[00:00:02] >> CHAIR ALDERTON: OKAY. [Call the Work Session to Order ] SO THIS IS OUR WORK SESSION FOR THIS EVENING. WE ARE STARTING AT 7:39. NOW, THE FIRST ITEM IS OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM BUDGET. [1. Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget Add/Delete Work Session #1] WE DID NOT HAVE ANY ADDS/DELETES. ESSENTIALLY, WE WANT TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO GIVE OUR FACILITIES TEAM WHATEVER DIRECTION THEY NEED FROM THE BOARD IN WHICHEVER FORM THEY WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE IT. I WILL TURN IT OVER TO YOU, DR. HUTCHINS, AND WE CAN DO ALL OF THE THUMBS UP, MOVE FORWARD, WHATEVER YOU NEED. >> MALE SPEAKER: AT THIS TIME, I FIRST OF ALL WANT TO THANK -- MASK ON. I WAS JUST DRINKING, EVERYBODY. WATER, DRINKING WATER. [LAUGHTER] JUST DRINKING WATER! SO I WANT TO THANK FIRST OF ALL OUR FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS TEAM AS WELL, BECAUSE I REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, WE HAVE REALLY BEEN WORKING ON EFFICIENCY AND SYSTEMIC ALIGNMENT, AND THAT HAS ALLOWED US TO HAVE SUCH A SMOOTH AND EFFICIENT CIP BUDGET PROCESS. YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT BUDGET SEE AT THESE REALLY SHOULD NOT CHANGE DRASTICALLY, BECAUSE YOU ARE LOOKING AT A 10 YEAR RANGE. THAT WAS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE FOR US, THOUGH, IN A CPS. SOME MEASURES WILL PUT IN PLACE FROM THE BOARD'S DIRECTION, THIS PARTICULAR BOARD'S DIRECTION IN REGARDS TO HAVING OUR TARGETED FACILITIES ASSESSMENTS AND USING THE INFORMATION AND DATA TO DRIVE OUR DECISION-MAKING WAS REALLY IMPORTANT AND KEY TO US BEING ABLE TO PRESENT A CIP SUCH AS WE DID. SO I WANT TO JUST PROVIDE, I DON'T KNOW IF DR. HEART IS ON, TO PROVIDE DR. HEART A MOMENT IF SHE MAY WANT TO SAY WORDS BEFORE WE TURN THINGS BACK OVER TO THE BOARD. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: DANK -- THANK YOU, DR. HUTCHINS. I WANT TO SAVE THE TEAM AND I HAVE REALLY WORKED VERY HARD TO PRESENT A VERY SOUND AND WELL-ROUNDED CIP BUDGET OUTLOOK. TO YOUR POINT, DR. HUTCHINGS, WHEN YOU DO UTILIZE THE FACILITY CONDITION ASSESSMENTS, THE COMPOUNDS OF FACILITY CONDITION ASSESSMENTS THAT WE COMPLETED BECAUSE WE KNOW IN 2019, WE ONLY COMPLETED TARGETED ASSESSMENTS AT A FEW OF OUR SCHOOLS THAT WERE IN THE WORST CONDITIONS. SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE MOVING FORWARD WITH A HOLISTIC LOOK AT ALL OF OUR BUILDINGS. AND SO, I AM GLAD THAT THAT PROCESS WAS ABLE TO BE COMPLETED IN TIME FOR THIS ROUND OF CIP BUDGET DEVELOPMENT. ALSO, THIS WOULD MAKE SURE THAT I THINK MS. SCHOOL LAKE AND MR. FINIGAN, AND, MISSOURI, EXCUSE ME, FOR THEIR ELECTIVE WORK IN PUTTING TOGETHER A VERY, VERY GOOD CIP BUDGET. AND I THINK OF COURSE THE BOARD FOR SEWER SUPPORT IN THE CIP BUDGET DEVELOPMENT SEASON. THANK YOU. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: EXCELLENT. GIVEN THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY ADDS/DELETES, THINK WE CAN IT JUMP IN THE DIRECTION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CIP. SO THANK YOU AGAIN TO THE TEAM, AND THEN WE WILL ACTUALLY AT OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING, THAT IS WHERE WE WILL ADOPT THE CIP. OKAY? