code of Virginia.

[03:46:00] Policy 8360 was posted for public review and comment from December 8th through 22nd, 2023. Proposed revisions were presented to the Curriculum and Instruction Committee as an information item at the December 4th, 2023, and the January 25th, 2024 meetings, and was an action item at the February 8th, 2024 meeting.

[03:46:21] And we are recommending that the school board review and adopt the staff recommended changes to policy 8360 school publications, digital and or print. Anybody have any questions? I have a question.

[03:46:37] So since we have a policy 5055 regarding sexually explicit content, which tracks the definition under the Code of Virginia, I'm wondering if we should look to add that to the definition, that definition from that policy to this policy regarding obscene.

[03:46:58] Is Mr. Slevin here? Do you have any thoughts about that? Point of clarity, are you asking to reference the code that defines sexually explicit materials, or are you asking to include the definition of sexually explicit materials?

[03:47:17] I'm asking to include our policy 5055. As a cross-reference or specific language? I think specific language, since it's our policy.

[03:47:39] Yes, Ms. Chernoff. So in the line where it defines what that would be under the code, is that line 26 where you're thinking that that would be an addition? Yes, it would go underneath. Mr. Slevin?

[03:47:56] Are you asking to add a section under prohibit content? Yes, under obscene. We could definitely put some language together and get some additional feedback and bring it back to the board.

[03:48:15] So you wouldn't want to reference code similar to, there is a code reference in the sexually explicit material policy, but that's not what you're interested in. I'm looking to identify, because we do this to look for instructional materials with sexually explicit content, I think that we should also, not just obscene, but this is also defining sexually explicit content, just to be consistent.

[03:48:51] Yes, Ms. Sherna. I think you're saying you want both. Yes. Yes. So just to include it as part of that. Yes, we could work to include, we could work to include language that references that code and also some, we'll look to see where, we'll have some suggestions for language from 5055 that could fit into this policy.

[03:49:15] I don't see an issue with that. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Slevin. Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. Is there, are there any more questions? If you guys wouldn't mind, if we could go back, I would like to go back to the last one real quick um the um about the yeah 50 80 the class sizes i'm wondering if there's interest

[03:49:47] through a straw poll to just put that on consent so there's no questions or discussion um thumbs up or thumbs down okay it does not look like we have consent okay so we will put it for um action next time. Okay so we will now thank you Ms. Chernoff. We will now move on to item 14 board members

[03:50:20] comments and committee reports and we will start with Ms. LaBelle. No comment no report tonight thank you. Thank you Dr. Rasheed. Yes I do have a committee update is that what you're referring to okay just here somewhere just one okay so for the special programs and

[03:51:00] centers SPCC we did a review of updates of the IB program ham sci and DLI so there was an overview that was provided on policies and regulations on the development of the special programs and charter schools and lcps you know and if you wanted to review that portion it's also present on the site and then charter school calendars will eventually come to the board pending approval from the committee and also woodgrove high school has submitted a proposal for an environmental academy pathway and more to come thank you thank you dr

[03:51:36] rashid miss sure enough it will come as no shock that i will use my minutes so i will share several updates from the Curriculum and Instruction Committee. We had an update on the gifted plan as well as the instructional framework, which I'll talk about in a minute, but I wanted to make the public aware and the board that last Curriculum and Instruction meeting on February 8th, per my request, the assessment and grading policy 50-30 was addressed. The conversation surrounded the history and rollout of the policy, and as a committee, we came to a consensus on allowing staff to work on a way to solicit feedback from stakeholders on the policy as it has been

[03:52:13] implemented. From there, we will address next steps. So no next steps have been decided at this point, but staff is going to work on a way to get feedback. This policy cyclical review would not be done until 2026, but I felt that given the amount of feedback I've heard from Dr. Spence's listening sessions, as well as being in schools and in the community, that we should reopen the conversation sooner. In addition, as new business, I brought up feedback from, I know I and other board members have been receiving regarding the elementary master schedule and the proposed minutes that were implemented in this 23-24 school year. That item was brought to CNI as a direct

[03:52:50] response to the large amount of emails and conversations with schools. It will be an actual information item on March 7th for our curriculum and instruction agenda, so staff can provide context as well as their plan to address the feedback received. Please continue to reach out if you have questions or feedback. We are also learning more about the instructional framework that is in progress and being developed through the Division of Teaching and Learning.

[03:53:13] It is a shared vision of effective instruction, and we will continue to get updates about this. If you want to learn more, you can Google LCPS Instructional Framework to get to the project page, and there you can submit questions and feedback. And lastly, I did host my first town hall in Leesburg last Wednesday evening.

