Coraggio Consulting
Fairfax County School Board Meeting, Thursday, June 11, 2026

Date: Thursday, June 11, 2026
Place: Fairfax County School Board, Virginia
Length: 5h 2m (video)
Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZoQLz6_hk4
Official School Board page (FCPS): https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/leadership/school-board

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 2026-10-27. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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

[00:00:26] the time is 7 0 1 in this june 11th 2026 regular meeting of the fairfax county school board will

[00:02:26] come to order please stand for the pledge of allegiance followed by a moment of silence and a performance of the national anthem by the springfield estates elementary schools mighty eagle band under the direction direction of david jakes i pledge allegiance to the flag

[00:02:43] to springfield estates elementary and we are presenting the mighty eagle band i know they're

[00:04:38] not here, but can we have one more round of applause for our amazing kiddos. Agenda item 3.02 announcements. Mr. Frisch has submitted a request to attend tonight's meeting remotely due to personal reasons as he has a personal conflict and is located in the United Kingdom. I have performed an initial review of Mr. Frisch's request and have found it in compliance with the school board's remote participation resolution, and I have approved the request. Mr. Frisch, we can see you.

[00:05:08] can we hear you? Good morning. Hello. I now ask that all board members who are physically present to vote on the following. All those in favor of confirming the chair's approval of Mr. Frisch's request, that's Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Marin, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, and myself, all those opposed. Dr. Anderson, will the clerk please read the vote? Nine to one, the motion carries. Thank you. Ms. St. John Cunning has submitted a request to attend tonight's meeting remotely due to a medical conflict and is located in

[00:05:47] Alexandria, Virginia. I have performed an initial review of Ms. St. John Cunning's request and have found it to be in compliance with the school board's remote participation resolution, and I have approved the request, and we are very appreciative that she is keeping her germs at home. Ms. St. John Cunning, we see you. Can we hear you too? Yes, I'm here. Wonderful. I now ask board members who are physically present to vote on the following. All those in favor of confirming the chair's approval of Ms. St. John Cunningham's request. Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Maron, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, and myself. All those opposed? Dr. Anderson.

[00:06:26] Will the clerk please read the vote? It is 9-1. The motion carries. Thank you. If you would like to review a copy of the meeting agenda, please see the back of the auditorium. To obtain copies of any items or supporting materials being presented tonight, please reference the QR code on the agenda or visit www.fcps.edu slash board docs.

[00:06:50] Tonight's meeting is being broadcast on Cox Channel 99, Verizon Fios Channel 11, and live streamed on YouTube and on our website at www.fcps.edu slash live stream. Tonight's meeting is also being broadcast in Spanish on YouTube at youtube.com backslash at FCPS in Espanol.

[00:07:11] I call on Chairman Anderson for a proclamation. Whereas Faith Hailu-McConan has enthusiastically served as the 55th student representative to the Fairfax County School Board, Ms. McConan's tenure for the 2025-26 school year included important countywide initiatives like the comprehensive boundary review, implementation of the revised secondary student grading policy, and new student security measures,

[00:07:47] and a commitment to ensure excellence, equity, and opportunity for every student. And whereas Ms. Maconan has never wavered in her commitment to the students of Fairfax County Public Schools and her duties as the student representative, she has excelled at seeking student engagement and feedback, attending meetings and special functions all around the county and across the Commonwealth, working to address discipline disproportionality practices across the division, policy revisions to the student rights and responsibilities regarding cell phones and the distribution of intimate images, and supporting student leaders in the board's student leadership development program.

[00:08:26] And whereas Ms. Maconan has been a powerful advocate for deepening student engagement with the school board, uplifting student voice in policy conversations, including consistent grading practices, school safety and violence, student mental well-being, and the student calendar, she has contributed instructive and insightful observations from the student perspective to discussions on issues before the board.

[00:08:52] And whereas a graduating senior of South County High School, Ms. Maconan has maintained academic excellence while enrolled in rigorous coursework,

[00:09:02] And whereas her time in FCPS, or I'm sorry, whereas during her time in FCPS, Ms. McConan served as South County High School's Ethiopian and Eritrean Association Vice President, model UN Secretary, a U.S. Department of Education youth advisor, Harvard-striped youth policy translator, Mount Vernon District Representative to the 2024-25 cohort of the school board's student leadership development program.

[00:09:32] or I'm sorry, the School Board Student Leadership Development Program, a state finalist for Technology Student Association for Forensics, Civics Unplugged Fellow, a policy researcher for the Perrin Institute, Los Angeles Times High School Insider, and Voters of Tomorrow Virginia Legislative Director.

[00:09:56] Now therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board extend its highest commendation with deepest gratitude for the service of student representative to the school board, Faith Hylou-McConan, during the 2025-26 school year, expresses its sincere appreciation for her contributions, leadership, and extends its best wishes for her studies at James Madison University next year.

[00:10:23] Is there a second? An enthusiastic second. Seconded by Ms. Leidy. I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, raise your hand. Votes are unanimous. And so would you see Mr. Fush and Ms. St. John Conning voting yes as well?

[00:10:46] I would like to invite... The motion passes. Oh, yes. Sorry. I've already spoken to Ms. McConaughey about this. You do have the option of coming to the podium now, or you can wait until your student matters.

[00:11:07] You can decide which one you'd like to do. Would I be able to say the remarks that I wanted for student matters for this? Oh, I did both times. Okay. I'll go up now.

[00:11:25] Feels weird looking from here. Hello, everyone.

[00:11:42] For the past year, I've been more than honored to serve in this position. When I first started out in this role, I had no idea what was waiting for me as far as I was even qualified for this role. I came in nervous and honestly a bit unsure of myself, but I've learned so much. I think my understanding of policy really started sophomore year when I joined SAC and I got involved with the grading policy conversations.

[00:12:00] This was the first time I realized decisions being made at the division level actually affect students every day in ways people don't always see. I spent time looking at how grading practices differed between schools and what that meant for families and student experience. And that experience made me realize students deserve to be part of these conversations too.

[00:12:16] but this year felt like being thrown into something way bigger than I am. This role made me realize how complicated leadership and policymaking actually are. It's easy to look from the outside and think that they're simple answers, but once you're in these spaces, you realize how everyday decisions affect groups of people differently. I've learned how much work goes into policy, but I also learned that listening matters just as much as making decisions.

[00:12:35] I am eternally grateful for all the board members here today, and everyone has helped me learn so much, not just for my senior year, but for life. Thank you so much. Agenda item 3.04, school year 2025-26.

[00:12:56] Laura Ashley Piper Scholarship Award Proclamation. I call on Mr. Dannen for a proclamation. Whereas Ethan Lee has remained consistently committed to excellence in academics, community service, athletics, and student leadership responsibilities throughout his years at Woodson High School. And whereas Ethan has shown great potential for continued academic success, maintaining a 4.551 grade point average and receiving an A in every one of his classes and working towards his AP diploma. And whereas during his time at Woodson High School, he has shown maturity, responsibility, and determination. He has also advocated for food equity by promoting

[00:13:36] sustainability and ensuring access to food for everyone. His involvement included organizing and distributing food to those in need. And whereas, Ethan has contributed to his community as a founding member and director of operations at Cleats for a Cause, an organization that provides sports equipment to children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Through his efforts, he instills hope and joy in these children while promoting outreach and opportunities for growth and development. And whereas, through his overall excellence in academics and activities, including athletic success in soccer and enthusiasm for the classic violin, STEM, U.S. history, and chemistry.

[00:14:08] He in every way personifies the characteristics and ideals to which Laura Ashley Piper adhered. And now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board awards Ethan Lee the Laura Ashley Piper scholarship in memory of Lieutenant Piper. And now, therefore, be it further resolved that the Fairfax County School Board expresses its gratitude to educate Fairfax and the Apple Federal Credit Union for their continued partnership and contributions to our student awards.

[00:14:34] Is there a second? Second. Thank you. Calling for the vote. All those in favor. Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Marron, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Ms. St. John Cunning, Mr. Frisch, and myself. That is unanimous for all board members.

[00:14:58] I would like to invite Mr. Lee to the podium to make remarks to the board. Hi. Good evening, everyone.

[00:15:20] I'm incredibly grateful to be here as the recipient of the Laura Ashley Piper Scholarship. First, I would like to thank Mr. Dannon and the rest of the board for taking the time to review all the applications. Thank you for your commitment to supporting the next generation of young leaders. I also want to thank my family, who's back there, my friends, especially one who was the leading founder with me for our sports charity organization, my teachers at Woodson, and last but certainly not least, my counselor, who took the time to write yet another recommendation letter on my behalf.

[00:15:52] As I read about Ms. Laura's life recently, I was inspired by the courage, determination, and selflessness she demonstrated. It is truly an honor to receive this scholarship, and I am deeply thankful for this recognition. As I stand here today, a graduated senior, this scholarship will make a meaningful difference as I prepare for college.

[00:16:12] This fall, I will be attending Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, where I will study biochemistry and play on the men's soccer team. I'm really excited to continue pursuing the sport I love while learning in a challenging and collaborative liberal arts environment. One of the aspects of Ms. Laura's life that really resonated with me was her commitment to leading through service.

[00:16:32] And by receiving this scholarship, I'm really encouraged to continue to work hard and achieve everything I can with this in mind. Again, thank you to the board. It is an honor to receive this scholarship, and I will carry the values that Ms. Laura Ashley Piper embodied wherever I go. Thank you. Agenda Item 3.05, School Year 2025-26, School Board Character Scholarship Award Proclamation.

[00:17:00] I call on Ms. Dixit for a proclamation. Varus, the School Board Character Award, established in 2001 by student representative to the school board, Chris Jovarelli, recognizes one FCPS 11th or 12th grade student who demonstrates a continuous record of high morals, strong integrity, and good character.

[00:17:21] Award recipients exhibit characteristics such as respect, responsibility, honesty, compassion, justice, and generosity. And whereas Vidula Bharat, a 12th grader at Centerville High School, is a dedicated student who has consistently demonstrated kindness, honesty, and compassion, and is a source of inspiration for her fellow students who approaches obstacles with resilience and grace.

[00:17:47] And Varus, Vidula has used her own experience as a cancer survivor to connect with other students and children through opportunities like serving as a co-president of the Wildcat vs. Cancer Club, work as a camp counselor for Sunrise Day Camp and the Capital Caring Health Alter Center, and advocating for nonprofits like Leukemia Together.

[00:18:12] and Varus Vidula is a mentor with focus on supporting others as a student volunteer and teaching assistant at the Valluwan Tamil Academy which aims to spread awareness of the Tamil language and culture and through her work with various charities that support pediatric cancer awareness and Varus Vidula brings a unique perspective to the classroom and her peer as she is known as a dependable and a principal student who always demonstrates an unwavering commitment for doing what is right and whereas through vedula's overall excellence in academics

[00:18:48] activities and her community she's every way personifies the characteristics and ideals of which the school board character ward embodies now therefore be it resolved that the fairfax county school board awards the 2025 school board character ward to vedula bharad who demonstrate a continuous record of high morals strong integrity and good character as a role model for students in Fairfax County Public School. Now therefore be it further result that the Fairfax County School Board expresses its gratitude to educate Fairfax and Apple Federal

[00:19:25] Credit Union for their continued partnership and contribution to our student awards. Is there a a second. Second. Thank you, Mr. Moon. I will call for a vote. All those in favor, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Marin, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Ms. St. John Cunning, Mr. Frisch, and myself. That is unanimous for all board members.

[00:19:50] I would like to invite Ms. Barrett to come to the podium and make remarks to the board. Good evening. My name is Dula Barrett, and I am a recent graduate of Centerville High School.

[00:20:15] It is my great honor to speak to you today as the recipient of the School Board Character Scholarship Award. First, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the school board for selecting me to receive this award. Your belief in me as a student and as a person means more than words can express.

[00:20:33] I am humbled to be recognized by such a dedicated and committed group of leaders. Next, I would like to thank my family for their steadfast support, even at times when I didn't believe in myself. I am also extremely grateful to my teachers and other staff at Centerville for their dedication to making learning a valuable experience and for their commitment in helping me grow, both academically and personally.

[00:20:58] Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank my counselor, Ms. Russ, who nominated me for this award at the school level. Her trust in my potential and her unwavering support of my goals have made it possible for me to get to where I am today. Once again, it is such a privilege to be recognized for my character and achievements.

[00:21:17] As I continue on to the next chapter as a nursing student at the University of Virginia, I hope to continue making a positive impact on my community and on those around me. Thank you and have a great rest of your day. Agenda Item 3.06, Juneteenth, 2026, Proclamation.

[00:21:40] I call on Mr. Dannen for a proclamation. Whereas our nation recognizes Juneteenth as the holiday that celebrates Emancipation Day, the day in history when the last slaves in the Union were freed. And whereas this date marks the time period where African Americans of Texas received notice from President Lincoln that slavery had been abolished, a declaration that was codified in the 13th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, and June 19th also marks the day that African Americans in the southern states exercised independence from those who benefited from their labors and the founding of this nation.

[00:22:09] And whereas the journey of black Americans represents both great achievements and great hardship, our county realizes the injustice of the black American journey, who historically and in the present day have not been treated equally under the law, and the pain and anguish developed from generations of systemic racism that impacts our students, families, staff, and communities.

[00:22:28] And whereas the educational institutions of this nation, including Fairfax County Public Schools, have a particular responsibility to recognize the painful realities of our history and to make sure that our curriculum reflects these realities. And whereas by working with the community as one Fairfax, this school board is committed to implementing actionable items to improve policies and procedures to improve access to opportunities to ensure that students, families, and staff do not experience inequities in Fairfax County Public Schools.

[00:22:54] And whereas we value diversity and are united in our opposition to racism and hate, we stand in solidarity with our black students, educators, staff, and their families. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board hereby proclaims June 19th, 2026, as Juneteenth, a day to commemorate and emphasize a collective call to action against injustice of any kind.

[00:23:15] Is there a second? I second. Thank you, Ms. Dixit. I will call for a vote. All those in favor, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Maron, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Ms. St. John Cunning, Mr. Frisch, and myself. That is unanimous for all board members.

[00:23:40] Agenda Item 3.07-2026, Virginia School Boards Association Business Honor Roll Proclamation. I call on Mr. Moon for proclamation. Thank you, Madam Chair. Whereas an excellent public school system is vital to the quality of life in Fairfax County and fundamental to preserving a strong democratic society now and in the future, and whereas public schools and local businesses are an integral part of this community, and whereas the economic health of our community, state, and nation depends on a strong public school system,

[00:24:15] NREL-AS, collaboration between local public schools and local businesses and community organizations strengthens schools and the business community alike by providing a well-trained, healthy, and highly educated workforce.

[00:24:31] NREL-AS, many Fairfax County local businesses play a crucial role in our schools in many varied ways, including supporting schools with in-kind or financial contributions, donating to scholarship programs, supporting both curricular and extracurricular activities, offering intensive opportunities, volunteering in our schools, and sponsoring field trips.

[00:24:55] And whereas the Virginia School Boards Association Business Honor Rule allows local school boards to recognize and express their gratitude to local businesses for their support and vital contributions, especially as schools face increasing budget uncertainty.

[00:25:14] Now, therefore, be resolved that the Fairfax County School Board hereby names Bryce Bott, Penske Automotive Group, and Dream Salon to the 2026 Virginia School Boards Association Business Honorary, showing appreciation for each entity's ongoing support of Fairfax County public schools.

[00:25:36] your work has sustained our community in focusing on the goal of providing the best public schools and education that we can for every child who attends them. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Dunn. I will call for a vote. All those in favor, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Marin, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Ms. St. John Cunning, Mr. Frisch and myself, that is unanimous for all board members.

[00:26:12] I would like to welcome our student representative, Faith MacConan, her family, and all those here to support the honoring of Faith MacConan, the 55th student representative of the school board proclamation to please join the board for a photo

[00:26:24] at the front of the dais.

[00:27:49] - I would like to welcome Ethan Lee, his family, and all those here in support of the honoring Ethan Lee, the 2026 Laura Ashley Piper scholarship recipient proclamation to please join the board

[00:28:00] for a photo at the front of the dais.

[00:28:59] I would like to welcome Vadula Barath, her family, and all those here in support of the honoring Vadula Barath, the 2026 School Board Character Award recipient proclamation, to please join the board for a photo

[00:29:09] at the front of the dais.

[00:29:48] I would like to invite Bright Spot, named to the VSBA Business Honor Roll, their leadership and supporters of the proclamation, to please join the board for a photo

[00:29:55] at the front of the dais.

[00:30:46] I would like to invite Penske Automotive Group, named to the VSBA Business Honor Roll, their leadership and supporters of the proclamation, to please join the board for a photo

[00:30:54] at the front of the dais.

[00:32:07] I would like to invite Dream Salon named to the VSBA Business Honor Roll, their leadership and supporters of the proclamation, to please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais.

[00:32:40] I would like to welcome all those here in support of the Juneteenth proclamation to please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais.

[00:33:46] Chair Anderson, that was our last picture.

[00:34:24] Agenda item 4.01, resolution to name South County Middle School Library in honor of founding principal Marsha Manning.

[00:34:42] I call on Mr. Dunn for resolution. Whereas Mrs. Marsha Manning dedicated nearly three decades of superlative service to Fairfax County Public Schools, beginning her storied career as a transformative English educator and a relentless champion for the power of literacy.

[00:35:15] And whereas, following her pivotal tenure as a founding assistant principal of South County Secondary School from 2005 to 2012, she was selected as the visionary founding principal of South County Middle School, where she labored tirelessly to transform a physical structure into a vibrant community cornerstone. And whereas, with an unparalleled eye for detail, she personally curated the school's library from its architectural flow to the very hues of its carpet, crafting an intentional sanctuary of light and learning designed to serve as both a rigorous

[00:35:52] academic hub and a serene refuge for every student and whereas she anchored her leadership in the indelible philosophy that every student be capable connected and contributing a mantra that remains emblazoned in the main lobby as a testament to her mission of empowering students to step forward into their own potential and whereas her brilliance as a leader was formally recognized with the 2013 Nancy F. Sprague Outstanding First Year Principal Award, a distinction met with a spontaneous standing ovation from the students who were the true north of her career. And whereas,

[00:36:31] upon her retirement in 2019, the Virginia General Assembly issued House Joint Resolution No. 324, officially commending her legacy of excellence and her profound lifelong devotion to the youth of the commonwealth and whereas her most enduring legacy is etched not in stone but in the lives of the thousands of students who flourished under her mentorship whose successes in medicine the arts public service and diverse global industries serve as a living testament to the high standards and compassionate guidance she instilled in them and now therefore be it resolved that the Fairfax

[00:37:09] County School Board with profound gratitude and respect officially designates the library at South County Middle School as the Marsha Manning Memorial Library, be it further resolved that this space shall stand as a permanent tribute to a leader whose foundational spirit, grace, and dedication continue to define the Mustang community and inspire generations of learners to come. Is there a second? I second. Mr. Dunn, would you like to speak to your motion? Yes, I would.

[00:37:38] Thank you. We are here, and I brought this proclamation to honor a true titan of public education, a woman who gave nearly three decades of her life to the students of Fairfax County, and a leader whose loss we still deeply feel, Mrs. Marsha Manning. Marsha was instrumental in shaping the South County community from its absolute earliest days. In 2005, she was selected to serve alongside Dale Rumberger as a founding assistant principal when South County Secondary School first opened. In December 2011, she was selected to take the helm as the historic founding

[00:38:15] principal of south county middle school in so doing she didn't just open a building she built a community she was incredibly deliberate in cultivating an enduring culture anchored by two immovable values caring and integrity the accolades she earned throughout her career from fcps honors to recognition by the washington post only validated what everyone in the south county family already knew. Marsha possessed a rare, remarkable gift for collaborative leadership. She never led from a distance. She rolled up her sleeves and worked right alongside her educators, her students, and their families. Marsha was

[00:38:54] a fierce champion of student-centered learning, but also understood a fundamental truth about education: you cannot support students if you do not support the people who teach them. She was a visionary advocate for employee wellness, fiercely protecting her staff because she knew that a supported, valued educator is the single most critical factor in a child's success. Right up until her retirement in 2019, Marsha was the ultimate defender of her school and a visionary advocate for public education. And while our community was deeply saddened by her passing in 2024, her impact as a mentor, an educator, and a leader will undoubtedly be felt for generations. By passing this proclamation

[00:39:34] tonight and through the creation of the Marsha Manning Memorial Library, we ensure that her legacy remains a permanent, visible, and lasting part of the very school she built and loved so dearly. Thank you, Mr. Dunn. Ms. Anderson, would you like to speak to your second? Yes, briefly.

