Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County School Board, 2nd Tuesday School Board Meeting (Reconvened from June 10, 2025), Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Place: Loudoun County Public Schools / School Board meeting (see BoardDocs / LCPS-TV)
Length: 3h 55m (video)
Official meeting video (Vimeo / LCPS-TV): https://player.vimeo.com/video/1092321196?rel=0
BoardDocs (School Board): https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/loudoun/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DGDH9P474922

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 2026-10-11. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:02:05] - Good afternoon, good evening. I call to order the continuation of the June 10th, 2025 Loudoun County School Board meeting on June 17th, 2025. Because we are reconvening this meeting and have previously read our disclosures, those disclosures will carry over to this continued meeting.

[00:02:30] At this point, there'll be a slight change in the order of the agenda. We will start with our closed session, which is item 16 on this continued meeting. So, Vice Chair Donohue, do you have a motion? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board recess this public meeting and enter into a closed meeting pursuant to Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia for the following.

[00:02:53] Consultation with legal counsel employed by or retained by the school board pertaining to actual litigation requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel and briefings by staff members pertaining to actual litigation where such consultation or briefing in open meeting would adversely affect the negotiation or litigating posture of the public body as authorized by Sections 2.2-3711 sub-A sub-7 and 2.2-3711 sub-A sub-8 of the Code of Virginia.

[00:03:18] I have a motion by Vice Chair Donohue. Do I have a second? I have a second by Mr. Streffi. It's been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board go into closed session. Is there any discussion? Seeing none.

[00:03:35] Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display your vote. That motion passes with Ms. Chernoff absent for the vote and Ms. LaBelle abstaining for the vote.

[00:04:01] Yes. Question, Madam Chair. Is this closed session for the one that I recused myself from? No, ma'am. Okay, then may I change my vote? Oh, I don't need to, but okay.

[00:04:20] I think, Mr. Allen, would you please just give me a little understanding? If she abstains for the vote, does she go in, or should we redo the vote? Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. LeBell can still go in, though she abstained from the vote.

[00:04:36] The vote's kind of a non-vote. But if, for clarity of record, she would like to open the polls again and vote again, that's certainly the board's pleasure. okay so then do i take a temperature check for that or do we just when you said it's the board's pleasure well i guess for clarity of the record and given the misunderstanding um the board clerk can clear and you all can re-vote okay board clerk would you please clear the vote um and this is

[00:05:15] for um consultation with legal counsel as um vice chair donahue read um board members please please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote and that motion passes unanimously with Ms. Chernoff absent for the vote okay the board is now in closed session

[01:39:02] the board is now coming out of the closed meeting vice chair Donahue do you have a motion yes thank you madam chair I move that the closed meeting be adjourned that the Loudoun County School Board reconvene its public meeting and that the minutes of the public meeting reflect that no formal action was taken in the closed meeting I have a motion by vice chair Donahue do I have a second Ms. LaBelle. Second.

[01:39:30] I have a second by Ms. LaBelle. Is there any discussion? Seeing no discussion, we'll go ahead with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously with Ms. Chernoff absent for the vote. Vice Chair Donahue, do you have a second motion?

[01:40:05] Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the following resolution certifying the closed meeting be adopted and reflected in the minutes of this public meeting. Resolution number 34-24-25, whereas the Loudoun County School Board has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and whereas section 2.2-3712 sub D of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by the school board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law now therefore be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge only public business matters

[01:40:42] lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which the certification applies and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard discussed or considered by the Loudoun County School Board I have a motion by Vice Chair Donahue do I have a second I have a second by Ms. Chandler.

[01:41:04] It's been properly moved and seconded. Do I have any discussion? Seeing no discussion. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote.

[01:41:20] That motion passes unanimously with Ms. Chernoff absent for the vote. We will now be moving on as a continuation of our meeting to our action items, starting with 13.02, Human Resources and Talent Development Committee, revisions to policy 7306, personnel records and file. Mrs. Griffiths, do you have a motion?

[01:41:45] Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to make a motion to adopt the revised policy 7306. Should I continue or? I think, yeah. Well, I have a motion, 7306, personnel records and file. I have a motion by Mrs. Griffiths. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Vice Chair Donahue. It's been probably moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? And now, Ms. Griffiths, do you want to speak to your motion? Thank you, Madam Chair. 7306 is personal records and file was an information

[01:42:18] item at the March 27, 2025 HRTD committee meeting. After reviewing, the committee voted to bring it back as an action item at the April 24, 2025 HRTD committee meeting. The policy was available for public feedback by the Loudoun County Public Schools website. We also discussed this policy at our May 6th meeting and our May 20th board meetings. Ms. Boland, please speak to the policy changes for the public and please clarify these changes made to the policy after the May 20th

[01:42:51] meeting, if you will. Thank you. Ms. Griffiths, I apologize, but Ms. Boland had to leave. She wasn't feeling well. And I apologize too, but I'm not able to speak directly to the changes. What do we do in that situation?

[01:43:11] If you'll give me a moment, I'll pull them up and we can talk about it. Ms. Griffiths, I believe there haven't been changes since Ms. Bolin last presented this policy to you. I think there was because it came back. We had it at the last meeting and then it had to come back again.

[01:43:28] So I think there were some minor changes. I just don't recall what they were. I believe it was an information item at the last meeting and now it's for action.

[01:43:47] The last meeting that we had, this policy was May 20th. So are you saying on June 10th it was an information item? June 10th it was an action item. Okay. And it's carried over to tonight.

[01:44:03] Okay. All right. So she's not here to speak to it. It is a straightforward policy. I don't know if anybody read it and has any changes to it. And if you don't have changes, I think we can vote to adopt it. - If I might, Madam Chair, Mrs. Griffiths, just as far as I recall, this was on Act for Action two meetings, or the last meeting in May, and it was taken up towards the latter part of the night.

[01:44:37] I believe it was Ms. Chernoff who had a proposed amendment that had some further discussion, and so it was kind of sent to the June 10th meeting to hold off on as an action item till that could be run to ground.

[01:44:55] Specifically, as I recall, she wanted to clarify that the superintendent and his contract speaks as a spokesperson on behalf of the school board and I have had an opportunity to run that to ground.

[01:45:14] And I think that was the consideration or remaining item that she wanted staff to look into. So with that, I think it's for the board properly for consideration. - I think also there was a tie vote on this one, and so we had to bring it back to vote again, yeah?

[01:45:35] - As memory serves, that's correct. - Okay, there's been a motion and a second. Any more discussion? Seeing none, let's go ahead and vote on the vote, vote on the policy. Clerk, please open the vote.

[01:45:53] Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote, and that motion passes unanimously. Moving on to 13.03, Student Services Committee, Revision of Policy 8125, Admission Requirements.

[01:46:11] Vice Chair Donohue, do you have a motion? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve the proposed revisions to Policy 8125. I have a motion by Vice Chair Donohue. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Dr. Rasheed.

[01:46:29] is there any discussion may I briefly speak yes thank you so policy 8125 on admission requirements was due for its cyclical five-year review we saw this policy in the Student Services Committee as an information item on March 20th and then it was voted on as an action item on April 24th when it was sent to the full board it was presented to the board as an information item on May 6th and

[01:47:04] now it is yeah and now it is back before us for action the changes are not particularly substantial mostly again just due to the cyclical policy review And I would defer to Ms. Richardson if I'm missing any important points.

[01:47:32] Thank you, Mrs. Donahue. So 8125 admission requirements. It's coming back to you again for action this evening. We made grammatical improvements throughout. We did update state and federal codes as it pertains to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act language.

[01:47:51] And also, there's the additional Section D that's been added to the policy, which is the admission of students who are children of certain federal employees. Starting at line 159, we did remove the requirement of tuberculosis testing to align with the Virginia Code requirements of tuberculosis screening for first-time entry into an LCPS school.

[01:48:19] we did clarify the requirements of students from non-public or international schools we did clarify the admission of non-resident students it now aligns to policy 8155 which is school assignment respective to over enrolled schools coming out of committee at line 282 we revised all records to indicate all available records and at the request of the board in May we did

[01:48:53] review this particular policy 8125 in reference to policy 8225 which is currently in the Student Behavior and Accountability Committee which is the readmission of students following expulsion in our review of the two policies. Staff are not making any recommended cross-references at this time. Is there any more

[01:49:30] discussion? Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to reiterate from our last meeting about this policy that throughout the policy, we're changing pronouns, changing language using the American Psychological Association, which is the APA.org. Basically, throughout the policy it just doesn't sit well with me um where we're changing the language and it's mostly to avoid gender pronouns uh throughout the policy so i just wanted to reiterate that from the last

[01:50:08] meeting that we had thank you any other discussion seeing none um okay seeing no more discussion we'll go ahead and take the vote board members please clerk please open the vote board members

[01:50:41] please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes seven to one with mrs griffiths um absent i am in opposition to the vote um and ms shirnoff in absent for the vote um i have a question real quick on the last thing that we just passed i'm sorry um

[01:51:13] the 7306 looks like it was like on line 33 is that what Ms. Chernoff's amendment was Mr. Allen

[01:51:31] on 7306 see line 33 there was like she I think Ms. Chernoff wanted May authorized is that what she wanted I'm just trying to remember Mr. Allen and then she decided not to thank you with Chair Mainsfield.

[01:52:02] I can't remember with accuracy the precise amendment or whether Ms. Chernoff changed her mind. What I do recall is her requesting information that I provided earlier tonight.

[01:52:18] And I don't know if other folks remember with clarity, but that's to the best of my recollection. It did involve these two lines. I just can't recall if she intended to proceed with that or wanted more information to see if she would bring it forward again after the tie vote.

[01:52:41] There was, if I could jump in for you, there was discussion about whether or not it needed to be with school board approval or with school board notification. I clarified that in my contract I'm required to notify you of these issues anyway and we talked about the mechanisms for doing that and at that time she told me that she didn't intend to make an amendment. Sorry, I just, it didn't sit well with me i just couldn't remember so okay thank you for that all right we'll move on thank you for the clarification i appreciate it um okay and then we will be moving on to our information

[01:53:21] items i believe 14.1 department of business and financial services fy26 budget final alignment with miss willoughby so this evening i have one final update related to the fy26 budget as well as a requested action for the school board to take first though I'd like to start with a refresh on the budget actions that have brought us to this evening back in February you may recall

[01:53:56] that the school board adopted the FY 26 budget shortly after that the general assembly at the state released budget amendments to the proposed state budget followed by the governor's budget amendments after that in April the county adopted its budget based on the general assembly amendments but also included contingency funding to address the governor's proposed amendments that would have reduced funding to LCPS.

