Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County Public Schools, Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) Meeting, Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Place: LCPS Administration Building / School Board Room, Ashburn, Virginia
Length: 2h 55m (video)
Official meeting video (Vimeo / LCPS-TV): https://player.vimeo.com/video/1135963931?rel=0

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 2026-10-12. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

[00:07:07] - Thank you. Please, those of you who are here, members and all, just please use the QR code on the screen to sign in. Those of you who are live streaming, please do the same.

[00:07:23] Anyone who wishes to give a public comment, the sign up sheet is in the back. We will have public comment during our business portion of our meeting after 7:15. There are other flyers and information also in the back.

[00:07:40] And today we're going to have our vice chair of planning introduce our special education resource fair. Hi, I'm Catherine Moran. I am the vice chair of planning. We are so excited to have you all here tonight.

[00:07:58] Thank you to all of our LCPS representatives for sharing your time, your wisdom, your resources with us. We get really excited because within LCPS we have a pretty amazing support across the board. And last year was our first year of doing this resource fair.

[00:08:16] It was so well received. We got excited to do it again and share it again. And I hope you all, within LCPS, if you're seeing a team that you don't know, please introduce because we're in this, we're all in this.

[00:08:34] Sorry. I'm tired. But we are in this together, and it's neat to see who we're working with and who we have to partner with. So we have just a quick heads up for February.

[00:08:50] I think it's February is our When the Bus Stops Coming event, which will be some LCPS resources, but a lot of community resources that support our children and youth and young adults with disabilities. So keep that on your radar. we'll have more information and Jenna, Art, and Sarah will have information from our transition team about that coming up. This is LCPS focused because we're awesome. And I think we'll, yeah, we're just open visiting tables. Please enjoy yourselves. There's a few snacks and things in

[00:09:28] the back. We'll give you a ding ding timer when things are starting to wrap up. And yeah, it'll be around 7:00 so you have plenty of time to get resources talk to people get

[00:09:41] questions answered and shout if you need anything roaming around hey guys can I

[00:55:07] have your attention real quick I just wanted to we have some information on our sib shops that occurred last week and so I wanted dr. Walker to come up here and talk about what exactly took place and how this is beneficial for our siblings

[00:55:37] who are who have another sibling with disabilities well good evening everybody i'm very excited to tell you guys about sib shops how many of you have heard of sib shops a few of you have right yeah they got it all over fairfax county and that when i was in one of my regional meetings with the supervisors of social workers across northern virginia they were talking about sib shops i'm like tell me more about that. And then Liz Crotty told me about that when she was the chair last

[00:56:11] year. And so we had about 16 school social workers and some counselors trained to facilitate Sib Shops. And I just want to show you a little bit and describe to you what it's about. It was an amazing training. So we had two full days of training from Emily Hall from Sib Shops out in Seattle. So she flew out here and actually trained them. On the first day, we had a panel of adults speak to all of the trainees about what it was like to grow up with a sibling that has a disability. There wasn't a dry eye on the house, and there was so much laughter all packed into it

[00:56:46] at once, right? So then the second day, we did a Sib Shops demonstration of a group, a four-hour long group. We had kids from ages of eight all the way up to 17, and we had about 13 kids there, and she demonstrated a four-hour group, and you would have thought it was like a 45-minute group.

[00:57:07] Because it went so fast, there was pizza, there was games, there was casual talk, lots of things taking place. And the sibs left there, I would say, loving it. I mean, it could have been that I loved it so much, I don't know, because there was a lot of adorableness in the room, a lot of cuteness going on.

[00:57:24] But sib shops are a place for typically developing students who have a sibling with a disability to receive peer support and have fun. So it's not therapy, it's just a way to get together, to talk to other kids that have grown up in a similar way. You know, when you grow up with a sibling with a disability, the family adapts, right?

[00:57:43] And so the siblings meet and talk to each other about the not-so-good things and the great things about having a sibling with special needs. They play games, they celebrate their sibling's strengths, that was probably the most touching part. And I wasn't even, like, connecting all the dots, because I grew up with two siblings with disabilities.

[00:58:01] And I think that's why it was resonating so much with me, but there were so many social workers in there that didn't grow up that way, and there wasn't like a dry eye in the house. Just the loyalty that they have towards their siblings. These are things you wouldn't think, most of the kids said they wouldn't even think to bring this up to their friends because they can't relate, right?

[00:58:19] So it's a real special time where they get to support one another and have fun and celebrate their siblings. And then they also learn how each other successfully navigates different, you know, their different relationships with their siblings. It was powerful. So who is it for, and how do you get your student, if you want your student to participate in it?

[00:58:38] So it's for typically developing students from 8 to 17 years old. That's what's really exciting about this, is I had social workers from high school, middle school, and elementary school. So we're going to be able to have sib shops across the district in different schools. So 8 to 17 years old who have a sibling with a disability.

[00:58:57] And all you've got to do is contact the school social worker at your school, If you don't know who that is, you talk to the counselor or admin, and they'll know. And then they'll get you on the list, and then we'll have these. But I've got to show you some of these cute pictures, okay? So check this out. So these are games that they played, and every game kind of had a meaning in it, right?

[00:59:16] If you see the picture at the top left, there was this Likert scale, so they had this rope. And at one end, one of the kids would say, you know, I don't like things at all. And at the other end of the Likert scale, there was another kid that was going, I love everything.

[00:59:32] Everything is wonderful. And so she would ask questions, and this is an example of one of the groups, and the kids would come up and place themselves somewhere along that rope about how they felt. So it might be like, you know, are you embarrassed of your sibling when your friends come over? So then you'd put yourself on a different part of the rope, right?

[00:59:50] Or if your friends don't accept your sibling with a disability, do you accept them? And they would put themselves on a Likert scale. And it was so neat to see how the kids would put themselves on that and then talk about why they felt that way.

[01:00:08] There was also this balloon toss, and it was really cute because that was just fun. That was just a fun activity, right? And so the balloon's going back and forth, and they're poking it and trying to pop it, and the adults got involved in that too. It was so much fun. And then you'd write a letter to somebody, that's where they're sitting on the floor there, that doesn't know about your sibling, and what are the things that you would want them to know about your sibling, and that was like really, really powerful when they shared those.

[01:00:34] Kids from ages eight to 17, even the teenagers, you know, who don't like to talk about a whole lot of things, especially when it comes to this, by the end of the day, they were just talking and it was really powerful. So if there's a way that, we're gonna try to filter SibShop's, I wanna like have it across the district in different ways.

[01:00:56] We're gonna try to get it in the different newsletters at the schools. If you know a principal and you could, you know, advocate for that too, we're going to have the social workers do that. You just let me know. But if you want one of your students involved in SIP shops, you just talk to your school social worker and it's just that easy and they'll get them on the list.

[01:01:15] So I could go on and on about this. As you can see, I'm restraining myself. So I hope that that was helpful. Any questions about SIP shops? All right. Yes. Good question.

[01:01:32] Too long to go during the school day, even at lunchtime. So they're going to be either after school, they're going to be, or on a Saturday, or they're going to be on a teacher work day. So you could do like a four hour block on a teacher work day. The social workers that want to do it after school could do a couple hours after school.

[01:01:49] Yeah. We'll have to work out the logistics of transportation and everything. Any other questions? Well, you can come and see me afterwards and I won't stop talking about it. So thank you so much, everybody.

[01:02:19] We have about five more minutes of our break and then we will begin at 7. 15.

[01:09:37] I guess it's like four more minutes really, but welcome everyone.

[01:14:07] for those of you who have not signed in yet I will give it about a minute for the QR code that's up there I received feedback that I go quickly through that slide so if you could please just scan it and log in here's our agenda for

[01:14:44] today and we're going to begin with the public comment and we do have a few public comments today SEAC really values hearing from the public because your feedback helps guide the recommendations we make to the school board about special education needs we do ask that comments focus on system-wide issues rather than individual students or staff you can share your thoughts by giving a

[01:15:19] verbal comment up to three minutes or by submitting your comment in writing to be read by the SEAC chair and please remember to follow up with our SEAC secretary with your written comment so it's part of records and our first public comment will be Jessica Cruz.

[01:15:57] Good evening members of the SEAC administrators, community members. We are here tonight as a collective of families from across Loudoun County Public Schools, families of children with disabilities, particularly those in autism programs, standing together with one voice. We are here because we are tired. Tired of the silence, tired of dismissiveness, and tired of pain that so many of our children have endured behind closed classroom doors. Across LCPS families have shared heartbreaking stories of systemic neglect, abuse, children being locked in bathrooms, lights being shut off as a form of punishment, children coming home

[01:16:32] with concussions, and in one horrifying case a child found hanging by his neck from the blinds. These are not isolated incidents. They are warning signs of a system that is falling, failing our most vulnerable students. What has been even Even more painful is the callous and dismissive response from school administrators when these incidents are reported.