[00:39:52] When we talk about the fabric of a school community, we're talking about the people who laid the literal bricks of its culture. Ms. Marsha Manning was exactly that kind of builder. She dedicated 29 incredible years to Fairfax County Public Schools, and 14 of those years were poured directly into my community in the South County pyramid. Marsha just didn't step into leadership roles. She helped create them. She started at South County Secondary as an assistant principal working right alongside Dale Rumberger to establish the school from the ground up. Then in 2011, she was chosen to be the inaugural principal of South County Middle School. Opening a brand new

[00:40:27] school is one of the most demanding tasks an educator can face, but Marsha did it with grace, vision, and a fierce commitment to excellence. Renaming a school library is incredibly symbolic. A library is the crossroads of a school.

[00:40:44] It's a place of discovery, a sanctuary for quiet growth, and a hub where minds are opened every single day. It's the perfect space to carry Marsha's name, ensuring the future generations of South County students will know the visionary leader who helped pave the way for them.

[00:41:01] It is our privilege to formally dedicate Marsha Manning Library honoring a lifetime of service and a lasting legacy and and a deeply missed member of our FCPS family. Thank you Miss Anderson. Mr. McElveen. Thank you. Those of us who knew Marsha knew someone who brought a rare combination of warmth, vision, and an unshakable belief in what everyone every student could potentially become. And as has been stated when fcps looked for a founding principal of south county middle school we didn't have to look very

[00:41:38] far we just looked next door to the secondary school and certainly with mr rumberger's leadership there she was the natural choice she was as has been stated a record a recognized leader in our system having won the outstanding new principal award in 2013 and i know many people viewed her is a mentor and someone they could look to for guidance it's certainly my belief that she didn't open a school she built a community at south county middle school and she did it deliberately

[00:42:13] lovingly and she welcomed everyone into that school with open arms including school board members and it's just so fitting now that the library will carry her name and i want to thank the members of the community who brought forward this very fitting honor which is a wonderful way to remember her in a beautiful space. Thank you Mr. McElveen. Dr. Anderson. Yes thank you. While I did not know Ms. Manning I do want to take the opportunity to offer my thanks to our colleagues for bringing this forward and to Ms. Manning for all of the work that she's done to the community.

[00:42:52] This is an outstanding recognition. I also want to take a moment to just also highlight all of the folks that have been honored this evening from our students who received the character award and the laura ashley award to our vsba honor roll recipients who helped so many of our schools to of course our student board member representative faith we i thank you for all of your service and the manning family thank you for allowing your mom daughter cousin and to give all of the time

[00:43:24] to fcps that has culminated into this recognition seeing no other lights um i would like to call for the vote all those in favor that's unanimous for the board thank you i would like to welcome marshall manning's family and all those here to support the naming of the south county middle school library in honor of founding principal marshall manning resolution to please join the

[00:43:55] board for a photo at the front of the dais after the photo the guests and staff will depart agenda

[00:45:52] to Item 5.01, Community Participation. The next order of business is Community Participation. We welcome all community members who are here and those who have signed up to speak this evening. Additional information about signing up to provide comments at School Board regular business meetings and public hearings can be found on the School Board's website at www.fcps.edu/schoolboard. During the sign-up process, community members acknowledged that They were informed of the school board's expectations for proper decorum when providing comments.

[00:46:24] These expectations are also available online and with the printed agenda and meeting materials in the back of the room. We ask audience members to be respectful of one another. Shouting and outbursts will not be tolerated. Please hold your applause until the conclusion of a speaker's remarks.

[00:46:42] Audience members may not join speakers at the podium and should remain at their seats, when recording video or taking photos we are grateful to all those who have come to speak to us today and thank you for your cooperation school board members will be listening but not responding madam clerk please call the first speaker Isabel Chang good evening members of the board my name is Isabel Chang and I am a fourth grader at Oakton Elementary I'm here to tell you about my

[00:47:22] experience as a fourth grader this past year generally I finished all of my homework as soon as it's given to me. But this year our curriculum is very tech heavy. I was barely able to keep up with all my work on the computer. For example, I would probably use the computer two to three hours per day at school while rarely using a device at home. By January, I was stressed and anxious because I couldn't complete all my assignments and was falling behind. This is a horrible feeling for a high achiever. But in March, my mother had a meeting with my teacher and they talked about the benefits of learning with paper and pencil. And starting that

[00:48:01] week, my teacher began doing more paper and pencil assignments for me and eventually she began offering more paper and pencil assignments for our entire class. I started feeling more comfortable and relaxed knowing I wouldn't get distracted with messages with classmates, games, or even playing with fonts and Google Docs. Now I can usually finish all of my homework and assignments if not by Wednesday, then by Tuesday when it's due on Friday.

[00:48:29] As a result, I learned that temptations on the computer may be great and there may be many fun computer games that you can't do on paper, but what you may not know is that tech is the biggest setback in learning. I'm here to request a school with less tech, more paper, pencil, learning, a school that is different from today, a school where students can feel heard and safe.

[00:48:53] Thank you. Veronica Watkins. Hello, my name is Veronica Watkins, and I am a junior at Oakton High School.

[00:49:21] I've come here to discuss why we should stop using Securely Pass for bathrooms. In FCPS, whenever a student needs to use the restroom, they must submit an e-haul pass via Securely under Bathroom. The idea is that administrators will be easily able to find patterns of suspicious long or recurring bathroom breaks because, as we all know, when students are left alone for 10 minutes, their immediate inclination is to begin vaping, kissing, and doing drugs.

[00:49:46] While I do agree that enforcing school-appropriate behavior is important, digitally tracking exactly when and how long someone goes to the bathroom is an utter invasion of privacy. We are taught to be careful sharing our personal information online, and yet girls' period schedules are visible to strangers.

[00:50:03] This is not just a privacy violation. The fact that teachers can deny a student's bathroom pass teaches students that a right as simple and necessary as going to the bathroom can be taken away. Yes, there are people who abuse the system and violate the SR&R while in the bathroom. but it's unfair to punish everyone else because of their actions.

[00:50:20] We already have enough shame for the metal detectors, but at least that's necessary. You have the power to make this change, but if you don't abolish securely past your bathrooms, then you will continue to subject students like me to privacy violations and increased anxiety. Thank you for your time. Safiya Khan.

[00:50:48] Good evening, school board members. My name is Safiya Khan, and I'm a junior at South County High School. I'm standing here today to address an important issue that impacts me and many other Muslims.

[00:51:04] First, I would like to thank you for keeping aid and other religious holidays on the FCPS calendar. This recognition allows students, families, and staff to feel seen, supported, and included within our school community. There are many Muslim students and staff that are part of every district across Fairfax County, and for each and every one of them, it's an essential Islamic holiday, which only comes twice a year based on the lunar calendar.

[00:51:25] Being able to keep aid on the calendar will make them feel included and valued. On the contrary, if Eid is to be removed, it will leave many students and staff with a difficult decision to either miss the school day or stay, which can have an impact on school performances, activities and grades, as well as mental health. New York County has long emphasized equity, inclusion, and ensuring that all communities feel valued and seen.

[00:51:46] The continued recognition of Eid on the FCPS calendar reflects those values in a meaningful and practical way for many Muslim students, families, and employees across the county. I understand that calendar decisions can be difficult; however, I respectfully encourage FCPS to explore alternatives such as adjusting teacher work days or other non-instructional days so that aid can remain on the calendar while still meeting instructional requirements.

[00:52:08] I also respectfully ask that aid continues to remain on the FCPS calendar in future years. When students see their identities and faith traditions acknowledged, it strengthens their sense of belonging and connection to their schools and community. Thank you for your time, leadership, and continued commitment to the FCPS community.

[00:52:32] Diane Wadsworth. Good evening. My name is Diane Wadsworth and I've been an educator for 33 years. I've spent the last 24 years in FCPS providing school-wide building leadership in specialist positions with an emphasis on student learning and county initiatives. I am currently an elementary math resource teacher. I am here tonight to address a critical flaw in our current HR hiring and transfer policies. Under the current system, if a school-based resource position is cut or changes

[00:53:08] after the transfer deadline, principals are forced to hire from outside the county rather than utilizing existing FCPS talent. This policy is applied strictly by contract type and impacts math resource teachers, advanced academics resource teachers, counselors, instructional coaches, school-based technology specialists, among others.

[00:53:29] Schools are dynamic, shifting human systems. Rigid deadlines do not align with budget realities. In my case, I was notified less than 48 hours before the transfer window closed that my math position was cut due to funding. Because of this policy, nearly all of my options to continue my work supporting mathematics and academic rigor within FCPS were blocked. It is short-sighted to prioritize payroll contract type over proven expertise. Why has HR built a system that actively prohibits internally trained highly effective educators from applying to

[00:54:04] open positions as they emerge. The solution is simple: give principals back the autonomy to release and hire internal personnel for school-based resource positions after the transfer deadline. This is a return to the previous practice and addresses the real-time dynamics of a system our size.

[00:54:23] Let's stop forcing our schools to hire from outside the county when we already have a wealth of dedicated proven expertise waiting right here inside the FCPS talent pool. Thank you for your time and consideration. Katya Dimonstein.

[00:54:47] Hello, my name is Katya Dimonstein. I work in the defense industry and work on AI and ML products often. I moved from DC to Fairfax County specifically for the schools for my one-year-old, now four-year-old, and now six-year-old. We started Chesterbrook Elementary School this year and we were incredibly surprised to have an iPad given to our kiddo right away but we kept an open mind about it figuring that that's reasonable this is 2026 let's all learn

[00:55:26] together however we've been surprised that significant portions of the day are spent on the iPad to the fact to the point where on Wednesday of last week he visited 122 websites he thankfully got a break for lunch which was great but we We really have concerns about the amount of time that the kids are spending on iPads.

[00:55:49] When they're not on iPads, they're watching the smart boards of videos of parents teaching and reading books to kids, rather than the teacher, in like an old school way, reading to their kindergarten class.

[00:56:04] We have a phenomenal teacher, so this is not a complaint against the teachers. They are doing a phenomenal job. They have a ton of kiddos and they're trying to use all the resources. But there is a real lack of guidance as to what responsible tech use looks like today.

[00:56:20] I don't know if you guys know this, but on Lightspeed, for the reports, it doesn't actually show how long the students are online, so you don't know the screen time. It just says dates and times that they access certain websites. The only parent control that's available on Lightspeed is an on and off button for YouTube that's only available for after hours.

[00:56:42] So I actually can't shut off YouTube for my kindergarten during the school day. So I would recommend very strongly that we consider looking at screen time in schools in a similar way that we see screen time at home. It can be an advantage if that's something that you choose to use as an educational resource.

[00:57:09] Darlene Garcia-Torres.

[00:57:27] Okay. First, thank you for the work you do and for the opportunity to speak tonight. I'm here as a central office staff member to talk about the telework policy change and how it's impacted staffing, productivity, and work quality over the past year.

[00:57:46] Within three months of the announced change, our office lost two team members, one of whom moved across the country with their family to work at FCPS under different conditions. Loss of staff meant that those of us who remain had to fill the gap until new staff were hired and once hired train and support new staff while also managing the regular workload.

[00:58:07] More time was required to complete work, which often meant working late nights, sometimes all night, and weekends to meet deadlines, a schedule that's difficult to sustain for very long. Burnout risk increases while productivity and work quality decrease.

[00:58:24] Even with a full team, there are other challenges. Our work is detail-oriented and requires deep focus, but our main setting, five days a week, is now filled with distractions and noise. For those of us who are neurodivergent with environmental sensitivities, it can be more difficult to focus.

[00:58:40] When we need to put in long hours to meet deadlines, our time is now reduced by commutes. But the work still needs to get done, so that means we sleep less, see our families less, and overall have less work-life balance. We are passionate about our work.

[00:58:56] Many of us are here because we're committed to public service and public education. We want to do good work. Please help us continue to do that. We're trusted to telework when there's a crisis or emergency, when there's a deadline that requires after office hours, when we have to fill gaps, whenever there's a need.

[00:59:16] Please trust us to telework for better work-life balance, productivity, and work quality. Please reconsider the telework policy change. Thank you.

[00:59:35] Rachel Roll. Rachel Roll. Good evening. My name is Rachel Roll. My daughter went to Bryn Mawr Elementary and currently attends the AAP Center at Glasgow.

[00:59:50] I'm here tonight to ask the board to halt or reject the current out-of-cycle boundary effort to move BMP from Holmes and Edison to Key and Lewis. Others will be providing details of how FCPS is violating its own regulations in this effort, so I'll discuss their multiple attempts to push this change through while blocking community input.

[01:00:11] During the countywide boundary review, the only options presented to BMP were remaining at Edison or moving to Annandale. the final map was released to the public, however, it was changed to move us to Key and Lewis, an option that had never been discussed before. When we protested, Dr. Reed shelved the proposal and promised it would be examined in the next five-year boundary review. Instead, we found out this April that FCPS was starting an out-of-cycle adjustment with the goal of implementing the move to Lewis by fall of 2027. On top of this sudden reversal, they have repeatedly blocked Bredmar Park for

[01:00:48] providing comment. We are informed of meetings with only a day's notice or not invited at all. As near as I can tell, FCPS has made no effort to reach out to parents of middle and high school students, although we face the most immediate impact of the change. FCPS never sent us the link to the online comment form, which is the only feedback method we are told to use. In contrast, when they met with Glasgow, the link was sent the very next day. FCPS can follow procedures and engage communities meaningfully. But that they fail to do this repeatedly when dealing with BMP,

[01:01:28] and apparently only when dealing with BMP, leads me to believe that this disparate treatment is intentional and targeted. We have consistently partnered with FCPS in good faith over the years. However, FCPS is not responding. Therefore, I again ask the board to uphold fair treatment and reject the B at Redmar Park out of cycle boundary change.

[01:01:58] I'm Faiza Alam. - Good evening, I'm Faiza Alam from Katherine Johnson Middle School. We gave students an incredible tool, a world in a device, but it has become a distraction.

[01:02:14] Chalkboards to smart boards to personal laptops, I have been at the same school for 20 years watching this evolve. Each time FCPS led the way with the best intentions. But now with AI at our doorstep, I respectfully ask, is this tool helping or hurting our students?

[01:02:32] We closed one door, they opened another. FCPS made a commendable decision requiring cell phones to be put away and that was the right call. But students have simply shifted. Laptops are now their communication device of choice. They are messaging and socializing through their school-issued laptop all day long.

[01:02:50] We identified the problem, now we need to address it fully. What are we losing? Attention span, retention, reading and writing skills are negatively impacted. Social skills and emotional resilience are being replaced by screen dependency and stress.

[01:03:06] in my classroom watershed walks outdoor ecosystem lessons stewardship projects these all work but students arrive in seventh grade exhausted and addicted to laptop use at least 17 U.S. states are already limiting school screen time countries like Sweden are abandoning one-to-one laptop policies and returning to textbooks with positive results the evidence is on our side return to classroom laptop carts in elementary and middle school please bring textbooks back limit personal laptop use, not all day long. Provide assistive technology to students with exceptional units of

[01:03:42] course. FCPS has never been afraid to lead. Now let's lead again through course correction. Our students need more protection and guardrails. Please revisit the one-to-one policy. Our students

[01:03:55] are worth it and I trust your leadership and support. Thank you so much. Molly Sullivan. Good

[01:04:31] evening. My name is Molly Sullivan. I teach in the Springfield District and I live in the Sully District, the reason I'm here today is boundaries. All of Sully District is under a comprehensive boundary review right now. And while we've been told that elementary schools are no longer on the table, it's not the whole truth because there are some elementary schools like Crossfield which are being proposed to be turned from a two-feeder into a three-feeder school. My ask is that the board bring a motion to limit the number of students by percentage when proposing a feeder school adjustment. For example, no less than 25% of a graduating class from a single school may be fed to another school unless otherwise stated for specialized programming, i.e. AAP, special education services, or IB. This would help keep communities together and cause less strife

[01:05:10] amongst parents. While these new maps are getting closer to what people want, it continues to not address the problem of Centerville High School and its overcrowding. Why Skyview was ever touted as a solve for that, I'm still not really sure why. We need Centerville High School renovated and expanded. It was built in 1988, the same year that I was born, and since then it has not seen an addition or renovation unless you count the trailers that were added about 21 years ago. I don't understand how you guys in all good conscience can start over or start or even propose construction and expansions of school like Willis Springs that has about 80 percent when just down the road CVHS sits at above 100 percent capacity. You still haven't figured out the land lease or a plan to move forward in its completed renovation. To quote

[01:05:50] Mr. McDaniel at a recent meeting at Liberty Middle School, he said we're looking at least a decade before we have a completed high school which is unacceptable currently the planning commission is also deciding on whether or not to bring 5 000 new housing units to centerville resulting in an estimated 1700 new students all whom would be boundaried at centerville high school it's unacceptable that a previous board in 2008 approved the renovations the people voted and approved the funds in 2021 and we likely won't see a completed high school until 2031. how can you justify the state of centerville high school when you under your watch more than 2 000 students and their families have been left waiting for attention resources and leadership that

[01:06:26] they deserve. Thank you. Alana Juergen Doniger. I'm inviting you to do a thought experiment with me today. This year AI has dominated headlines and suddenly everyone in corporate America feels compelled to jump on the AI train or be left behind. But you all are responsible for delivering education to children who are not corporate employees but young humans with developing brains.

[01:07:01] I feel confident that future research will show that AI use harms brain development and skill development. In a perfect world I wouldn't want my own kids using AI before they'd worked a few years in a challenging job. My own analytical skills were honed a lot in those first jobs. But this is a real world, and if I had a senior right now, I'd encourage my 12th grader to sign up for a high school elective that incorporated AI to help him prepare for college.

[01:07:24] But I don't have a rising senior. My oldest is a rising 9th grader, and I strongly do not want him using AI yet. Now here's a thought experiment. With AI evolving so quickly, experts refuse to protect the landscape more than six months out. juniors are more than 12 months out from graduating. How would AI use in 11th grade provide much of a benefit when AI skills learned in the 11th grade would be outdated by graduation? Genuinely, how would that 11th grader benefit by using AI? What about a 10th grader, an 8th grader, a 6th grader, a kindergartner? The further they are from graduation, the more absurd the argument that AI use in school is required to prepare a child for their future. Please continue the thought

[01:08:02] experiment with me. What is the downside of pausing rather than rushing to this new technology? Do you really think that kids younger than 12th grade will be left behind if they don't use AI in this upcoming school year? They will not. I ask you, what is the real risk to students under 12th grade if FCPS takes a wait-and-see approach to AI rather than following the siren song of technology companies prophesying that those who don't immediately adopt AI will leave their children at sea?

[01:08:27] There is no real risk that children below 12th grade will be left behind. The siren song is a lie. Please continue to think this all the way through to the end and take the prudent approach rather than letting the siren song of Silicon Valley leave you astray. Thank you. Andrew Sutton.

[01:08:55] Good evening, I'm AJ Sutton, PTA President of Bryn Mawr Park Elementary, Title I school in the Mason District. I'm here with two requests. First, please direct FCPS to remove Bryn Mawr from the expedited boundary review process. On December 10th, Dr. Reed publicly committed Bryn Mawr would not be considered for boundary review changes until the next five-year review.

[01:09:17] FCPS reversed that commitment in April. The current proposal would send our students across the 395-485 interchange through Lewis High School Pyramid, an unsafe outcome our families oppose. The policy basis cited is Edison High School's overcapacity. The policy 8130.9 requires the review to address the overcapacity school's attendance area, not Brenmar, which is a separate school that meets none of the policy specials. Any change to Brenmar must involve communications and feedback from the entire Edison Pyramid, not just Brenmar alone as it has been. Second, Please direct FCPS to formally study our six SBA plan addressing West Springfield, Lewis, and Edison High Schools.

[01:09:56] This is where the data leads. West Springfield High operates at 114%, the most overcrowded school in all of FCPS. Lewis High School, which is right next door, operates at 81%. They're under-resourced and below-stepping thresholds for additional teachers and counselors. The student planning areas connecting 8922, 9001, 8912, and 8909 sit directly on that boundary line.

[01:10:20] Two additional SPAs, 9107 and 8130, order Lewis from the Edison side. Moving those six SPAs brings West Springfield to 105%, Lewis to 97%, and Edison to 100%. Substantial regional balance and no elementary school community uprooted.

[01:10:37] We are not asking for special treatment. We just want the same data-driven process every FCPS community deserves. We respectfully ask the six-spot plan be formally studied before any vote to move our school across the boatway. And we're ready to support FCPS pursuing that. I will send my full data analysis and letter following this meeting. Thank you very much for your time. Sarah Young. Good evening members of the board, Dr. Reed and Chiefs. I first

[01:11:14] started working in FCPS in 2001. I'm here to talk about equity. For over 20 years, departments like DIT successfully utilized hybrid work. That long-standing practice was formally adopted into regulation in 2020 because this regulation was already established the fct fcft and the feu unions did not include hybrid work in their collective bargaining agreements the working condition was already securely in place for telework eligible staff on june 27 2025 an email

[01:11:52] from hr informed staff of an update to the regulation the stated intent of this change was to enhance consistency and improve equitable work assignments. In the name of equity, the number of approved telework days for all eligible staff was reduced to just five days per year. Following this change, the union representing principals, supervisors, and administrators negotiated their CBA. Through that process, they secured the right for their members to utilize telework during winter and spring breaks and on inclement weather days.