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, TEAM. [2. Equity Policy Audit Draft Revisions: Student Discipline and Conduct] NEXT UP, WE ARE GOING TO DO OUR EQUITY POLICY AUDIT REVISIONS AND THESE POLICIES ARE RELATED TO STATED CONDUCT AND DISCIPLINE. I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MS. AFTER CC. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: THANK YOU, CHAIR ALDERTON. WE WILL REVIEW A AFT. PROVISIONS THIS EVENING FROM OUR EQUITY POLICY AUDIT. THESE ARE OUR -- FIRST BATCH OF OUR STUDENT AND DISCIPLINE AND CONDUCT POLICIES. AS YOU REMEMBER FROM LAST WEEK'S BOARD MEETING, WE DID AN OVERVIEW PRESENTATION AS TO WHAT THE PROPOSED PROVISIONS WOULD BE AND WHICH POLICIES WE WERE LOOKING AT AND THEN TONIGHT WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE REDLINES TO WALK THROUGH. SO IF WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN, OUR FIRST ONE IS JF CA WHICH IS TEACHER REMOVALS STUDENTS FROM CLASS. AS YOU RECALL FROM THE PRESENTATION LAST WEEK AND FROM THE MEMO TONIGHT, WE WANT TO GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE CHANGES ARE WHILE YOU SCROLL THROUGH. IN THIS POLICY, WE HAVE HIGHLIGHTED THAT TSS AND RESTORATIVE PRACTICES WILL BE UTILIZED INSTEAD OF REMOVAL WHENEVER POSSIBLE. EVERY SINGLE INCIDENCE OF REMOVAL OF A STUDENT FROM CLASS WILL BE DOCUMENTED THROUGH INCIDENT REPORTS. WE TRIED TO BE VERY CLEAR IN OUR DEFINITIONS, NOT ONLY WITH THE DEFINITIONS WITHIN THE POLICY CAME FROM, BUT TO CLEARLY DEFINE SOME OF THE KEY TERMS SUCH AS DISRUPTIVE [00:05:07] BEHAVIOR. AND WE WANT TO ALSO DISTINGUISH WITHIN THE POLICY THE DIFFERENCE IN PROCEDURES FOR REMOVING A STUDENT FROM CLASS FOR DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR AND REMOVING A STUDENT FROM CLASS IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. PREVIOUSLY, THE POLICY REALLY MODELS THE TWO AND THERE WAS NO REAL DISTINCTION. WE ALSO WANTED TO COME ALONG THOSE SAME LINES, DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WHEN A STUDENT IS PERHAPS REMOVED FROM CLASS JUST TO BE SENT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE AND WHEN IT IS SOMETHING LONGER-TERM. MAYBE A PERMANENT CLASS CHANGE, MAYBE A SUSPENSION. THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT OPTIONS, BUT PREVIOUSLY THEY WERE ALL GROUPED IN ONE SORT OF CATEGORY WITHIN THE POLICY. ALSO, WE WANTED TO, THERE IS A FEW RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU WILL SEE IN THESE POLICIES TONIGHT THAT WE HAVE BUILT INTO EVERY SINGL POLICY, AND THESE ARE DIRECTLY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE -- NOT JUST THE SCHOOL BOARD COMMITTEE OF BOARD MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE AUDIT SINCE THE BEGINNING, BUT ALSO FROM OUR STAFF FOCUS GROUP. THIS WAS A PARTICULAR RECOMMENDATION, WAS THAT WE NEED TO ENSURE PARTICULARLY WHEN WE ARE DISCUSSING ISSUES OF DISCIPLINING CONDUCT BECAUSE THEY ARE SO CRITICAL, THAT WE WANT TO ALWAYS BE COMMUNICATING WITH OUR PARENTS AND THEIR