[01:54:24] Finally, on May 2nd, the governor took final action on the budget and signed the final budget without any additional changes from what was proposed in the General Assembly budget amendments. This results in our final budget requiring a few actions to align with the final state and county funding appropriations.

[01:54:41] But first, I want to highlight how for the second year in a row, LCPS's budget is fully funded, and that we aren't having to go into budget reconciliation. This is definitely a rare celebration, and I look back prior to last year, the last time this budget had been fully funded was 10 years ago in FY16.

[01:55:09] So again, definitely worth celebrating before we take this final action on the FY26 budget. To recap the state budget, starting with the FY25 budget changes, the final state budget allocates $8.7 million to support a $1,000 bonus for each SOQ position or to allow school divisions the flexibility to determine the amount of the bonus per employee to maximize the use of these funds to promote retention.

[01:55:37] The County Board of Supervisors has already appropriated these funds to LCPS, and now the school board must take action to align its FY25 budget by increasing the budget by $8.7 million. For FY26, the final state budget eliminates the support cap and allocates $12.7 million of additional funding to LCPS and reverts back to the funding methodology that was used prior to 2009.

[01:56:03] Next is an additional $2.4 million to support the state's share of special education teachers and it is an add-on payment to support each special education student based on their level of service. This totals to $15.1 million in additional state funding.

[01:56:22] You may recall from earlier presentations that it will cost LCPS $14.3 million to provide all full-time employees with a $1,000 bonus. The plan we presented was to break this into two payments to utilize the 8.7 million in FY25 and 5.6 million of the FY26 funding to achieve this goal.

[01:56:44] The County Board of Supervisors were supportive of our request and this slide summarizes their final budget action. The table shows the current FY26 school board adopted budget in the blue column on the left. The county board of supervisor budget appropriation action is displayed in the middle columns and mirrors what we shared previously with the school board.

[01:57:04] The last green column displays the resulting impact to LCPS's FY26 budget. Similar to FY25, school board action is required to increase the budget by $5.6 million. This slide is the lengthy motion that is proposed.

[01:57:24] The final school board action to align the FY25 and FY26 budget with the final state is And county budget appropriations is displayed on this screen and is also available in board docs. In summary, the action is to align the FY26 revenue streams, increase the FY25 budget by $8.7 million, and to increase the FY26 budget by $5.6 million to support the retention bonus for eligible full-time employees.

[01:57:51] And while this slide says June 10th, with the delay, we would be seeking action at the next meeting on the 24th. And then finally, here's a summary of the payment plan that we have already rolled out for our eligible full-time employees.

[01:58:09] We were able to proceed with the May 30th payment, even though it was before the board has taken action to align the budget and increase the budget, as we had available funds to cover the payment in the fund balance. Once the school board takes action on June 24th, the funds will be replenished in the fund balance.

[01:58:30] And as I stated earlier, the request is for the school board to take this as an action at the next meeting on the 24th. And I would be happy to take any questions. Thank you, Ms. Willoughby. Anybody have any questions? Now I know you want it to go to consent. Can we take it to consent?

[01:58:51] You want to vote on it? Okay. It will not go to consent action. It will just go to action on the 24th school board meeting. Thank you, Ms. Willoughby. All right, next one is 14. 02, Curriculum and Instruction Committee, New Policy 5430, Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence, presented by Mr. Neal Slevin, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, and Aaron Smith, Chief Technology Officer.

[01:59:32] And in Ms. Chernoff's absence, I'll just let you all go ahead and talk. What would you like, Mr. Smith? Thank you, Chair Mansfield and members of the board.

[01:59:58] I'm happy to be joined tonight by Mr. Smith to provide some information related to the development of a new policy for LCPS focused on the use of generative artificial intelligence.

[02:00:13] We wanted to start with a brief overview of our work to date with generative AI. Our navigating of this new tool and impact in our classrooms isn't just starting with this conversation around our policy.

[02:00:29] We have been working across the school system to thoughtfully develop guidance and procedures related to the use of generative AI. We have talked about this at a number of CNI meetings.

[02:00:45] If you recall, we also had a school board work session in the fall where the board was introduced to a number of the tools that we have available to staff. And so hopefully this is not a new topic for you all. First of all, starting with the complete side of this chart, we have worked to develop a generative AI guide over the past two school years.

[02:01:11] A cross-departmental team led by members of Mr. Smith's team and my team brought together representation from across the school system to start developing guidance for staff in the use of generative AI. That work from the cross-departmental team really seeded our thinking around the development of this policy, which I'll be walking through here in a few minutes.

[02:01:35] We also developed initial professional learning resources that could be used with our instructional technology facilitators at our school, as well as in departments across the school division. And we started to develop tools and processes to develop software as that came in.

[02:01:54] And Mr. Smith is gonna share briefly about what has been updated in that process. - So our internal onboard software review process, which reviews administrative and instructional software titles as they are requested by departments or schools, has already been updated.

[02:02:11] It's about a 16-page review document that covers everything from accessibility to terms and conditions, and an entire AI section was added to that for all software titles. As we will begin to see AI, generative AI tools embedded in existing software titles for review versus it being a specific generative AI tool.

[02:02:30] So that process was implemented approximately six to eight months ago, and so we have been using that to vet internal software, and it's a shared process between both of our teams to do that review. And while this isn't on the completed chart, I'm going to take this opportunity to make a plug. Mr. Smith and I made our debut on Dr. Spence's podcast. The latest episode dropped a week or so ago, and I thought it was excellent, and I appreciate the host. Did a great job. So if you haven't listened to that podcast and you want some more background on this policy as you consider a vote in a future meeting, it's great listening. It doesn't take too long. You could probably do

[02:03:07] it on a drive into work. Additionally, for in progress, we are in the process of developing policy and supporting regulations. We have launched an AI innovators cohort focused on our high school teachers in partnership with the instructional technology facilitators.

[02:03:23] And through that cohort, we're actually starting to slowly introduce some tools for student use, but we're also doing some pilots of AI tools as well for staff. And then upcoming, we know as we introduce generative AI to our students, we need to teach students how to use this tool.

[02:03:41] So we want to develop skill progressions for students, a lesson repository that our librarians, our instructional technology facilitators, or just classroom teachers could use, and then start planning for student access. we wanna be really thoughtful before we put these tools in front of our students.

[02:03:57] Recognizing that there are a large number of attachments to this item, I just wanted to orient you all to board docs real fast. This work update is included as a presentation for tonight. You have a redlined new policy document.

[02:04:12] We also have two draft regulations, and while we generally don't have regulations for policies, they're not here for your approval, but the CNI committee really wanted to hone in on a few areas and regulations and wanted to see it concurrently while this policy was being developed.

[02:04:30] So that's really about pathways for use of AI as well as privacy expectations around AI and we'll be happy to answer any questions about that. You also have the generative AI guidance document, which includes the guiding principles, and you also have the public feedback provided to us through this process.

[02:04:50] So moving towards the policy, policy 5430, there are a number of sections which I'll go over at a high level. First are the guiding principles for use of Genitive AI. These guiding principles really are grounded in that cross-departmental team we shared that did the initial work around the use of AI.

[02:05:12] Section B is a general policy on the use of AI, making sure folks understand that only approved Genitive AI programs may be used for student instruction or in completing student work. And we refer staff to the regulation related to online resources or supplemental instructional resources.

[02:05:30] Section C is around monitoring, recognizing how quickly these tools change and evolve. At this time, we are recommending an annual review of any generative AI tools. That's not something we typically do for an ed tech tool, but we wanna make sure we're keeping up to date with the companies in terms of how they're using it and how they're approaching privacy related to their tools.

[02:05:55] Teaching and learning in DDI will be the departments tasked with completing this, and we already work very closely hand in hand on the onboarding process. Section D goes into student, teacher, and staff use of generative AI. This is a section that receives significant feedback from our public.

[02:06:14] Much of the feedback provided by MSAC as well as SEAC and our public spoke to the information that we included in our regulation. And at the time, the regulations weren't public. So we feel much of the feedback we received from those groups you can find in the regulation.

[02:06:32] However, we did make some changes. So for example, line 60, being transparent about how and why they use genitive AI to support their own learning for students is something that was very important to a teacher who came and gave public comments. so we made that change.

[02:06:50] We also received feedback to add a section. We tried to keep the policy positive, so we talked about what it should be doing, but it was suggested to add a prohibited use, and we thought that was good feedback because it really highlighted what we really hold as most important in terms of how staff and students should be using Gen of AI.

[02:07:13] So they should not be using, and now on line 108, section four, they should not be using Gen of AI tools, not provided by the school division or authorized. Line 113 through 115 is really at the heart of the matter. This came from SEAC in relation to, we shouldn't use AI, for example, to write an IEP and just print it on paper.

[02:07:38] What the feedback was, we need to make sure that there's a human at the center of the use of generative AI. And that's really, I think, the crux of many ways that we're gonna be using AI. So that could be for grading, eligibility, placement decisions, course design. We need to make sure someone is not just using the tool and putting that out into the public.

[02:07:58] And then finally, it's sharing personally identifiable information. Section E deals with academic integrity, and we did update the students' rights and responsibilities handbook for this upcoming school year to include references to the use of AI when it comes to academic integrity.

[02:08:18] So that, it provides an overview of the policy. There's also two regulations related to pathways and siting of artificial intelligence and privacy data protection. And if you have questions about those, Mr. Smith and I are available to talk you through any of those items. So with that, Chair Mansfield, we're open for feedback or questions.