[01:16:54] Too often parents are gas lit, brushed aside, or told that their concerns are being handled, only to find out that nothing changes. There's no transparency, no accountability, no compassion for the trauma these children and families are living through. We are calling for real change, starting with transparency and protection.

[01:17:12] We propose that cameras be installed in all self-contained autism classrooms, not as punishment or surveillance tactics, but as a safeguard, cameras will protect both our children and the dedicated teachers and TAs who do their job with integrity and care. These will ensure that truth replaces speculation and that safety replaces fear.

[01:17:33] We are also speaking out against ongoing segregation of students with disabilities. Many schools continue to separate and isolate our children, denying them inclusion, exposure, and the chance to learn alongside their peers. This segregation contradicts the very principles of the equality and inclusion that LCPS claims to uphold.

[01:17:53] We demand full transparency on funding, where it goes, how it's used, and how truly it reaches our special education classrooms. These funds should not disappear in the bureaucracy. They should go directly toward teacher pay increases, proper training for staff and individualized assessments to allow each child to receive an education tailored to their needs, not an education that writes them off.

[01:18:14] Our children deserve better. They deserve a classroom, compassionate educators, and a system that sees them as human beings being worthy of dignity and opportunity. We are not just asking, we are standing here demanding change. Because every child with a disability in Loudoun County deserves a school system that not only teaches them, but protects them.

[01:18:37] Thank you. Our next speaker is Mr. Burke. Good evening, everyone.

[01:19:04] And before we leave here tonight, I want to say one more thing. Something that every parent in this room has felt deep in their bones. we do not choose to stand here. We are pushed here. We were pushed here by the unanswered emails, the missing data, the phone calls that were never returned. We were pushed here by the nights we sat on the kitchen floor crying because our children came home with bruises we could not explain, or sudden meltdowns that seemed to appear out of nowhere, or skills that used to have suddenly fading. We were pushed here by fear that if we speak too loudly, our children would be in

[01:19:43] one to be the one to pay the price of our advocacy but we are done being silent we are done watching our children slip through the cracks of our system that promised inclusion but delivers isolation we are done hearing we are investigating while nothing changes we are done pretending that these are isolated incidents when family members from every corner of the country are standing here tonight telling the same story our children are not just numbers on a spreadsheet they are not just compliance issues. They are not behaviors to manage. They are human beings. They are learners.

[01:20:20] They are children who deserve safety, respect, and care. And let me be very clear, when the system repeatedly fails to protect its most vulnerable students in a system that must change, it is the system that must change, not the children. We're asking for cameras because transparency should never be an optional option when it comes to our children who cannot speak for themselves.

[01:20:42] We ask for accountability because trust cannot be grown in the dark. We ask for the for the reform because we refuse to wait until another child is harmed and action is not taken. Tonight we stand as a community. Tomorrow we will continue this movement. A movement of parents who will not shrink. A movement of families who will not be quiet. A movement that believes every child, especially those with disabilities, is worthy of a classroom where they are safe to learn, safe to explore, safe to do simple, to simply be a child.

[01:21:12] We are not here to fight the school system. We are here to remind the school system of their responsibilities, because our children matter, because our children are watching, because our children deserve better than what they have been given. Thank you so much. Kate, I'm so sorry,

[01:21:35] Habermade, I'm sorry, Dina Griffith.

[01:21:53] First off, I wanted to say thank you to Ms. Cruz and Mr. Burks for being here today. I think it's a great idea to have cameras in the classrooms. I'm not sure why we didn't already. So I think those are great suggestions. I did want to speak to the SEAC community today. And good evening to everyone. And thank you, Shanaz. I appreciate it.

[01:22:19] I wanted to begin by apologizing for not speaking, for speaking so late in the year. However, with all the recent discussions we've had about playgrounds and transition centers, I felt it was important to take a moment to speak about something that unites us all, special education. Supporting students with disabilities is not a partisan issue. Um, it's about ensuring that every child, regardless of ability, has access to the education and resources they need to thrive. I'm here tonight to ask for your help, and from the previous

[01:22:52] speakers, safety is a big issue, um, especially when we have nonverbal children that cannot tell us what is wrong let's take a hard look let's to get away from that let's take a hard look at our budgets and identify areas where funding can be reallocated to better support special education it could be for cameras in the future whether it's hiring more teachers or expanding sensory rooms these investments make a real difference I want to also speak about school tours I'm not quite sure we were providing the necessary tours previously and also

[01:23:32] sensory rooms now a lot of our schools are a little bit over capacity we can't always find the room to create a sensory room but I think we should take a look with falling enrollment we should take a look at empty classrooms and not necessarily empty classrooms rooms that may have been computer rooms in some of our schools to maybe put forward sensory rooms in these particular schools. Over the past year I've seen how vital school visits are for families seeking the right fit for their child's IEP needs or special education needs. While I can't say which school is the best regarding special education because every child is

[01:24:11] different, I've noticed that only a few schools have sensory rooms and in some cases parents need special permission to access them if they are not zoned for that particular school. Parents should be able to tour schools that offer support their children need. I believe school board members should join SEAC members on these tours. I think that would be fantastic. That's a suggestion I have if it hasn't been happening already. SEAC members joining parents to tour some of the schools. I recently visited Waxpool Elementary, which has a beautiful

[01:24:50] sensory room and I brought pictures and I posted them in the back but I don't know it's my time up my heart I heard something oops sorry okay I brought a picture of a sensory room from wax pool elementary that it's a new school so it was just designed by the principal and others for autistic children in the school and special education I was joined by a parent there who shared with me how the sensory room has made a tremendous difference in her child's learning I will be advocating along and hopefully along with other school board

[01:25:29] members for more funding for spaces like this and I will continue to fight for that with enrollment dropping I do think we can do this take note we are have rezoning issues where the topic of special permissions has come up in that regard I think some parents that don't want to disrupt their students may also have IEPs. They are currently comfortable in their current environments. However, the case of Dominion Trail, Ashburn Elementary, and Stuart Weller might have capacity to create a sensory room.

[01:26:03] Stuart Weller might. We're trying to fill a gap there with enrollment. Instead of rezoning, I'm going to suggest that Weller take a look at their space and see if we can create these types of rooms but I admit I don't understand why more funding is not already going to sensory rooms and a lot of my discussion today was sensory rooms to help our children what truly matters is giving children the education they deserve because when we do that we all win I believe that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed after high school I've been incredibly I've been in I've seen incredible advocacy for parents from parents and I urge you to keep going

[01:26:40] come to school board meetings send emails and speak up being here at SEAC today I want to reiterate that we need the tours but also we need you to come and speak at our meetings I'm open to more ideas on how I can help I'm already exploring partnerships with cast to inspect to have our students inspect schools playgrounds and different types of needs in the different schools but I do need your help and I appreciate any support with any ideas I want to thank SEAC for their help and their future thoughts on special programs in the

[01:27:12] schools, we anxiously wait for the transition center. So thank you. And Amy Riccardi. Thank you, Shanaz. Hi, everybody. I just wanted to do a quick introduction. My name is Amy Riccardi. I am the member elect for the school board for the Sterling District. I'm really excited

[01:27:49] to be joining the board on January 6th, and I just want to introduce myself. We have a child with Asperger's as our oldest, so I know the struggles that a lot of families face when it comes to our kids he's now 25 and our youngest is 20 so we have four in that four five year window but and by the way two sets of parents uh these are a blended family here so i didn't crank out four kids in five years that did not happen that did not happen um but i'm just really excited to be here tonight it was amazing being able to learn about all of the services that

[01:28:25] lcps offers um and i i feel like i'm drinking from a fire hose and i probably will feel like that for the next many months but it's really exciting to see the the quality and quantity of services available to our families and I want to also let you know that I take to heart public comment in both the main school board sessions and as well as tonight and when I hear parent feedback that's really important to me and so I appreciate those of you who have stepped up and speak and those of you who are communicating with the board I'm looking forward to having those interactions with you all as well so I just want to introduce myself and

[01:29:00] and thanks for having me tonight. That wraps up public comments.

[01:29:16] Yes, please send your public comment copies to our SEAC Secretary. Her email is on the website. Okay, so introducing our SEAC officers.