[01:12:29] This sequence of events has unintentionally created inequality. Managers now have protected telework rights during these periods while their telework eligible staff reporting directly to them are restricted to just those five base days.

[01:12:47] We now have teams collaborating on projects that operate under different rules. I respectfully ask FCPS leadership and the school board to resolve this inconsistency. by returning to our previous long-standing hybrid work practice we can establish fairness among our teams and eliminate the double standard that currently divides our telework eligible staff

[01:13:09] if a full return to that practice is not immediately thank you summer johnson good evening my name is summer johnson i'm an 18-year fairfax county public schools employee a member of fcft

[01:13:45] and a proud member of feu i currently work at the nancy sprake technology center before working in in IT, I spent more than a decade as a classroom and school-based educator. During that time, I watched FCPS embrace new technologies, new instructional practices, and new ways of thinking about teaching and learning. One of the most important lessons we learned was that one size does not fit all. The belief is embedded throughout FCPS. Universal Design for Learning, Portrait of a Graduate, and POGPOL, the FCPS Learning Model, all recognize that people have different needs, different strengths, and different pathways to success.

[01:14:21] design learning environments accordingly. That is why the recent changes to hybrid work are really difficult to understand. FCPS asked schools and teachers to embrace innovative, differentiated, and student-centered approaches to learning while governing operational and central office employees through increasingly compliance-based structures. We are not arguing against in-person work. Some of our best work happens when we are together. What made our previous hybrid rate hybrid arrangement successful was that teams could align their schedules to the needs of their work. We came together to collaborate, solve problems, design, test, and build. In-person time had purpose. Now, employees

[01:14:59] are required to be physically present simply to spend the day on virtual meetings, email, and computer-based work that are already being performed successfully in a hybrid environment. The question is not whether employees should be accountable. We already are. Operational and central office staff have a proven record of supporting the district and maintaining operational excellence. The question is whether the same principles of equity, trust, and innovation that guide our instructional decisions should also guide our workplace decisions.

[01:15:27] If we truly believe that people do their best work when their environments are designed around their needs, then that belief should extend beyond our classrooms and into our workplaces as well. Thank you. Madam Chair, we're now moving to video testimony.

[01:15:50] Please play the video testimony submitted by Juliet Gregory. I think that computers are a really big issue in schools. I mean, I just see in my classes, as soon as a teacher says, open up those computer screens, I just see a different game on each screen like it's just a colorful array of different gaming websites and it's honestly kind of obnoxious because most of my teachers don't even use Lightspeed or any of those resources that help teachers make sure that students are staying on

[01:16:24] task and I know that in middle school it's even worse. I mean you in middle school especially seventh grade you're basically being handed a device that has access to a million gaming websites and you've never really had that kind of access before unless you had a computer at home which most people didn't um in elementary school you sure you had a computer but you either you really didn't use it as much and you didn't really take it home but in seventh grade you're basically being handed this device for an entire year that has um games on it and it's really addictive especially for seventh graders because this is the first time that they're experiencing

[01:17:04] this opportunity and i see this in my brother he is a seventh grader and he really struggles with computer addiction he i mean in seventh grade you're supposed to be learning how to do homework how to study for tests and he's not learning any of that because he's so addicted to this computer screen and it got so bad that we had to get him a different computer because the fairfax county computer did not block most of the gaming websites that students were going on my parents told them about some of the websites they didn't block them and they think that just blocking the sites is magically going to fix things but it's not you need to block the use of the computer because

[01:17:43] i'm telling you as a student students are always finding hacks around the system and you need to block the use of the computer not just block the sites please play the video testimony submitted by Irina Hashmi. Good evening school board members. My name is Irina Hashmi, a computer science professor and a fifth grade FCPS parent. Because I teach advanced technology

[01:18:19] for a living, I'm usually the first person in the room to advocate for digital literacy. Precisely because I understand the architecture of technology, I'm here tonight with deep concerns about the push to integrate AI and immersive edtech into our classrooms.

[01:18:37] As an educator with a first-hand experience, I see the cognitive offloading and erosion of critical thinking associated with AI-driven learning. Just as we watched social media compromise our social relationships, we are about to make the same mistake by rushing AI into K-12 education.

[01:18:57] At present, there is zero definitive data on the long-term impact of AI-driven tools on cognitive development and education. We are simply treating our children as a test group for unproven technology. The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory, CDC, and AAP explicitly warn that high screen time use among children is directly linked to depression, anxiety, and developmental challenges.

[01:19:26] However, required laptop and AI reliance unnecessarily increases the screen time our medical professionals want us to restrict. As a computer science educator, I know tech. As a mother, I know my child. I urge you to pause proposed generative AI use, look past the corporate marketing, and limit technology to dedicated, intentional blocks of time.

[01:19:51] We must prioritize active problem-solving, critical thinking, and human connection, not replace them with screens and chatbots. Before expanding AI use, the district must provide independent evidence, transparent safeguards, and a clear plan to protect our children's attention, privacy, and mental health.

[01:20:18] Please play the video testimony submitted by Stephanie Lundquist-Aurora. After cutting 275 teaching positions and increasing class sizes this school year, you launched a program to fund PhDs for some of the highest paid district administrators who make over $200,000 per year.

[01:20:49] One of the participants, Assistant Superintendent Pablo Rescindes, makes $229,000 this year. While a stated condition of the program is that they stay with FCPS for some time, Mr. Rescindes is moving to Fort Worth, Texas to work for their public school district as we pay for his Ph.D.

[01:21:08] This program is an insult to the district's taxpayers. And speaking of budgetary waste, we are paying $272 million this year for the salaries of about 2,400 non-school-based administrators in FCPS. With three months still left in the fiscal year, FCPS has also paid $12.5 million in legal fees.

[01:21:31] You've also bought a $150 million high school, despite the fact that the district is hemorrhaging more than 20,000 students from 2020 to 2030. With so much obvious waste in your budget, you are planning to reduce school reserve staffing to address the so-called $28 million budget gap.

[01:21:50] FCPS teachers told me reducing school reserve staffing is concerning. As some class sizes increase in fall 2026, certain grades may require additional teachers, but cuts to reserve staffing will reduce flexibility, resulting in significantly larger class sizes.

[01:22:07] So clearly, by cutting reserve staffing as you fund PhDs for central administration, you're continuing to tell students parents and teachers that bureaucracy not classrooms is your priority thank you chair anderson that was our last public speaker thank you agenda item 6.01 student representative matters i call on miss mcconin hello hello again thank you to everyone

[01:22:47] who trusted and challenged me this year every everything i bought brought into meetings came from conversations in hallways emails lunch discussions sac meetings student frustrations and student ideas. I did not come into this role with all the answers and I learned from the people I represented. This experience has taught me more than I ever expected and I am extremely grateful for it. The reason why I did a good job this year is because I am a product of the students I represent. With that said, here are a few things that I reflected on as my term is coming to a close. The MSA situation in the fall could have absolutely been handled better. Beyond the actual decision, the message that was received by a lot of members of the Muslim community was that the school they're supposed to feel safe in is not safe from prejudice and that interpretation can

[01:23:25] shape consequences in ways that feel inconsistent to students. Whether or not that was the intention, this perception matters. Students should feel like school is a place where they can exist as themselves without feeling singled out for behavior other students engage in without being penalized. Our schools do not have to reflect the politics that surround us in everyday life. We don't have to pick between defending our Jewish students or our Muslim students. School should be one of the few places students can learn from each other and feel supported, not divided by the same tensions that already exist outside of school. It would be helpful to actively listen as well. If anyone has noticed I've sort of changed my speaking habits to try to make eye contact with each of you so I can have your full attention for the fraction of

[01:24:02] time I speak during Student Rep Matters, but sometimes there are still people that go on their computers or hold sidebar conversations. I completely understand that all board members are busy, but I hope you all actively engage with Newt Shostak during his Student Rep Matters in a few weeks because it helps more than you think. I also believe at times our board can become too aligned around different groups of priorities instead of always operating as one collective body. Disagreement is normal and healthy, but I think our strongest moments happen when we work across those differences and focus on on the students in front of us rather than the perspectives around us.

[01:24:31] I also think that FCPS should slow down with AI and technology implementation. I'm not against innovation at all, but I think community members deserve time to understand what their children are using and how these tools are being implemented. Families should feel comfortable and informed before any major change happens. Because we're a district that a lot of people look at, it does not mean we have to rush into things with the desire to be the pioneers.

[01:24:51] With that said, there has never been a time where I did not feel extremely grateful to serve this role. And for the last time, thank you for your time.

[01:25:15] - Thank you, Ms. McConan. Agenda Item 7.01, Certification of Closed Meeting Compliance. Since the board has to return to its closed meeting later tonight, we will return to this item after we conclude that meeting. Agenda Item 7.02, Confirmation of Action Taken and Closed. I call on Dr. Anderson for a motion.

[01:25:35] I move to deny the school reassignment appeal of a student who distributed controlled substances to another student, Marijuana THC, at school, and to confirm the disciplinary decision of the division superintendent.

[01:25:56] Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Dannon. All those in favor, Ms. Merritt, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Ms. St. John Cunning, and myself, all those opposed?

[01:26:17] All those abstaining, that is Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Dixit, and Mr. Frisch. Will the clerk please read the vote? 9-0-3, the motion carries. Thank you.

[01:26:33] I call on Dr. Anderson for a motion. I move that the probationary employees identified in closed session be dismissed at the conclusion of the 25-26 school year and that their contracts not be renewed renewed for the 26-27 school year is there a second second thank you mr mcdaniel all those in favor mr mcdaniel miss marron mr

[01:27:06] mckelveen miss lady miss dixit mr dannon mr dunn mr moon dr anderson miss st john cunning and myself all those opposed all those abstaining mr fresh will the clerk please read the vote 11-01 the the motion carries. Thank you. Agenda, I'm sorry, I call Miss Lady for a motion. I move that the employees identified in closed session be dismissed at the conclusion of the 25-26 school year and their contracts not be renewed for the 26-27 school year. Is there a second? Second. Thank you,

[01:27:38] Mr. McElveen. All those in favor, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Marin, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Ms. St. John Cunning, and myself. All those opposed, all those abstaining, Mr. Frisch.

[01:27:56] Will the click please read the vote? 11-0-1, the motion carries. Thank you. Agenda item 7.03, approval of policy 1344, standard school year calendar.

[01:28:12] I call on Ms. Lady for a motion. I move the school board approve policy 1344, standard school year calendar as revised. is there a second i second thank you miss st john cunning uh miss lady would you like to speak to your motion no i would not miss st john cunning would you like to speak to your second no i would not i call on mr fresh for an amendment thank you i move to amend the motion by striking out the text in its entirety and inserting the replacement language set forth in the agenda item as published in board docs is there a second second mr dunn mr fresh would you like to speak to your amendment

[01:28:49] yes thank you all right well good morning everybody uh thank you chair anderson i want to begin by thanking mr dunn for seconding the motion for partnering with me in tightening some of the language that we're considering tonight and for the thoughtful work he has done conducting extensive research about how our school calendars have evolved over the past many years i'm also grateful to the governance committee and its members for the thoughtful dialogue we've had over the past many months on the calendar what our community needs and what family students and staff hope to see reflected in this policy before i discuss the substance of the policy i want to

[01:29:27] briefly address the amendment before us while the amendment replaces the policy version that came forward from governance it should not be understood as a wholesale rewrite the vast majority of what the committee approved remains intact and as with any policy the version that emerges this evening reflects compromise among different perspectives this amendment is intended to clarify several areas where committee members identify the lingering questions after completing our work provide greater precision in a few places where the time did not allow for us to further fully refine the language and more clearly reflect the board's global desire to prioritize instructional

[01:30:06] continuity as a guiding principle in calendar development at its core this revised policy provides clear direction to the superintendent about what this board expects in a school calendar first and foremost it prioritizes instructional continuity so our students have the strongest possible learning experience throughout the year it also brings greater clarity to early release days which the board reduced earlier this year federal holidays given our large federal workforce and various religious holidays and observances importantly it clarifies how future calendars will be approved under this policy the superintendent will maintain three years of approved school calendars with the board approving the third year calendar each year so that families and staff have

[01:30:44] greater predictability finally it strengthens the board's expectations around community engagement including the cycle for that engagement and later tonight we'll consider another motion that speaks more specifically to one specific type of this engagement so i won't delve too deeply into that right now so this policy gives greater guidance more predictability and a stronger focus on instructional continuity i look forward to the discussion and this evening and i hope my colleagues will support its adoption. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Frisch. Mr. Dunn, would you like to speak to your second? Yes, please. I would like to thank Mr. Frisch, first of all, for his careful

[01:31:24] work to revise the draft policy that was adopted by the Governance Committee. He made very thoughtful revisions that I think strengthen it overall. I'd also like to thank all my colleagues and under the leadership of Governance Chair Melanie Marin for developing this policy, which is the first time FCPS will have a consolidated calendar policy to govern the development of school calendars.

[01:31:50] What I brought forward a few months ago through my research and analysis published in my newsletters was that we have a school calendar that has steadily degraded over the past 20 years from a time when for decades 70% on average of our school weeks were full five-day weeks to today where only 52% of our school weeks are full five-day weeks even though our calendar is now longer than it was historically by two weeks. I believe that this policy is a very important step to restoring the calendar to one that makes sense for students for families that will ensure that there is

[01:32:30] instructional continuity and it will support learning and routine which is so important for all students but in particular for special education students. I believe this will help us to get to where we were and where we need to go. I believe it will also reduce the financial and logistical burdens that have plagued families. I've heard from many families who've spoken of having to potentially give up their career or their jobs because of the vagaries of the fragmented school calendar who have thought about relocating or putting their kids in private school to only make sure that their kids had consistency and

[01:33:09] routine and also to avoid the child care and logistical burns that are caused by our current fragmented school calendar. The next step after this policy is enacted is the superintendent will bring forth on July 9th to propose school calendars for 27 28 and 28 29 and i believe that those calendars will reflect positive movement forward to restoring a full five-day weeks as this policy states it should be the priority of the school calendar when it's being developed because that is the very heart of learning it's

[01:33:44] very heart of education and it supports students staff and families thank you dr anderson um thank

[01:33:57] Thank you. Thank you to all of those who worked on this and I think I'll just be honest I was a little surprised by kind of some of the extensive work that was done on this given kind of what was set up at governance. I think there's a lot of parts here where it's just cleaner just tighter language. So that is very much appreciated. But there are some sections that I find to be kind of brand new and some are limited. So I have some comments and then I'm happy to ask some questions.

[01:34:27] Some of my comments are regarding the responsibilities section, sections two, six, and seven. Those sections really spend quite a bit of language really outlining a lot of language regarding winter and spring holidays, summer breaks, et cetera.

[01:34:49] and what I find is that it is so prescriptive so tight that if the survey or potentially the committee that's going to be hopefully passed to work on this they don't have anywhere to go because it's already been outlined and I thought the idea was to leave a little bit of space so that there could be changes if we're outlining the spring winter and spring I'm sorry the winter spring and summer holidays, if we're outlining the two-week winter breaks as must-dos, I don't

[01:35:24] know where there will be any flexibility for any future action. So that's kind of a question that I have. Another piece that I wanted to talk about is section and under responsibilities also 10 and E2. And that one is also coupled with a question. So Mr. Frisch, I would love to hear if possible. Under number 10, the last sentence that says the division superintendent shall make arrangements to minimize staff use of school buildings on these days, which may be used as

[01:36:01] teacher work days. I guess I got a little bit confused. What use are we minimizing if they're used as teacher work days? That means teachers would be potentially in the building. I just want a little bit of clarity there. Mr. Frisch. Confirming this is not, sorry, go ahead, Chair Anderson. I apologize no go ahead this is not from my time though right it's not going to be my time but I have a question dr. Anderson it is your time well I don't want to give my time okay because you could answer it if you have a go back so that's a question that I have here because I don't

[01:36:36] understand how we would minimize that space so that's one and my last piece of concern is regarding the early releases where it outlines not just the four division-wide early release which we voted here and were added into the policy, but it also embeds the elementary, the four additional elementary release days, which previous conversations were that these would be phased out over the years, and now they're embedded to be kind of in perpetuity, and I don't understand that, because that is not my understanding.

[01:37:15] And I think I'll pause here because those are the things that I am stressed about here. And then section E2, again, that last statement about arrangement to minimize staff use of the buildings but have teacher work days.

[01:37:35] I don't understand. I'm a little bit confused. So I will wait to give my final comments after I hear the answers to my questions. Mr. Moon. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank my fellow colleagues working hard to come up with this.

[01:37:55] There are many things in this amendment that I could ultimately be able to support. However, for tonight, I am not going to be able to support any of the policies, whether it's an amendment or a main motion, because, you know, looking at what has been proposed, this is something that Dr. Anderson already alluded to, What we are trying to accomplish is going to be very, very, very much limited by strict languages contained in the policy.

[01:38:34] And if you remember, going back to our, I think it was April 9th meeting, April 13th meeting, when we direct the superintendent conduct survey, and our directive superintendent is currently conducting a survey, and survey does not close until June 22nd.

[01:38:57] And I was hoping that, you know, superintendent would give us what the survey will show because survey was very simple survey and it really addresses things like full five-day instructional weeks, religious holidays, federal holidays, full week of a spring break, two full weeks of a winter break.

[01:39:23] our a thanksgiving break and all those things we are asking community to let us know but even before we hear from them that we're making a decision i don't know what you are doing why can't we until we get the survey results which may confirm what you are trying to do rather than doing it tonight because what are we doing are we telling the community to not stop responding to survey because we're not gonna use them I cannot support this motion tonight

[01:39:58] Ms. Marin yes so this is a big accomplishment to bring the policy to the board it's taken a while to get here thank you to the Governance Committee for working on it I you know at a minimum this policy meets the requirement of Virginia code that mandates that we review each policy every five years so that is an achievement and it's overdue since the policy wasn't reviewed since 2014 it also codifies the board's review and approval of annual calendars. It's just too important to delegate it completely to the

[01:40:38] superintendent without board oversight. I appreciate the work of the Providence member for offering a revised draft. There are some improvements to the language and structure of the policy. However, the wholesale new document that the member offers is a disappointing move. You know, as governance chair, I worked very hard, especially during the May 19th meeting, to the detriment of getting to work on the tech policy more, to get as much alignment and agreement as possible on the calendar policy to get here today.

[01:41:07] And there were specific areas that committee members left lingering because we had come to agreement on so many things, but we just ran out of time. And my expectation, my understanding was that there could be some amendments to really focus on those particular things. Instead, there's an entirely new document, which the clerks have mistakenly posted on board docs against board practice.

[01:41:28] We don't post amendments. I think that's very misleading to the public. What I'd like to do is call out the three areas that I recall from the meeting as being the areas that were going to be caught for amendment. So one of them is under the philosophy saying that we do prioritize full school weeks.

[01:41:44] That's been removed from the philosophy section in this draft. Under section 5 responsibilities to calendar structure, it's saying to the greatest attention possible, we're going to try to avoid fragmented weeks. that's the exact opposite of what parents have been shouting for for months the final thing is that aligning to the greatest extent possible with surrounding school divisions that that wasn't an agreement and then early release it actually changes I believe what the board voted on regarding early release days which was like the number one thing especially for elementary school

[01:42:20] parents so I don't think that this policy is actually solving the problems that we've seen with the calendar. Most devoid is that it doesn't include any input from the superintendent. Just this week, I received an email from a teacher questioning and saying, hey, can you help advocate for me? Because we've gotten two emails from the superintendent saying, we must report to work on June 18th, in bold, as if people don't understand their schedule. And this employee and others felt really degraded because they are hourly employees or they contract employees. If They have nothing to do.

[01:42:53] They have to show up. These are problems that are not in my bailiwick to solve. This is like the most operational thing. And so it's just, it will be good to have a revised policy, but I certainly don't support this amendment nor the way that it was brought forth and shared with the board on Tuesday.

[01:43:12] Thank you. Dr. Anderson for a go back. Ms. Dixon. I'm happy to support this revised policy because it, I think it strikes the right balance.

[01:43:33] It provides family with the predictability that they have consistently asked for, including a two-weeks winter break, a full spring break, a designated Thanksgiving holiday, while still giving a division the flexibility it needs to build strong instruction calendar.

[01:43:49] I also appreciate that this version incorporates community feedback, strengthens the public engagement process, and gives staff more flexibility when it comes to professional development and scheduling. Overall, I believe this policy provides a solid framework moving forward and better reflects the need of our students, families, and staff.

[01:44:10] Thank you. - Mr. Dunn for a go back. - Thank you. I want to be clear that I think the policy is not perfect, but I've never met a policy that is.