[02:08:38] Thank you, Mr. Slavin. I do have one question. Your guiding principles here on the guiding principles for generative artificial intelligence and Loudoun County public schools. It looks like they were supposed to be the same as the, in policy but here you have like will strive to as opposed to should um are you gonna are you referencing the ai guide well the ai it's what's on board doc says ai guiding principles for generative artificial intelligence in loudon county public schools so it's like a fact sheet

[02:09:16] so we that was developed before the policy was developed what we would do once this policy is adopted we would go back and edit those documents that's more of like an infographic and so we wouldn't want to edit that until we had this policy done because there was a number of small tweaks to the guiding principles not many through the committee process and why will strive to i mean it's like you know you do it or you don't kind of i feel like generative ai will strive to

[02:09:48] enhance the inclusivity generative AI will strive to ensure will strive to I mean I don't I'm just asking why that wording so the guiding principles no this is this is on our policy 5430 yeah yeah I was just going to add that the work group that worked on this I believe the intent was to be aspirational with how we would embrace the work and begin to use generative AI and understand that this is going to be a technology and then that can really benefit students learning outcomes

[02:10:26] and so I believe the the vision was to have it be an aspirational type statement versus like a will should so I believe that was the feedback we got from the from our internal work group who helped us develop this policy. I guess I feel like it should be a little stronger should and will strive to feel like should is a little stronger I'll just have to let me just think upon it. I would point at in section d there is you know teachers will commit to and there are very specific actions

[02:11:01] for students and staff and teachers i'm not sure if that helps your your thinking on that particular item yeah um board members do you have any other questions yes uh mr straffi thank you very much mr slevin mr smith um i just wanted to i don't have any specific policy updates or revisions i just wanted to share a few thoughts um i appreciate all the work that's gone into into this and all the community input. I've actually learned so much from the public feedback, to be honest.

[02:11:39] I think, for me, one of the things that I'm thinking about is AI literacy, and it's touched on in the policy and the regulations and some of the other frameworks that we've built, but I just wonder, was there any discussion about students most at risk of exclusion when it comes to literacy or the use of these AI tools in everyday classrooms because what's going to happen in the next year even is that we obviously know we can't put the genie back in the bottle, right?

[02:12:13] And so we need to embrace it. But we may underestimate the amount of usage that's going to happen in the school communities. And then I just wonder about our efforts in terms of the literacy behind it. If some of the students will just ramp up so quickly, which they already are using it, and then some students not being able to use AI to the same extent and what that means for their ability to keep up.

[02:12:46] So I think about that exclusion and how we're approaching AI literacy based on some of the diverse needs of some of our students. And then have we talked about, so that's the first part of the question, second part of the question around AI literacy.

[02:13:07] Is there a family and community engagement component of how things are changing in the school environment when it comes to AI? For me, it's specific to families that may not know or be able to really think about the implications of that for their students or for their kids.

[02:13:26] So those are the two kind of angles. So in relation to your first question around equity and access, that is part of the reason why it's our second guiding principle. we talk about, we'll strive to ensure equitable access to educational resources and opportunities for all students and staff.

[02:13:46] And while we are well-resourced in LCPS when it comes to tools for our students and our teachers, we recognize that this could add to the already existing digital divide. And so we're being thoughtful about that with student access and are open to feedback where there are gaps.

[02:14:09] Would you add anything to that? - I would just say that we're being very deliberate with finding solutions. So we want to be able to provide solutions to students holistically, ubiquitously for all students, but we must ensure that they're safe for students to use.

[02:14:25] So the tools are evolving so quickly that some of the feature functionality sets that we would deem as required to use these, transparency, monitoring, just in case there's other things going on inside of these tools, they do a lot of good things, but we haven't seen a tool yet for a student that we would evaluate and say is safe for them.

[02:14:46] So we wanna give them a tool, but we wanna make sure it's in a safe environment for them to use that tool. And there's protections in place and monitoring and alerts and all of the things that we would need to ensure that they are safe. So along with terms and conditions constantly changing, age of use limitations, like there's just a lot in this area.

[02:15:01] So our goal is to definitely get the tools to students, but when we can do it safely from a data privacy and from a student safety monitoring perspective. And your second piece of feedback about family and community engagement, I think that's an excellent idea. And I'll have a conversation with Ms. Allen, Ms. Dawson, and think about how we could leverage different avenues for family engagement.

[02:15:24] Not only do we have information to share about generative AI, but we've also done work around instructional technology use in our classrooms, anticipated screen time. There's a lot of community interest in instructional technology. So it sounds like a great future topic for our Family Academy or Face Family Room or Student Success Talk, depending on where we're headed next year with a few of our family engagement strategies.

[02:15:47] So I appreciate that idea. Thank you. Any other discussion? Using my little AI here between Will Strive and Should, Will Strive indicates a future intention to make a strong effort.

[02:16:07] And I think the future intention is something that kind of bothers me, even though it is, I get what you're saying, aspirational. I think we have more of an obligation to make sure something happens. So I think that's just something I am working with myself.

[02:16:27] I will say it's been a growth process with the team. Every time we get together, we spend about the first hour just talking about the changes that happened in the last week. So I think when the footing isn't as certain, it's harder to say we absolutely are going to do something until we know the exact tool that we're going to use and how that's going to be used with students.

[02:16:47] So that was just kind of the feedback the team was getting because we aren't at the point yet where we have a tool that we have that we're going to be providing to students. So I think once we get to that point, then it will be should and will and we can be a little bit more, but because we really don't have a tool that's selected. Now, I don't know that we have strong feelings either way, but I think just to kind of explain kind of where the team was coming from because it's such an uncertainty and every time we meet, it's like, what's different now?

[02:17:14] What are the capabilities now? And it's also, I would add, also like teacher comfort level. So for example, you know, when I see should or shall, it increases the accountability of the part of the policy. And so, for example, rigorous teaching and learning, LCPS will strive to leverage AI to elevate the rigor of curriculum and teacher effectiveness should or will may put pressure on teachers like oh we have to use this it's an expectation of use and we're still at the part in our development of the tool that we want teachers to view the tool as positive we want them to see it as a possible addition to their classroom but we wouldn't want

[02:17:53] to require everyone to be using that so something something another reason why we may be using strive at this point and we could update it in the future okay any other discussion thanks yes Ms. Donohue, Vice-Chair Donohue. Thank you, Madam Chair.

[02:18:09] I have two questions for you. My first question, you talked about the AI assessment process and that AI will not assess in isolation without human involvement. Can you talk a little bit about how you envision that process working?

[02:18:26] I think that's where we're building the competencies and the staff development plans so that they are learning how to use AI efficiently, just as you wouldn't want to take a document and use AI to completely generate it and then submit it as your own work from a code of ethics sort of approach.

[02:18:48] Staff, we also want them to, it can be a tool to help you get closer to the end line if you're doing a document or writing something, but the ownership of what is submitted, whether that's an evaluation that you're using it for or an IEP is still on that human to do the validation and take ownership for that.

[02:19:06] So that's, I think, part of a professional development perspective. So an example might be developing a lesson around a particular standard in a course. Depending on the tool that you're using or where the query is going, the tool may or may not have access to the actual standards.

[02:19:27] And so there are times where I think the term is hallucinating, where the tool wants to give you an answer and so if you're not saying okay let me actually read this and make sure that it's aligned to the standards you may be putting a lesson in front of students that you received through an intent to get some level of efficiency and new ideas but it wasn't really based on the actual standards so we just want a like a check like let's make sure we're looking at this groups of folks are making sure like we have the right information

[02:20:00] and it makes sense thank you and then my other question um if a teacher suspects a student is cheating um how how how do they prove that how do you envision that they prove that so ai generative ai detection tools are not the market is evolving faster than the tools that can check that content so i think that there's instructional strategies there um that can be used to kind of um you don't want to see a copy and paste of 18 pages of work going into a google doc and then being submitted

[02:20:37] so there's some ways that you can kind of see that through some revision of work um and but i would kind of leave it to the mr slevin so i think you're i think you're naming a reality for many of our teachers a big shout out to our secondary english teachers in particular who may have a have an interest in this the development of this policy um and where where what we are seeing in talking to vendors that we currently work with that could possibly help us in this area are tools that really focus more on the process of writing and making sure like we're monitoring

[02:21:12] the steps of developing a well-written paper as opposed to just submitting a body of text to say is this is this generated generated by AI because that is not really reliable however you know for example, in developing a Google document, you know, there are timestamps. You could see revisions histories. Like, you know, we want to get to the point where it's acceptable for students to be asking reflective questions from a gender of AI tool about their own writing, but ultimately it needs to be their thinking and their thoughts. So those are the type of tools that we were actually

[02:21:49] thinking about for the next step. You know, really thinking about our English classrooms. How can we help teachers more efficiently monitor but use generative ai in support of developing writing skills and that being said if there is a suspicion of cheating there are existing policies that we would put into effect in terms of investigating looking looking into what happened as best we can

[02:22:16] any other discussion seeing none um i guess this will move on to um action for the next week just the 24th okay thank you um we'll move on to our next um information item oh uh 14.03 uh curriculum and instruction committee new policy 5440 literacy plan presented by mr neil

[02:22:55] slevin assistant superintendent for teaching and learning actually um i'm gonna ask that this be taken back to committee just because it needs to align with there's definitions that don't align with the Virginia Literacy Act and I think that it's important that they align the policy with the wording from the VLA so we don't miss items for consistency so per our policy what 24 let's Let's see, 2430E, it looks like I can make a motion

[02:23:35] to return this back to committee for further review. I guess we have to vote on it, right? Do I have a second? I have a second by Ms. Chandler.

[02:23:54] Oh, well, Mr. I'll ask before we have to do this. Do I have to vote on this? Do we have to vote on this, Mr. Allen? - Thank you, Chair Mansfield. Since it's an information item, there's not necessarily any official voting requirement, but if there's, in your discretion as chair, and based on the temperature check of the board, you can return it to the appropriate committee for further review.

[02:24:22] - Okay, can I have a temperature check for people who will, thumbs up, who agree? Okay, that will, it says it's gonna go back to committee. That's great. I didn't want to waste your time, Mr. Slevin. Thank you.

[02:24:38] And we'll move on to 14.04, Human Resources and Talent Development School Calendar Options for 2027-28 School Year, presented, it looks like, by Dr. Ellis.

[02:25:04] Hi there. Yes, thank you. I am not Ms. Boland, but I will do my best. So this evening, as you may recall, one of HRTD's goals is to provide our staff and families with multi-year school calendars to support long-term planning hrtd is bringing forward tonight two calendar options for the 2027-2028 school year as a reminder the school board approved the 26-27 school calendar at the february 25th school board meeting lcps is committed to supporting every student in pursuing and reaching their full

[02:25:42] potential and empowering them to make meaningful contributions to the world establishing a thoughtfully crafted school calendar is a foundational step toward fulfilling this mission The school calendar, the student school calendar, serves as the foundation that we build an effective teacher work calendar.

[02:25:59] Together, these two calendars establish the standard that guides the development of all other staff calendars. Before we present you with the 27-28 school year calendar, I'll take a moment to remind you of the school calendar development process, including the guiding principles reflected in our current calendars.