[03:53:32] We had 10 community members attend. We sat around the table together as parents, grandparents, community members, and teachers, and we shared an open and honest dialogue about our kids and our schools. I would say the overarching theme was about how our students' individual needs are being met or not met and how we can better understand the many layers that support our children in our schools.

[03:53:53] Perspective and personal stories were shared in a productive conversation. I've already followed up on several of the concerns, and I will continue to host town hall meetings as a means of engagement and encourage you all to attend, so stay tuned for the next date. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Chernoff.

[03:54:10] And next is Ms. Donoghue. Thank you, Madam Chair. The next Student Services Committee meeting will be on Thursday the 15th, this Thursday at 5.30 p.m. here at the Admin Building. We have a few items on the agenda, which was published on BoardDocs yesterday.

[03:54:31] And I have already received a number of comments and input about one of the items, which is on for information, which are the proposed revisions to Policy 8040. So we will be discussing the proposed revisions in the meeting on Thursday, and I encourage members of the public who have an interest to visit us at the committee meeting.

[03:54:56] They are open to the public. They are not live-streamed, but they are open to the public, and you can sign up for public comment at the committee meetings, but you can only sign up in person immediately before the meeting itself. that's it for me. Thank you. Thank you Ms. Donohue. Vice-Chair Streffi. Thank you Madam Chair.

[03:55:19] So we had our first Finance and Operations Committee meeting together with Chairs Mansfield and Mrs. Griffiths on February 6th. I will note that we were supposed to be the first committee to meet at the beginning of the year but because of the snow day we didn't get a chance to meet so we should have been the first. But we had the opportunity to talk through the work of the the committee as well as discuss kind of how professional services and contracts actually get approved and what that process looks like we had a full full agenda a few action items and a lot of information items I think the team was really waiting for us to have that committee meeting but it was really

[03:55:58] nice to see all of the different items that could that will inevitably come through that committee and we got to talk about box trucks and school supplies and so many different things and easements and so how all of that works and I think the discussion was really valuable. You guys just threw us right in. So on that note there was some really great conversation and discussion around teacher and school allotments or teacher allotments dedicated to procurement of instructional supplies. So basically what teachers use to purchase basic supplies they need for the school year and kind of the discussions around you know

[03:56:36] some schools or some teachers not having enough funds and some teachers have some funds coming back because those funds aren't spent. And so there's going to be some additional work being done by the team to really look at that and just help us to understand how we should be thinking about that allotment specifically. And there was a lot of, in the last school board meeting, mr lewis brought up policy 6330 and that would go back to committee so we'll likely discuss that in not our february 20th meeting but it'll probably come in the march 5th finance and

[03:57:16] operations committee meeting so just just for the sake of information there and then i will also mention that i had the chance to visit rockridge high school for a learning walk on their cte programs. So we got to visit classrooms, engage with students and teachers, and we walked through a project management class, got to see the school store, a bunch of other things. We also got to see Rockridge is really known for their fine arts program. So we got to see the intersection between CTE and fine arts and figured out that they had, the students there had designed a rotating platform

[03:57:54] for their theater program that is actually being now, that design is being used by like community colleges and universities because of the way they had designed it perfectly. So just some amazing stuff. And I spoke to Principal Duhlman and asked him like what he attributes to that innovation.

[03:58:11] And his response was just listening and elevating people, just letting people do their thing and amazing staff, obviously. So I appreciate, thank Dr. Ellis and Mr. Nice, nice move, Chair Mansfield. Nice move. I don't talk often, so I will make it count.

[03:58:35] Thank you, Dr. Ellis, Mr. Slevin, and Ms. Dawson for joining me there. I had a lot more to say. I will end with the Parkview High School replacement community session. I will just say how wowed and floored much of the community was in seeing those updated designs, and I think the last thing I'll just mention about that is it was not lost on anyone in the room how much community input actually drove those updated designs and and if i'm not mistaken how much of that community input will actually feed probably feed back into the educational

[03:59:12] specifications for schools and the way we build them so phenomenal i think people were just you know awestruck thank you thank you vice chair streffi we'll move to mrs griffiths thank you Madam Chair. I don't have an update on the HRTD and I already met with FNO so Arvin spoke to that but I did want to mention last week I did not get a chance to discuss my motion for the FY24 budget level so I just wanted to say really make a couple comments on that. I was moving to direct staff to