[01:44:26] I think all progress is incremental, right? Right now, we have no policy, so there's no policy at all. This will be a policy that we have in place, so that's an improvement. This policy makes clear that full five-day weeks and instructional continuity are the priorities.

[01:44:48] That's important because that's what we've heard again and again. It's the fragmented school weeks when you have school day, day off, school day, day off that has proven problematic for child care arrangements, for transportation, for getting to your work and on a day when all employers require their employees to be in the office, be your kid has the day off and they're in elementary school.

[01:45:11] So these are problems that are actively being solved by this policy. I think we'll see on July 9th calendars that are significant improvements over the current calendar that we've had for the past few years.

[01:45:27] But it's important to understand that it took 20 years to get to the bad calendar we have right now. It will take a little bit of time to cure that calendar and restore it to what you might call the golden era when we had 70% five-day full school weeks.

[01:45:43] I think we should take a beat, a couple years, to look at the calendars that are implemented and in two years come back and revisit this. Get the data, look at where we are, and if necessary, make additional improvements to this policy.

[01:45:59] So this is definitely considerable improvement over what we have right now, what we had before, and I think it puts us in the right direction. It's not a cure-all, it's not a panacea, but it is an improvement, and it moves us in the right direction.

[01:46:14] Thank you. - Ms. Lady. - Thank you. I first want to start by thanking the Chair of Governance for her leadership in this work in governance meetings, 'cause one of the things that we haven't really touched on is the fact that we have incorporated some policies that were standalones into this one.

[01:46:35] And that was the recommendation of the chair. So we have sunset some because they're incorporated into this one. It's easier, I think, and to the chair's point throughout the process, for parents to go to one place to see lots of the details related to some of the things that are discussed.

[01:46:50] For example, I think we had a separate policy just on elections, a separate policy. I don't remember all of them. But I just want to thank her for her leadership. I also want to thank my colleagues from Providence and Mount Vernon regarding their work because we were not quite finished.

[01:47:07] And it was a rushed ending to the last meeting. And I think upon reflection and reading it, we realized there were some things that had been left out. And so since some of those things had been left out, there were some conversations. And like I said, I appreciate my colleagues in Providence and Mount Vernon taking the lead on that to make sure they're included in here.

[01:47:30] Also, I think in addition to wanting community input, we also slated that we would be voting on the 28-29 policy in a July meeting. So what I would like to say is the feedback we get from the community could inform the next one, but due to the fact that I think we're committed to adopting a calendar before we get that robust feedback, and to my colleague's point, I think we need to get a policy passed, I'm happy to support this tonight. Mr. McDaniel. I'm going to support the the policy has been

[01:48:06] amended. The table stake for me throughout this entire conversation had been protecting the religious holidays that are on books now and this policy does that. You know when I when we were getting a lot of emails about this within us to give the public a sense of the volume within a 72 hour period I got 450 emails asking me to protect one for two particular holidays those have been protected. I received a letter from the Jewish Community Relations Council involving two other holidays. I heard from other communities about the religious holidays and I appreciate that this policy is putting in place and

[01:48:41] codifying the religious holidays we've been respecting and there was a long history of how we got to those holidays and my worry in the calendar conversation has been that we would give an inch and roll any of those back. so those are protected and I agree with mr. moon to a certain extent you know counters a math problem and this policy sets the die in many respects and it sets the guardrails but I can't make the problem I can't make the calendar not a math problem it's just the nature of how calendars work so thank you for everyone that worked on this and I'll be supporting the motion mr. Frisch for

[01:49:17] go back thanks just want to bring one other piece to the table so we had a very robust I want to say we we spoke about it for like 90 minutes at our last Governance Committee meeting maybe longer. One of the things that did not emerge from that conversation was anywhere in the policy outside of the philosophy section indicating that the calendar would be constructed with an eye towards instructional continuity or five-day weeks. We talked about how the board wanted five-day weeks in the philosophy section, but the philosophy

[01:49:51] section doesn't speak to construction of the calendar. And so we did not nail down the approach to that. But during that conversation, the approach to remedying that situation, I proposed including something in one section. We didn't do that. But I did say repeatedly during that conversation that I would bring language that would seek instructional continuity in the actual meat and potatoes of the policy outside of the philosophy section. So this amendment does that.

[01:50:24] And I agree with Mr. Dunn, the policies are an art and compromise, and, you know, the progress is incremental. As to future considerations, policies can always be amended. So I look forward to the continued conversation with my colleagues and with members of the community as we consider future calendars.

[01:50:47] Mr. McElveen. Thank you. So I'm having difficulty following all the changes, as I'm sure the public is. So the readout that I heard from the most recent governance committee meeting when the calendar was voted out was that we would be maintaining, the vote was to maintain all the religious holidays that currently exist in the calendar.

[01:51:14] But when I look at this, it only lists six. So that's, we, okay, so then why have we had off, this may be a question for staff, why we had off additional holidays like orthodox good friday orthodox christmas if if there are only six codified in here i think that there are times when the teacher work days staff planning days could fall on friday's end of quarter or grading days so that they're likely serendipitously

[01:51:54] connected but not for the holiday specifically okay um that's that's helpful because i think the community is under the impression that we have a lot more religious holidays codified than we indeed do so for those who can't follow along all the red lines and everything listed in here are christmas diwali the two eads rosh hashanah and yom kippur i think if the community saw that they would feel that that's more reasonable than what is currently in the calendar. Maybe not perfect, but it's certainly more reasonable than what currently exists.

[01:52:30] I think it would be helpful if the Chair of the Governance Committee, and I know this is putting her on the spot, if there's any way to kind of go over the conclusions that were made in addition to religious holidays at the governance committee at the 30,000-foot level. Right. We're going to to maintain these religious holidays we're going to have how many half-day Mondays you don't just you can come back later to that when you have a go back because I think I'm not able to follow

[01:53:08] this turn of events thanks Dr. Anderson thank you I don't disagree with the statements that you know incremental progress has to be made but I'll be honest this is very very very incremental and since I did not receive responses to my questions I am going to make a motion to strike section 6 on page I don't know what page this is responsibilities a 6 dr. Anderson hold on we're in the middle of the amendment

[01:53:46] so I'm going to ask the parliamentarian to make sure that we're doing this right if you're just if the amendment is to just be cleaner to adopt and then make the amendments, but it would be permissible. Okay. So you are at, you are offering a secondary amendment. Yes. Um, so yes, I'd like to strike, um, number six. This is responsibilities A6, where it says pretty much everything that is in red that was added from, that is different from

[01:54:22] what the governance committee came up with just to make it easier. Is there a second? I'll second. Ms. Marin, would you like to speak to your motion? I'm so sorry. Would you like to speak to your amendment? - Yes, I would.

[01:54:38] I'm just really worried that we have made the survey moot because we've already outlined everything. There's no room to go because it's already laid out. And it was very clear when the motion was made for the survey, because I was the one who made it, was that it was going to be done in time to inform what the superintendent brings to us.

[01:54:59] But we're ahead of that. we're ahead of it in these places we have to give ourselves room to move. If parents are saying and I'm not predicting I'm just making a statement. If we get a survey back that says we only want one week of winter holiday because we'd like to have more school days. Well we've already outlined it. We just painted ourselves into a corner and I don't think we need to do that at this time. We could always come back and amend it. But we gave ourselves no space to be

[01:55:30] responsive to the survey. Ms. Marin would you like to speak to your second? No thank you. Okay I'm going to take a quick turn on the secondary amendment. One of our at-large colleagues recently who's been on the board for longer than I have recently sent out a newsletter that codified each of the changes related to breaks that were really going on and it was it was an interesting timeline of things that had happened and decisions that boards had made over time and many of them from my understanding were correlated with other decisions that were made like when we actually in the

[01:56:08] division moved away from the early release Mondays for elementary school then what happened is that that was partially a trade in order to have the two weeks at winter break and so I think that the reason that I'm supportive of this language specifically to kind of codify the breaks themselves specifically that we have a spring break that we you know have a winter break I think the reason that I'm I think that those are important is because that's work that's been long-standing in the division to get to those places so until we hear back specifically from

[01:56:42] particularly from um our unions that that's something that they're interested in as employees then I I am in support of this particular portion of the amended language okay so it would be very helpful for everybody to turn their lights off if you don't want to speak to this amendment mr mcdaniel just clarification if amended what would it actually say i mean you have it i want to make sure where it says under summer holiday school shall be closed for regular programming basically from the last day of school to the first day of school it's just removing the

[01:57:22] it would be removing the the codification so to speak of spring break and a two-week winter break okay seeing no others we're going to go ahead and vote for the secondary amendment that is on the screen. I just want to make sure we have the language. So it's I move to strike the additions in the amendment to responsibility section A6, formally titled summer break. It's not striking the entire component. It's going back to what came out of the governance committee, which is the

[01:58:00] language that is in black. Dr. Anderson, it's the language that's at the very bottom of the screen. You can see it where it's the sentence that has been now pulled back together. Yes, thank you.

[01:58:11] Okay. Yes. We have clarified that that is the correct amended language. All those in favor, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Marin, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Dr. Anderson, all those opposed. That is Lady, Mr. Frisch, Ms. St. John Cunning, and myself. Ms. Dixit is also opposed. All those abstaining. Mr. McDaniel, I'm sorry, Mr. McElveen and Mr. Moon. Will the clerk please read the vote?

[01:58:54] So we've reached a tie the way the Virginia code typically reads is that you defer to the next meeting We have if you don't have a full board. We have a full board. So the motion would fail. Thank you Okay So now we are returning to the amendment brought forward by mr. Frisch So we had mr. Moon that was asking for a go back. I apologize a question was being asked

[01:59:27] Can the clerk please repeat her guidance? Because the because the board was we are we are a full complement of the board So because the board was a tie, then the motion fails. The amendment fails. So, Mr. Moon, for your, this is a go back on the original amended language.

[01:59:49] Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't need to speak anymore. Thank you, Mr. Moon. Mr. McDaniel. Okay. So, now we are voting on the amended language. All those in favor, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Lady, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Frisch, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Dixit, and myself, All those opposed, Ms. Marin, Mr. McElveen, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson.

[02:00:25] Will the clerk please read the vote?

[02:00:38] 8-4, the motion carries. The amendment passes. Okay, thank you. So now we are back to the main motion, and so it is the amended version brought forward by our member from Providence. Anyone that needs to speak to this?

[02:00:55] Mr. Moon. Madam Chair, thank you. I know where this motion is going, how this is going to be voted on. You know, Dr. Reed, I hope that you will not discontinue collecting feedback from the community members on the survey that's been already out.

[02:01:16] And I hope that, you know, as the survey closes on June 22nd, that you will bring back the results from the survey, no matter how this motion is decided tonight. That's true.

[02:01:35] I mean, yes, sir, of course, we're going to finish the survey. It closes June 22nd, and then the team that drafted it, our survey and research team will review the data and provide a report that I'll be presenting on July 9th when I have new business for the calendars, or actually I'll be presenting the calendars for approval for the out years on July 9th.

[02:02:01] So we'll have the survey data as part of that presentation. Dr. Anderson. Thank you. I just go back to this point. I'm unsure as to how the survey data will impact what you present because all of it has been laid out.

[02:02:17] So you'll just be presenting the data results and not particularly using it to make any changes because we've already outlined what needs to happen. We'll be looking at the survey in its aggregate and taking the data and to the degree we're able to within the guardrails of the policy, we'll be utilizing that data in the presentation that I'll provide the board on July 9th.

[02:02:47] And I think that's my worry because it's so tight. You'll have nowhere to go because all of the questions that you've asked are already answered here. Mr. Dunn. Dr. Reed, I wanted to ask, you know, I've highlighted at multiple school board meetings now the trends and the calendar over time.

[02:03:10] Do you feel that this policy that's been adopted, hopefully will be adopted momentarily, will provide you with the guidance to perhaps reverse the trend to increase the number of full school weeks and increase instructional continuity for 27-28 and 20-29 that you'll present on July 9th?

[02:03:29] Yes, sir. I believe we'll be able to reverse the trend and begin making progress to a more consistent calendar. I think the guidance is clear. Thank you. I appreciate it. Okay. Seeing no others, now we are voting on the calendar policy as presented. So all those in favor, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Frisch, Ms. St. John Cunning, and myself. All those opposed Ms. Marin, Mr. McElveen, Mr. Moon, and Dr. Anderson. Will the

[02:04:08] clerk please read the vote? Eight for the motion carries. Okay thank you. I call on Mr. McElveen for a follow-on motion. I move the Fairfax County School Board direct the superintendent to establish a calendar advisory committee tasked with advising and reporting to the superintendent on the development a future school year calendars in alignment with engagement

[02:04:43] timelines as detailed by board policy the advisory committee shall include one appointee from each board member and representatives from key stakeholder groups as determined by the superintendent is there second second thank you mr. fresh mr. McElveen would you like to speak to your motion I think over the past two years I've spoken to this enough and I think it goes without that's saying that that we need to return to the process of having a community-based calendar committee and I think this motion gets us there Mr. Frisch

[02:05:20] would you like to speak to your second no I've appreciated the comments about past school calendar committees that we've heard over the last couple years and I think the board is committed to bringing community voice into the conversation so I'm happy to second Mr. Dunn thank you I'd like to thank Mr.

[02:05:42] McElveen and Mr. Frisch for bringing this forward I think this is a vital element of developing future school calendars and ensuring that we have robust community engagement certainly there will be future surveys future opportunities for the public to provide public input but this is essential because while the school board has a vast panoply of issues that we deal with on a weekly monthly basis a standing calendar committee that is focused on this issue and related issues is essential with representation from each

[02:06:21] board member having an appointee and organizational representatives including from the Fairfax County NAACP the Fairfax County Council of PTAs and other organizations will ensure that the community writ large has an opportunity to inform the development of the calendar that doesn't just impact students and school operations, but really impacts so many families, employees, educators, and the entire community writ large.

[02:06:47] So, for that reason, I think this is an absolutely vital element of the school governance structure that we have established in FCPS, and to ensure that there is continuing engagement and a continuing conversation between the community and FCPS leadership in the development of future school calendars.

[02:07:07] Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Anderson. Yes. Thank you. Just two quick questions. One is this just kind of going back a little bit to a few years ago.

[02:07:23] There was a list that existed of stakeholders in Fairfax County that we pulled for a number of different reasons. I know we pulled it in the superintendent search, etc. Do we still have that list, and is that the list that we would intend on using here?

[02:07:40] I would have to check with staff about the existence of such a list. Yeah, I still have a copy somewhere. It's pretty significant, and I would like to know who the key stakeholders are. Who are they? I know Mr. Dunn shared some examples, but I'd like to better understand, so that's one question.

[02:08:00] If you could get back, that would be great. The other question is, would your intention be to model this after the EdTech committee? Will this be a public committee or a closed committee? I think that's a decision the board can make about what type of committee it is.

[02:08:17] If it's an advisory committee to the board, it's public. If it's an advisory committee to the superintendent, it's generally not. But the board, we made an exception in the tech committee, so that's a decision that you all can make this evening. I think greater transparency around this is better than less.

[02:08:35] The EdTech committee is a superintendent's advisory committee, but that's been made public through our conversation, so I would make the motion that this also be an open meeting, an open committee, rather. There's a clarification here that I'm going to speak to in just a second, but we will get – I would like to hold on your motion, if possible.

[02:09:02] Well, the amendment to – because one of the questions that – and I'm actually just going to go ahead and take my turn. My question is, is right now this is situated as an advisory committee. Advisory committees are under the board, which means we need to amend the policy and we need to amend the governance manual.

[02:09:22] Those documents are not here. And so I believe that what the makers of the motion were intending to bring forward is that this would be a calendar review committee, which echoes the model of what we already have related to the educational technology that we just created.

[02:09:39] So if that is the case, then that is something I wholeheartedly and completely can support. Unfortunately, if it's an advisory committee that is only to the school board, I cannot because it doesn't make any sense to add that advisory committee into our work the way that the structure currently goes.

[02:09:55] So this is one of the questions that I had for the makers of the motion. Then I'd like some clarification because I think in initial conversations, it was at least in discussions with me, it was that this would be modeled after the tech committee. And to be honest, I do not remember what that's called.

[02:10:13] Is that called an advisory committee? It's just a review committee. So to have this look like that committee, we would have to strike the term advisory because that would then make it equivalent.

[02:10:29] Is there appetite for this? - Without objection, I would like to offer that we change the word advisory to be review. Mr. Frisch, was your hand up for an objection?

[02:10:45] Okay. Otherwise, then without objection, we are going to go ahead and change because I believe that's in line with what everybody expected this to be. And so it would say instead of calendar advisory committee, it would say calendar review committee, which is in line with the committee that we just created for educational technologies. Okay. Mr. McDaniel. That was my question.

[02:11:12] Ms. Dixit. So I had the same thought about being a review committee and not advisory committee. So So thank you, Ms. Anderson, for pointing that out.

[02:11:28] When we talk about key stakeholder, I just want to know if we are talking about different religious groups. We're talking about different organizations, like, for example, like the SPED, other organizations which have-- they bring some-- they can put their input.

[02:11:50] So I just wanted to understand what the key stakeholder groups means. Mr. McDaniel, would you like to respond? Or I'm sorry, Mr. McElveen. I was looking straight at you. Mr. McElveen.

[02:12:07] So to Ms. Dix's question, I think we've established that a list exists. We just don't have access to the list right now. But I think the superintendent is going to bring that to us as an example of what's existed in the past. Okay, all right.

[02:12:23] As soon as, like as long as, I guess, we have representation from different community members, organizations and religious outlets I would be good with that so yeah I'll support this thank you mr. fresh for go back I almost objected only because the word advisory is not like magical right like technically our advisory committees are called school board community advisory committees and so I didn't object because I don't think it matters because the the motion says the

[02:13:02] superintendent will establish a committee on the subject of what's on the list dr. Anderson's right it's the list that had gone around previously and not only for the superintendent selection process but other items as well was fairly extensive it included homeowners associations and religious organizations and academic organizations and staff associations it was extremely comprehensive and you know perhaps even outdated at this point but uh i have every confidence the superintendent can pull to better pull together uh the requisite group of uh community stakeholders to engage in such a process

[02:13:41] so i'll support continue supporting the motion mr dunn dr anderson your light is on thank you okay hello my hands up i'm sorry marcy miss angel cunning okay i know i've been very quiet uh and it's not a big deal it's just the last sentence uh of this motion just to change

[02:14:17] advisory where it says the advisory committee to review it's not a big deal but let's just be consistent there without objection i'd like to go ahead and make sure that we align both so we can just strike advisory and that way that will solve that problem so just say the committee thank you thank you miss st joan cunning okay seeing no others we're going to go ahead and take a vote for the follow-on motion that is on the screen as amended so all those in favor dr anderson

[02:14:55] I'm not making a motion. I'm just wondering about the timeline of this committee. Is this for the next school year? Because if we're appointing individuals to it, what are you thinking to the makers of the motion? Mr. McElveen? I would assume it would start with the next school year, yes. I mean, board members over the summer can begin recruiting a member for the committee, but I think it would start in September like our other committees.

[02:15:24] So then this committee will have no opportunity to review the three calendars that we're going to be voting on in July? Two. Two? Oh, okay. I don't think it's physically possible to convene this before then.

[02:15:41] It just makes the timeline a little funky because the next two years are already spelled out. What are those individuals going to do? If I may? Mr. Frisch? I think one of the qualifying pieces of language in the motion is in alignment with the board's policy.

[02:16:04] The board's policy says that the community engagement, this is what we just adopted, will happen on at least every other year basis. So I would be hopeful to see an update from the superintendent about timelines in like a Friday letter or whatever and quickly get my typical application process out for Providence residents to serve on such a committee. In other words, I don't anticipate that I'm appointing a representative from Providence

[02:16:35] District to an open-ended assignment that never ends. The term, I imagine, would be consistent with other terms that are like a year long, and the community engagement section of the policy talks about the timeline of that engagement. Okay, Dr. Reed, I just want to clarify that

[02:17:08] I'm understanding the scope. I think that I'll be asking staff to obviously stand up a committee should this pass, and likely the committee will be stood up by the coming fall. I don't anticipate being able to do that prior to presenting you the next two years on July 9th. Having said that, I think the committee certainly could convene in the coming year and make a recommendation that would impact the third year out that I would bring back to you in July of 2027, if that makes sense.

[02:17:43] So that's kind of what I'm thinking. And I don't know, Mr. McAleen, if that's what we're all thinking. I just want to make sure that I'm clear as I hand this to staff with a task. That aligns with my thinking and that these would be annual. Okay, thank you.

[02:18:04] Seeing no others, we're now going to vote for the follow-on motion that is on the screen as amended. All those in favor, Mr. McDaniel, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannen, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson.

[02:18:24] Will the clerks please let me see our virtual colleagues? Mr. Frisch, Ms. St. John Cunning, and myself.