[02:26:19] The development of the school calendar follows LCPS Policy and Regulation 7040, as well as Virginia Code and other relevant laws. Policy and Regulation 7040 provide guidelines for school holidays, staff development days, inclement weather procedures, and other scheduling considerations.

[02:26:40] Virginia Code requires all school divisions to offer either 180 instructional days or 990 instructional hours each year. LCPS exceeds this requirement as our students receive 6 hours and 15 minutes of instructional time daily, 45 minutes more than the state minimum.

[02:26:59] Another important factor in calendar development is House Bill 1148, which moved the Virginia June primary election from the 2nd to the 3rd Tuesday in June. This change could impact the last day of school and other student-related events.

[02:27:15] In addition to the laws and policies that guide school calendar development, we've established a set of guiding principles based on extensive stakeholder feedback. This feedback gathered through surveys, discussions with advisory committees, insight from school board members, public comment, and let's talk submissions has played a crucial role in shaping these guiding principles, which continue to inform our calendar drafts.

[02:27:38] The guiding principles are a school year that begins before Labor Day and ends no later than the second week of June, a two-week winter break and a full-week spring break, a target of 180 instructional days and recognition of one holiday for significant religious observances from major world religions. Along with these guiding principles, HRTD has also heard and responded to feedback regarding gap days, those school days that fall between existing holidays and weekends or other holidays, creating disruptions in continuity. To address these

[02:28:16] concerns HRTD removed those gap days from the 24-25 the 25-26 and the 26-27 calendars and also tried to address those through the drafts that I'll share with you in just a minute while our guiding principles for developing the school calendar prioritize consistency and broad applicability we recognize that there may be instances when offering alternative calendar options becomes necessary to effectively meet the effectively meet the diverse needs of our student and community population. As promised at the February school board meeting, we are bringing forward tonight

[02:28:54] for your consideration options for the 27-28 school year. These options are modeled off of the feedback received during the latest development process, the school board decisions, and feedback received from a recent meeting with the calendar development committee. As you will see, the draft calendar options have similar structures to the most recently approved 26-27 calendar, with slight exceptions that we'll discuss in a minute. By bringing forward these calendars tonight, it further supports our goal of providing staff, students, and families with advanced school

[02:29:26] calendars so they can plan their lives appropriately. So I will attempt to walk through the two draft calendar options being presented again for the 27-28 school year. So the shared features between both options include a two-week winter break and a one-week spring break, 180 instructional days for students and 194 assigned work days for teachers. Additional similarities between the two calendars include recognizing the Friday before Labor Day as a holiday and providing 14 professional

[02:30:06] development days for teachers that include three designated for countywide staff development, two for planning and required trainings, up to one day for open houses, and up to two days for school professional learnings and meetings. This leaves a minimum of six days for other professional development activities. And both options have students returning to a Thursday start for the first day of school, which we have received positive feedback about. The most significant difference between option one and option two is both the start date and end date for students

[02:30:42] and teachers. Option one, students start on Thursday, August 19th. For teachers, the start date would be Friday, August 13th, four days prior to the start of students. Students would end on Wednesday, June 14th, with teachers last day being Friday, June 16th. Option one features a slightly longer first quarter. This adjustment was recommended by the calendar committee to better accommodate early year planning, onboarding, and required assessments. The additional time helps address concerns about reduced instructional time during that critical initial period of the school

[02:31:20] year. Option two, very similar to option one, with the exception of a slightly earlier start date resulting in a slightly earlier end date. Option two is a modest shift toward aligning the end of the school year more closely with the conclusion of SOL and AP testing, which is a frequent request from staff and families. Students would start on Thursday, August 12th, with teachers returning on Friday, August 6th, four days prior to students, same number of days as option one. Students would

[02:31:53] end on wednesday june 7th with teachers last day being friday june 9th so in terms of next steps tonight i shared two calendar options again for the 27 28 school year we're asking the school board to review these options and adopt at the next count at the next meeting on june 24th and with that i will attempt to answer any questions or pass them along to miss boland thank you dr i do have one question i know this is a couple years away but i also know there's some curiosity

[02:32:31] about moving towards year-round school from constituents and teachers and i know that there's some different models about year-round school and without freaking anybody out because it's going to be a little two years away you know but first i want to see if the board would want some more education about the year-round school and possibly a survey done with examples of three or four different models to see if there's some real interest i know so are you asking for the board's well first i want to see if the board is interested in that um or if miss boland if you have

[02:33:08] any idea if miss boland has even so we are also thinking and talking about year-round calendars and have heard that feedback um in terms of a survey for the 27-28 school year and coming up with additional recommendations.

[02:33:26] Due to the timing and the minimal amount of time before the next board meeting, if a survey is requested, it wouldn't really go out to the start of the next school year. So our recommendation is to consider these two options and engage with staff and the community on a conversation around year-round school.

[02:33:46] So we are ready. I think she probably already has some drafts in the works, but this would be for after the 27-28 school year. So it would be 28-29 school year. Yes, ma'am. So it would be a long, that's why I was like, don't anybody freak out. It's not going to be next time. Okay, board members, do you have any thoughts about that?

[02:34:06] Yes, Vice Chair Donahue. I apologize, Madam Chair. I was going to move on to a different topic. Not year-round. Are we moving off of the discussion of year-round school? Yeah. Okay, sorry.

[02:34:22] Thank you. Hi, Dr. Ellis. The two proposed calendar options for the 27-28 school year is the proposed spring break in the two options.

[02:34:40] It looks like it's the same week in both options. Is that tied to the week of Easter? I believe, yes, both options are tied to the week of Easter. I did briefly discuss with Ms. Boland at some point a couple weeks ago, I would like to see a calendar option that does not tie spring break to Easter, that puts it at a set week every year.

[02:35:08] So I do have a couple of notes from her on that. If a consistent spring break is preferred, HRTD recommends either the first or second week of April. It helps break up the long stretch between May and June, as I know you all feel.

[02:35:24] So we can certainly draft another option based on your input. And so we would actually ask if, given that we recommend the first or the second week, do you all have a preference?

[02:35:40] And I can take that information back to Ms. Boland. And then just as a reminder, I'll share that that was a question in the most recent survey that we gave and 39 percent of respondents supported alignment with easter 36 supported a fixed week and 25 showed no preference before we move forward can i have a thumbs up if anybody cares about that survey it's not going to happen like now for year round yeah at some point it's

[02:36:19] not going to be it's not going to be next week it's not going to be like okay yeah it looks like majority okay um yes uh dr deans did you have a question my my question or my um comment is that option two i think you said aligns the end of the school year closer to the sols is that right doctor yes ma'am listening to teachers that is definitely something that they want because they're saying

[02:36:56] the students sort of lose interest once they take and pass their SOLs so I'm looking at option two as the one that I've heard conversation from teachers about and we we have also heard that feedback from other constituents students and families as well any other question discussion

[02:37:27] oh miss Chandler um this this is a little bit hard to articulate and I certainly don't mean for it to sound like a criticism, but I just need to acknowledge that I feel a little hesitant about having this conversation at this time. I think I might have been more comfortable if we had been able to get to it on the agenda while school was still in session, but I'm very worried that families won't pay attention and might find that they're frustrated by the fact that we were

[02:38:03] talking about the calendar over the summer. I just can't quite get over it. I just feel a little hesitancy about it. Yes, Ms. LaBelle. I think I agree with Ms. Chandler discussing this after school is out, particularly with our large audience today. Thank you for coming. I can see this as the public saying, oh, they're not being transparent again. And I think that would lead to some issues

[02:38:42] that we really don't need. If we could put this off until a little bit down the road would be nice. so would you like to bring it back for information first of all can we bring it back for information in august to um action in september because i think we only have one one meeting in august

[02:39:08] august meeting it's august 12th august 12th so august 12th and then the next meeting would be the 9th of september i will also share i don't know if this um makes you feel any better um it was it was all posted in board docs publicly for everyone to review for the june 10th meeting

[02:39:42] and i realized there's a tension between having time to access and and understand the two options and also families just knowing and having dates firmed up to plan which they wouldn't have until september any other discussion discussion on keeping it as it is and going ahead and voting

[02:40:20] on it next week or yes vice chair donahue thank you madam chair i understand certainly what my colleagues are saying but i would be in favor of having it back as an action item on the 24th our meetings are our meeting schedule is set out well in advance this was on for information on the 10th the documents have been available on board docs even if we had gotten to this as an info item last Tuesday the result of us being asked to vote on the calendar would still be next week

[02:40:59] even if we had had it as a discussion last week and I I do take my the point of my colleagues but if we decide that we don't want to take action during the summer break so that we don't run the risk of the community missing some of the things that we're doing I just feel like I fear that that sets a bad precedent of causing us to get behind any other discussion how about this we will keep

[02:41:35] it for action next week and if you want to you can make a motion for later how's that i'm sure we'll hear some information about it in our email soon one way or the other okay thank you um dr ellis uh we'll move on to 14.06 lcps revision to the memorandum of understanding mou between the Loudoun County School Board and Loudoun County Sheriff's Office and the Leesburg Police Department presented by Ray Mitchell, Chief of Schools. And I just want to have a little caveat beforehand.