[01:29:37] I'm Shanaz Khan, I'm the SEAC Chair. Over here to my left, we have our SEAC Vice Chair of Planning, Catherine Moran. Next to her is our SEAC Chair of Membership, Tom Ketchum. And next to him is our SEAC Secretary, Katie Rosenbrook.

[01:29:54] And then over here to my right is Liz Crotty, our past SEAC Chair. And to her right is our SEAC Vice Chair of Communication, Erin Rosalpoe. And then, of course, we have our SEAC Liaison, Dr. Paige Carter, our Special Ed Director.

[01:30:15] Our school board member, Carrie LaBelle. And our alternate is not here, but Melinda Mansfield. And we're just gonna quickly admit our virtual attendees.

[01:30:30] We have, I believe, three. So do I have a motion? - Second. - Has been so moved and seconded by Tom Ketchum. And I really apologize. I know I got the minutes out to you guys really late, but did anyone have a chance to look at it?

[01:30:49] And are there any changes? I'm gonna go with they look fine and we are going to go ahead and admit those in. Oh, my slides got rearranged. So we're going to go ahead and have our updates, and we're going to begin with Ms. Tedra Richardson, our LCPS Assistant Superintendent of Student Services.

[01:31:14] And she is, I'm like, where'd you go? Good evening, everyone.

[01:31:31] It was wonderful to see you all. I hope everybody has enjoyed the SEAC Resource Fair. It's another wonderful experience. So congratulations to SEAC for another successful event, and certainly thank you to our Office of Special Education for your collaboration.

[01:31:49] Some happenings across the DSS, we had our first ever DSS Regional Model Quarterly Meeting last Friday. That brought together about 150 team members out of our 455 strong Department of Student Services teams met as regions.

[01:32:08] They did connection activities. They established roles and responsibilities. They set norms and then we dug into the data. We really started looking at our attendance data for the first quarter. We broke it out by region and then within region we broke it out by students with disabilities and our English language learners.

[01:32:28] We meet again in January and we're going to be continuing to look at attendance. We're also looking at some additional strategies and resources so that we can further emphasize that attendance matters and students need to be here to be able to access, participate and benefit from the instruction that's being provided.

[01:32:50] Next up, our LCPS McKinney-Vento team is partnering with Light Ridge High School and their family and consumer science teachers and they're going to be preparing meals and delivering them to families that are in need for the Thanksgiving season so that is really to be celebrated we are hoping to expand this to more of our high schools in in future years and then lastly LCPS held its official ribbon joining ceremony for our RISE Academy for our students that are in active recovery I was also asked

[01:33:27] to provide you all with the most recent updates from policy 8155 which is school assignment and you would likely know it more so as the special permission policy even though it covers more than that so here's where we are as of last Thursday coming out of committee staff were advised to provide additional instructional suit suit suitability clarity we it used to be appealable it It went to not being appealable, and now the current revised policy is that the decision is appealable.

[01:34:06] The board has not officially voted yet. It went before them as information last evening. We were also discussing the impact of rezoning. We know that we have elementary schools in Ashburn and Dulles North this fall, which the board will adopt those decisions as of December 16th.

[01:34:28] Then in the spring of the year, we start the rezoning for middle schools, and then in the fall, yes, fall of 26, it's going to be rezoning for high schools, because high school 14 is set to open the fall of 2028.

[01:34:43] And so for special permission, students that are at a school that's impacted by rezoning will roll back to their school of residence and will need to reapply for special permission.

[01:35:01] Those placed on instructional suitability will remain because that was a choice and a determination made due to extenuating circumstances. And these are proposed revisions. They have not been voted on yet. The committee last Thursday also talked about the principal's ability to rescind a special permission placement.

[01:35:27] There is a process, there's meetings, there's letters that go out, and certainly families working with schools to maintain that placement. The proposed language does add additional protections for students with disabilities.

[01:35:42] and those eligible under Section 504. And the committee has also recommended that if a principal recommends to resend and the parents disagree, that that too should be an appealable process before the board.

[01:36:01] Lastly, there was a discussion within our committee to sort of push back the timeline for special permission by another month. so for this year it was a cutoff of april 30th the committee discussed pushing it back to march 31st committee members provided some clarity last last evening and the timeline remains the same

[01:36:27] sure sure correct that's correct that's a great question all right so here's some draft language Um, we clarify that special, that instructional suitability, you're not eligible for transportation, that's how it currently is, and if it is denied, again, you can see the draft language, that it is now appealable.

[01:37:02] So it used to be, if you made this request, we went through the process, we said no, we don't have the factors there, it sort of stopped there, now parents, should this be adopted by the board would have the ability to sort of prepare a package, be scheduled to have a hearing, and you would be assigned three board members that would hear your case, and then they would weigh in to make that final determination, okay?

[01:37:31] Then on lines 81 through 82, you can see that we further clarified that instructional suitability is a different process for specialized academic programs and specialized special education programs. That was part of SEAC's feedback. Here's the brand new section that came out of committee last Thursday. And so the board was seeing this really for the first time last evening.

[01:38:01] They have some heavy decisions to make, especially this fall with 18 of our elementary schools. So this defines that process, and I spoke about that earlier. Special permission would roll back to your school of residence, and instructional suitability placements would remain.

[01:38:24] Okay, right? That further clarifies that language. All right, and so this is the recension part of the policy where the committee was very thoughtful last Thursday about making sure that there were safeguards in place.

[01:38:46] students with disabilities and those eligible under Section 504, making sure that principals and parents and educational planning teams come back together and meet to talk about the impact of disability before moving through all of the steps of rescinding that placement. And again, the proposed language makes this an appealable process. All right, last evening the board

[01:39:21] was also presented with several new amendments that they were really seeing for the first time so the first recommended change was that all references to special permission change to out of zone transfer or attendance the second recommendation was to move all references of instructional suitability from lines 227 to 248 and then sort of put them all in the same section and not have them interwoven throughout the policy then there's some just some clerical things

[01:40:00] cleaning up sections 304 through 317 and the same for 319 just making sure that we indent that section here's the most substantive part of the amendments that were made last evening so we would have a whole brand new paragraph it is proposed that the board consider a new section e that would read out of zone attendance and and transfers are disfavored but may be approved in limited

[01:40:36] exceptional circumstances out of zone transfers will not be automatically approved granted or guaranteed in any year okay and as it stands now we have a renewal process for those that have already been accepted under special permission this amendment would add an application process with supporting documentation for limiting factors, okay?

[01:41:07] So the application requirements would be a parent or legal guardian may request an out-of-zone transfer for students to attend an out-of-zone school subject to the following conditions. The requested out-of-zone school is not projected to be over-enrolled, and that's a practice now.

[01:41:29] And then the existing subparts would just be re-numerated. All applications for out-of-zone attendance transfers must identify. So now we have a drop-down, and there's even a box for parents to type in information.

[01:41:48] This amendment proposes that we limit it to four factors. Such applications shall include a pun submission, specific details, and shall be accompanied by appropriate documentation to support the request.

[01:42:06] The first option is the student is experiencing or undergoing certain physical, social, or emotional adjustment difficulties as documented by a licensed professional currently treating the student.

[01:42:24] Number two, child care issues which would otherwise result in significant hardship, providing appropriate supervision of the student or a minor child within the student's household. Number three, the student has been the victim of a crime, whether it was reported or not, or victim of discrimination or harassment, all as defined by Virginia law.

[01:42:56] And number four, other extenuating circumstances not set forth above taking into account demonstrated hardship and educational needs of the student. The board listened to these options and no action was taken last evening.

[01:43:20] Next steps, it was also thrown out that we rethink the entire thing. Do away with special permission and only have instructional suitability. So that's a consideration that the board will revisit on December 2nd.

[01:43:41] It's coming back as information they're not taking action on December 2nd the Soonest date that the board could possibly take action would be December 16th. I'm happy to take questions

[01:44:13] And just so every sorry and just so everybody knows we will be reviewing this policy as part of the policy subcommittee Later on today. Good evening. My name is Bridget Vinch. I'm PTA Representative for Dominion Trail. I have a question for you has there been considering of any type of grandfathering if any of these rather extreme steps are approved by the board um that was not um part of the proposed amendment so that would have to be something that the board would have to bring up and then contemplate should they decide

[01:44:50] to accept any of the proposed um amendments going forward as it stands now we don't have a process to grandfather in students that are on special permission. A follow-up question for you on that.

[01:45:05] Sure. Sorry, for parents who may not know the process well, if they're affected by this, what are their first steps? How do they know if they have instructional suitability? Is that their case manager? Who are they? What's their process for this? So instructional suitability is a request that happens after the school year has started.