PREFERRED LANGUAGE. SO ALL COMMUNICATIONS WILL BE GOING OUT IN THE PARENTS' PREFERRED LANGUAGE. THEN IN ADDITION, ONE OF THE KEY FINDINGS FROM OUR PARTNER IN THIS EQUITY AUDIT, IBRA, IS BUILDING IN ACCOUNTABILITY AND WILL OF THESE POLICIES. SO COLLECTING ACTUAL DATA AND THEN HAVING THAT DATA NOT JUST CIRCLE BACK TO THE BOARD, WHICH WE BUILT THOSE PROVISIONS AND AS WELL, BUT, YOU KNOW, CIRCLING BACK TO KEY ADMINISTRATORS AND TO THE SUPERINTENDENT SO WE CAN REALLY LOOK AT THIS DATA AND SEE WHAT STORY IS TELLING US. SO WE HAVE BUILT PROVISIONS IN EACH ONE OF THESE POLICIES TO BE COLLECTING AND REPORTING A DISAGGREGATED DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ON WHO THESE POLICIES ARE IMPACTING. BECAUSE AS YOU WILL RECALL, WHEN WE LOOK AT ALL OF THESE POLICIES THROUGH EQUITY LINES, WE WANT TO NOT ONLY LOOK AT WHO THE POLICIES ARE INTENDED TO IMPACT, BUT WHICH STUDENTS THEY ARE ACTUALLY IMPACTING. AND THAT IS DIFFICULT TO KNOW WITHOUT TRUE DATA, YOU KNOW, PAST THE ANECDOTAL STAGE UNLESS WE ARE REALLY COLLECTING, REFINING AND LOOKING AT THE DATA ON A REGULAR BASIS. SO THOSE ARE THE MAIN CHANGES IN THIS POLICY. IT MIGHT BE GOOD THIS EVENING TO TAKE QUESTIONS ON EACH POLICY MAYBE INSTEAD OF WALKING THEIR AND WAITING UNTIL THE END. BEFORE WE DO THAT, I DID NOT KNOW IF ANY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD COMMITTEE WANTED TO MAKE ANY COMMENTS ON THIS OR ANY OF THESE POLICIES. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: MR. SUAREZ? >> MALE SPEAKER: I WILL SAY, I WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN MASSOPORA DAISY, FOR YOUR EFFORTS AND FOR REVISING THIS. AGAIN, REITERATE THAT I WAS REALLY HAPPY TO BE PART OF THIS PROCESS. GRATEFUL TO BE PART OF THE PROCESS. I THINK WITH THESE REVISIONS, WE'VE GOT INTO A PRETTY GOOD PLACE. I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IN GOING TO THIS PARTICULAR ONE IS WE WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT YOU CATCH US REMOVE A STUDENT ARBITRARILY. ONE OF THE CHALLENGES AND WE DISCOVERED WITH THIS AT PRESENT SINCE THE DEFINITION OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR IS STATUTORY. SO AS MUCH AS WE WOULD LOVE TO, YOU KNOW, NARROW THE DEFINITION OR CLARIFY THAT, WE CAN'T, BECAUSE IT'S A STATE LAW. WE HAVE TO KIND OF WORK AROUND THAT IN CREATING THIS POLICY AND TO KEEP THAT IN MIND AS YOU LOOK AT THIS. THE ONLY OTHER THING I WOULD SAY, WHICH I BELIEVE IS TO ACCOUNT FOR HERE, WE OBVIOUSLY WANTED TO -- HE WAS INITIALLY DRAFTED IN ALL INSTANCES, IT WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REMOVE THE STUDENT AND AT LEAST UNTIL 2 OF THESE DOCUMENTED INCIDENTS ARE RECURRED, BUT GIVEN THAT THERE COULD BE SITUATIONS WHERE PEOPLE HAVE SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUES, FOR EXAMPLE, STUDENT BRINGS AND AFTER CLASS, LIKE OUTBACK, THERE MAY BE SITUATIONS FOR MOBILE FOR SAFETY REASONS AS NECESSARY. WE HAPLESSLY NEED TO BE VERY CIRCUMSCRIBED AND WHEN THIS OCCURRED, BECAUSE THE DEFAULT SHOULD NOT BE TO REMOVE A KID FROM SCHOOL. THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE BEHIND THIS ONE WAS THE DOCUMENTATION, JUST MAKING SURE WE ARE DOCUMENTING ALL INCIDENTS SO WE CAN HAVE DATA AND ANALYZE THE ISSUE. BUT THIS IS A PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT POLICY. AGAIN, I WAS HAPPY TO BE PART OF IT AND EVERYONE I THINK PROVIDED REALLY VALUABLE FEEDBACK ON IT. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: THINK ABOUT MAKING THAT POINT, MR. SUAREZ. I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THAT, AS I SAID, THAT IS ONE OF THE KEY CLARIFICATIONS WE WANTED TO MAKE IN THE POLICY, AND THA IS VERY IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATE, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, BUT WE VERY WILL PROBABLY HAVE STAFF UNAWARE [00:10:03] THAT REQUIREMENT, THAT YOU REALLY CANNOT REMOVE A STUDENT FROM CLASS UNTIL YOU HAVE ALREADY DOCUMENTED TWO PRIOR INCIDENTS OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR. AND THOSE INCIDENT REPORTS HAVE BEEN SHARED WITH THE FAMILY. OTHER THAN IN, AS YOU MENTION, EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. OKAY, WE CAN MOVE ON -- >> CHAIR ALDERTON: I HAVE A COUPLE. DR. REED AND DR. HUTCHINS. >> MICHELLE RIEF: WELL, THANKS! I THINK THIS IS, YOU KNOW, REALLY IMPORTANT POLICY. THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR WORKING ON IT. I JUST WANTED TO ASK ABOUT, YOU MENTIONED THE INCIDENT REPORTS. THAT WAS SOMETHING HE WAS CURIOUS ABOUT. AND WE CREATED, LIKE WITH THE MOU FOR THE SRO PROGRAM, WE HAVE THE NEW LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTING FORM, AND THEN THERE IS A NEW FORM THAT'S INCLUDED HERE, THE, WHAT IS A CALLED, THE STUDENT REMOVAL FORM. BUT THEN THE INCIDENT REPORT, I GUESS IT'S MAKING ME CURIOUS. LIKE, WHAT ARE ALL THE FORMS THAT WE HAVE THAT WE ARE USING? BUT CAN YOU JUST TELL ME WHAT IS THE INCIDENT REPORT FORM? AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION WAS JUST, I WANTED TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHAT KIND OF TRAINING TEACHERS ARE GETTING CURRENTLY FOR CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT JUST IN GENERAL AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THESE CHALLENGES THAT THEY ENCOUNTER IN THE CLASSROOM. WHAT IS THE TRAINING? >> FEMALE SPEAKER: SURE. I WILL TAKE THE SECOND QUESTION FIRST BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALSO RAISED A GOOD POINT THAT'S WRITTEN IN TOWARD THE TAIL END OF THIS POLICY IS TO MENTION THE CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING. AND THERE IS A NEW STATE LAW THAT REQUIRES CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING FOR TEACHERS EVERY TWO YEARS. THE FIRST ROUND OF THE TRAINING, WE ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE BY THE BEGINNING OF NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, AND THEN LET CULTURAL COMPETENCY WILL BE BUILT INTO TEACHERS' ANNUAL EVALUATIONS. BUT I MENTIONED BUT ALSO BECAUSE YOU WILL SEE AT THE END OF THIS POLICY, BECAUSE THEY KIND OF GO HAND-IN-HAND. TALKING ABOUT DISPARITIES IN REMOVALS, SO THAT ELEMENT OF CULTURAL COMPETENCY IS VERY IMPORTANT EVEN IN THIS SCENARIO TOO MANY THINK ABOUT WHAT BEHAVIORS CONSIDER DISRUPTIVE AND WE