[02:42:14] It's my understanding that it's best practice not to publicly discuss specific operational information that could jeopardize the safety and security of LCPS facilities, buildings, structures, or any person they're in. While the school board and LCPS certainly want to be in a position to ensure the public that we are amply looking after the safety and security of students and staff, we wouldn't want to unwittingly share a level of detail that could pose a risk to the safety and security of LCPS facilities or our students and staff who are inside those

[02:42:50] facilities. Therefore, I would like to ask that to the extent board members wish to discuss that level of detail, we hold off on those specific comments, inquiries, and discuss those in a closed session as permitted by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act next week. Ms. Mitchell, could you provide us with an overview of this information item? Good evening. Yes, thank you, Chair Mansfield. So as a part of our annual review, the current MOU is amended for both

[02:43:25] technical and content changes. One of those changes, for example, is that the purpose was clarified, and we had sections of the MOU removed under specific headings to provide more clarity for the MOU. Any sections that were completely added were done in alignment with Virginia State Code, as well as policies and procedures by the two law enforcement partners of LCSO, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, and Leesburg Police Department, or LPD. All revisions to the MOU

[02:44:01] were done in collaboration with those three entities to include staff from LCPS, LCSO, and LPD. And I will add, sorry, that this revision was done because in our current MOU, we have it stated that annually we will review and or amend the MOU. I think if somebody could tell me the process

[02:44:35] that happened the last, not last year, but two years ago, it went through the advisory committees. is that um that is my understanding chairman spill that was the first time we had done a stand-up mou because we had just gotten the title nine office and so it was a new mou and so it went through advisory committees and we've since asked advisory committees for feedback which is due

[02:45:08] august 1st so the feedback is due in august yes potentially okay thank you so this would not be for action next week we would just we would hold off until we get so August the August 12th school board meeting yes so that we would have time to get that feedback and then all of that feedback will go back to the collaboration of LCS so LCPS and LPD to look at that feedback and see what if any amendments can be made if we come to consensus with that and we would present that version

[02:45:43] um for the board on august 12th thank you any other discussion yes mrs griffiths thank you madam chair um regarding this uh it's a lot of red line um since allied security guards are placed in elementary schools is there a similar mou between lcps and allied security personnel and if they are required to complete training similar to the training for sros and with that i have another question but if you can answer that for me. So we do have a contract with allied security

[02:46:20] guards but they are not a part of this particular MOU. But do we have one with them? No we just have a contract with them. There were a lot of amendments in this 18 page document. I'm just curious to know why so many some are minor um but did did loudon county um speak with um the the police department as far as these amendments or these amendments were just made no as i stated earlier it was a

[02:46:55] collaborative process with members of lcso and lpd and lcps so they were at the table all right and that was it thank you ms chandler just as a point of clarification who ultimately does allied report to? John Clark, our safety and security teams. Who ultimately reports to? To me. Who

[02:47:29] ultimately reports to? The superintendent. Thank you. Okay. I'm sorry. Yeah, Mrs. Griffiths. Sorry about that. The amended language in this document, how come it was changed from the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office to Loudoun County, to the Sheriff of Loudoun County? It's just minor, but I was just curious but they didn't change it from the leesburg police department to leesburg chief of police does that make a difference i was just curious that was actually a change that they

[02:48:08] recommended interesting because it is the sheriff as opposed to the sheriff's office actually yes i mean we had it in there and when they're um when they along with their attorney reviewed it that was one of the technical changes that they had so not sure of the why behind that um but that was

[02:48:41] what they suggested. Vice Chair Donahue. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Ms. Mitchell, for framing this for us. I was somewhat relieved to hear that we weren't going to be asked to vote on this until August, not only so that our advisory committees can provide feedback, but I also had several questions and am likely to have some suggested edits. Would I possibly

[02:49:18] send those to you or to Mr. Allen or we have to talk about them first you can send them to both of us and again any the copy that you all have the current red line version is the last version where all three parties agreed upon so the feedback from the advisory committees and any questions and or suggestions that board members might have again would go back for consensus between those three entities so you can send them to Wes and I. Any other discussion? We can have

[02:49:57] more discussion technical discussion in close next week. Thank you Ms. Mitchell. Thank you for your work on this. We will move on to 14.07 Department of Academics Consolidated Grant Application presented by Dr. Ashley Ellis, Chief Academic Officer, and Scott Meisensal, school improvement supervisor.

[02:50:33] So this evening we are going to share with you our annual grant application for the 25-26 school year for the ESEA or the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. And I'm going to turn it over to the expert in this topic, Scott Meisenskull, our school improvement supervisor. Good evening. Loudoun

[02:51:09] County Public Schools completes a consolidated grant application annually to include Titles 1, 2, 3, and 4. Every year, the Virginia Department of Education advises to use level funding for planning purposes as official allocations will not be released until the end of the summer or early fall. The purpose of Title I is to provide financial assistance through state educational agencies to school divisions and public schools with high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic content

[02:51:48] and achievement standards. School divisions receiving Title I Part A funds must prioritize schools with at least 75 percent economically disadvantaged students, but can serve additional schools in rank order of poverty rates if funding allows. For the 2025-2026 school year, LCPS continues to identify eligible schools based on a 55% poverty threshold for elementary schools

[02:52:18] and 65% for secondary schools. For the 2025-2026 school year, all schools currently designated as Title I will retain this status. Leesburg and Dominion Trail elementary schools, however, have fallen below the 55% poverty threshold for elementary schools, according to the most recent Community Eligibility Provision, CEP, poverty data with the applied multiplier. Despite dropping below our division's 55% threshold, LCPS will continue to serve both schools as Title I for

[02:52:57] the upcoming school year. This will allow us to monitor their CEP poverty data throughout the 25-26 school year. If their poverty data does not rise to the 55% threshold or above by spring of 2026, they will not be served as Title I schools for the 26-27 school year. In addition to supporting Title I schools with a per-pupil expenditure allocation, divisions are required to use a portion of these funds for additional set-asides. Again, actual allocations won't be announced from

[02:53:32] VDOE until the start of the 25-26 school year. Title I funds are used in Loudoun County Public Schools to support academic success in Title I schools through comprehensive needs assessments, professional development, and evidence-based instructional strategies.

[02:53:52] Resources purchased to support literacy will be reviewed to ensure that they align with the Virginia Literacy Act. Division set-asides include a McKinney-Vento specialist to support the needs of McKinney-Vento students, transportation for McKinney-Vento students, transportation for students in foster care, services for neglected facilities, and equitable services for participating private schools.

[02:54:18] Title II, LCPS utilizes Title II funds to increase academic achievement by increasing the effectiveness of teachers and principals through coaching and professional development. Title II aims to increase student achievement, improve the quality and effectiveness of educators, and ensure low-income and minority students have access to effective teachers and school leaders.

[02:54:43] Funds are to be used at the division level to support these goals rather than being allocated to specific schools. Loudoun County Public Schools primarily uses Title II funds to support the mentoring and coaching program by funding five instructional coach positions and compensating beginning teacher cohort coaches for their extracurricular work.

[02:55:05] These coaches help to support the retention of our new teachers by providing personalized, job-embedded, professional learning for the first-year teachers, helping them assimilate into the profession, improve their teaching skills, and ultimately enhance student achievement.

[02:55:22] Other uses of Title II Part A funds include professional development opportunities aligned to division goals and a set-aside for participating private schools. The purpose of Title III funds is to ensure that English learner students, including immigrant children and youth, attain English language proficiency and meet the same challenging state academic standards as their peers.

[02:55:49] These funds support initiatives that enhance English language proficiency and academic achievement, develop effective language and instruction and educational programs, LIEP, provide professional development for educators, and promote parent, family, and community participation.

[02:56:07] This comprehensive approach ensures that EL students receive the necessary resources and support to succeed academically and integrate effectively into the school community. Loudoun County Public Schools has identified the use of Title III funds to enhance support for English learners through various initiatives.

[02:56:28] This includes employing an EL Family and Community Engagement Supervisor and two EL Family and Community Engagement Instructors to coordinate family engagement activities and events. Additionally, funds will support EL instructional facilitators across elementary, middle, and high schools, provide instructional materials and digital content, and offer professional development opportunities for teachers.

[02:56:58] The Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, Title IV, Part A, provides funds for programs and activities to improve student academic achievement by increasing the capacity of local school divisions to provide all students with a well-rounded education. Title IV funds are to be prioritized for schools that have students with the greatest need and the highest number of students from low-income families.

[02:57:23] LCPS plans to continue to transfer Title IV funds to Title I. This transfer aims to continue improving academic achievement for the most at-risk students, leveraging data that shows ongoing growth in Title I schools. So in terms of next steps, in May we reported the Title I school status to the VDOE.

[02:57:48] Next steps will be to submit the application to the school board as an action or a consent agenda item on June 24th. The deadline to submit the approved application to the Virginia Department of Education is July 1st. We will receive actual allocations from BDOE in September and then submit any amended amendments to our application depending on the amount allocated with the updated allocations.

[02:58:15] This is standard practice. We do this every year. Additionally, as we look ahead to the FY27 budget process, the board might consider shifting some of the positions that have been grant funded for several years into the local operating budget. Guidance in this grant development is that funds should be used for supplemental support.

[02:58:33] And some of these positions have been funded year over year and have really become more permanent fixtures in LCPS. So with that, we are happy to answer any questions. I'll turn it back over to you, Chair Mansfield. - Board members, you have any questions? Yes, Dr. Deans. Did you, did I understand correctly, Title II, it said it would also include participating private schools?

[02:59:00] Yes, that is correct. We are required to offer equitable services for non-profit private schools that wish to participate. So we do have some private schools that do participate in Title II and Title III as well.

[02:59:16] Okay. Could I stop by and get the names of some of those at some point? Absolutely. Thank you. Sometimes they're listed on the actual, they're on the application, too. They are on the application.

[02:59:32] Yes. There is a, in the application, you'll see a sheet specifically called private schools that will identify the schools participating in Title I. That's not very clear, but that the private school sheet is for Title I. On the Title II sheet at the bottom, there is a place that identifies those participating in Title II, and those participating in Title III are on the Title III sheet.

[02:59:56] But we can provide a list of those schools as well. I just want people to know that they were listed, too. They are. Publicly listed. It's not something that's... Any other discussion? Yes. Vice Chair Donahue. Thank you, Madam Chair. I was also going to ask about private schools.

[03:00:13] Thank you, Dr. Deans. And one other question. I'm looking at your slides six and seven about Title I, Part A. The references to local neglected youth facility. What does that mean?

[03:00:28] So the facility that we use Title I Part A neglected set-aside funds to help support is North Spring Behavioral Center in Leesburg. They do participate in Title I. It's considered Title I Part A neglected set-aside.

[03:00:45] And so our Title I funds, we work through consultation with that school, identifying needs of their students and help find resources and services to support those students. I was wondering, Dr. Spence, could you provide some clarity on what the federal budget does to these? Yes, ma'am. Thank you for asking. This question's come up actually quite a bit recently in different conversations. So there's a budget making its way through Congress that does include

[03:01:22] some cuts to federal funding, but I just want to offer a little bit of clarity. The 2526 grants won't be impacted by that budget. That budget will impact the following year's grants, but it is worth noting um for example title iii was mentioned in here that title iii is eliminated in the current budget that's making its way through congress and those are funds again that are for el instruction as well as family and community engagement and there are additional cuts in some other funds

[03:01:57] the department is consolidating funds worth about 6.5 billion into a block grant worth two billion dollars and so there's a four and a half billion dollar cut to some additional department funds and then the other thing that's worth noting is that title one and IDEA funds are being held level in the budget that's working its way through Congress so while that is good news on the one hand on the other hand as we know there's chronic underfunding in both of those funds particularly in IDEA and so level funding as our programs and needs

[03:02:35] continue to grow across the division and certainly the commonwealth in the country will create some challenges for us moving forward so so appreciate the opportunity to offer some clarity there thank you dr spence any other discussion um board members can we go ahead and put this on consent

[03:02:58] can i have a thumbs up for consent okay this will go for action next time um moving on to Curriculum 14.08, Curriculum and Instruction Committee, Review of Policy 50-70 Field Trips, presented by Ms. Rae Mitchell, Chief of Schools.