[02:18:40] All those opposed? All those abstaining? Ms. Marin. Excuse me. Opposed, please. Oh, Ms. Marin is opposed. Will the clerk please read the vote? Votes 11-1. The motion carries. Okay, we are going to go ahead and take a quick 10-minute break, and we will be right back.

[02:22:02] Board members, please take your seats.

[02:30:55] Are we back in order?

[02:35:20] Coming back. Agenda item 7.04, motions related to instructional technology. I call on Mr. Dannon for a motion. Point of order. Yes, Ms. Marin.

[02:35:37] Before recess, there was a different motion on our script, and now there is yet again a different motion, and neither of them are the motion about my three motions. Why is there a different motion on there now? It was not a different motion. I clarified with the parliamentarian as to the procedural move that Mr. Dannen is trying to make to combine the three motions.

[02:36:02] I also have a point of order. Yes, Dr. Anderson. And this is for the parliamentarian. Would that not be considered an amendment to the existing, to the prior motions that were submitted?

[02:36:21] No, my understanding is that the intent is to just move all three of the motions at the same time rather than moving them separately. Point of order, if this is a new motion, it's not in order because it was not submitted 48 hours in advance.

[02:36:44] This is not a new motion. This is a request to combine the three motions that you brought forward. This does not require the 48-hour rule because this is a member-brought motion. So it is allowed that board members, as you provided the final language on Tuesday evening before the deadline, now board members are allowed to move forward with requests.

[02:37:09] But as I noted, this is a procedural question. It's the same as creating an omnibus, which we have done several times before. So I will call on Mr. Dannon for a motion. I move to combine the following main motions.

[02:37:30] Main motion number one, I move that the school board direct the superintendent to require parental or guardian permission each school year for any instructional technology to go home with the student. Main motion number two, I move to direct the superintendent to prohibit digital devices for instruction for students from pre-k to second grade. For students in grades three through completion of elementary school, devices shall be stored away from students when not intentionally in use for instruction during the school day. These restrictions shall not apply to students with individualized education plans and 504 accommodations when such devices are required. Main motion number three, I move to direct the superintendent to develop and implement a digital literacy instruction plan with sufficient professional development for staff directly instructing students. Any plan will prohibit AI use by students in grades 8 and below as part of

[02:38:07] any included AI literacy component. This plan will be publicly accessible. The division superintendent will provide annual updates to the school board in accordance with the FCPS strategic plan goal reports and executive limitation 9. Is there a second? I second. Thank you Ms. Dixit. The motion to combine is not debatable. I will call for a vote on the motion to combine which is on the screen. All those in favor. Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Frisch,

[02:38:44] Ms. St. John Cunning, and myself. All those opposed. Ms. Marin, Mr. McElveen, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, and Dr. Anderson. Will the clerk please read the vote? It's 7-5 as it requires the majority of the motion to combine carries. Thank you. Now that the motion to combine has succeeded, we will consider the combined main motion. I call on Mr. Dannen for an amendment to the combined main motion. I move to strike the motion in its entirety and insert the following language in its place. I move that the school board direct the superintendent to review the

[02:39:20] feasibility, equity, and educational efficacy of the following and develop recommendations for each in consultation with the Educational Technology Review Committee. Opt-out options inclusive of budgetary implications and equity concerns for parents and or guardians for any electronic device to go home with students. Restrictions on electronic devices for instruction for students from pre-k to second grade. Options for students in higher grades in elementary school to have electronic devices stored away when not intentionally in use for instruction during the school day. Enhancements to digital literacy instruction with sufficient professional development for staff directly instructing students. This content will be publicly accessible. These

[02:39:57] recommendations must take into account students with individualized education plans and 504 plans whose accommodations include access to a device and must align with fcps inclusive education guidelines and fcps educational equity policy the division superintendent will provide these recommendations to the school board for approval no later than november 12 2026. all recommendations approved by the school board shall be implemented as soon as practicable and no later than the beginning of the 2027 2028 school year i'm sorry i have a point of order yes dr anderson um the motions were combined which i understand and we had that vote but it was not even presented by

[02:40:36] their maker did we miss that step i i'm confused because we just went to the amendment and didn't even have a presentation of the combined motions if the members wish they could direct ask for them to be read out in full i'm sorry i it was a little fuzzy i didn't hear it if the the department believes that a member can ask to have all three read out i think i think i'm a

[02:41:11] little bit confused because the motions were miss marron's motions mr dannon combined them so that passed then miss marron should have the opportunity to present them and i'm hearing that would not be the case because her motions have not yet been heard before they were even amended so they were read through the combined motion that's what mr. Dannon did right when he in the motion to combine he read the main motion I understand what he did but when we get to present a motion before they're amended their first and seconded

[02:41:47] and then you have the opportunity to talk which didn't happen so that's the piece that I really make her would be entitled to speak first if the maker was seeking recognition and I said I'm not aware she would have to apply for recognition to speak to her motions which she has not presented you speak to motions you don't present motions so she could ask to speak to them the the chair in this case took the after the motions were combined through the motion

[02:42:24] to combine took up the combined motions so the maker of those motions original of those motions could be entitled to speak first to them before taking on amendments. Okay, we're going to go ahead and adjust then. I call on Ms. Marron for a motion.

[02:42:43] Wow, it's almost like we could really use some lessons in Robert's rules. I'm sorry, I am confused. My motions have been combined. I just don't understand what's happening. I'm sorry, it seems that the Braddock member and the chair certainly knew what's happening.

[02:43:00] The clerk told me that the Braddock member would tell me that my motions were combined, although I asked him at about 6:55 about that and he said he didn't know and then I asked him over there and he said he didn't know the parliamentarian was instructed to the clerk who works for all of us. My motions have been posted since May 21st. I don't understand what the motion is on the table.

[02:43:22] It's very clear that the parliamentarian isn't clear, that the chair did something unclear and not in the public view and I didn't know. So I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to be speaking to can can someone please clarify the clerk the parliamentarian or the chair or the braddock member miss marron you know that none of us have access to the script i'm reading the same thing that you are so we have a point of order i wish i would have taken a screenshot of the motion that said omnibus and madam clerk could perhaps clarify because i walked over with my laptop and i pointed at it madam clerk can you clarify did it say omnibus motion when i walked over to you

[02:44:01] with my laptop yes it did and miraculously now it doesn't now the script says that the motions will be combined by the Braddock member. I don't know what I'm supposed to be speaking to, but I'm eager to speak to my motions. That is what you're being given the opportunity to do now. Where is where? What on the screen is my motion? These are not my motions. The combined that's in the script.

[02:44:28] Where is it? It's not there on. I only speak to motions that are presented publicly. That is our practice. Madam Clerk, can you please thank you. Your motions are on the screen. I'm sorry, that's not the motion that we're voting on, though. We're voting on the combined motion. We're not voting on my one two three motions so that is incorrect we are voting right now we are discussing and

[02:45:08] we're asking you to present the three motions that were combined into an omnibus and so we would like you to go ahead and speak to those if you wish to if not then we will move on to the next person I have a point of order can the court please read the last vote can the court can the clerk please read the vote we just took the motion and the motion that we just took that passed what that motion please that motion was to combine the three main motions so per roberts rules that is the motion that is on the table i don't see it written but i'm sure could it could you take a

[02:45:43] short recess no i object we just took a short recess and that's when the motion was changed i'll be glad to speak to my three main motions point of order yes mr fresh i believe uh and the clerks can correct me if i'm wrong the motion on the table would read one blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah the language that's on the screen two the language that's on the screen three the language is on the screen that's the motion am I correct yes Mr. Frisch so I'll make sure that's

[02:46:20] reflected on the screen well I see there are many members of the community here who've waited a long time and sent their children home already so I'm willing to have my turn if it's three minutes am I to understand now instead of having three different discussions I'm to have one we're all going to have one discussion on my three motions that have been posted for three weeks is that is

[02:46:59] accurate if the clerk can verify for me yes yeah so gosh I can only think that either other board members don't want to talk about this in depth and have their votes recorded or they want the credit for work that I've been leading with others for quite some months so there is a theme here I want to talk about two things in my two turns the first one is how the work gets done there's a theme here I want to bring to your view the board is not allegiance to clear consistent approaches to public work for the benefit of the public. And the board as a body does not defend the rights of and respect for individual board members

[02:47:37] in doing this work. The chair and vice chair have repeatedly changed meeting agendas and changed motions without seeking input nor permission when needed from board members. What has happened with the motion is devious and dishonorable. It's politics at its worst, it's unnecessary, and it is not best for kids. Here's how we got to today. The motions I posted as new business on May 21st are up for vote, are the culmination of board work happening since January. I recorded it all. Six governance meetings to work on the policy, two forums to develop statements, one asking parents to wait till 8th, one establishing an ed tech advisory committee, two work sessions with limited board

[02:48:16] discussion, one included ed tech proponents lecturing us. The committee adopted on March 17th working policy draft. No substantial change has been made to that to date. As such, two months later, in my commitment to improving the situations for students this coming school year, I proposed my motions in full transparency with plenty of notice. I am committed to change this fall by bringing reasonable, really basic guardrails and rules into place so it's clear how electronic devices are to be used for intentional instructional purposes. It's unfortunate that

[02:48:54] suggestions for alternate policy language were provided more collaboratively nor timely. I received the Braddock member's suggestion at 2.39 today. I usually depart my house at 3.45 to come here for meetings. The Braddock member then set a revision around 6.59. That's what's going to be voted on tonight by this board. Now it's a better option than the one that would have been worse which would have been to vote to suspend the rules, totally jettison my motions, and just swap in the

[02:49:25] amendment so at least I can say that was an option but I'm eager to share more about why the work is needed after this I'll take my next turn then Dr. Anderson would you like to speak to your second yes I was in my shoe if I still had a second here are the things that I know I know that our parents are concerned about this we've been hearing about this for weeks and weeks and weeks and now they actually have shirts so it's easy to to find them in a crowd I know that they're looking for relief

[02:50:01] sooner rather than later and I'll probably I'll try to wrap up all of my comments now um the motions and the amendments and I've talked about this with Mr. Dannon my primary concern is that there will be no relief coming in this in this school year and it does not make sense to me that everything has to be pushed to the 27 28 year that is a year from the start of school that we haven't even done yet and so for me that does not make sense at all and I think there's low-hanging fruits here that we can take advantage of. The first part of the motion, and this is

[02:50:38] exactly what we talked about, every year in the fall we have a space where we are, where we ask parents, because I completed, to opt, you know, to sign, this is what I want my kids to do. It's a long list. I see it as a fairly easy thing to slot in, do you want a computer to go home with your child?

[02:50:57] The reason why I'm really pressing on this, it's not big yet, but I've had two sets of parents, and I think I shared this with a few of you one set of parents have said in the fall I'm sending a note that my kid cannot bring home a computer so what do we do the other set of parents said I'm going to my doctors and I'm going to get a note saying my kid cannot have a computer and again it's two sets it's not a whole lot of people what if it becomes 800 what if it becomes a thousand what if it's a lot in one school in one class we're going to be caught flat-footed if we don't have a plan because that's happening whether or not I want it whether or not we want it so

[02:51:35] that's kind of the piece as to why I'm not going to be supportive of the motions that are coming or the amendments that are coming because there they are there's no guarantee of any relief part of the language says as practicable as possible for me that's an out for it to not be possible for it to not be practicable so that's going to be my position but secondarily I just think the way that that we've done this today is has been really messy with the combination we spent more time making point of orders where we could have just talked and voted and moved on and so I I'm I'm

[02:52:09] finding this to be not our best um look I call on Mr. Dannon for an amendment to the combined main motion I move to strike the motion in its entirety and insert the following language in its place I move that the school board direct the superintendent to review the feasibility equity and educational efficacy of the following and develop recommendations for each in consultation with the Educational Technology Review Committee.

[02:52:38] Opt-out options, inclusive of budgetary implications and equity concerns for parents or guardians for any electronic device to go home with students. Restrictions on electronic devices for instruction for students from pre-K to second grade. Options for students in higher grades in elementary school to have electronic devices stored away when not intentionally in use for instruction during the school day.

[02:52:57] Enhancements to digital literacy instruction with sufficient professional development for staff directly instructing students. This content will be publicly accessible. These recommendations must take into account students with individualized education plans and 504 plans whose accommodations include access to a device and must align with FCPS inclusive education guidelines and FCPS educational equity policy.

[02:53:19] The division superintendent will provide these recommendations to the school board for approval no later than November 12, 2026. All recommendations approved by the school board shall be implemented as soon as practicable and no later than the beginning of the 2027-2028 school year. Is there a second?

[02:53:36] Second. - Thank you, Mr. Dunn. I call, or Mr. Dannen, would you like to speak to your amendment? - Yes, thank you. I appreciate my colleague Ms. Marion's efforts to drive this forward. I take this issue as seriously as you do. And I'm grateful for Mr. Dunn for seconding the motion.

[02:53:53] I sometimes joke that I'm a PTA dad that got just a little too involved in his kid's school and have wound up on the school board. But this is one of the issues that got me into this role. I am terrified of what, in a way, of what my kid's future is gonna look like with AI and technology. And I was concerned that the school board was not doing enough to take on these issues.

[02:54:11] And I would have gladly have, I have fishing poles in my car right now. I would be gladly to go fishing, but I am here because I care so deeply about these issues. And I care so deeply about my kids' future because we all have skin in the game here. When I got elected, I also promised to listen to folks on the ground that are doing the work to inform every decision.

[02:54:28] And over the past several weeks, 30 minutes after I got the first email about this, I've spent hours and hours meeting with constituents, with teachers, with principals, and others to gather questions, get feedback, and try to refine these motions to make them both practical and inclusive.

[02:54:43] As anyone who's been involved in that can attest, it's been a struggle to get these right. We need to balance things like equity issues for multilingual learners, accessibility issues for students with disabilities, state testing requirements. We've got to update pacing guidelines. We're talking about new professional development.

[02:55:02] The good news is that to me, the answer is obvious. We just created an educational technology review committee to do this exact work. That committee is comprised of the exact people who should be in the room all at once with the staff, providing the review and their guidance, and we've given them a tight timeframe to do that, and we've given the board the mandate to vote on those recommendations.

[02:55:22] And so hopefully these people will see, you know, this is, this gives us a firm direction and a relatively strict timeline to develop recommendations to address these important issues. And you know, I apologize for not sharing language earlier. This was a lot of work to get this done when it became clear that the motions as initially presented were not going to pass, that was not acceptable to me.

[02:55:39] We needed to take action on this and we needed to take action on this six months ago and the next past time is now. I'm looking forward to the work of the Governance Committee to finalize and develop a comprehensive instructional technology policy in the coming weeks and I'm looking forward to voting on that when the time comes. In the meantime, I would encourage my colleagues to support this.

[02:55:55] Mr. Dunn, would you like to speak to your second? Yes. I grew up in a generation that's called a bridge generation because we saw the first of our lives without computers, without the internet, and now we see what it is with the proliferation of digital devices, social media, et cetera.

[02:56:17] And what we can say definitively is we need to go back. We need to go back to the 1990s. The Matrix posited it was the height of human civilization, and that certainly may be true The proliferation of cell phones, of social media, all of these, you know, big internet companies, gamifying dopamine releases to make you addicted to devices, to different apps.

[02:56:42] It's hurting not just children, it's hurting adults, it's hurting families, it's hurting our nation. And with the advent of AI, I see tremendous potential benefits, but I mostly see tremendous potential harm. AI can lie to you, it can deceive, it can cause you to have eating disorders, it can cause you to harm yourself, it can cause suicidal ideation and execution.

[02:57:06] And moreover, it has a survival impulse, right? If you try to delete AI, it will try to survive. That is unlike any other technology humans have ever created. So I think on almost every measure, we know definitively that the technological utopianism that was promised with one-to-one devices, and I was there when FCPS first started debating this in the mid-2010s, has certainly not been borne out.

[02:57:35] I think, if anything, our academic outcomes have suffered for more devices, for more screens, and so we need to look at dialing that back very significantly. We need to, and I've spoken about this consistently over the last three years, restore teaching of cursive handwriting, restore teaching of taking notes, paper textbooks, right, even teaching typing, which is something we don't teach. All of these things need to be considered, and I appreciate very much the assiduous efforts of Ms. Marin to bring these issues forward. She's done incredible work, and I can't possibly compete with her advocacy.

[02:58:13] I do think that, given her motions were not likely to pass, this is an effort to make sure that those outcomes are achieved. And there are certain things that I appreciate about my colleagues' motions, and I appreciate Mr. Dannon for bringing it forward.

[02:58:31] One is I do prefer opt-out to opt-in. I think there's a raft of studies I've seen in the past saying opt-out is preferable. It gets better results. Secondly, I think restrictions can be interpreted broadly and I prefer prohibitions and I will advocate for that going forward.

[02:58:49] Stored away is something that needs to be studied. We saw with cell phones, we had door holders, we had pouches, we had in backpacks. We need to study the physical space of our schools to make sure that, are we just putting them on carts? Who's going to buy, you know, 200 schools times X number of carts?

[02:59:04] And finally, we have to recognize that we already have a digital literacy curriculum. We need to build on it. It's part of our family life education. how can we enhance it? How can we strengthen it? All of these things, plus this has a hard deadline and an emphasis on speed, which was not true in the previous motions. So I'm focused on getting opt-out in place by August, and I will be advocating with the superintendent in that regard.

[02:59:29] Ms. Marin. So I'm ready for action. My motions, one of them is simply giving parents the rights, the ability to get permission to have devices sent home. We do this every year with the SRNR.

[02:59:45] We check things off a box. Directing the superintendent to prohibit digital devices for our youngest kids, pre-K, age 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, up to third grade. And for the rest of the day, time in elementary, have them stored away.

[03:00:00] Of course, allowing for students with special needs. The last one is to develop a digital literacy plan, because we don't have a plan. Because I walked into different schools and I hear different things happening. We don't need to wait. We need to pull the plug now, because we know it's not good for kids.

[03:00:17] Now, the Braddock member asked me last night, he said, who was I listening to? Who was I talking to? What have I read? So I thought I'd bring the things that I've been reading. A community town hall about intentional tech back in January, maybe it was February.

[03:00:35] I've been to a webinar hosted by Arlington Public Schools. I think I've been to another webinar. I've read all of these reports. Most recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement, which I think is so brilliant because really what I found is it doesn't talk about screen time anymore. It says, given the interconnected nature of the influences and systems of the digital ecosystem, media and children cannot be viewed solely through the lens of individual child behaviors or screen limits alone.

[03:01:00] We're beyond setting screen time, even though that's where a lot of us are having this conversation. Technology is shaping our children every single day. As a parent with a 10th grader and a 7th grader, I see it, I feel defeated by it almost every minute of the day that I'm home. Our superintendent has not done anything to rein this in.

[03:01:18] Just down the road in Arlington, though, he has. So I stepped up because that's the school board jobs. I'm not relegating it to a committee. It is our job to protect our kids. It's our job to listen to our parents. Educators also want this.

[03:01:33] I've heard some, just a few comments from educators saying this is a total ban on technology. That is not true. In fact, there's a really interesting pilot that's gonna be happening at Madison High School using AI to do really interesting things. And I've spoken with students at South Lakes High who did a focus group on AI, and they said it needs to be controlled.

[03:01:54] But also, I heard about a student's really interesting idea to make things so much more accessible for their peers. What I'm proposing allows for that without having technology run away. Why are members waiting to do today, to do in the future what we can do today?

[03:02:11] I have to think there's some fear. Why not commit today? Because if only today if we vote yes, will change happen for this school year. There needs to be more integrity in this work. It's very devious for the chair to be changing motions, not informing me, not informing the board, for the clerk to be working just for the chair.

[03:02:36] That is not how your school board should be working. Ms. Lady. Thank you. So I care deeply about this as well. I've talked before about how many times I've held up cell phones when I did presentations my entire time as a director around, please, you know, you're allowing your kids to go anywhere in the world without your supervision. I too have done a lot of engagement with a lot of people. Actually, when I received

[03:03:09] Ms. Marin's motions, I sent a two-page set of questions related to them. I'll share some of those. Do the classrooms have space for storage carts? Like, would that be an expense? You know, I talked to an elementary principal today who doesn't allow any of the computers to go home through second grade, and they keep the chargers at the school because they do have carts, and then they charge them.

[03:03:38] But for upper grades, if they go home, we don't have enough charging cords, and the kids don't always remember to bring the charging cords back and forth. Like, it's a multilayered thing. Also, applying restrictions to gen ed and not to IEP in 504 stigmatizes our SPED kids, or students with disabilities, and seems to completely disregard universal design for learning.

[03:03:59] What helps one-axis learning can help others. And so I think that's another thing, too. I believe 100% in intentional tech. I love the name of the group because we need to be intentional. We need to be purposeful.