[01:45:25] So it's initiated by the parent. So a parent would absolutely know if they have made that request and we have worked with them to make that placement.

[01:45:40] The substantive changes really would impact the special permission aspect of it. And we've already reduced the capacity. It used to be at 95%. We've lowered it to 90%, giving every school that 10% buffer for students that will naturally be moving into that zone.

[01:46:04] If you are already placed through instructional suitability, you would remain at that school for those remaining grades. So if you're on special permission, you would be moved even if you have an IEP?

[01:46:21] That would be correct for the rezoned schools. That provision only pertained to schools that were under rezoning. So even if you weren't in the zones that were to be moved, you still would roll back? You would stay.

[01:46:37] Nope. This is only for schools that are undergoing that rezoning process. Correct. Let me refer you to my question. For the schools that are under rezoning, there are specific sections of those schools that are being moved. Are you referring to students who have IEPs and special permission that are only in those sections that are moved, or any of those students in any of those schools?

[01:46:56] This is for any student that's in that school that's undergoing rezoning, general ed, special ed, 504. You would roll back to your school of residence if you were there on special permission, and you'd have to reapply.

[01:47:15] This is the proposed language. Thank you for clarifying. You're welcome. Any other questions? Again, we will be discussing it. So just for clarification, because I don't know, this may already be covered in policy, but is it possible for rezoning to happen after January 1st for the subsequent school year?

[01:47:37] In other words, could that rezoning be announced or be finalized either during or after the period of applying for special permission? So the current schools for rezoning would be determined before January.

[01:47:53] So if you're at one of the 18 schools that's under consideration for Aspern and Dulles North, you would know before the special permission window opened. I believe for our middle schools that are slated for rezoning in the spring, that would happen after this, or actually be concurrent with the special permission timeline when we're going to start looking at those schools.

[01:48:20] So it's Willard, Lunsford, I'm going to forget the other ones. But I think there's four that we're looking at. So it would be conceivable that somebody wouldn't have time to reapply. That would be correct. And so the school board is going to have to contemplate that too based on this sort of cycle that we're reviewing schools for rezoning.

[01:48:42] That's a very good point. Yes. I have a question on the rezoning for kids with IEPs. So say there's like Hillside. I'm the Hillside PTA rep as well as Eagle Ridge. Hillside is one of the schools that has proposed to have some rezoning.

[01:48:57] There are some kids taken from Hillside and put into Mill Run. Great school. But if you do have a student who is in one of those areas that is being rezoned, who is on an IEP, they're not on special permission right now, no instructional suitability because they're very happy where they are for these few years.

[01:49:14] Is the process then that those kids would be redirected to Mill Run unless they raise like an instructional suitability? they would have to raise that instructional suitability to prevent being moved from Hillside to the new school? That would be if you're in whatever those sections are that are slated to be rezoned, then that would be an available provision for those families. Okay, so the idea would be they would have to apply, and we would suggest they apply via the instructional suitability?

[01:49:45] Correct. Okay. Correct. Thank you. You're welcome. Oh, did you want me to go back? I just wanted to thank Miss Richardson for giving us that summary a lot happened last night and again these are the proposed really appreciate you staying to do that and also I really do want to thank the Office of Special Education for putting on that resource fair today it was a lot of work and it benefited a lot of

[01:50:24] families so thank you so much to each and everyone who put that together next up we have Leanne Kidwell with Family Resource Services and I only have two workshops activities coming up for the rest of this month and the next the first one is this coming Saturday is our EL family day so it will be here from 10

[01:51:03] Then until 1:30, there will be food trucks, there will be child care, lots of vendors, lots of resources, it's a great day, so if you have an interest, come on out. And then the next thing is our Ready, Set, Transition, which is going to be our very first virtual workshop at noon, I'm very excited about that, so it will be next Thursday at noon and you will get the meeting link you'll be able to watch the workshop if you're not able to watch it it will be recorded and posted on our website and

[01:51:40] then this is this is the information for me you have any questions please reach out and have a great evening I'm always short and sweet Thank You Leanne oh yeah it's on the next slide I'm surprised today as to what the slides look like so up next is Dr. Paige Carter. Hi, good evening everybody. I'm going to give a few updates that

[01:52:18] I don't have slides for, but I will add some in there. Things I thought of and came to my attention during the resource fair. Don't forget to say this, don't forget to say that, so I want to make sure that I get everything in. First of all, I want to thank TEDRA for the regional model that we're experiencing within the Department of Student Services. My team participated in the regional meetings, and I will tell you the one that I was in, the depth of conversation that we were able to have about attendance, because everyone across student services was involved. Mental health,

[01:52:56] student health, MTSS, PBIS, everybody, all the alphabet soups were there, and it was really wonderful to hear the perspective of the other departments all at the same table and I see my team nodding all over the room I am really grateful for this opportunity I think it's going to mean really good things for our kids so because of the the collaboration that's taking place with this new model I also wanted to say thank you to our schools I know a few of our schools are represented

[01:53:32] here tonight with administration, but I wanted to thank the schools for the activities that they did for Dyslexia and Disability Awareness Month. Across the division, there were a lot of really neat activities that all the students participated in, and I think the more time we spend really educating others about disabilities, the better the cultures in the schools will be. And so I just wanted to say thanks to the supervisors that are here tonight who were part of that planning and supporting schools in those activities. I mentioned this last month, but I

[01:54:09] wanted to lift it again because it's coming up. On December 4th at A Place to Be, if you guys are not familiar with A Place to Be, it is an organization here in Loudoun that really emphasizes the arts and some wonderful opportunities for both children and adults with disabilities.

[01:54:28] But at a place to be, there will be a special exhibition entitled The Power of Purpose. This exhibition is being, the art that's being presented was completed by our students with disabilities who are currently residing at the adult detention center. This event will display powerful art projects reflecting not only their credit-bearing course of art, but also the demonstration of the individual experience of each student with disabilities that's represented.

[01:54:58] I think it's good. I've seen some of the art, but I'm looking forward to seeing all of it. It will be at 530 on December 4th at a place to be. The public is invited. I think it's going to be a really special event. All right. Also, I want you guys to just to bring to your awareness, if it has not come out already, I'm sure it will, you will be bombarded with it by email, but the superintendents, we're starting our work on the next strategic plan. These dates

[01:55:28] scare me a little bit, 2027 to 2032. That sounds like a space odyssey, for real, and it just doesn't seem like that is within reach, but there will be a survey coming out about your priorities for the strategic plan, and I think it's really important that students with disabilities and their families are represented, so please watch for that. It will probably be on the website. Come by email.

[01:55:58] Amy it will come a lot of ways yes it's already out so if you it only takes a few minutes so I really encourage you to let your voice be heard on those priorities for those priorities for the strategic plan and now I'm just going to provide one regular update that I always do and that's the number of students we're serving across the division just like the individual art pieces that we're going to see at a place to be this number represents that very thing for me

[01:56:30] students with individual strengths needs and contributions and and those 10,525 37 higher than last month when we met are what make LCPS great and I just really wanted to let you know from our office that when we put this number up here it isn't to say well look what we're doing Because this is a number, you could put probably 40 counties together in other parts of the state, and you wouldn't reach 10,525 students with disabilities.

[01:57:05] So it's a very sizable portion of our budget. LCPS makes a huge investment in students with disabilities, and we want to get it right. So I just want you to know that when we put that number up there, at a time when the growth in Loudoun has leveled, it has not leveled for students with disabilities.

[01:57:26] This population continues to grow, and your participation in the budget process, in public comment, in SEAC, in all of the things is mission critical to the work that we do. And then I have one more.

[01:57:42] This is a unique opportunity. We have a little more than 10 teachers who are here, licensed special education teachers, who have come to us internationally. I'm from Kenya, the Philippines, Nakia, help me out, a few other countries, Zimbabwe, and they are rapidly becoming a celebrated part of our community.