[03:59:50] account for the state funding of 25 million over 25 million and reduce expenses by 156 million and reconcile the budget to adhere to staffing standards this was not a motion for reduction so I just want to be clear on that or but for funds to be moved around to accommodate the hiring of new teachers and teacher retention I believe it could have been done the budget has passed without my vote. As it stands now, taxes will go up and we are struggling with inflation. I would like everyone to take a deep breath and think back for a moment. Not long ago, Loudoun County was the

[04:00:26] state's fastest locality, attracting close to more than 10,000 residents than left each year. Last year, Loudoun County only saw 11 people move in more than move out. And yet, since the FY 2019 budget, the cost of school operations has increased to 53%. The divisions per pupil cost has increased at the same rate from $14,390 to projected $21,975. Despite falling enrollment

[04:01:00] and a significant increase in the budget, nearly 50% of students in grades 3 through 7 are not proficient in reading and math. How can this be? It's staggering to consider. There were a lot of interesting details in the budget and I wanted to point them out. For starters, student services requested $746,347 for three positions. School leadership requested $460,843 for two new employees. Support services requested $1 million for three positions. The DEI department requested

[04:01:35] $218,000 for expenses for unnecessary travel. In 2021, the LCPS communication office had a budget of $1.3 million. Superintendent Spence asked for $3.4 million, a 260% increase. Meanwhile, our $18 an hour cafeteria monitors get a pay cut. Cabinet position pay scales were not listed in the estimate of needs. However, they are eligible for pay raises in the budget, which are tied to the same 4% cost of living adjustment that teachers receive, but the actual dollar amounts are not

[04:02:12] known. If you take the newly created communications chief salary, $250,000 a year, and apply a 4% increase, that is a $10,000 raise. There are a lot of upper cabinet level people who make six figures who are going to get a huge raise, but did you do that? Oh, okay. Oh, I thought I didn't realize I was going over three minutes, but if you look at the teacher's salary of $60,000, They only get a 2,400 raise.

[04:02:42] Anyway, to sum up, I just wanted to point out why I did not rubber stamp wants over needs. We need teachers, and I'm going to say that often. Front-facing teachers, that should be our number one priority at this time.

[04:02:58] Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Ms. Chandler. Thank you, Madam Chair. And in sort of reflecting back on the last week, it's been nice that it's been a little bit quieter now that we've gotten through the budget season.

[04:03:16] I am so grateful for all of the stakeholders who are submitting nominations for the LAMP committee for our joint committee on collective bargaining. We're so grateful to have all of the recommendations in before the deadline, and we'll be excited to move forward with that next week at our LAMP meeting.

[04:03:39] I also want to reflect back on how lovely it's been this month to have the opportunity to have listening sessions with Dr. Spence at both of the primary high schools in my district. We had one at Potomac Falls and then just last week at Dominion High School.

[04:03:57] Dominion, Potomac Falls is my children's school, so of course that's special to me, but it was lovely to go into Dominion and to have a chance to engage with their community and really to hear, especially at the staff session, which I believe may have had the biggest staff response in terms of coming out in person to have a chance to have a conversation with the division leadership.

[04:04:23] And really, I think this effort has been highly impactful, and I just want to say thank you. And with that, good night. Thank you, Ms. Chandler. And Dr. Deans.

[04:04:38] I am very pleased and happy to have the DEIA committee members approved tonight in that I think that when we talk about evidence-based, that my presence is evidence-based in DEIA.

[04:05:01] So I'm very pleased to have the committee members approved so that we can start our work for this year. I do want to point out that the DEIA committee is a select committee.

[04:05:17] So it is an ad hoc committee that has been appointed by the board. And so we do want to complete the work that the board has asked us to complete. And in my efforts to prepare for that, I have been going to schools with many of the DEIA instructional leaders to get a flavor of their work, and their work is exciting.

[04:05:45] The first school that I attended was a school that there was an EL immersion program. And they were doing a science experiment. And you know I used to teach science. And I forgot that I was just supposed to be observing.

[04:06:03] So I helped them weigh their ice. So I just want you to know that I have gotten out into the schools in the work of the equity committee with that uh with those staff members to see what the work is and to see what the needs are so our first meeting will be on march the 7th at 5 30 in the afternoon and we surely want to go forward with the work that the boyd uh the farmer boyd has uh mandated for us to do thank you thank

[04:06:42] you dr deans and i think y'all have heard enough from me tonight so i don't have any i don't have anything um and now we'll move on to agenda item 16 new business is there any new business for tonight and seeing no more business the february 13th 2024 meeting of the lcps school board is now adjourned thank you for your work and drive home safely

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