[03:04:15] We have teachers using this for passive reasons. It's just like giving me a finder word when I'm a kid. It didn't. I was done with my work, so you gave me things to do, but they didn't enhance my learning. I mean, we have passive ways of kids entertaining themselves, whether it's a device or non-device.

[03:04:31] I just, I feel that, and we do have digital literacy, and maybe we need to do a better job of, I mean, I put some hyperlinks in what I shared, what I could find that was available to parents. So, you know, I appreciate, because my belief in this work is that we need to work together to get to win-wins.

[03:04:54] we need to work together to move the work forward um and i think that we did a great thing in creating which you all the i say you all because you're seated here of advocating for um a committee that would be open and people could observe their work um and we've done that the other thing i'll say is since these motions were posted i have been getting the reverse emails please don't do this please don't take the devices because so many people in the community they just look at our agendas, they don't come and sit. So they're not, they don't necessarily watch community participation. They don't know we've been having this conversation until motions are actually put

[03:05:32] on an agenda. And now we're hearing a lot for the different perspective. And so I just think that this is a, this is a win-win, which I think is the work of what people do. Um, and I, I appreciate the work of my colleagues, um, to come up with, um, recommendations or a motion to direct, um, that will evaluate all the things that are in the motion.

[03:05:55] And if the committee comes back and says do X, Y and Z, then I think we're going to be listening to that recommendation. Thank you. Ms. Dixon. So first of all, I want to thank Ms. Marin for doing the work on this motion and Mr.

[03:06:11] Dannen and Mr. Mr. Dunn, both for you to come bring up this following motion. For me, I think I think about those students who don't have technology at home. I think about those kids who don't get access to second grade and do not touch computer.

[03:06:31] And then the other kids, you have four computers at home. Think about them too. Think about those kids. I know a lot of families who don't have a computer at home. Those kids can get any kind of instruction how to even use a computer at school.

[03:06:48] That's why I like the opt-out option. So parents who are very involved. I was a PTA, you know, vice president, treasurer, secretary, always involved parent. I did go to volunteer school every day when I was with my kids' school.

[03:07:05] I knew what was going on, but there are parents who cannot do that. They're going, working three jobs, or they just don't have the knowledge and expertise to be involved with their kids' education. Think about their living, we are living out of, we're leaving them out in this.

[03:07:22] That's why I like the opt-out option. That technology can go home with them if they want to keep it. And those who really don't want these computers at home, they don't want devices, that opt-out option gives you the right process there.

[03:07:39] Just don't take it. And if we got a lot of teachers emailing us, including some of the 20, 30 years in the system, if they are saying something to us, we also have to pay attention. We have to listen to all voices, not just one voice or second voice, all voices.

[03:07:57] So I read all the emails I got. I talked to people, talked to parents. I did meet with the EdTech committee members and also the parents for Intentional Technology. I met on a Zoom meeting with many of the members.

[03:08:14] So I think we have to work in coordination and EdTech committee is the right. I'm the one who said no phones till ninth grade. And I agree with Ms. Lady and all my colleagues that cell phones are not good things in kids' hands. So I would just say, let's keep working on this.

[03:08:30] This is just the beginning. Let's at least a step in the right direction. Let's go for it. Thank you. Mr. Moon. Thank you, Madam Chair. How Ms. Marin's three motions were treated by this board through the efforts by, an honest effort by Mr. Dennins to combine that, I think I don't agree with the parliamentary uns interpretation, whether that was allowed, that should be the way to go.

[03:09:06] So with that said, I applaud the efforts being made by Ms. Marron and Mr. Dannon to have the discussions in a more appropriate, maybe in a better way tonight.

[03:09:26] I was really hoping that these motions will all come to the work session for the full discussion. including including having input from superintendent and how these emotions will impact our classroom instruction and also school operations and whether there will be any financial impact from these motions but I guess we bypassed that work session and just doing it tonight at the board meeting I was gonna support a couple of emotions from Ms. Mehran I had I had some questions and concern regarding

[03:10:06] a one of the motions that is why all your I think yesterday I you know sent in a question to superintendent whether if you prohibit prohibit digital devices for students from pre-k to to second grade second grade what will be the impact on teaching and learning whether we are prepared to do that right away from from august and and i heard the response and i did ask whether she would be willing to share her response with the community public tonight uh dr re would you

[03:10:39] be able to do that yes sir thank you mr moon uh dr presidio actually crafted the response so i'll have him speak to it because he has it with him and i came from graduation so dr presidio no thank you for the question thank you for the opportunity to to speak to this and i think actually a number of board members have addressed some of the issues in the discussion already that are key considerations so from a staff's perspective we certainly understand the concerns and the urgency to take action on these motions as soon as possible and we support them all it's just how are we going to go about implementing them so to your question mr. moon about the

[03:11:18] device limiting the device access for our younger students at the primary grades some of the considerations that we need to really think about a little bit more is the impact on assessments the required assessments that we have from the state that are only delivered in an electronic format and we don't have additional or alternative ways to administer those it doesn't mean that we can't necessarily work around that or find some solutions but we do need some additional analysis to that we also have two components of personalized instructional resources that support students with foundational literacy and

[03:11:54] math skills that is part of our curriculum it's pretty limited it would be the guidelines for the use of that curriculum is two hours a week combined so if we were to prohibit access to that curriculum then we would have to develop new curricular materials to support the learning early learning needs for those students we also have support resources and materials available for multilingual learner students as well and some additional adaptive curriculum for students with disabilities so all those things would have to be analyzed in terms of the impact of a prohibition on the grade levels and we'd have to take into consideration teacher workload issues if we were going to create new

[03:12:33] materials or costs if we were going to purchase new materials but we have all of these motions actually as priority items on the technology review committee that we were hoping to initiate our first meeting uh this month we're still just waiting to receive a few uh committee member appointees and as soon as we receive all of those we fully intend to schedule a meeting as soon as possible have meetings throughout the summer and see what we can get in place by the start of this coming school year uh 26 27. i don't know if we can get all of these things worked out but we're going to do our best once the committee convenes do as much

[03:13:08] as we can prior to the start of the coming school year. Thank you, Dr. Presidio. Mr. Dannon's amendments is giving November 12, 2026 as outside the date. Do you think you will be a staff will perhaps be able to come to the school board even earlier than November 12th? Well, assuming that we can initiate our committee meetings, hopefully this month it would be helpful to be able to start those in June the opt-outs I think we can operationalize something on parent choice about devices prior to the start of the school year the digital literacy

[03:13:47] curriculum we've actually already drafted that it includes AI literacy components as well so that's kindergarten through grade 12 but again I'd like to get some perspectives from members of the Technology Committee I'd like teachers on that committee to give their input on it administrators on the committee parents students before we make final decisions but we have the materials ready to go we would just need to share them with the committee make revisions and then implement those to start instruction in the fall and then the device limits there's a lot that we can do to put that in place i think by the fall as well but as i just mentioned there are some considerations about a couple key components the assessments and some limited curriculum

[03:14:25] components that we need to think about you know mr denner's you know amendment has a number of different components in it, and I'm hoping that as far as the data is concerned, I strongly encourage the staff to be able to come back to the school board earlier than November 12th, and if there is any component in Mr. Dannen's motion that you are already ready to be able to present to us, my encouragement is for you to do that as soon as possible rather than waiting for everything to be put together and brought to us.

[03:14:56] That's exactly the approach we intend to take. I appreciate it. Thank you. Dr. Anderson. Thank you. Just a quick question regarding the opt-out. And just to be clear, in my conversations earlier with Mr. Dunn, I did suggest that as a possibility because it's just logistically easier rather than having hundreds of thousands of parents opt into systems.

[03:15:22] We opt out for family life. We opt out for a number of things. So there's existing mechanisms to that. Dr. Reed, my question to you is, is that something that could happen for the start of this new year? Because the November 12th date that was provided to me seemed kind of out of step with the timetable that we provide to parents to make all of these decisions.

[03:15:46] Because come August, we get the laundry list of, you know, you complete the documents. Adding this to it is just one more thing. Is that feasible at all for that opening of school? I think anything is feasible.

[03:16:02] What I would say is we would, as Dr. Presidio said, he and Mr. Sethi will be chairing the technology, educational technology review committee. So there are a number of topics, and we really are sincerely and authentically interested in the feedback and the dialogue and the reflection that that group's going to have on whether it's an opt-out policy or what types of guardrails so on and so forth with our younger learners having said that I you know I would hope that we could get some

[03:16:40] of those things back to the board sooner than later and I do recognize that a lot of the signature forms and how we're doing business go out at the beginning of the school year so I would hope that we could endeavor to get into the opt out prior to the school year, but I can't guarantee that this evening I would want to visit with Mr. Sethi and Dr. Presidio and get a good sense of when we can actually seat the committee because we're not there yet, but we're hoping to, and June is marching right along.

[03:17:13] It's June 11th tonight. It is marching quite along. Here's my secondary question. If, for some odd reason, a particular school, a particular classroom has just an unmanageable number of parents who are saying, I do not want my kid to have access to a computer, what is our response? Well, I think that's part of the conversation staff are having right now. I don't think we have a firm response yet, but it's something that I know staff are talking about right now and are looking forward to talking to the committee about. Sure, thank you. And I also

[03:17:48] think it's worthwhile to differentiate between kind of some of the intentional uses, like assessments. They are what they are versus the passive usage that has become ubiquitous in our classrooms. And we shouldn't mix the two up because as a teacher, as a principal, we've always had the carts. When the classroom teacher needs it, you bring the cart, you take care of the activity, and then the computers go back into the cart. It wasn't just always present and having the opportunity for kids to wander into all of the places in which they wander. And I think my last

[03:18:25] point is similar to what I raised earlier and funny enough I just showed Mr. Moon I got not one but two reminders to complete the calendar survey one came at 602 one came at 621 and now I'm going to say why because you already made the decisions but I digress if we wrap all of this up here what is the committee going to do that's also kind of my thing and and I wonder and I said this to you earlier and you know the things that i say i communicate largely can we just pause all of this

[03:19:01] and wait until the work session next week where we have a little bit of time to just digest this a little bit more because i didn't know we had a work session until yesterday i didn't know whether it's user error i'll take the response before i just didn't know but we do on this topic so do we need to make all of these decisions right now because i'd love to now that's kind of on your radar a little bit like what's possible in terms of an opt-out where we can have a more fulsome discussion than we can have right now. Having said that I still stand by my original position.

[03:19:37] We have got to make some changes for this upcoming school year otherwise we will have a mutiny on our hands. I'm going to go ahead and take a quick turn. I understand that there's been a significant number of disparaging remarks related to my intention in this but if my board members would like to recall anytime someone brings me a desire of something that they want to do at the board meeting I often refer them to the clerk and the parliamentarian to ensure that we are procedurally moving forward in the way that we have done this and we have done this on this

[03:20:15] board where we have taken motions and merged them together and so that we could condense the conversation and have a fulsome discussion so I don't think that this was out of line I agree I had many of the same concerns. I appreciate both the original motion maker and the maker of the amendment in terms of the fact that we were looking for a path forward here. It's not just about getting what we want. It's about coming up with what the right answer is. And I had a ton of questions that I kept peppering Dr. Reed with in terms of, I understand

[03:20:53] that we have state testing for first and second graders. What are we going to do with that? I We have folks that are calling for high schoolers to leave their laptops at school, which for lots of kids, that's an equity issue. And for other kids, I don't know logistically how that's possible because the kids don't start in the same class that they finish in.

[03:21:13] So how are we going to physically do that? So related to this issue, the reason that I appreciate the approach that's being brought is that it's not saying that we're not going to do any of these things. It's just saying we've got to figure out how to make it happen. And we're a week from school ending.

[03:21:29] And I have a gaggle of teachers that are emailing me probably hoping that we're not going to try to change their curriculum over the summer. So we got to figure out how to make that possible too. So I appreciate the fact that we absolutely and wholeheartedly want to make sure that we do whatever we can to both meet the needs of our community, but also listen to our staff.

[03:21:51] And so I am trying to figure out how to thread that needle carefully. And for me, the Educational Technology Review Committee was the first step forward. That was the path. So while I appreciate the fact that the motions were brought forward, it wasn't in alignment even with anything that was brought out of governance.

[03:22:13] It was one individual board member that brought these forward that was looking for a path to get done. And it was outside of the framework of anything else that we had been working on. So I was looking, I appreciated the way that because I also was concerned that they were just going to fail.

[03:22:29] So I think that this is a path and I appreciate the fact that the amendment maker ensured that all of the components of the original motions are in the things that were brought forward, including other aspects of what are some of the concerns that some of us had.

[03:22:45] So I do think that this is a happy media moment I would like to see. I love the idea that we would be able to do. I absolutely think elementary school kiddos should be able to leave their laptops at school, without a doubt. But I also want to make sure that it's possible for them to complete homework if necessary and bring those computers home if their families so choose.

[03:23:07] Okay, so we have a few more people for go-backs. I'm going to ask all board members to turn off their lights if they do not want to speak. But we're going to start with Mr. McElveen for an initial turn. Thank you. So I don't think this has been our best work here tonight from a parliamentary perspective.

[03:23:30] Combining things, changing things on the fly at the last minute, I think that applies to both the calendar conversation and this one. I know it's been mentioned that this board has made a practice of that. I don't find it to be a helpful practice. I think people bring motions so they can be spoken to one by one, as opposed to making omnibuses where we end up not delving into the amount of detail we should on each of the motions.

[03:24:00] I have a question for the maker of the motion. What ultimately was your reason for combining all of these together? Genuinely, simplicity, right? These are all very related. Mr. Dannen, would you like to be recognized? Go ahead.

[03:24:16] Yes, I would like to be recognized. Generally simplicity, right? And as we wrote out, we initially started off writing three different amendments, and then realizing that there's a lot of consistent language amongst all of them, making sure we would be inclusive, equitable, and so forth. And so it seemed to make sense, the deadlines and so forth. So that was the thought behind that was simplicity and being more direct.

[03:24:36] Okay, thank you for that. I mean, from my personal perspective, I think this has made it a little more complicated, and it would have been helpful to discuss each of these as a standalone. I know Ms. Marin had put a lot of work and time into this, bringing it for new business a while ago, so it could be brought forward as is.

[03:25:00] The community looked at it, you know, understood that's what would be brought forward. We got reams of emails about each of the motions, and now that's displaced. And I think the other piece, too, is that, you know, ultimately, given Ms. Marin's longstanding work on this, she's not getting the credit for bringing it forward.

[03:25:22] I was a seconder to at least one of these things. We've been completely scrubbed from the process, and I think that's disappointing, and I don't think that's particularly collegial. Leave it there. Mr. Dunn for a go back.

[03:25:43] So this is how the sausage is made, right? And I'll say the first time this omnibus motion to consolidate, which I'm told is not even in Robert's rules, so I look forward to a little research project for my staff on that.

[03:26:06] It was brought against me. In fact, I think every time one of these motions has happened, except for tonight, it's been brought against me. Thank you, Mr. Exit, for confirming. And once, I think, it was even to postpone all of my motions indefinitely.

[03:26:24] That was the word that was used, which I didn't appreciate at all. Not that I hold any bitterness. So I certainly appreciate that this is a messy process, right?

[03:26:42] But I do have a bias towards action and outcomes. And what I note, being someone who pays attention to language, is that if you compare the language of the original motions to the language of Mr. Dan's motion, much of it's verbatim identical. You know, it's just putting it into one.

[03:26:59] But there are differences. As Dr. Anderson noted, we changed opt-in to opt-out. I think she had good reason to suggest that. I think there are very practical realities that the chair has very rightly pointed out. I think anyone who's been involved even a little bit with FCPS over the last three years has experienced that FCPS doesn't always have robust project management capabilities.

[03:27:27] So giving a little bit more time so we can have proper planning and execution so it's a smooth process rather than a debacle I think is is wise no criticism to the superintendent who's an amazing leader best superintendent ever and we're building up that capacity but it is a work in progress and I think it's it's frankly we have to recognize that but I I think we do get to a good place with a hard deadline and a direction to the superintendent to move as soon as practicable. So I do appreciate Mr. Presidio and Dr. Reed's responses to Dr. Anderson's questions,

[03:28:03] which were also going to be my questions. But I think we're all moving in the right direction. But there is still so much to discuss at the work session. That was your time. Thank you. Okay, Mr. Moon for a go back and then Ms. Dixit. Thank you, Mr. Dillon, because I was going to, I want to ask Madam Chair about what you are exactly doing on June 23rd work session for two and a half hours for innovative technology policy.

[03:28:36] So what will we be discussing that we must vote on this motion tonight? We cannot wait until after we discuss the policy and make a decision on the motions on the table. Mr. Moon, we are voting on the motions tonight because they were brought forward.

[03:28:53] We have had the work session. What will we be discussing? We have had the work session in place since May 5th, and it has been on the work plan since May 5th. When we determined whether or not there was going to be the ability to bring the policy forward, the language was adjusted at the beginning of June, because after sitting in the governance meetings, I was not 100% sure we were going to have a policy.

[03:29:16] But the last two major policies that we've worked on, which were both boundaries and grading, We use the exact same framework to be able to talk these things through, which is the policy comes out of governance, and then we pull it in a work session for the full board before bringing it for a vote so that we can have policies that are a little bit smoother in terms of how they go.

[03:29:37] And so this is just following the same procedure that we have been using throughout my time on the board. I mean, as I said earlier, I think these motions in the past, prior to 2019, when I used to serve on the prior boards, when major motions came up, we referred all of those to the work session and have a full discussion and bring it back to the business meeting for decisions.

[03:30:07] And it should be done that way. So with that in mind, with that in mind, since we have two and a half hours on June 23rd, I think this can be, this can be, this whole matter can be postponed to after, for decisions post their work session.

[03:30:29] Mr. Moon, are you making a motion to do so? I am making a motion to postpone the motions on the table to the next board meeting. Is there a second? Second. Mr. Moon, would you like to speak to your motion? I think I spoke enough. Dr. Anderson, would you like to speak to your second?

[03:30:46] Okay, I need people to go ahead and turn their lights off if they don't want to speak to that. Okay, Mr. Dannen and then Ms. Lady. I really appreciate the suggestion as both my elder and my constituent, Mr. Moon.

[03:31:05] I know you're very thoughtful about these things, and I really appreciate that. I was very glad when I saw a week or so ago about having the work session focused on this. One thing that I want to point out that I don't think has got enough mention is that there's a draft policy. It's been in the works for a long time.

[03:31:21] And there's a resolution on new business for tonight that hopefully we'll vote on in a couple weeks that pulls from a lot of the language there that's already been agreed upon. And so my hope is that we can just keep moving forward, right? And I think the language here is inclusive enough to give the Educational Technology Review Committee some guidance and a mandate and a timeline to take action.

[03:31:43] And then I would love to focus that work session on reviewing the actual policy, right, like we did with the calendar and everything else, looking at comprehension. So, you know, I always like forward progress, and so I'm hesitant to pause at all, given the urgency of it.

[03:32:00] But I appreciate the consideration and welcome other comments. Ms. Lady. So that would have been absolutely my preference since we were working on this in governance. And there are different drafts out there, and it is graduation season.

[03:32:20] And so, you know, we still, those of us on the committee, including myself, have to drill down on what those drafts are to bring comments to the next meeting. But the reason we're discussing these is because Ms. Marin brought motions for tonight's meeting. And as governance chair, you know, she chose to bring certain ones ahead of the next governance meeting where we're going to discuss the policy and ahead of the work session.

[03:32:44] And so I'm certainly amenable to the idea because that would have been my ideal to wait until we have that conversation and also have another governance meeting regarding the policy. So I appreciate the question being asked as I think that's the more logical way to do the work is to, you know, the committee does the work.

[03:33:07] We bring it out to work session. We get the feedback from all of our colleagues. So thank you for bringing that forward. Ms. Dixon. I'm also agreeable to that, Mr. Moon and Dr. Anderson, but the only concern I had was because we're talking about opt-out option for 26th year, which is August school year starting, and if we push this to, you know, another governance meeting and then another work session, it's not going to happen.

[03:33:41] then we go on recess so then we won't be able to do anything for 26 27 school year so i i obviously it's a long-term process but i felt like the opt-out option could be one step we could have taken um in this coming school year so that's my only concern right dr reed would would it delay any decisions for this year i'm sorry could you restate the question miss dixon so if we

[03:34:15] defer this vote today for today for next meeting would be would it be a difficult situation for you to then bring the opt-out option in the next school year in the fall well I think what I would say to be thoughtful in responding is that the more time that staff have to review current lessons whether they are lessons that are assigned within the classroom or lessons assigned at home The more time we have to create what likely would become alternative assessments potentially or alternative work.

[03:34:52] The more time, the better. But again, I think anything's possible. But the sooner that we have a clear direction, the better. So I know that staff are having the conversation right now. They've been discussing both the opt-in and the opt-out.