[01:58:08] And some of them do not have Thanksgiving plans. there are is a QR code here if you would be interested in hosting one of our international teachers for Thanksgiving and this is an opportunity to sign up we're going to try to match folks in sim you know close to where the teachers live some of them use public transportation some of them use uber right now they've only been here for a few months but they are acclimating and rapidly becoming a really important part of several of our communities and I do want to share that one of our teachers who came here from Kenya

[01:58:45] actually since she got here lost her husband and is going to have to go home and and work to get her children back here because she wants to be with here with us in LCPS so she will be in our thoughts but I just wanted you to know that these folks have left everything they know to come and and use their special education skills here in LCPS, and I had the opportunity to be with them a couple of times over the last few months, and we are fortunate to have them. They are very excited and very dedicated to serving students with disabilities. And that is all I have

[01:59:23] for you tonight, but I'm happy to take any questions if you have any. Yes, ma'am. Oh, sorry hi how would we know if our school has any of these international teachers there that is a really good question um some of the schools celebrated the arrival of the teachers um but if you guys want to reach out to me individually i can tell you if you do or not i think that's

[02:00:01] probably the easiest way to get the answer um immediately we have a chart with all of the schools of course and we know where they are so um but i don't have them memorized but email me and we'll get or call my office and we'll get that to you thank you sure anything else all right well

[02:00:18] thank you guys next we have carrie labelle unlike leanne i'm just short not short and sweet um i have to say mrs richardson stole my thunder i was going to talk about these special permissions

[02:00:54] and I could just feel the stress level rising in the room. So I do want to share with you one thing that did come up on the board that nothing was done about the current special permissions process.

[02:01:15] And some of us thought about it and brought up the idea that perhaps we could put this off till next year because layering special permissions on top of school rezoning is going to double almost all the special permissions we have.

[02:01:34] And for the last two years, we've had close to 4,000 requests for special permissions. So we thought perhaps that we should put the special permissions, something into January, consider it more closely, and figure out the best way to handle this, but as Mrs. Richardson shared with us, we didn't do anything last night about it.

[02:02:02] We threw ideas around, talked about what the issues were going to be, what needed to be done, and we know that when families move schools, not just talking about special ed students, but when families are rezoned, there's a lot of stress going on for everybody.

[02:02:22] They don't even have to have a special ed child to have that amount of anxiety. So everything at this moment is still as it was. So you can breathe for a little bit. And if you really think that it would be helpful, go ahead, write to your board member and say, could you put it off?

[02:02:43] And we can discuss it and have a better idea of what to do if we put it back a little bit and then sat down and looked at it all. when the dust settles. I think that's the best way of putting it. So if you have any questions, let me know. The other thing I wanted to celebrate today, we had a lot of people come in during the last couple of weeks from Luckett's Elementary, and every one of them wanted to save our swings. And I worked with Mr. Lewis, and we did save their swings. And I think that's

[02:03:21] important for a lot of other schools to know that, and know that it might be a possibility because I know that swings are often used by our students with autism that see it as a way of de-stressing, and there's just not enough swings to go around.

[02:03:39] We shouldn't be taking them out is the way I feel about it. So if this is an issue, please contact me at your school, and we'll see what we can come up with. So if you have any other questions, please let me know. That's all I've got today. I'm short but not sweet. It's okay.

[02:03:57] And now we're going to move on to our Did You Know, presented by Marcia Kelly. Did You Know? According to Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child, in the first three years of life, that is really loud, a child's brain is forming more than one million new neural connections every single second.

[02:04:31] This period is considered a critical window for development. During these first years, the brain is incredibly flexible and able to adapt and learn quickly, which means that support early on can make a very real and significant difference. Early intervention or EI is designed to maximize this natural adaptability.

[02:04:50] It supports children who have or who may be at risk for developmental delays before challenges become harder to address. And starting services earlier can have a positive long-term impact. Children who receive early intervention often show improved physical, cognitive, communication, social, emotional, and self-help skills.

[02:05:10] Early support can also significantly reduce or prevent the need for more intensive special education services later on. In fact, research shows that as many as one third of children who receive EI may no longer require special education services by kindergarten.

[02:05:27] And it's not just about the child. EI empowers families. Providers coach parents and caregivers on how to support development during everyday routines in the car, during meals, at bath time, turning daily moments into learning opportunities.

[02:05:43] And by helping early, we often reduce the need for more intensive and costly services later on. On a personal note, I used early intervention with both of my children, and it truly empowered us as parents, teaching us how to support our kids' development throughout the day, every day.

[02:05:59] That consistent practice gave them more opportunities for growth than they could have received from therapy sessions alone. The repetition and guidance we learned through EI were pivotal in changing our children's lives for the better. Early intervention can begin any time from birth to age three.

[02:06:16] If you have a concern about your child's development, trust that instinct. You can request an evaluation with no diagnosis required by contacting Loudoun County Infant and Toddler Early Intervention. There are flyers in the back with their contact information. Thank you.

[02:06:39] And now we're going to go on to the SEAC chair report. I just wanted to mention that yesterday I had the opportunity to present the SEAC quarterly report and I didn't have an opportunity to add it to these slides, but SEAC priorities that I mentioned were the SOLs, you know, and our cutoff scores and how that impacts our students with disabilities, the discipline data and how the gap between our students and gen ed peers and a lot more adding resources adding resources to support our program growth

[02:07:16] because right now we have over 300 programs and we're asking for about 37 more budgeted for this year so asking for more support in the form of specialized instructional facilitators special ed training for our tas and substitutes and our bas ensuring that our students have access to specials such as PE, art, media, you know, the library.

[02:07:45] Reading and math interventions, especially for our significantly delayed students. Looking at the transition center and how we're moving forward on that, and I'll speak to that a little bit later on when we talk about subcommittee. And then, you know, supporting virtual elementary and secondary.

[02:08:07] And now, moving on to our membership, we have, how many do we, do you know how many, do you want to speak to it? So we have verified about 40 of our PTO representatives. We're looking to verify another 30 and also to make sure that we recruit the final 30. And then we do have 21 voting members. Again, if you would like to join our group of membership, our membership

[02:08:40] application and our SEAC bylaws are on our SEAC page on the LCPS website. We will be holding our executive committee meeting tonight after this meeting at Clyde's and the policy and compliance subcommittee the chairs of that subcommittee are Melissa and Craig and we will be meeting Wednesday at 6 on November 19th at 6:30 p.m. virtually I would like if if we could do this pretty briefly because we do have a number of policies that we are going to be reviewing Tom do you have

[02:09:19] any updates we had a very brief meeting last time we're gonna Hold that meeting, as you can see, right before the policy subcommittee meeting next Wednesday. So come for meaningful inclusion, stay for policy, and you can have a full evening. Yeah, and it does say 6 p.m., but I did talk to Tom because I didn't realize there was a conflict with the policy subcommittee.

[02:09:40] So it will be at 5.30 virtually for meaningful inclusion, and then 6 p.m. for the policy subcommittee. Specialized reading and math. No current updates, but we are meeting tomorrow back here at admin at 10 a.m.

[02:09:58] And it's going to be a combined work session with a little bit of a mini-meeting. So it will be an extended meeting tomorrow morning. So if you can make it, come out and join us. And the transition subcommittee, we are going to be meeting.

[02:10:15] We're not meeting again until January, but we did have an opportunity this last meeting, which was yesterday. God, it felt like yesterday morning we were able to go ahead visit the transition site the site for the transition center and it was a really amazing experience I mean it was all the like you had the mechanical and like the electrical all these people were there the whole team of people and we were there and they were actually testing out the bus routes like how if they're going to be able to fit in all the buses and so it was it was really positive experience and just seeing how everything is going to be mapped out

[02:10:54] different sections of it so we're really looking forward and I think we are looking to schedule I just booked with Jenna they probably will give us an update in February or March where we are and they will be asking for feedback from everybody so okay our next meeting is December 3rd and dr. Spence will be here at our next meeting and he will be providing a Q&A type session if you have questions that you would like to submit please go ahead and email them to me and

[02:11:28] I we will be reading them off and providing an opportunity for dr. Spence and I might ask some others to join us again for that meeting and then we are having me and you here yeah so this we won't be presenting the annual report because we haven't been able to have our survey CX survey analyzed just yet and And I'm working on getting somebody to analyze our data and make sure to have it for the springtime when I present again to the school board.

[02:12:00] But so far, our next meeting will be Q&A with Dr. Spence and then the Manton U. Cure presentation. All right. And now we will have the policy subcommittee come up and present our policies. Marsha? I will be sending an email out to everybody so that everyone can forward.

[02:12:24] And we will be updating the flyer. We just, it was, absolutely, yeah. It'll be in the talking points as well. Should we take roll, though, before we do this? We should do roll, right? Yes. Can you do the roll call?

[02:12:40] That's okay. Carrie Adams. Here. Elizabeth Crotty. Jen DiDonato. Marsha Kelly. Tom Ketchum, present. Shanaz Khan.

[02:12:57] Rosina Katak. Laura Colossi. Mary McClintock. Alicia McFadden. Craig Metz. Here. Stephen Meyer. Catherine Moran.