[03:03:31] And I don't see Mr. Ferry. Okay, just Ms. Mitchell. It's just me. So 50-70 for field trips, there were three changes. One was to include these types of field trips from the regulation into the policy.

[03:03:51] another was to change the language instead of there being a teacher or a school official there would be a field trip organizer who would take care of all of the necessary steps when organizing and planning field trips and then the last change was to give detail about international field trips so those were the three things that were changed with policy 50/70. Thank you Ms. Mitchell um board members do you have any questions yes vice chair donahue thank you madam chair

[03:04:28] um looking at part c approval of field trips it says field trips will be approved by the school principal and the department of school leadership um is this a i see that it's a red line but you it before was um it said instruction so is this is this change of wording or a change of procedure change of wording because it goes from when we used to have the department of instruction which we no longer have so now it's department of school leadership are there ever instances where the school principal and the department of instruction now school leadership

[03:05:04] disagree on whether a field trip should be allowed no because because ultimately it is the up to the principal as to whether a field trip will occur and the department of school leadership signs off we have to sign off on international field trips because they go through budget and finance, they go through the level office, and then they also come to me for a signature, and that has a different process, which is why we added international field trips into this policy, but ultimately, it is to the discretion of the school principal whether they're going to have a field trip or not, and we support the school principal.

[03:05:41] And the one public feedback that we have here on BoardDocs asks, I think, an interesting question about if if a field trip is proposed and not approved by the principal is does the principal have to give any reason is there any recourse for the rejection we do not have a an appeal process for that the principal usually would have a reason as to why a field trip cannot occur it could be depending on the location that the sponsor or the field trip organizer wants to

[03:06:19] use and it could be a conflict with that it could be deemed um a place where risk management doesn't approve of that so there's usually very seldom if any time does that ever happen and it would be for a specific reason which would be communicated to that field trip organizer but ultimately we would not override that thank you any other yes mrs griffiths thank you madam chair i'm just curious to know cross-references and regulations and policies. I don't see 80-40 listed here for trips that are like sleep away. Are there requirements? You're not referencing 80-40

[03:06:59] at all. So are you separating the sexes, you know, boys and girls? Or if you can explain that to me, I'd appreciate it. Thank you. So no, we did not reference 80-40. And when we have a situation where there is a field trip that involves overnight stay if a student is not comfortable being in a room with another student then we provide a different option for that student

[03:07:32] we do not require that they stay in the room together thank you any other discussion seeing none um board members can we go ahead and put this on consent thumbs up okay that will go on consent um moving on to the next item um student services committee revision to policy 8115 individuals who may be admitted free uh presented by vice chair ann donahue who's also the chair of

[03:08:11] students services committee did i do did i skip one oh i did i'm sorry i skipped you mr lewis i'm sorry um finance and operations committee revision of an arbon 6410 high performance building design construction operation presented by Arben and Straffi, Chair of Finance and Operation Committee, and Kevin Lewis, our Chief Operations Officer. Mr. Straffi, you want to start? Sure. Thank you, Madam Chair. Policy 6410 is high-performing

[03:08:50] building design construction operations. It references environmentally sustainable design construction and operational practices. Updating this design, updating this policy keeps us compliant with new state requirements and keeps LCPS eligible for green building related funding or grants and specifically it aligns the policy with updates to Virginia code which now require all school divisions to follow an approved high performance building certification program for new construction. It also continues our application of best management practices which incorporate green building

[03:09:29] standards such as energy star LED lead and other guidelines I don't know if mr. Lewis would you like to add anything else thank you mr. stripper the only thing I would add is that it ties in nicely with item 14 point 12 on the agenda this evening where our sustainability framework where the code code of Virginia now requires us to design and build buildings in accordance with these plans and sustainability practices in terms of energy conservation, those types of things.

[03:10:04] - Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Board members, do you have any questions? Seeing none, can we go ahead and put this on consent? That won't go to consent, and it'll go to action for the June 24th, 2025 school board meeting.

[03:10:26] Now we will move on to 14.10 with student service committee revision to policy 8115, individuals who may be admitted free, presented by Vice Chair Anne Donohue, Chair Student Services Committee. Vice Chair Donohue. Thank You Madam Chair. Policy 8115, individuals who may be admitted free came before the Student Services Committee with proposed revisions to reflect amendments to the Virginia Code to bring the policy into alignment with the revised code. We saw it in committee as an information item on

[03:11:03] April 24th and voted it to the board as an action item on May 15th and there was not a significant amount of changes or feedback and I would defer to Ms. Richardson if I've missed any important details. Thank you Mrs. Donahue. Two notable revisions coming out of the May Student Services Committee meeting or revisions to lines 11 and 12 adding regardless of immigration status and and then revisions to lines 26 through 30 based on recommendations from our special education

[03:11:42] advisory committee to reflect the exact language in the Virginia special education regulations. Thank you, Ms. Richardson. Board members, do you have any questions? No. Seeing no questions, do you guys consent for next time, Mr. Estreffi? Okay, that will go on consent for the June 24th

[03:12:12] school board meeting let's see and now we're moving on to 1411 and it's student services committee revision to policy 8120 compulsory attendance presented by vice chair and Donahue chair of student services committee thank you madam chair policy 8120 came before the student services committee for its annual five year cyclical review the the committee saw it as an information item on May 15th and voted on it as an action item just

[03:12:50] Just recently on June 6th voted to send it to the full board the red line and Feedback from the community are on board docs and Again, I would defer to Ms. Richardson for any Specific important points that I might be overlooking. Thank you. Mrs. Donahue Again, it was up for five-year cyclical, there have been no code changes.

[03:13:19] We did make grammatical and clerical corrections throughout. We updated the cross-reference policy numbers. There was flavorful discussion in our committee about the community feedback that might lead to possible revisions of current LCPS policy 8140, which is student attendance and attendance procedures. Thank you, Ms. Richardson. Board members, do you have any questions? Yes. Mrs. Griffiths.

[03:13:50] Thank you, Madam Chair. Again, with this policy, I feel like we're following the APA, which is not regulation, and we're deliberately going through policies to change pronouns, as you mentioned, grammatical. But I don't think they're grammatical. It's just going in to deliberately change the English language. I don't think this should go on consent. I will not vote for it to go on consent.

[03:14:14] I will not vote for policies with these unnecessary changes. Thank you. Dr. Deans. I'm sure the committee of the department noted the concerns expressed by LEAF, indicating that we often have students and families who take extended leave or extended vacations.

[03:14:47] And since we, the school division, are now accountable for a certain percentage of attendance days, is there any way to compromise between the parent demand and the requirement by VDOE of our accountability related to student attendance?

[03:15:13] Ms. Richardson. Thank you for that question, Dr. Deans. It was noted definitely that there were sort of six major themes that came out of the feedback that was received. And, of course, one of them was the fact that absenteeism does undermine our instructional practices and students being able to meaningfully engage.

[03:15:37] Currently, policy 8140, which sort of gives us the overview and the framework for how we support and communicate with our families And our students regarding mandatory attendance is really where this feedback would be most impactful.

[03:15:55] As a division, over the last couple of years, we have done a lot of work. We have a webpage that's dedicated to our attendance matters. We encourage our families to try to align their extended stay or visits to families that are overseas in alignment with our natural break, such as fall break, winter break, spring break, and summer break, because as it stands now, those absences are unexcused.

[03:16:30] Yes, Vice Chair Donohue. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to add to what Ms. Richardson said in responding to Dr. Deans that when this was on for action in Student Services Committee, We did discuss some similar issues of, you know, our college visits, college visit days, excused or unexcused, and who gets to decide, and the lengthy vacations.

[03:16:55] And Ms. Richardson advised that those discussions would be more appropriate related to policy 8140. So we may be taking a look at that in the future. Any other discussion? No, seeing none.

[03:17:11] Okay, I guess we have to take this one to action for June 24th. The next one, moving on to 14.12, Department of Student Services, LCPS Sustainability Framework, presented by Kevin Lewis, Chief Operation Officer, and Clark Siped, Director of Sustainability.

[03:17:57] Thank you, Chair Mansfield. We certainly appreciate the opportunity tonight to review with you our sustainability framework. This is a lot of work from our entire family of support services folks, plus many of the folks from the instructional programs as well. Mrs. Seip is going to walk you through the sustainability framework, which is sharing our background and our goals for this work as we move forward.

[03:18:22] It's a preview of a plan that we are presenting for approval by the board for on the next Tuesday, on the 24th. It essentially codifies the school board's commitment to the environment, and that commitment is often talked about in several different ways.

[03:18:38] But one of the ways you're probably familiar with is the triple bottom line, which has our economic, our environmental and our social impacts of our school system and our facilities. But also we've added another tenant on that on leadership. And you'll see some examples of that as we go through this evening.

[03:18:55] We're going to demonstrate this commitment to the environment by connecting it in this facility or in this sustainability framework, connecting this to our projects, our CIP, our capital plans. also in our instruction, and then again, as I mentioned, in our leadership.

[03:19:13] So at this point, I'll turn to Mrs. Seip, and she'll walk you through the slides, and then we'll be happy to take any questions you may have. One moment, please.

[03:19:36] I'm having some technical difficulties.

[03:19:52] There we go. Will I be able to change them? Thank you. So let me echo Mr. Lewis's thanks to you for spending a little bit more time with us again tonight. We wanted to take a quick minute to look back on those last 18 months of work that Mr. Lewis referenced, certainly have covered a lot of ground together.

[03:20:16] I've really appreciated the opportunities for scheduled meetings and updates with you as both committee and a full board. Those updates are referenced in not only the item, but you see them up on the screen in our timeline as well. There have also been countless opportunities for conversation and feedback loops, and those have just been so exciting.