[03:35:09] And then what impact that might have on the classroom instruction. and more specifically the planning for classroom instruction for teachers and then how that may or may not impact assignments that are sent home as part of a homework piece.

[03:35:27] But I think that it's still possible to make that adjustment before the start of the school year. I think the sooner we have a little more clarity, the better for staff because right now they're creating, I think, a number of scenarios. They're not limiting it to one. So to answer your question directly, I think it is possible, but the sooner we have that level of clarity, the better.

[03:35:50] Thank you, Dr. Reed. I'm not an educator like you all, many in this room are. As a parent, for kindergarten to second graders, I would not expect them to do homework at home as my kid, on the computer, I mean.

[03:36:08] can do homework on the paper or but I think if that is something we can talk about more I would like that to conversation because I feel like they're learning technology but they should not be on computer and one thing about computer I just want to say that is parents give the computer to care kids and kids are doing whatever they want or you know that's the issue at home but it's possible to make the kids sit in the room where you are sitting and working and just let them finish the assignment put the computer away that's how we did that's

[03:36:42] how i raised my children is like give them that time to just do their work so but anyway i'm okay with that um if the board wants to uh push this forward but i really want to see have the more conversation about kindergarten second graders uh they they should not be doing homework on the computer at home that's what i'm thinking thanks mr dunn uh so i just want to address a couple things. One, I don't think we have any time that we can surrender for any delay. I think the effort

[03:37:17] to get to an August opt-out is absolutely critical. It's going to take time for FCPS to figure that out and implement it and educate parents and make them aware of that option so they can exercise it to protect their children from early access to electronic devices. Second thing, I don't understand the mystery about what else are we going to discuss? How about getting AI out of the hands of our kids that might be harming them, right? How about limiting it up to eighth, ninth grade? What's the right level to introduce AI? That's a

[03:37:55] huge question that's not addressed in these motions at all. Banning electronic devices up through second grade. This motion asks for a plan for restrictions, right? Really we need to talk about a prohibition. And what is the right age level to allow them access to electronic devices? Is it second grade? I personally believe it's higher. We should not allow it at least until fourth or fifth grade, right? Or maybe even later. So there are all these fundamental questions which are not resolved at all through this motion.

[03:38:29] This is just the start of a conversation. And so to say we have nothing to discuss in a work session, you haven't contemplated the universe of questions that we need to address, because the situation with screen time, devices, has been getting worse for 20 years.

[03:38:45] It's going to take time, just like the school calendar, to reverse that and put us in a good direction to ensure that our kids are safe and healthy and learning in the right way. So I don't support a delay. I think we need to act and act now.

[03:39:01] Thank you. Ms. Marin. Well, Mr. The representative from Mount Vernon, we could do that with the motions I proposed. We could act right now. I just, it's just start of the conversation. No, it's not the start of the conversation.

[03:39:17] The conversation started on this board in January when the committee took it up. And the truth is this board has not done the work. There is a draft policy with zero red lines by anyone. And now we're talking about giving ourselves another extension, another governance meeting, another work session with, by the way, so interestingly, I'm looking at the work plan.

[03:39:41] I can't see the version history. I used to be able to see that, but all of a sudden that's locked and I can't confirm my understanding, which was that only a few days ago did I hear that the policy I've helped lead is going to be on the agenda on June 23rd. So look, the board hasn't done the work and another meeting is not going to get us there.

[03:40:00] You ask questions, how are we going to restrict AI? Put the digital literacy plan in place that I proposed tonight. How are we going to get the devices out of the hands of preschoolers? Put the restriction on tonight that I proposed. It's right there in black and white.

[03:40:16] What's different on June 23rd that's different right now? What's different than January? Some more reports are here telling us it's worse. The chair misappropriated the role of the clerk in making this motion happen.

[03:40:34] I don't have trust that the agenda is going to stay intact. And if members can bring language at 2.39 on the day of a meeting and get that passed by this board, but language sitting in the public for three weeks is not sufficient enough, I do not trust that this board has the guts or the hard work genes to do the work.

[03:41:00] Make decisions now. And the superintendent is all but waiting, which is just heartbreaking. She has the power to do this. Again, Arlington's already doing it.

[03:41:18] And we are sitting here deciding when we're going to make a decision. The decision's right there. You thank it. You want change? Vote on it tonight, Mr. Dannon. Okay, so Mr. McDaniel.

[03:41:45] When I was working on my Ph.D. at Virginia Tech in public administration, we always talked about this healthy tension between academic theory and operationalization of that theory. I think this conversation is probably a classic example of that healthy tension.

[03:42:05] For the folks that have emailed me about some of these motions and in general about ed tech, my response has always been, I philosophically don't have a problem cracking down on it. I mean, I was one of the folks on this board that helped lead the crackdown on cell phones a couple of years ago. I would note that simply getting kids to put their cell phones in their backpacks took a year to accomplish that.

[03:42:30] But I'm being asked tonight to make significant changes to EdTech and devices and AI and all these technological, philosophical things with two months of implementation in some cases.

[03:42:47] I'm not comfortable in that timeline. I'm fine in 2027. I'm fine getting the expert review of the EdTech committee to give input. Maybe they have better ideas. I don't know. But just as important as the ends is the means by which those ends are achieved.

[03:43:04] And in my opinion, taking the time to intentionally get to the right spot is what we owe the public, and that's what we owe our kids. Thank you. Okay. Dr. Anderson for Goback.

[03:43:22] Yeah, just really briefly, I'm hearing a lot of conversations about, you know, we've got to do something right now. But the motion that we are discussing does not say anything about putting opt-outs by August. It doesn't. It's completely devoid of that date.

[03:43:38] only date that I see is November 12th so I'm a little bit confused by is this urgent or is it not because if it was urgent that date would have been included so I again this is not the best spot I know we all want action but I I don't think this is our best work to do this which is why I've supported the motion to just wait another week and to do it and put some hard dates because the motion as it stands does not have any dates that talk about August it just talks about November

[03:44:13] 12th and I also was curious like what's November 12th is it the end of the quarter like what's happening there that that's the date that was selected I supported his amendment for us to do this next week or I I did I you're saying to me make an amendment I did I said my notice when earlier when it was said the first draft please direct your comments this way you guys don't need to talk to each other I'm sorry he asked me a question so I was just referring to it I've already made that I sent my my statements to outline the things that I thought were doable

[03:44:50] immediately and the things that needed a little bit more time because I thought there were some nuances there for us to deliver if you want to I where's the language can we add that back up if you want me to make an amendment fine create an opt-out by August 26 2026 where is that we're already working on a second amendment within the amendment so you cannot bring a third okay so I don't know when that could happen but I want to put it out there the piece that speaks to opt out that that be completed by August 26th so that it could be part of the start of the school year

[03:45:28] parcel that we do for all of our families so that is what I want to share Ms. St. John Cunning for initial turn thank you um this has been a very robust conversation and there has been work that has been done um i i think that the work has been done i think what in the governance committee i

[03:46:02] think what has proven to be difficult for all of us is that technology ai is moving so quickly and we are trying we are in a position right now where we are trying to build a plane as it's going Everybody on this board knows I am the least technological person on this board, and I have a healthy respect and a healthy fear of technology.

[03:46:29] And I think when we're talking about an intentional technology policy, and we even discussed splitting it at the governance committee into two different things, is that we have to be intentional as we move forward in what we're doing.

[03:46:45] i think we have to do what's best for our students but i also think that there's a lot of nuance that is lost and what one of our colleagues just mentioned was how does this get operationalized as someone that worked in schools for 26 years and when we talk at high level policy and then decisions are made and then you go down in the trenches and you always hear how did they expect for us to do this they have no idea what happens in the classroom how this is moving forward how How are we going to do that?

[03:47:17] And Dr. Presidio actually spoke very eloquently about we are looking at this, we're looking at how we can operationalize it, we're looking at all the impacts that this will have when we make this decision. And so I think that we have to be intentional and think about all of these things.

[03:47:33] In a perfect world, we could make policy and it would be easy to implement. That's not the reality. We also have to think about our staff, we have to think about training, we have to think of all the elements that are involved in any decision we make at the end of the day yes we have to do the best for what's our what is best for our students but let's not forget the people that are in the classroom that are teaching those students and if we don't do the best for them to implement what we're what we're trying to implement then anything or any policy we try to put forward

[03:48:08] is not going to work and I just think that that's important to recognize I do agree with Dr. Anderson the low-hanging fruit of the opt-out is something that could probably happen again even with that there are nuances I'm going to opt out I don't want my kid to have a device but then he has to take a test on a device and if he's never learned how to use a device then these are little nuances that we all have to consider I just I've been quiet throughout this whole conversation I'm not feeling well but I just really want the public to understand that there are multiple layers and

[03:48:41] multiple nuances involved in this and i have no doubt that everyone on this board has good intentions and is trying to do the best that they can i also have no doubt is my time up yes ma'am okay sorry thank you mr john cunning mr moon for a go back at the motion the table was motion to postpone not on the not on the not on a any particular issues related to any of the motions

[03:49:18] from miss marron or mr dannon we're not we're not debating that hopefully not not right now let's talk about just motion to postpone to the next meeting so that we could have the policy discussion on june 23rd which could most likely which should dictate how we're going to move forward with all these questions so uh but i'm sure i i'm hoping that we can we can vote on the motion motion to postpone yes sir we can do that right now actually so the motion to postpone the vote on the combined

[03:49:57] mean motion and the pending motion amendment until the next regular meeting is on the table all those in favor that is mr moon and dr anderson mr mckelveen i can't see our colleagues all those opposed? Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Marin, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr.

[03:50:27] Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Frisch, Ms. St. Dunn-Cunning, and myself. Can the board, or can the... Madam Clerk, can you please read the vote?

[03:50:44] It's 3-9. The motion to postpone fails. Okay. Now we're back to the amended language. May I make a point of order? What's your point of order? Can I just be informed as to when I can make a motion?

[03:51:04] That's not a point of order, but So now that we have dealt with the motion to postpone, we are back to the amended motion since we are back to the amendment to the combined main motion.

[03:51:19] Since we're back to the amendment to the combined main motion, it would now be in order to do a secondary amendment to the amendment. So that means, Dr. Anderson, you'd be able to do it now. Dr. Anderson, if you're amenable, you could also do it as a follow-on motion to what passes here.

[03:51:36] Perfect. Okay. State your motion. okay opt-out options to be made available by august 2026 that's what i want to add oh can we put dr anderson this motion is sending all of this information to the educational technology committee they do not have the ability to put to put opt-out in place we would have to do that so that was why i was suggesting it to be a follow-on instead well

[03:52:13] this says that the school board is directing the superintendent to review a bunch of things it doesn't it says in collaboration and consultation with the committee it doesn't say that they're responsible for it so i would imagine what i'm saying it's still relevant okay so that first bullet where it says opt-out options i'd like to add to be available by august 2026 just to embed that language because also oh i guess i should wait to speak to is there a second second

[03:52:50] Thank you, Mr. Dunn. Dr. Anderson, would you like to speak to your amendment? Yes. This, I believe, is a direction to the superintendent, so that's one. Two, Dr. Presidio talked about how the committee is waiting to meet this month, so they'll be able to be consulted with.

[03:53:11] Three, it speaks to the urgency that Mr. Dunn talked about, Ms. Dixit talked about, as well as Ms. Marin, and it offers some relief sooner rather than later, and it's clear in terms of that date of expectation to happen because after November 12th means nothing will be in place for this year.

[03:53:35] as soon as practicable is a little bit open-ended and does not give us it does not give the public clear expectations as to what could happen again I think this is low-hanging fruit so that's why I am Dr. Anderson we just want to make sure we're trying to understand so you want the deadline to apply to the first bullet regarding opt-out options right what I would like is for you to insert after opt out options insert available by August 2026 comma and then

[03:54:14] you can continue with whatever that statement is so it should just be changing that first bullet the only concern with just doing it that way is because later on they do have a set deadline of November 12th you could be creating contradictory language so we would need so then maybe down below no later than November 12 for 1, 2, 3, for bullets 2 to 4. Okay. And then no later than, okay. Not clean, it's not great, but I think it communicates the intent. Mr. Dannen, would you like to speak to

[03:54:54] your second? No, just ditto everything Dr. Anderson said. Mr. Dannen. I really appreciate this. I spent an hour, literally, and I never do this, I spent an hour staring at the language we had after you talked about this trying to figure out how to write it and so kudos to the clerk for finding a way to write it and I would just want to make sure you read everything I'm supportive of the idea I've been waiting to get answers and I got some answers this evening around how this would be implemented I think I thought it was great I appreciate the suggestion and I think it was you that actually brought the suggestion to change opt-in to opt-out

[03:55:33] so again I appreciate the thoughts and I'm happy to support as long as the language is amenable and doesn't disorient the rest of the the amendment and if not i'm happy to support a follow-on motion if need be to to do this mr moon would you like to speak to or i'm sorry would you like to yeah your light is on yes i am still trying to

[03:56:01] find where the language is going that's the language huh because mr mr moon i'll come back

[03:56:40] to you mr fresh you're not gonna like this wondering if i could get a clearer version of the language. Okay, we're going to take a two-minute recess to allow the clerk to get the language set up. I'm asking board members, please don't travel far, so be back here and ready to go

[03:57:01] in two minutes. Board members, please take your seats. Ms. Setlow, did you get my email? Yes,

[04:16:15] Dr. Anderson, I did. We are prepping if needed. Without objection, Dr. Anderson has requested us to remove the language that was added here and we are going to address it in a follow-on and so that way it will ensure that we have the exact language and takes care of some of the concerns that I had related to feasibility as well so any objections fabulous okay madam clerk will you please remove

[04:16:44] the language that was added from thank you for coordinating it all okay seeing no others we are going to go ahead and vote on the amendment that is on the screen. All those in favor of the amendment that is on the screen without the redlined additions. That is Mr. McDaniel, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Mr. Frisch, Ms. St. John

[04:17:21] Cunning, and myself. All those opposed. Dr. Anderson with Ms. Marin away from the table. will the clerk please read the vote? 10-1-0-1 since Marin is not present. Okay so now we have the amendment amended motion. I call on Dr. Anderson for a follow-on. Okay thank you I will

[04:17:56] wait for it to go up and there was a quick typo in there there was a number four you wouldn't mind removing that. Madam Chair point of order. Yes Mr. Mayor. Are you entertaining follow-on motion right now as opposed to an amendment? Without objection I removed the amendment. I heard no

[04:18:17] objection. We already voted on the Mr. Dannon's amendment, correct? Yes. Now they became the main motion. Okay. So we have to go through that whole process and then we'll get to the following. I got you. Okay. So now the amended language is the main motion. So all those in favor of the main motion. Mr. McDaniel, Mr. McElveen, Miss Lady, Miss Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, and myself, and? And me. And Miss St. John Cunning and Mr. Frisch.

[04:18:51] all those opposed dr anderson miss marron how do you vote i'm sorry was the motion read out loud it's the amended motion from mr dannon yes was it read out loud it was not amended at all thank you for the moment i just got back um i will vote for it miss marron is four will the clerk please

[04:19:30] read the vote on the amended main motion 11-1 the amended main motion carries perfect i call on dr Anderson for a follow-on thank you should I wait until it's posted or should I read what I have you can go ahead and read what you have and the clerks will work on getting it on the screen absolutely I moved that the school board direct the superintendent to create opt-out options

[04:20:03] to be made available for preschool and elementary students for parents and or guardians for any electronic devices to go home with students by August 26th is there a second second Mr. Dunn Dr. Anderson, would you like to speak to your motion?

[04:20:23] Mr. Dunn, would you like to speak to your second? No, I think we've exhausted that. Excellent. Seeing no others, we're going to go ahead and vote on the follow-on. Mr. Moon. Excuse me. Can we have it on the screen, please, on what the follow-on motion is?

[04:20:45] Mr. Moon. I have a couple of questions to ask to the maker.

[04:21:11] Let me first ask Dr. Reed then, so that Dr. Anderson could have a little more time. Dr. Reed, do we now force any unwilling students to take the devices home? No, sir.

[04:21:28] There's no requirement where we would require an elementary child to take a device home. So that is already sort of opt out. If students don't want to take it, they don't have to take it. That's correct, I believe.

[04:21:47] Dr. Presidio, is that correct? That is correct. Now this question goes to Dr. Anderson. so by students who are opting by providing these opt-out options are we then requiring teachers never to give any assignment that should be done through digital devices i don't think so um dr anderson would you like to answer i think speaking to your first point first i don't think there's any parent who believes that they have a choice in having the computers come home because

[04:22:26] I've had parents of kindergartners who are lamenting my kindergarten is bringing the computer home I don't think there's any clarity or transparency that they have that option this will do that and we're talking about elementary I think we heard so often about you know the homework elementary homework packets are nice and easy so that should be able to happen and we've talked about this in other spaces where that's a place where parents can be the most engaged with their kids. So it doesn't preclude homework. It's just how it's presented. And if we're having a math textbook and we have reading textbooks, it just makes things a lot easier. I hope I answered your

[04:23:03] question. I feel like I strayed. My question is related to using digital devices to do any homework, any assignment. Elementary? In elementary. That's what I'm asking. Whether we currently do that or we don't if you do opt out whether that precludes teachers from assigning any work that needs to be done through digital devices because students opted out and they're not using devices at all so i want to clarify that i think that their greater clarity could be achieved by a formal

[04:23:38] opt-out policy that's communicated clearly timely and transparently i fully would support that As far as the types of assignments that may go home that might require a device, I'm going to defer to Dr. Presidio, although I believe I have heard in my visits, I'll give Dr. Presidio a moment to think that through, but I believe in some of my visits to schools, I have heard that there are schools that have sent devices home to do, for example, Lexia work at home rather than in the classroom for students perhaps who need a device.

[04:24:16] extra support but i again i don't want to presume to have that specific answer dr presidio do we assign assignments for elementary students that currently would require their device at home not at the division level but dr reed's correct there could be instances where teachers may do that again she gave the example of lexia or st math for additional practice for students that might need additional practice in reading or math.

[04:24:45] We also have some software supports for multilingual learners. But those would not necessarily, under this particular amendment, be required. Those could be things that, again, could be optional. So if families wanted access to those under this motion, they could still have access to those learning materials.

[04:25:08] I am not quite clear whether you're answering my question fully Because if we provide opt-out options, the families and students who are exercising their opt-out options, we are then prohibited.

[04:25:30] Whether that dictates us from not assigning any work that should be done using digital devices. I mean, I think we want to be able to give teachers our clear guidance.

[04:25:47] Now you are no longer able to do that. I think that this is part of the reason we need a conversation, right, before August, and we need to come back with some responses that are thoughtful and meet with our educators as well, right, who are working directly with our students.

[04:26:05] Having said that, an opt-out policy would enable families to make a decision not to have a device go home for elementary, whereas if a family did want the device to come home so they could do extra ST Math or Lexia or other multilingual software, that would still be an option, I would think.

[04:26:24] But that's a conversation that the committee is going to wrestle with, and we'll be coming back to you, depending on how the vote ends up tonight, prior to the start of school, to have that be a thoughtful recommendation. With your promise to get back to us, I will support that.

[04:26:42] Yes, sir. Ms. Marin, you know, when we took that recess, we were told it was two minutes, and I did wait and then I did have to use the restroom and so I missed the beginning of the last conversation so where where we stand is that the three motions that I brought were essentially combined and kept in total except to say that the committee was going to be involved and the superintendent was going to provide recommendations for board action by November 12th is that accurate yes okay so all of my work gets done without my name on it I just wanted to clarify that that

[04:27:19] it's all together and it would have been nice to partner with you with that Mr. Dannon So now we're talking about a motion to create opt-out options by August. Is that accurate? Okay, which is essentially what my first motion talked about, which was to give parents the right to opt-in.

[04:27:41] I had intentionally, as I said to whoever made the time to talk with me, I chose the language that I chose to not be so adversarial, opt-out, opt-in, but rather to make it align with what has been said otherwise, which is we have processes regarding SRNR.

[04:27:58] We also do have a process for parents to check and say, yes, I understand that my student's going to have access to this technology. This is not a new phenomenon for our school division to do. I find it very ironic that we're talking about, do we have time to do this? Again, the whole point of doing this tonight was to give the superintendent time.