[02:13:13] Kelly Ralston. Elizabeth Roselle Poe. Catherine Rosenbrook. I'm sorry. Carly Sabatino, Carla Sola, Sharon Trompf, Melissa Waugh, and Sakina Zarbouche.

[02:13:32] Here. Full. All righty. Good evening. So I'm just going to get right into this. We had three policies that the Policy and Compliance Subcommittee reviewed.

[02:13:49] Policy 8205, Discipline Authority, 2130, Oath of Office, and 3410, Office of the Auditor General, and the committee made no recommendations for this one. Yeah. Do I hear a motion to adopt? Second. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor of adopting no recommendations to these three policies, say, well, actually, raise your hand and say aye. Aye. Opposed and then do it. Okay. Opposed?

[02:14:26] Any abstentions? Okay. And so our virtual participants, Sakina? Aye. Sharon? Aye. Carrie? Aye.

[02:14:42] Okay, so that passes unanimously. All right, the next one you guys have already heard a bit about tonight already is policy 8155 school assignment. The committee did raise several concerns and make several recommendations, some of which the Department of Student Services have already adopted. That's great.

[02:15:04] so let's jump in on this concern one and the definition of instructional suitability should remain unchanged the policy language should be restored to its original language to ensure consistency with established interpretation and application so in the red line draft that the committee was reviewing there was a change and so basically we're saying let's let's not make a change let's keep the language that was in there to begin with so recommendation one keep the existing definition of instructional suitability and restore the section to its original language to maintain its intended

[02:15:39] meaning and flexibility second concern the phrase quote special programs such as special education at lines 80 to 81 lacks clarity and may be interpreted as referring to other specialized programs within the district recommendation two is at lines 80 and 81 change the wording to quote there are separate procedures for students who are being assigned to specialized special education program classrooms, end quote. And Department of Student Services adopted this phrase, specialized special education program. In our discussions of this policy, there's a lot of just terminology confusion that keeps

[02:16:19] happening. When we say specialized programs, we think an autism classroom. When general education staff say specialized programs they mean like academies of loudon and the thing is is we're getting ourselves confused because of the terminology so a little bit of clarification will help prevent that and so that was the recommendation the policy and compliance subcommittee made uh and then recommendation number three at line 242 to change the word may to shell making it mandatory and let's see go ahead did you want to talk i believe this is the having a

[02:16:58] meeting uh with regard to rescission it says that you they may have a meeting if the intent is to have a meeting that needs to be a shall this is the sort of thing that comes up over and over again as policy feedback you know people say may meaning for that to actually happen that it needs to be a shall and then next concern based on community and staff feedback it appears that the existing special permission instructional suitability and administrative placement processes each serve a distinct purpose and continue to be necessary. There are many disability and mental health

[02:17:37] situations that fall in between special permission and instructional suitability and are not currently well served by either process. One of the policy challenges of special permission is that it is used for many different situations. So separating the four cause cases enables us to better serve them through that process and make separate policy decisions for the non-cause cases. So based on these concerns, we propose the following recommendation. SEAC recommends the school board set up work sessions with

[02:18:15] student services committee members, staff, and community stakeholders to develop a proposal for an additional school assignment process. The envision process would be a hybrid between special permission with defined processes and rights and instructional suitability for cause and flexibility. I think this actually aligns well with what Ms. LaBelle said. Coming up in discussions, there's definitely some people who are concerned about special permission and that it is not for cause and would like to have some kind of a for cause and there

[02:18:53] was language potentially being proposed. But this is a transformational change and we need to all kind of think this one through. This should not be rushed. This is a very big deal change. I still personally, personally, very strongly believe that the not-for-cause has a place too.

[02:19:12] But basically we have a set of processes and I don't think anyone is actually saying we actually really like the processes as they are. We all kind of have this vague feeling like there's a revisit and a rethink needed. And we even took a stab at it and came to the same conclusion.

[02:19:28] Like this is actually, maybe we need to go all the way back to the big picture of this. So this is a conversation that really does need to be a big deal conversation. And for those who are not aware, the last revision of special permission a year ago, I mean, there were a lot of school board work sessions and all the school board members participated very well, I thought, and a lot of discussions were happening.

[02:19:53] This is not a simple issue, but this is kind of, and we had actually sketched out more details that we can share. We had kind of sketched out the outlines of what a for-cause process might look like, but it also appeared that it needs to be in addition to, and I understand that may be controversial, not a instead of, which I believe was proposed up here, but it needs to be a conversation with work sessions.

[02:20:24] - And real quick, I just wanted to, For those who may not be super familiar with special permission and what that is and how it works in Loudoun County, just briefly, and if I screw this up, anybody pop in and say, no, that's not exactly right. But special permission at this point is where if you're not happy or your child isn't doing well at a specific school, you can fill out a form and petition to be able to move your child to a different school, right, elementary, middle school, high school.

[02:20:52] But right now, if there is an opening, right, if it's not over-enrolled, right, if it's not full, okay, you can move your, and you don't have to have a reason. It can be for any reason whatsoever as long as there's an opening in the school that you're asking to move your child to. Currently, that's how special permission is working.

[02:21:10] Instructional suitability is a much more flexible process. Basically, it would happen through Department of Student Services and Department of Special Education. It's a decision based on academic suitability, things that, particularly for our students with disabilities, that maybe there's tension between the family and the staff at a specific school and it's just become a toxic environment and the students' needs aren't being met and they're falling through the cracks.

[02:21:40] You know, there's a lot of reasons, but that's an example. Something for cause. There is a reason why it is not in the student's best interest academically to stay in that school and the school staff have the flexibility under the instructional suitability provisions to just decide you know what we agree we're going to move the kid to this other school right and they have the flexibility that any time of the school year whereas special permission is you have a very specific time frame at the end of the school year to apply for the next school year right and so instructional suitability is any time you can ask for that and so these are great

[02:22:15] but we felt as a committee that there really needs to kind of be an intermediary step another process similar to special permission but not be a free-for-all but be for cause that wouldn't require the direct intervention of administrative staff because you can see where this is going to be overwhelming for them right it potentially could be that so anyway sorry to take so long to discuss it, but I know I saw some kind of questioning phases out there like, what are they talking about? And I thought maybe I should go back and just kind of explain. I hope that was

[02:22:51] helpful. And one of the thought processes behind potentially adding yet another process, one of the things that just complicates every public policy debate on this is there's a bunch of totally different reasons why parents use special permission. And so when we and when the school board are trying to reason about this, you don't necessarily even have data on who is using it for what purpose so this might help us create that data without breaking everything because we don't want to hurt people i hope but maybe if we add a process and then see how it goes

[02:23:30] then we can have discussions of do some of the processes then not need to continue to exist but we can have data and evidence driven discussions where today we don't necessarily have the data to make some of these decisions and know what's really going to happen if we do it Okay. So that's it on school assignment. So if I can hear a motion to, I'm sorry. Well, we will. Um, can I hear a motion to adopt the concerns and recommendations of the policy and compliance subcommittee in a second? Second.

[02:24:00] Any discussion? Because I know this is complicated. Um, any discussion on this topic? Well, actually, I'd like to make a motion to amend.

[02:24:16] I actually totally agree. I think that we as a CAC should actually support what Ms. LaBelle was kind of suggesting, that perhaps we should amend with an additional recommendation to ask the board to send this back to subcommittee and gather more information and potentially even defer this until after rezoning, because it does sound like there's just a lot going on, and there's already some thought that maybe this is just not the right moment to making major changes here and so perhaps

[02:24:47] as a SEAC if we have consensus that we would support that. I will say oh I'm sorry I will say that when we talked about postponing it we were talking about postponing it on the new policy and have it go into effect for the 27-28 school year so it will give us plenty of time trying to do it by january when when we actually open for special permission is is killer and with

[02:25:27] the confusion going on and trying to get people understand the new policy it didn't make sense to me and so that was one of the things that kind of came up and take our time look at it work on it and get it done before next summer so that people will know and can ask questions and understand what the new process is going to be.

[02:25:54] So that was one of the things that we kind of pushed out. But again, no deep discussion, no decision, and everything, the policy that everybody knows right now is the policy that will be remaining through January, I think.

[02:26:12] We haven't voted yet. We'll see in December. So what I was going to suggest is that we go ahead and vote on these four recommendations because this policy comes back every year anyway to the policy subcommittee and that we stay in tune.

[02:26:29] We're going to be there listening in to all of the discussions in the student services committee. And then once we have these recommendations out, let's just vote on these ones. We'll bring it back to our subcommittee again. We will have that opportunity. I respectfully disagree.