[03:20:38] They have helped us to start two new program initiatives in the last year. You see our Green Teams program is spotlighted there, which kicked off in January of this year, as well as our Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience, that MeWe curriculum cohort, which started in October and just culminated this month with an amazing set of new curriculum produced by LCPS educators for LCPS educators.

[03:21:05] And all of that has brought us to where we are today. The culmination of all that work is what you have before you tonight in the LCPS sustainability framework. You have received that both digitally and in print version.

[03:21:22] My hope in putting it before you as this nice print document was that you could really dig into it and write notes. And, you know, we welcome additional feedback on that tonight. The framework really is, and you've heard me say this before, an overarching tool that is intended to organize and communicate the structure and principles that guide our sustainability efforts.

[03:21:45] When we were together for our work session in early May, we talked about how the framework presents goals and targets, right? And it also contextualizes those goals and targets as they relate to local, state, and regional strategies, goals, et cetera.

[03:22:08] All of that is on pages 2 to 5 in the framework document, if you have it before you and want to flip open to it. It gives us lots of good reminders there of LCPS history and track record. And it also gives us a good look at how the framework aligns with and contributes to other strategic efforts like the one LCPS strategic plan, our school board resolution from 2020, and the new LCPS instructional framework.

[03:22:33] It also connects us and shows the alignment with things at larger scale, like Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, the Virginia Clean Economy Act, and other Virginia Department of Education priorities. We talked a good bit when we were together on May 6th about making that connection, underscoring the critical importance of connecting student learning and sustainable practices.

[03:22:55] And I think we found really good and rich shared understanding of the benefits and opportunities of those connections when we were together in May. And we're also hearing our students and families continue to call for those connections. Just a couple weeks ago, I was at Discovery Elementary School, and the environmental club there put on a play called Mother Earth, and it was lovely.

[03:23:20] It was elementary agers really challenging their school community to take on some of the challenges that they saw on their campus and in their school building. And it's examples like those that I think remind us that our students want this, our families want this too. I had the wonderful opportunity to lead a community conversation with members of the Loudon Education Alliance for Families, LEAF, this beginning of this month as well.

[03:23:44] And it was just this really great interaction where families were able to see that LCPS is prioritizing the things that they are worried about in our global economy. And so just really cool connections across the board. This is familiar to you at this point, our four goals.

[03:24:05] Mr. Lewentz reminded you of the triple bottom line connections, economic, environmental, and social impacts and areas of focus, and how this addition of leadership as one of our priority areas is critical to success. And we've talked a lot together about how modeling a culture of sustainability really weaves through everything that we do and the decisions and actions that we take. We'll take just a quick few minutes. I want to remind you these goals and targets, you have these in your document. Goal one, of course, is conserving

[03:24:40] resources and improving efficiencies. You'll find that on page six to eight of the framework document. And this is where we bring together conservation and efficiency, right? Reminding ourselves that when we prioritize conserving resources first, something like energy, and that can happen in a variety of ways, behavior changes, student competitions and campaigns, our big CIP-funded energy conservation projects. When we prioritize conservation first, those efficiency improvements like our building design and replacing end-of-life critical systems with more efficient equipment

[03:25:17] and systems, those efficiency improvements can be even more successful. And when we talk about both operations and budget under this particular goal, we're reminded of how the savings that we've discussed as a body many different times, those avoided costs, the realized cost savings through different conservation and energy efficiency improvements, those savings, which total more than $130 million to date, come from this type of work, as well as the integration of renewable energy, which we'll see in the next goal. Those discussions really add this richness to our

[03:25:57] conversations around both operations and budget, and also remind us that there are opportunities here to be amazing stewards of those capital dollars. When we look through this lens, we're able to use those dollars in even smarter ways and even more strategic ways.

[03:26:13] Goal tools around promoting healthy schools and planets, this is on pages 9 through 11 of your document. This is all about reducing environmental impacts and fostering healthy, safe, and productive learning environments.

[03:26:30] And it's here in this goal that we really see the influence and impact of both individual and collective actions being showcased. We think about large-scale efforts like LCPS investment in renewable energy. It costs capital dollars up front, but it saves costs and saves money in the long run.

[03:26:50] There's that ROI there, that return on investment that we've talked about numerous times together. So not only are we seeing that reflected in our own operations and budget, but we're also contributing to energy challenges here in our region. We're leading by example, and we're modeling what we're teaching to our students.

[03:27:08] On a smaller scale, we're making relatively small investments in waste reduction initiatives with our students. I was out at Lovettsville the end of May, and they collected all the food waste in one single day in the elementary cafeteria.

[03:27:24] Total food waste there totaled 75 pounds, and they were so proud trying to lift this up and weigh it, right? 75 pounds is a kid. So then multiply that out by five, that's a week, right? By a month, by a school year. Kids are interested in this, and they're seeing ways that they can actively bring about changes, not only in their cafeteria, but in their school.

[03:27:47] It's that ripple effect that by way of making these connections, we bring that alive for our students, And that is not only inspirational to them, but it's also empowering. And it's also inspirational and empowering for our communities as well. Goal three, cultivating environmental literacy for all.

[03:28:06] You'll find that on pages 12 through 14. You will probably remember and you know from reading this that we define environmental literacy as the knowledge, skills, and experiences that enable our students to not only understand, but to also feel equipped and empowered to take on environmental challenges.

[03:28:23] We prioritize this because it connects our students to their world in meaningful ways. It prepares them to be problem solvers and change makers. And all the targets here are connected. They are all nested. We get our kids outside. We tap into that innate curiosity.

[03:28:39] We find ways to directly and intentionally integrate those learning experiences into our curriculum. We support our educators building their skills and confidence and facilitating those types of experiences. And Mr. Streffi, one of the things you brought up last time we were together was seeking out those non-traditional forms of professional development.

[03:28:59] There is ample opportunity for that here, and our educators are excited about it. And when people get excited, they're willing to explore. And so that's where we really open up these different pathways for careers and preparing our students to take those on. When we cultivate environmental literacy for everyone, for all, we do that for every type of learner at every school.

[03:29:22] And that is really, really important. And then finally, our goal four, modeling that culture of sustainability on pages 15 through 17 in your document. To successfully integrate sustainability into who we are and how we operate, we need leaders at every school and at every level.

[03:29:44] That's because those decisions and actions that we talk about, they're happening at every level. And each one of those is an opportunity to demonstrate the behaviors, values, and practices that can advance our sustainability goals. Different target areas represented here have been on full display as our school year came to an end.

[03:30:05] I want to thank all of you that came to our Green Team's gallery walk last week. And the 25 different schools that were showcased and celebrated there, the work that they are making possible with their students, the learning opportunities that they are facilitating, so much student leadership was on display that night. And that is through prioritizing this culture and inviting those students to have that voice and giving them a space to try out solutions to the problems that they see. This goal also reminds us that we all have a role to play. And I believe it's a natural

[03:30:43] area for you as elected school board members as well to lead by example. So guided by this framework this is what we propose as what's coming next in terms of using this framework as an overarching tool to guide us. We would like to collaboratively develop work plans that include not only student voice right but that also share the metrics that we will use to monitor and evaluate progress against those goals. Those metrics will be used to provide you a regular cadence of updates of

[03:31:20] course and we want to continue sharing stories with you so that we can all celebrate these successes. We want you to be armed with those stories. We want you to be proud of those successes and have them as part of what you're able to talk about regularly when it comes to what you are proud of in terms of LCPS and some of the reasons that you continue to serve in the capacity that you do. You'll notice that the framework does not provide detailed objectives, strategies, actions, timelines, who's doing what and when, right? Does not yet include cost estimates. That's because

[03:31:57] all of that level of detail is provided in those work plans that will be developed by staff with additional stakeholder voice and then be put forward on a regular basis, probably on the two year time frame is what I'm thinking currently. But again, that's up for conversation as we develop those work plans that give that level of detail and that we can really hold ourselves accountable to in terms of implementation and action. This is what I want to make sure that we leave tonight's conversation with a shared understanding of. That first one, I know you've heard me say before,

[03:32:36] right, that sustainability isn't part of our work. It's a driving force that can influence all of our work. And my word choice there is a little bit different than it has been in the past. I use the word can because that's the opportunity that's before us tonight and what an incredible opportunity it is, right, to set that example for our students and our communities. We also want to make sure that we're able to clearly identify those connections between student learning and sustainable practices and we want to continue to make those connections because we've seen the power of them, and we know how exciting they can be.

[03:33:11] We want to make sure that we all recognize the sustainability framework is that tool to inform collaborative development of the iterative work plans that I described, and that we also understand that successfully implementing those work plans will incorporate sustainability into instruction, operations, and the culture of LCPS while also informing budget development.

[03:33:31] And the final thing that I'm asking that you take away from tonight's item is that you're excited, right? You're excited about the expanded emphasis on sustainability within our division and that you're eager to lead by example in supporting the framework moving forward.

[03:33:51] So what comes next immediately? Staff has a lot of work to do with our community partners to put together those work plans, but this is what we're asking for tonight. Unless otherwise directed, the sustainability framework will turn as an action item next week on the 24th.

[03:34:10] And our recommended action is written in your info item, but let me say it out loud for you here tonight. That the Loudoun County School Board adopt the LCPS sustainability framework as the foundation for incorporating sustainability into instruction, operations, and the culture of LCPS while also informing budget development.

[03:34:31] You have the opportunity to help energize a holistic, division-wide, and enduring commitment to sustainability at LCPS. We want to thank you for your attention, your questions, and your ideas, and for your leadership.

[03:34:48] And we look forward to collaborating with you to move this forward. We're happy to take any additional questions you may have tonight. So there's been a request that we have a food waste competition throughout the division-wide and see who could have the least food waste.

[03:35:07] We can make that happen. How fun would that be? Board members, do you have any discussion, questions? No, I appreciate your work, and I really did enjoy the green teams last time, so thanks for bringing them.

[03:35:23] Board members, can we go ahead and put this on consent? Okay, we will move on to, that will go for action on the 24th. Moving on to the next action, department, next item, specialized programs and centers committee transition center proposal presented by Tedra Richardson, Assistant Superintendent, Department of Student Services.

[03:35:56] Good evening.

[03:36:13] The LCPS Transition Center is a vital program designed to support students with disabilities as they prepare for life after high school. The program focuses on building career and technical education skills and developing the independent living skills students need to thrive in the workplace and in their communities.

[03:36:38] It will serve high school students who are working toward or who have earned an applied studies diploma or an extended standard diploma as determined by their IEP teams. The programs will be led by a dedicated multidisciplinary team, including credentialed CTE providers and special education teachers, vocational evaluators, job coaches, behavior assistants, and related services providers, as well as support staff.