[04:28:15] And it's not as if this is a surprise thing. What will educators think? Will we have time? I just find it really surprising that this is now happening and what what are we gonna do this is the exact thing I was trying to avoid which was putting the onus on teachers to get ready in two months when their last day of school is soon so I will support creating opt-out options even though again I think it's gonna be a burden on central office staff to do this over the summer I think it's gonna be a burden on teachers to use one of their limited back-to-school days when they're trying to set up their classrooms and do all sorts of things to have new procedures put in place even though I've

[04:28:52] also talked with principals and staff who say it's quite well that's a different thing about devices away this is just you know without the foresight and planning and good work management of the board this ends up now being a big hassle for families and for parents so it's unfortunate it's gone down this way mr. Dunn for go back yeah I wanted to ask mr. Sethi my partner at FCPS honors last night. So I have a constituent who wrote, each week I scroll through my third grader's

[04:29:29] Lightspeed report to see how much time he spent on his laptop. Some days it's minimal, 10 to 20 website visits. Some days it's a mind-numbing amount, 150 to 200 website visits, hours upon hours of his day clearly spent staring at a screen. So is there any effort being made underway by the office of the CIO to enable parents to actually track the websites that are being accessed and block them if they're not educational and to have visibility into how many hours are being spent on the screen. We had some public speakers here tonight speaking about that

[04:30:08] as well. Well, there's quite a few different efforts underway. Right now, parents get access to light speed report which should give them visibility into where their students are going during the course of the week so they have access to that information when it comes to screen time there is a little bit of complexity like we are used to screen time on our iPhones where it can very accurately tell you what you were staring at on your screen for how long because generally there's one thing open on your screen when it comes to a laptop you can have four windows open and any of them could be open while you're listening to the teacher doing something

[04:30:45] else so screen time calculations on a computer get a little complicated but we are working with a vendor and we are requesting them to be able to put some screen time approximate as it may be to be able to share out and we want them to be able to also share it out at the parent portal for parents who already have the lightspeed account they will likely be able to see that information it is hopefully going to be delivered in a meaningful way which we can validate before next school year so by next school year we can have a capability for parents to see screen time. The accuracy of that is always going to be debated though. When you talk about 150

[04:31:20] sites, it could be one site opening up 10 links because that's just how the internet and the web browsers work. So it's really difficult to kind of say they actually were on 150 sites clicking through 150 things at any point in time with the current technology. It sounds like it will be available by this coming school year, is that correct? The screen time calculation, it's work progress so can guarantee but we are working with the vendor to get it mobilized okay um so i also want to ask um perhaps dr anderson or miss marin you know one of the things i noticed about this

[04:32:00] motion is it's focused only on electronic devices going home but i mean what i've heard from parents today what i've heard from parents uh in recent months is the concern is also what happens in the classroom right I mean we heard a parent today say six-year-old went to school got an iPad spends hours on the device in school and they don't want their kid to be on a device at all right trying to raise a screen-free child so I I guess is there any intention and within the scope of these motions to also restrict

[04:32:36] in in class electronic device use dr. Anderson with your permission dr. Anderson thank you this does not address that I think that's a continuing activity because you're exactly right that's been raised but this does not address that this is the very lowest hanging fruit which is just removing the need to bring it home which creates a lot of issues for parents I do believe there's a huge opportunity for parents to be able to opt out in the school but

[04:33:07] But again, as I shared earlier, we have some obstacles in terms of can't be a complete elimination of use of technology because SOLs are administered through technology, some parts of WIDA, et cetera.

[04:33:23] So I don't think this completes this. This is also one of the reasons why I thought if we had a little bit more time, we could be more fulsome. But at least to come away with something, this is a very, very small component.

[04:33:37] That was your time Mr. Dunn thank you okay Dr. Anderson for a go back thank you just very quickly I want to make sure I know this got a little bit confusing this motion was supposed to be exactly a piggyback of of your motion I want to make sure that that's clear this is not my work this is trying to salvage something that has a harder deadline that tells parents we will have some activity in the next school year rather than the 27 28 school year okay seeing no others we're going

[04:34:15] to go ahead and call for a vote on the follow-on motion that will be on the screen momentarily hopefully. All those in favor of the follow-on motion that's on the screen. Ms. Marin, Mr.

[04:34:37] McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, and myself, Ms. St. John Cunning, and Mr. Frisch. All those opposed. All those abstaining. Mr. McDaniel.

[04:34:57] will the clerk please read the vote 1101 the follow-on motion carries okay thank you so much agenda item 7.05 award of contract architectural and engineering services skyview high school project i call on miss dixit for a motion i moved that the school board authorized staff to negotiate a professional service contract with grim and parker architecture inc for the skyview high school project and authorize a divisional superintendent or the chief or the chief operating

[04:35:35] officer to execute deliver and administer the contract on behalf of the school board is there a second second thank you mr mcdaniel mr exit would you like to speak to your motion no i don't mr mcdaniel would you like to speak to your second no miss marron yes i've been trying to understand if we're supposed to receive the usual contract summary that we receive in friday letters

[04:36:09] for this one, and we did not. Can Dr. Reed speak to, did we receive that? I just, I feel like I'm maybe not remembering the process right. There's PowerPoint slides, they're not being shown though, but we do have slides, we receive those. Right, we presented the slides in the work session, and I don't recall the date of the work session, it's been several weeks ago. We also, I believe, have the slides attached to this item on the agenda, and there isn't a contract yet because

[04:36:42] this is authorization for staff to negotiate the contract. So that's why there isn't a contract yet. Okay. I have some related concerns. You know, I've said from the get-go that to renovate the gorgeous early childhood space would be heartbreaking because it is so nice, and I thought there was a vision for that, but when I've read the general information, it talks about, you know, updating for high school use, and that's unclear. It's also almost

[04:37:21] two million dollars, and, you know, we heard tonight about other schools that have been waiting far longer, so I do have questions about it. I also just want to expand that this just follows a pattern of questions that I continue to have, including about the pyramid and the vision for it.

[04:37:40] you know, our high schools are the hearts of pyramids. And so when we think about what's going to be renovated and happen there, you know, I've asked, is there a middle school assigned to the pyramid? The superintendent's response was, it's unclear. I asked about, are there intentional selections of elementary schools in the pyramid? Because, you know, Floris has identified Oak Hill and also Fox Mill Elementary, which was a surprise to me that it would wholesale be moved. And then started looking into pyramid makeup and there doesn't seem to be any intentionality on like what's going to go into this pyramid what's going to be

[04:38:14] assigned there's also I I've learned that there's academic programming like Spanish French and Japanese going in I heard that through the grapevine not through any official word and the board has talked at length about wanting to know more about world language decisions and I even pulled up from the point of order state your point of order I think we're talking about the architectural program right now is it are we talking about everything else I would ask that due to the late hour and the fact that we have to return to close

[04:38:51] that we keep our comments related to this specific item on the agenda well I can continue with saying that these decisions are being made without informing the board and that is the trend that I'm seeing is that we're getting information about a contract that's not in the format that we usually get contracts in and there's programming decisions happening here without any data about why we're choosing these particular programs although we did authorize the general studies I get that but it's just this constant you know why there's no details about you know why these selections are happening

[04:39:29] I just want to be sure though are we going to receive the kind of contract summary that we receive in general in Friday letters when there is a contract you will receive the contract this is actually authorization for the staff to negotiate the professional services contract it's not the contract but when the contract as the negotiations get closer yes the board will receive the notification in a traditional format okay there's already a cost estimate of

[04:40:06] two million though so isn't that already it says these negotiations have resulted in a fee agreement contingent upon school board approval is that this approval. Mr. Gordon, do you want to clarify, please, the request for an architectural and engineering services contract negotiation? Yes, ma'am. We are prepared to execute the design contract. This RFP will allow us to move forward with selecting architectural engineering services that will move forward with designing the three key lines of effort for this project,

[04:40:43] which would be the shell buildings, the athletic fields, and then the modifications to the main building. Okay, thank you. Mr. McElveen. Thanks, and I appreciate the conversation we had in the work session, which was actually quite useful.

[04:41:06] I do want to follow up on one point. I know there was a subsequent meeting about standalone bathrooms through no one's fault. i was not included in that meeting but um where where does that currently stand as you move to execute this contract that's a great question mr gordon i wasn't in the meeting either hey thank you sir so at this point looking at uh current skyview setting there are already gendered uh bathrooms identified and there are also uh standalone bathrooms as well already within the

[04:41:41] facility within the shell buildings uh within the main building yeah so my my question is what is the plan for the shell building do we have a plan or is that yet to be determined so it's uh yet to be determined something we'll work through with the architect as we walk through that process okay great look forward to more fulsome conversations when we're less exhausted thanks i'm going to take a quick turn i just wanted to clarify that um agenda item 9.02 which is the award of the contract

[04:42:17] for construction testing and inspection services and also the tennis court replacement at luther jackson this is the same process as what's going on with skyview correct is that it's listed with the different potential bidders and then we're going to actually go out and seek and negotiate the actual contract with whoever is chosen mr gordon generally correct yes thank you okay seeing no others we're going to go ahead and take a vote for the motion that is on the screen all

[04:42:49] those in favor mr mcdaniel mr mckelveen miss lady miss dixit mr dannon mr dunn mr moon dr Anderson, Mr. Frisch, Mr. St. John Cunning, and myself. All those opposed. All those abstaining.

[04:43:05] Ms. Marin. Will the clerk please read the vote? 11-0-1. The motion carries. Okay. Thank you very much. At this time, I just want to let the board know that we are going to adjust the rest of the meeting agenda. We're going to go ahead and move forward with academic matters, which we're going to call Dr. Reed forward for now, and then we are going to postpone the strategic plan update onto a date when we are not so late into the evening.

[04:43:34] So agenda item 8.01, Academic Matters. I call on Dr. Reed for Academic Matters. All right. Thank you, Madam Chair. And let me grab the...

[04:43:49] All right. This is actually a very timely topic. This is our local alternative assessment in civics. And it's one of those topics that I think has drawn some confusion at times in our community and it's really something we're actually quite proud of in terms of our accomplishments in civics and it will focus this evening on our work as a Virginia Department of

[04:44:22] Education recognized school division of innovation and FCPS we earned this designation from the virginia department of education in 2021 in recognition for our work on assessment innovation so let's take a look at what this means on the next slide one of the things that the school division of innovation award is that it provides school divisions like fcps with the flexibility to implement alternatives to the traditional sol assessments in order to innovate assessment

[04:45:01] practices that improve student learning and promote college and career readiness. In other words, it gives divisions the opportunity to be a little more flexible than just a standard civics SOL.

[04:45:17] The strategic innovation goals in this project focus, they focus on employing local alternative assessments, which we're going to call LAAs, in lieu of the SOL tests in grade four, Virginia studies and grade 8 civics and economics as allowed by the state so grade 4 social studies grade 8 civics and economics they utilize performance assessments in high school to satisfy state social studies and writing verified credit requirements using our portrait of

[04:45:50] a graduate presentations of learning it grants equitable access to rigorous assessment practices and tonight I want to focus on the local alternative assessment and POG student presentations of learning that I've witnessed across our school division.

[04:46:06] The local alternative assessments are key to our innovation and equity work. Simply put, these measure student learning outcomes based on a year-long collection of evidence rather than just a single end-of-year test. And I think that's really important to note.

[04:46:23] It's a more comprehensive type of assessment rather than a point in time. I can also add that the LAAs combine traditional assessment formats like tests and quizzes with actual performance based assessments that require students to really demonstrate their learning and I think that's important that distinction between knowledge and understanding and knowledge is often the ability to restate facts or information whereas understanding requires a student to independently adapt or apply their knowledge in a new

[04:46:59] situation because standards and skills are assessed throughout the year LA is provide a more complete view of student understanding and growth and through this process students have multiple opportunities to strengthen their critical and creative thinking skills that align with the portrait of a graduate under our school division of innovation design our LA's I think we've moved to slide four there we go thank you our LA's are again Virginia in the

[04:47:35] fourth grade and eighth grade students complete a performance-based assessment teachers are required to participate in scoring calibration with the state rubric for these performance assessments and at the end of the year principals complete a verification form to certify that teams fulfill these assessment requirements additionally at the high school video we allow students to use a variety of ways to show mastery of these state standards why this is important is because this has a direct impact on our SOL civic scores because so few of our

[04:48:11] students actually take the SOL assessments for civics and writing as we've discussed in previous board meetings the use of the more rigorous alternative assessments means that our Fairfax participation numbers for the state SOL writing in history are quite small and they don't actually show the full picture more specifically each year Virginia SOL tests account for less than one percent of the writing assessments and less than two percent of the history and social science tests that Fairfax students complete to earn verified

[04:48:47] credits that's really important because if you have less than 1% completing the standard SOLs in writing and less than 2% in social studies it clearly means that the vast majority of our students are taking the alternative assessment so state students demonstrating proficiency on grade 4 and grade 8 local alternative assessments for social studies remain high at over 90% overall for the division which is extraordinary and not what gets reported often when people go

[04:49:23] to the website to look at SOL scores but again fewer than 1% are taking traditional writing SOLs and fewer than 2% the social studies and civics and when we look at the alternative assessments approved by video we were at well above 90% a majority of the FCPS of our FCPS high school students use state board approved alternative exams to verify credit for graduation particularly we'll use the example in school year 24/25 in writing which means approximately 18,000 students in that school year used alternative assessments

[04:50:02] for graduation in writing and in social studies in history there were approximately 23,000 high school students that earned the verify credit credit again at over 90%. I'll also add that in the school year 2324 AP human geography became an option for verified credit which increased the number of students accessing this option and counted this AP exam as part of our verified credit success rate. The one note I have here is that in 2223 our AP and IB history data is likely lower due to AP human geography becoming an

[04:50:40] elective course so our students are taking extraordinarily rigorous assessments more so than the SOLs and still performing at well above 90 percent these are the data charts we want to make sure that we are communicating to our community that we're able to explain that the very very small percentage of students taking the SOLs are not representative of the division performance in writing and social studies I really want to highlight the work of our social studies team are in instructional services and across the

[04:51:17] school division in each of our schools and what they've done to implement these local alternative assessments these capture not only what students know but again how they effectively apply that knowledge which demonstrates understanding one of the things that I was excited about was having recently I had an opportunity to visit stone middle school to observe their local level or local alternative assessments in action i also visited glasgow middle school and had a chance to walk through and look at their alternative assessments and they're really impressive so i'm going to ask the madam clerk if you wouldn't mind playing the video let's kind of take a sneak peek at what's

[04:51:56] going on at stone middle school in 2021 fcps was named a school division of innovation by the Virginia Board of Education for our work bringing the portrait of a graduate to life, making sure that every student has the skills to be successful in their future. These are portfolios of work students build throughout the year. Along with traditional tests, students complete performance-based tasks that require them to synthesize content knowledge with skills like critical and creative thinking and communication to address real-world challenges.

[04:52:40] like a reflection so what you thought about it and how you think it relates to okay and then at the very very very bottom there's a reflection so you're looking at three exhibits and then you're going to look at the reflection about it okay so what did you used to think about whatever topic now you think and what are you wondering remember we talked about potential future outcomes right so what do you think could happen in the future regarding this topic we've learned so many things this year we've learned about the different branches of government we've learned about citizenship, we've learned about the Constitution, and so what they are tasked to do is find a current event that they find important to them or something they

[04:53:16] find interesting or significant and they get to decide how that connects to all the topics we've learned about. They get to create a museum exhibit project, they get to have something physical to make that connection, and then they write an exhibit placard that shows their understanding of how that current event connects to the units that we've talked about. I get to see my students do things that they like and that they're excited about. The fact that they have choice and not only understanding or choosing what topic they want to talk about, but being able to choose what physical products they want to build and how they want to showcase it to their peers is really great to see. It makes my teacher heart really happy to watch them thrive in their environment.

[04:53:54] I picked the Artemis II launch. Last moon launch was 50 years ago, so I thought it was really cool, you know, people going up to space, and I love the idea of space, so it was really nice for me to express where I liked and where I wanted to build. - It's really awesome to get them to engage with one another, engage in a group setting.

[04:54:11] Sharing it with their peers also deepens their understanding because they might not have made that connection. Gives them that ability to just deepen their connection, widen their perspective, and makes them better citizens in the future, and maybe more participatory citizens in the future as well.

[04:54:27] - It shows who you are and the person you are in your career. - I liked how we could actually like make the project instead of just writing an essay. I'd like to explore what you're actually interested in. I'd like really learn about what we actually liked and like dive deeper and just learn more.

[04:54:43] This approach reflects the goals of the School Division of Innovation Initiative. To move beyond traditional practices and improve learning while preparing students to be college and career ready. Having the opportunity for students to be able to demonstrate their knowledge in a way that provides them with choice in how they share their understanding.

[04:55:02] VDOE can examine the practice and potentially take it to scale across the state. state. So that means that the work that we're doing here in Fairfax County not only impacts our thousands of students but can truly have an impact on all the students in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Yeah, it's a lot of work I think that staff are engaged in and I look at some of our board members who were here when the portrait of a graduate was put into place and this is really an exquisite example of how it can be put to use and how we continue to build on traditions

[04:55:39] here in Fairfax County and I just want us to remember less than 1% SOL writing, less than 2% SOL social studies, which means that tens of thousands of our students are doing these more rigorous alternative assessments designed around portrait of a graduate at better than 90% achievement.

[04:56:00] So proud of our students, proud of our staff, and proud of the leadership in ISD that supports this work.

[04:56:08] Madam Chair that's academic matters for this evening. Thank you, Dr. Reed. I call Miss Lady. Thank you. This is fantastic. The only thing is I would ask is the data points you shared, but that are not conveyed in the PowerPoint itself. Right. I don't know if there's a way to capture that because of the numbers. Correct. Because if the public just is looking at the PowerPoint, it doesn't necessarily answer the question regarding what might be misleading to them that we're we're things are posted elsewhere it's this is yeah this is great data thank you you

[04:56:46] know thanks for bringing AP human geography to ninth grade and you know yeah even the numbers of our kids that take the alternative IB or AP exams is it's a huge number right and the fact that they're getting three fours and fives is incredibly significant so thank you and thank you to all the teachers who are making helping our kids learn this and pass these assessments yes ma'am And we'll make those adjustments, I think, on the PowerPoint to clarify those.

[04:57:14] Mr. Dunn. Quick question. Could that be applied to other SOLs beyond the ones that are listed? That's a great question. I've asked that. If we can do alternative assessments for writing and social studies, why not mathematics or science? But Dr. Presidio, are those options to be presented for other topic areas?

[04:57:33] Unfortunately, right now, we've only got the flexibility for fourth grade, eighth grade, high school social studies courses and then the end of course high school writing exam there's legislation that was recently passed in the General Assembly to try to expand this to science as well but not additional reading or math at this time is that a legislative priority we have Michael Malloy and his team because certainly getting away from some of the testing requirements that are onerous and distract from key knowledge building seems to be in the interest of the school division I think it could be and I think one of the things

[04:58:13] we could take a look at in the next couple months during the summer would be perhaps to draft some legislation that you could work with your elected colleagues on and I do think the reading and mathematics tend to be more federally driven science there's a bit more latitude I think at the state level, but there are also a number of states that are pursuing waivers of some of the federal requirements, and given, if you will, the downsizing of the Department of Education, I think that some of those waiver possibilities of some of the federal requirements

[04:58:49] could be possible, so I know the team definitely would agree that we would love to take down the number of assessments, because just think of all the time we could spend teaching, right, and engaging with our students, so I think that's a really thoughtful request.

[04:59:04] will make sure we make good on that. Thank you Dr. Reed. Nobody ever improved their science by testing it more. Mr. Moon. Thank you, Madam Chair. Dr. Reed, thank you for the presentation, but are there other school districts in the Commonwealth who are taking advantage of this opportunity? Great question. Dr. Persidio? Well, we actually were the first school division that worked with the State Department to develop the local alternative assessments and really co-developed with the state the rubrics and really the infrastructure to do this

[04:59:42] work recently as of next school year 26 27 the school division of innovation flexibilities for those grade levels that I mentioned that are going to be expanded to the entire state so we're excited about that and we're really proud of the educators in FCPS that really led that work and created the infrastructure to be able to increase and implement these practices statewide But that's going to be that's going to be given as an option to a school district, not mandated again.

[05:00:11] Correct. It's an option. That's right. So we don't know how many of the school districts will actually be able to actually will do what we do. We believe that it'll be an opt in by August 2026.

[05:00:27] I'm kidding. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. E. Thank you. Agenda item 8.02, strategic plan update. This item is postponed until the June 25th, 2026 regular meeting. Agenda Item 9, Consent Agenda.

[05:00:45] Our adopted Rules of Parliamentary Procedure, Roberts Rules, provide for a Consent Agenda listing several items for board approval or for approval by the board and by a single motion. Many items listed have gone through board review and documentation has been provided to all board members and the public in advance.

[05:01:02] Items may be removed from the Consent Agenda at the request of any board member prior to the meeting. The Consent Agenda is on the screen. Is there any objection to approving the consent agenda? Hearing and seeing no objection, the consent agenda is approved. Agenda item 10, new business.

[05:01:19] The following are new business agenda items. There will not be a vote on these items this evening, but action is scheduled at a future meeting. Agenda item 11, superintendent matters. In light of the hour, I'm going to pass. Thank you, Dr. Reed. Agenda item 12, board matters.

[05:01:38] In accordance with the board consensus due to the late hour, we will be skipping board matters this evening. And we are going to recess and then return after close. So at 12:01, we are going to recess.

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