[02:26:45] I would just say, I would just propose, and I moved it but I didn't get a second yet, that we just add a recommendation five that this be sent back to subcommittee and that we ask the school board to take a year and work on this some more and get it right.

[02:27:05] But I do think, supporting what Shnaz just said, since the school board has not actually voted on it, there's nothing that actually technically prevents them from taking action. So therefore, even though we have the sense that this is going to be punted further down the road, we have the recommendations.

[02:27:23] I think we should submit them with the understanding that obviously if this comes back around, we will give recommendations on whatever that policy will become. I guess let me ask this do I have a second because if I don't have a second the motion is dead okay then I'm not hearing a second yeah and and I think Craig's point was not to substitute but was to add a recommendation to support our school board rep but it's okay amendment fails

[02:27:55] so let's go back is there a motion to adopt the concerns and four recommendations put forward by the policy and compliance subcommittee on policy 8155 it's already been moved and seconded and so we moved into discussion is there any further discussion on the proposed recommendations and didn't we do two meetings on this two meetings for i stayed for two hours for both of them

[02:28:35] we all get like a twitch or something when we say 8155 so i get what we're doing here and i'm not going to write like, I think we have enough to pass this, but I think we're still overcomplicating it. I like, I actually liked what was put forth by Tedra on the special permission, making those four different choices. I personally think the childcare is a mess and I think we should get rid of that one. Childcare changes, jobs change. If we're talking about students and going to school,

[02:29:14] right, like it's for educational purposes. The other stuff though, the mental health, the other, the crimes all that stuff makes a lot of sense wouldn't that help this special this hybrid because then we would have the data craig the kind of what you were talking about um keep instructional suitability separate right like and that's for our kids again that's educationally founded it's agreed with the the teachers and the administration and that would make that easier oh you're talking up lily i don't disagree with any of that but i think that um

[02:29:49] there just needs to be like a bit of a pause that you can get full community feedback and awareness on the issue like if we're going to go to something that's that much drastically different it's you know yes changes are needed but if we try to rush this people are there's going to be a lot of things that haven't been thought through and is that what this is about trying to do that no no so we're we're not that we're just like throwing this out into the wind right you know like that this should be thought of but it should go through a very nice slow process and a work session and all that good stuff so we're not saying do it now we're just saying this is something that you should

[02:30:28] start considering thinking through it yeah all right okay so any more discussion to say um i'm in agreement with carrie my my colleague on the school board um and i don't know if i mentioned it earlier it's 10 pages all right 10 pages and we had stuff thrown at us the other night and I couldn't possibly put it all together so I do agree with

[02:31:05] putting it off as much as possible because the the rezoning has come up as well and I think that's a lot at one time but again I just want to reiterate reiterate that I'm glad to see that maybe students that have issues, IEPs or anything like that might not have to move, but rezoning is a disruption. I have said that over and over again. It's a disruption because it disrupts, just in general, if you're on an IEP or in special education, a lot of those students do not like change. But also, students that

[02:31:45] are not on an IEP do not like change they want to be with their friends you know moving kids just you know for rezoning can hurt and cause a lot of disruption for families so that's where I stand I know where Carrie stands but we're just two people on the school board with a ten-page document I just wanted to throw that out there so thank you so much I know thank you Samara

[02:32:16] okay I just want to say that there was a lot of concern among especially two of us that are on the Student Services Committee deciding this that we need to take the time to get it right that we shouldn't be going back year after year and saying oh this didn't work let's change it again so we really do want to take the time. And if you would be so kind as to mention to your board people, please take the time. You don't have to say that it was Dina or I who said that. But, or even

[02:32:55] Amy, it's all right. Or Craig. But, you know, tell them that as a parent of a special ed student, one of the things we did talk about in committee that may not have come out last is that we would like to keep wherever the special special ed programs are such as Liz's class the centers like that because we do not have them in every school we would like to keep them where they are so that the students that will be attending those programs will be going back to the same school so if we

[02:33:34] If we do not change our policy right now, any parent whose special ed student would normally be moved into a new school with the other students from that neighborhood that you're in will have the time at this point to be able to go and start the special permission process to keep your child in the school with a special program because that's one of the things that we want to do.

[02:34:04] If we tried to change everything now, by the time you got that information, it would be too late for you to make the requests. So we want to make sure that everything goes right. We don't want to move kids unnecessarily, move them back, cause disruption.

[02:34:25] So that's not what we're about. So please keep that in mind. One quick thing, a little bit different, but on instructional suitability, just so you know, we have several of the administrative staff that participate in our policy and compliance subcommittee meetings and right now what i'm about to say is the reason why that's so amazing and fantastic is they were able to explain to us in detail how it works and how important it is to maintain the flexibility and they made a very compelling case which is why our committee is recommending that that process stay the way it is they need that flexibility it's very important and some of the red line changes to instructional suitability actually make it less flexible and take away

[02:35:03] exactly that which we came to understand is so valuable any other discussion before we move on to a vote okay hearing no more discussion all those in favor of adopting the concerns and for policy recommendations at the committee say raise your hand and say aye aye those opposed abstentions all right and our virtual attendees sakina i'm sharon i carry i okay and so that passes unanimously. We're actually almost done. Policy 8655 is the student personal technology

[02:35:41] use policy. We actually reviewed this, some of y'all may remember, last year. One of the concerns that came up with this one is that the definition of cyberbullying in this policy is different from the definition in policy 8250. This can be confusing and lead to misinterpretations. The definition in policy 8250 would cover the definition proposed in policy 8655. It's broad enough to cover what they're saying in 8655. We need to streamline our policies and just refer to the existing definition in policy 8250. Therefore, our recommendation is

[02:36:18] delete the definition of cyberbullying at line 16. Recommendation 2 is at line 81, delete, quote, cyberbullying will not be tolerated in any form, end quote, and substitute for it, quote, cyberbullying is prohibited and it is defined and addressed in policy 8250. So then we link back to the policy where it's fully defined and explained. All right, concern number two, it is the intent, sorry, it's a question for the school board. Is it the intent for all students to be able to possess personal devices during the school day because there was a modification of change that now would

[02:36:55] allow students to possess say their cell phone even though it has to be turned off. We're asking this question because references to quote possessing personal devices were removed throughout the policy except in relationship to students with disability accommodations. So if it is the intent of these policy modifications to now permit all students to possess personal devices throughout the day then we need to delete the words possess and at line 23 that's just in reference to students with disabilities with an accommodation so our recommendation then is to delete the words possess and at line 23 presuming

[02:37:34] that this is actual intent to the school board to make it possible for all students to actually possess their personal devices at school during the day okay that's it for that one so oh go ahead the changes that we're making to this policy are the ones that came directly from the Board of Education and we can't change anything so we have to follow that exactly if you want to make

[02:38:06] the recommendation I'm also on the SBAC committee I'm so lucky we Dana and I are meeting to set the agenda on Monday this coming Monday so please send make sure sure any of your recommendations get to Dana before that and she and I can talk it over and bring it up thank you no thank you okay so before we move on do I hear a motion to adopt the concerns and recommendations three recommendations to policy 8655 somebody did and second Tom okay is there any discussion on

[02:38:46] on policy 865, concerns and recommendations. - Go ahead, ask. But we do need a microphone. - Oh, I'm not going to. - Be easier.

[02:39:01] So just if Mrs. LaBelle's talking about that they're gonna review these and these are coming from the Board of Education, maybe we send those over. But I think our first one on cyber bullying wasn't necessarily that we disagreed with a lot of the definition. It's just different. We shouldn't define the same word different ways throughout our policies that we own, right?

[02:39:20] It should have the same definition. So if that's what we need, then we can switch the other one to reference this one. And I think that'll change it. This one, though, for the possess thing, I'd like us to look at it. Because right now, it would let everyone else have their devices, except for our sped kids.

[02:39:36] They can't possess them. Oh, then we shouldn't, because they deleted possess. Okay. The directive that we got is that they must be put away.

[02:39:53] They have to be in backpacks that are closed and sealed closed or in lockers. They cannot have it on their personal self in pockets or in desks or wherever they put them that they're accessible. So that's what is meant by possess.

[02:40:09] We will have permissions written in there expressly allowing special ed to access their needed devices for health services or whatever that we monitor on them. So that makes sense, and that was more, but that's what they did with the changes is they actually did the reverse.

[02:40:29] They allowed, the changes proposed would allow everyone else to have them except for our SPED kids, and then they could only have them if it was in their IEP, but everybody else could possess one because they made changes and deleted it. So that's what we were asking the question because that was the change.