[03:37:13] Together, this team works to ensure students gain the skills and confidence that they need to live more independently, successfully to enter the workforce, and improve their overall quality of life. Students with disabilities often face pretty significant challenges.

[03:37:34] While many are capable of learning trade skills, they may struggle to fully participate in traditional CTE programs or meet the certification requirements. According to the 23-24 SEAC Parent Survey, satisfaction in areas such as vocational evaluations, independent living labs, and access to skills profiles remains below 60%.

[03:38:00] The LCPS Transition Center will be designed to address these gaps. It will provide essential vocational assessments and hands-on career training to support workforce integration, expand employment opportunities, and enhance quality of life.

[03:38:20] The center will promote inclusivity by bridging the gap between school and employment. It will empower students with practical CTE skills and support their personal growth through targeted resources and staff support.

[03:38:42] The LCPS Transition Center focuses on preparing students with disabilities for life beyond high school through three key areas. First, vocational skill development will equip students with hands-on training in trades and technical fields tailored to their strengths and interests.

[03:39:01] Second, workplace readiness builds the soft skills necessary for employment, such as communication, problem-solving, and professional behavior. Finally, the program supports independent living by teaching essential daily life skills like budgeting, cooking, and time management, which will empower students to lead more self-sufficient lives.

[03:39:28] The program has eight overall goals, which have all been updated following the feedback from our LCPS Transition Center Roundtable event that was hosted earlier in May. You will see that we have a focus on student enrollment and participation, career and technical skill, development, post-secondary outcomes, as well as vocational evaluations for high school students and career exploration for even our littlest ones in elementary school and middle school.

[03:40:06] Goals five through eight focus on community engagement and partnerships, staff training and development, student and family satisfaction, and operational excellence.

[03:40:23] You can see that the summary of our program capacity highlights the robust structure and community support of this project. We anticipate that at full enrollment, we will have 500 students.

[03:40:40] We are currently working to build out 10 areas of CTE programming for our students with disabilities. We are planning those course pathways based on multidisciplinary staff.

[03:40:55] And we are currently working with the design team to target our local businesses and community partnerships for expanded opportunities to shadow and do internships for our students.

[03:41:14] Our overall timeline, you can see that this current school year that we just closed out has been us working towards getting program approval. So it has, we've hosted our round table and we have taken it to information and action through the special programs committee.

[03:41:31] We have also presented this proposal before the finance and Operations Committee for the proposed name of our center. You can see that moving forward in the upcoming fiscal years, we'll be working with the board on budget approval, planning and launching, and then growth and expansion and sustainability of our overall program.

[03:41:57] In year one, you can see that the approximate ask for our 100 students is about $4.4 million, with 41 FFTEs, in year two we expect to expand to about 150 students with an estimated cost of 5.4 million with 50 full-time positions.

[03:42:20] In year three, 200 students with a $6 million cost attached with 56 positions, and in year four, the 500 students at 9.1 and 86 positions. It is the recommendation this evening that the school board move forward with action at the next upcoming meeting on the transition center proposal.

[03:42:47] And I'm available for any questions you may have. - Very exciting. Board members, do you have any questions? - No? - Yay. - Can we go ahead and put this on consent for next one? - All right, that's unanimous, that goes to consent.

[03:43:03] Thank you, Ms. Richardson, for your presentation. - Okay, our next one is 14.14. Department of Teaching and Learning Head Start Preschool Annual Training Report and Continuation Application. Presented by Mr. Neal Slaven, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning.

[03:43:39] - Thank you, Chair Mansfield. So the Department of Teaching and Learning is presenting the 2425 Head Start Preschool Annual Training and Report and Continuate Application Year Two Funding for this upcoming school year to the LCPS School Board for approval.

[03:43:58] In order for Loudoun County Public Schools to receive available funds from the federal government for the Head Start program, it is necessary to submit a continuation application by September 1st, 2025. The 2024-2025 Head Start Preschool Annual Training Report and continuation application year two are being submitted for approval and signatures.

[03:44:18] This report and application has been reviewed and approved by the Head Start Policy Council, and so it's in front of the board tonight. The most significant changes for the upcoming school year is adopting a new curriculum.

[03:44:35] The LCPS Head Start Preschool Program will use the VDOE vetted Tools of the Mind curriculum. This is the same curriculum that the Starting Towards Excellence in Preschool, or STEP, and Early Childhood Special Education, ECSE, use, and will unify the three preschool programs and provide opportunity for collaboration and shared professional development.

[03:44:55] STEP convened a curriculum committee in 2019 and selected the Tools of the Mind curriculum. ECSE did the same in 2020. And the Head Start management team choose to adopt the tools this year by going through a similar process. The six Head Start classrooms will be added to this total next school year.

[03:45:12] I am happy to answer any questions or receive any feedback on this application. Mr. Sullivan, I was looking through all the paperwork and I was looking at the teaching practices for like the literacy goals, because of course I would.

[03:45:32] And I was looking to see that the new curriculum that you had we had discussed the teaching strategies didn't match the new curriculum for literacy I was wondering if there would be what would be the process to align the teaching strategies with on this document so I appreciate that question just for context the development of this application was a year-long process through the head start policy council in earlier in the

[03:46:08] school year prior to the adoption of Tools of the Mind is when that council, the council worked on the goals that you're asking about. And so while staff would intend to update the training plan with the new practices aligned to Tools of the Mind, that's not currently in the document as you've noted. What would need to occur is reconvening the Head Start Policy Council briefly to review the changes have them approve it and then bring it back to the board with with edits

[03:46:42] and talking to staff from the head start office they feel confident that they know where they need to go with the changes where it comes to the teaching practices and what tools of the mind is going to bring so not having to do a lot of discovery on what the teaching practices would be they are confident that we can make those changes prior to it coming back to the board next week for that's what the board members to know why my madness is the way it is the reason why is because I need it I think it's important to align it with the science of reading and the whole point is to get phonemic awareness and oral language in

[03:47:19] there and letter sound better lint letter sound techniques like sound mapping and alconian boxes and the reason why is because we're training we're training the brains to to read and the research shows that if you train them early then you have less likely to find them at risk for reading disabilities later so that's why we want to that that's my madness so i appreciate you looking at that um so we will just wait until

[03:47:54] next week thank you any other questions yes mrs griffiths um can you provide the enrollment too um for all the schools that have the head start uh just to give us an idea if it's at capacity what's going on with it and you would provide that as well next week yes i will have that information available next week all right um i think that's our last um information item

[03:48:28] board members do you want to um go ahead and adjourn the mood the meeting or do you want to your committee's reports thumbs up for adjourn okay that's one two three four five i think that's majority is to adjourn okay so we will go ahead and um move on from committee reports um and how

[03:48:59] about new business new business okay the yeah yes mrs griffiths thank you madam chair um as far as new business I would like to make a motion to reconsider the rezoning of Dulles South Secondary School Attendance Zone I'm hearing from residents that it was not communicated properly as far as the staff choosing of the staff plan so I wanted to know if I well actually I'm going to read

[03:49:33] from a from a resident if you don't mind just a note as far as how they're feeling in the area. To the board from the residents of Kilpatrick Farms, Westview, and you might have seen it already, but Westview States and Braddock Corner, the Dulles South rezoning which was supposed to happen once HS14 was completed was not effectively communicated to the communities affected. Because there were no official communications sent out, residents had to rely on social media and word of mouth to spread the word. We did not have time to ensure our

[03:50:10] communities were aware, and many residents do not understand that they will be impacted. Once meetings began, we began the benefit of the doubt that the board would engage with the community, be transparent about their goals, concerns, and expectations for what the rezone would look like. Instead, we came, spoke, sent multiple emails and questions, yet we never felt heard. Emails went unanswered, meeting requests were denied, and working sessions were never

[03:50:40] completed oops oops sorry lost it for a second once meeting I just mentioned that user plans were never thoroughly evaluated during the meetings four out of the five resident generated plans kept Kirkpatrick farms together and three out of the five plans kept the cluster intact multiple plans such as 935, 289, 40, 310, and 122 had far better capacity percentages than the staff plan. If the goals of the policy 6530 are to keep communities together when able, please promote

[03:51:19] long-term stability and support cluster alignment. The staff plan failed. If diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values to LCPS, we need to ensure that all decisions made are equitable and non-discriminatory. If we look deeper into the staff plan, we can see that is discriminatory socially and economically, and segregates certain demographics, whether intentionally or not.

[03:51:44] This does not meet the values of our communities for LCPS. We ask that you rescind your approval of the rezoning and let the board members that voted in December work with us, engage with our communities, and make us feel like partners in this process.

[03:52:01] We absolutely deserve this as constituents, taxpayers, and above all, advocates for our children. Sincerely, the residents of Kirkpatrick Farms, 13.3 and 12.2, Westview States, 13.12, and Braddock Corner, 12.6.

[03:52:18] So basically what I was asking for is if we can reevaluate these secondary school attendance zones, take a look at them again, and go back per the vote last week. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths.

[03:52:35] per policy and I guess per I guess it's Robert Rules such a motion needs to be made by someone who voted on the winning side for the base motion as amended so I voted for the amendments you did not vote for the base motion as amended I believe that you and vice chair Donahue did not vote for the base motion as amended and so therefore it would have to come from made for someone who was on the quote-unquote winning side um so i don't see an appetite for anybody else at this moment

[03:53:13] to make a motion so um and i think uh mr lewis i think it's it's a unfair characterization to say that it was not transparent and that there wasn't a lot of thought gone into this and that there was that people didn't have the opportunity to meet with us and i think because i did meet with people I know other people met with people.

[03:53:39] I think we all talked to people. Mr. Lewis, how long exactly did we take to do this with the public hearings and everything else? Thank you, Ms. Mansfield. I don't have the exact date on that, but the board voted on the calendar several months ago, and then we had a number of meetings.

[03:53:58] I think it were a total of nine meetings by policy that put all the different work sessions and information sessions together. so there were a number of public meetings and everything was posted on the web we have all the the meetings the maps and each of the plan was vetted through the process through the staff and provided all the information to the board so we feel like it was a good and thorough process thank you um okay so with that we will go ahead and adjourn the meeting um no more business the reconvened meeting of june the 10th 2025 loudon county school board meeting is now adjourned

[03:54:36] Please drive safely home.

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