[02:40:45] I am so glad you told me. I will get on the horn to Dana maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow morning. I don't know. I'll think on that. Okay, so we'll then get her. I do have her personal number, so I can do it tonight if I want to. Let's all call her right now.

[02:41:04] Poor data. Thank you. Thank you both for clarifying that. So, anyway, that's why this is a great process, is multiple eyes can see things and read them in different ways, and so it's why we do what we do. Okay. Right, exactly. Right.

[02:41:21] So, yeah, only if the intent was that all students could possess, then we would want it deleted. But if that is not the intent, we do not want it deleted. So maybe the recommendation should be amended to just say, please provide clarity.

[02:41:44] Or actually, maybe we just delete recommendation three and just leave the concern. That's usually what we do. Okay, so we need a motion to amend to delete recommendation number three. I would love to make that motion. Okay, do we have a second? Yep, got it.

[02:42:00] Okay, any discussion on the amendment to remove recommendation three? So do we just, though, remove recommendation three, or do we also, do we just switch the concern and say, hey, we think you made a mistake and that you're trying to keep devices away from everybody?

[02:42:16] It already says that. We've already told it. Mission accomplished. But the concern is asking the question, what is the intent of the board here? That remains the concern. It does need to be on record. We're taking the recommendation away because we're just saying you all sort of. Fix it. Yeah, fix it.

[02:42:31] Fix it. I can do that. Okay, good. Any other discussion on the amendment? Hearing none, all those in favor of adopting the amendment, oh, I'm sorry, did you have a question? No, let's get the amendment. Okay, for the amendment, all those in favor of deleting recommendation number three, say aye.

[02:42:48] Aye. Those opposed? Any abstentions? Sakina? Aye. Sharon? Aye. Carrie? Aye. Okay, so the amendment to remove recommendation three passes unanimously.

[02:43:06] Now, we have a question for the rest of the policy concerns and recommendations. So, does the definition cover staff? So, we talk about student cyberbullying. The definition in policy 8250, I don't recall.

[02:43:24] Is anyone on the internet and can pull up policy 8250 real quick? The question is, does the definition that we're asking the school board to adopt in the student personal use, technology use, which is the definition of cyberbullying in Policy 8250, the question is, does that Policy 8250 definition cover staff cyberbullying?

[02:43:50] So from student towards staff. From student towards staff. Right. So asking if the definition is here, and then, yes, it may not be appropriate for this specific one, but to open the question.

[02:44:11] So I pulled up 8250. Cyberbullying refers to bullying by a student towards another through electronic communication. So I would say that that talks about a student to student, not student to adult.

[02:44:27] Does 8655's proposed wording protect that? So neither protects. So, yeah, and so I would like in this and the other as well, if we can have a discussion or whatever we need to do to include because we currently, as staff, have no protections.

[02:44:53] So are you wanting to propose an amendment? So, yeah. I guess the question is, should we just, we agree?

[02:45:11] I mean, I think we could add it as a concern. But the thing is that because this is 8,655. It's a different policy. It's a different policy, right? And because now we're taking that cyber polling and referring it back to that other policy.

[02:45:31] Yeah. So why don't we just say, like, in our review of 8250, you know, this issue, we're concerned that this definition is too narrow and needs to extend to also protect our staff. Okay, so do we want to amend a concern? Is there any reason we should define whether it's on school grounds or off school grounds?

[02:45:59] You can get in trouble if the cyberbullying happens after school hours. In 82.50, it's anywhere. Okay, but it doesn't say that in the definition specifically, right? Should we? Oh, okay.

[02:46:18] Okay, so would anyone like to make a motion to amend our concern for policy 86.55? I'd like to make a motion to add a concern to 8655 that staff be identified in the definition of protection.

[02:46:47] Yeah, protected in the definition of cyberbullying. I'll second it. Got it? Second. Okay, so the motion is that an additional concern be added for policy 8655, that the definition of cyber that the school board consider amending the definition of cyber bullying in policy 8250 to protect staff from cyber bullying by student so

[02:47:26] just to clarify what you said the concern is that staff should be included in the definition of cyber bullying and policy 8250 can that be the concern well okay we haven't quite gotten to discussion yet because I do have a discussion but so that's what's being that that is the motion and we got a second so and repeated so we are now in discussion and so my question to you is what about you don't want to be the back I hear but what about cyber bullying of staff to students not saying it happens but it could so you know could the could the

[02:48:05] amendment not necessarily reference staff when Liz read that at first I thought that covers it because they just said another now we're all some of you are interpreting that as another student but it doesn't say another student it just says another and so maybe the fix is another person so that would be students staff you know a visitor a school board member it could be a person related to lcps so let me just clarify we're not talking

[02:48:44] about proposing this as an amendment to 8655 correct we're just raising this because this brought it to our attention. So we don't want to be duplicative of criminal law here because there are criminal laws that apply to adults related to cyberbullying, obviously not from student to staff, but when it starts going from staff to staff, from adults that are originating it, there's other laws obviously that cover that as well. Again, we're just looking at student personal

[02:49:21] technology use, and that's what's referred to in the title, and this policy should only refer to students use. Now, if they're using their personal technology to cyber bully a teacher or harass a teacher, then yes, that would include staff. But otherwise, this is just for students.

[02:49:44] So in the interests of 8.50 p.m., have we captured enough that the school board can take this kind of offline and think this through? I think we flagged the concern, which I think that there was a consensus. We want to capture it somewhere. But do we need to get into the weeds further?

[02:50:02] we need to vote we need to vote but but i think at this point is something that merely captures that a discussion should be had enough for tonight and then we can get into the weeds of that discussion in a different forum okay so any more discussion on the amendment hearing none all those in favor of adopting the amendment for the school board to look at the definition of cyber

[02:50:35] bullying in policy 8250 to ensure it protects staff uh all those say in favor say aye aye those opposed abstentions uh sakina aye sharon aye carry aye okay so the motion to amend carries unanimously all right yeah now we need to go back to the base motion which is to adopt the concerns and recommendations to Policy 8655 made by the Policy and Compliance Subcommittee.

[02:51:12] Minus recommendation three. Minus recommendation three. Plus. Plus. Right. Minus recommendation three and adding to our concern what we just. Concern. Yeah, for protecting staff.

[02:51:29] So. I make that motion. It's already made. And we've just. Is there any more discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed. Nay. any abstentions sakina oops sakina do we still have you're on mute i think okay uh sharon i carrie sakina you still there okay so i guess that'd be uh abstention okay so one abstention

[02:52:06] not present one not present okay moving on uh policy 2140 orientation and professional development for board members i think this is the one where you have like three policies that in essence all have the same base concern so the first concern on this one is that we're concerned the orientation training so just the training for the new board members does not specifically include instruction on special education law for example IDEA 504 and ADA the policies related to that and the safeguards for our students it is our understanding that Miss Tedra Richardson

[02:52:45] and mr. West Allen are already providing this overview and orientation it's just not addressed in the policy so we believe this should be codified in the school board policy so our recommendation is at line 27 after quote programming and schedule add quote to include an overview of special education laws policies and safeguards in quote I think that yeah do we want to do all three of these yeah let's do all threes together because it's really all the same point all right so then there was policy 1035 school board norms protocols and violations our concern is that again the professional development for the rest all of the school board does not specifically include instruction

[02:53:23] on special education law policies and safeguards so what we recommend is at line 83 after quote diversity training in quote add quote special education laws policies and safeguards in quote and then the last one is related to the superintendent same thing that professional development does not include instruction on special education law so we recommend after board of education regulations add quotes special education laws policies and safeguards so that's it so do i hear um 2140 1035 and 3120 to adopt the concern and recommendations to those three policies

[02:53:58] i make a motion okay thank you jen tom seconded any discussion hearing none all those in favor adopting these concerns or recommendations say aye aye those opposed nay any abstentions uh sakina are you back with us i'm good sharon i carry i okay that's it and uh anyone interested in coming to our marathon policy meetings because that's a real seller right um i'm really encouraging you yay yay uh but anyway our next policy meeting um we are going to cover this new policy 5340

[02:54:35] safe and supportive removal of students from the educational setting this was uh it's fair to say kind of a compromised position in our strict recluse this came about we're not going to get into it but the point is that's what it's about so if you're concerned about those issues please come to our next meeting which is wednesday november 19th 6 30. if there's no further questions and discussions thank you all for coming tonight

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Coraggio Consulting · aguyonx.com