HAVE CERTAIN GROUPS OF STUDENTS WHETHER BEHAVIOR IS MORE FREQUENTLY CLASSIFIED AS DISRUPTIVE THAN OTHER GROUPS. RIGHT? THAT'S WHY MENTIONING THE TRAINING. BUT AT THE END OF THIS POLICY, YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT ANOTHER CHANGE THAT WAS BUILT IN STATUTORILY TO THE TEACHER EVALUATIONS IS LOOKING AT THE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND IF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE REPEATEDLY WITH CERTAIN STAFF MEMBERS, THEN THE STATUTE TRIGGERS MANDATORY TRAINING FOR CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AS WELL. SO IT'S KIND OF TWOFOLD, THE STATUTORY CHANGE. I WOULD DEFER TO DR. HUTCHINGS ON WHAT THE TRAINING WILL LOOK LIKE AND WHAT CURRENT TRAINING WE HAVE ON MANAGEMENT OF CLASSROOM BEHAVIORS, AND I ALSO -- I KNOW THAT THE INCIDENT REPORT ITSELF IS A SCHOOL LEVEL DOCUMENT. AND SO, I'VE ALSO DEFERRED YOU DO TO SPEAK ABOUT WHAT'S CONTAINED IN THE INCIDENT REPORTS. >> MALE SPEAKER: THANK YOU. I WAS GOING TO MENTION THAT. BECAUSE I WANTED TO TALK TO THE FACT THAT THE STATE JUST MANDATED THAT WE INCLUDE THE CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING, WHICH IS A REQUIREMENT EVERY OTHER YEAR, FOR STAFF AND THAT IS ALSO INCORPORATED INTO THE EVALUATION. WE HAD ALREADY STARTED TO BEGIN TO PUT CULTURAL COMPETENCY INTO OUR EVALUATION WHEN WE REVISED IT TWO YEARS AGO THE EAA. WHEN WE DID THAT, WE WENT AND TOOK -- COVID HAPPENED, RIGHT? SO PART OF THAT PLAN INITIALLY IS WE WOULD BEGIN OUR TRAINING THEN AND STARTING TO TRAIN OUR STAFF ON THE EVALUATION TOOL BECAUSE IT'S NEW. TWO, NOT JUST CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING, BUT ALSO SECTIONAL PRACTICES AS WELL AS CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT. IT WAS A PART OF OUR BUILT INTO OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DAYS. INITIALLY, WE HAVE HAD SOME TRAINING VIRTUALLY LAST YEAR AND A PART OF THE YEAR PREVIOUS, BUT IT'S NOT THE KIND OF TRAINING THAT WE ARE GOING TO NEED TO HAVE TO MEET THE STATE REQUIREMENT NOW. TO WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW, BECAUSE I JUST GOT BRIEFED ON THIS THIS WEEK FROM DR. MOZINGO, I KNOW THAT OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TEAM IS ACTUALLY BEGINNING TO DEVELOP A NEW TRAINING SESSION, THAT IT IS ALIGNED WITH THESE NEW POLICIES COMING FROM THE STATE. I CAN MEN THE STATE ON THIS ONE, BECAUSE THIS IS AN AREA THAT I THINK -- LET ME SAY, A CPS IS FORWARD THINKING. WE WERE DOING THIS TWO YEARS AGO. HOWEVER, I LOVE THE FACT THAT IT DOES NOT SEEM LIKE IT'S JUST IN A CPS THING. IT IS SOMETHING THAT NOW THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA IS SAYING ALL STAFF REALLY [00:15:01] NEED TRAINING IN REGARDS TO CULTURAL COMPETENCY AS WELL AS CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT IN OUR CLASSROOMS AND HAVING THE DOCUMENTATION IS KEY, BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD INCIDENTS IN THE PAST WHERE STUDENTS ARE CONSISTENTLY IT OUT OF CLASS JUST BECAUSE THE TEACHER SAID SO, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, I THINK TEACHERS ALWAYS HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS. I BELIEVE THAT. BUT IT DOES HAVE NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS ON STUDENTS EVERY TIME THEY EARN IT MISSING THE INSTRUCTION HAPPENING IN THE CLASSROOMS AS WELL AS THE SOCIALIZATION THAT MANY OF OUR KIDS NEED IN ORDER TO THRIVE. SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT OUR NEW PRACTICES ARE, BUT WE CURRENTLY HAVE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IN REGARDS TO CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT. BUT IT IS BASED ON A TEACHER SELECTING THE PARTICULAR MODULE. IT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT. BUT IT WILL BE WITH THIS MANDATE. IT WILL BE A MANDATE FOR ALL TEACHERS TO PARTICIPATE. AND WHEN YOU ARE HAVING EXCESS OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT ISSUES, WHICH WE DO NOW, WE DO REQUIRE THAT THEY HAVE TO DO SOME FORM OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT WITH COACHES THAT COME IN AND WORK WITH THEM NOW AS WELL. BUT IT WILL BE A MORE STRUCTURED SUPPORT THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE IN PLACE. MOVING FORWARD. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: TO ADD ONTO THAT, DR. HUTCHINGS, AS HE WAS SPEAKING, I REMEMBERED SOMETHING ELSE. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS READING STATUTE, IT DID POINT OUT THAT THE VIRGINIA BOARD OF EDUCATION IS TASKED WITH DEVELOPING THAT CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING FOR SCHOOL DIVISIONS TO USE THIS DECEMBER, AND I THINK THAT'S WHY THE TIMING WAS SET UP THE WAY IT WAS, TO PROVIDE THE TRAINING BY NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, BECAUSE THE DOE IS DEVELOPING A MODEL FOR IT BY THIS MONTH. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: OKAY. MAYBE WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ONE. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: NEXT, WE HAVE JAY FCB WHICH IS SPORTSMEN, ETHICS AND INTEGRITY. THIS IS A POLICY THAT, AS YOU WILL LOOK THROUGH, MOST OF THE TEXT LOOKS BLUE. IT WAS QUITE A SHORTFALL TO SEE BEFORE. IT WAS LAST REVIEWED IN 2015. AND AS WE ARE ALL AWARE, THIS IS A VERY TIMELY ISSUE FOR OUR SCHOOL DIVISION AND FOR OTHER SURROUNDING SCHOOL DIVISIONS, ABOUT THE BEHAVIOR AND THE RESPECT OR LACK OF RESPECT THAT WE TREAT EACH OTHER WITH AT SPORTING EVENTS AND OTHER EXTRACURRICULAR EVENTS AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE NOT ONLY FOR OUR STUDENTS, BUT ALSO FOR OUR COACHES AND STAFF AND OUR SPECTATORS. AND VHS CELL HAS COME OUT WITH A NEW ROLE OF ITS OWN, WHICH IN A MOMENT WHEN WE GO TO THE REGULATION, WE HAVE BUILT UPON THEIR NEW RULE TO DEVELOP A NEW REGULATION THAT ALSO RELATES TO THIS. WE DID IN THIS POLICY WANT TO EXPAND BEYOND JUST ATHLETICS TO ADDRESS HOW WE TREAT EACH OTHER DURING OVER EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. YOU WILL SEE THE POLICY HAS BEEN RETITLED, RESPECT, ETHICS AND INTEGRITY IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, WHEREAS BEFORE IT WAS SPORTSMANSHIP ETHICS AND INTEGRITY. ONE THING I WILL NOTE ON OUR POLICIES NOW, THIS IS DR. REESE SUGGESTIONS, SO THANK YOU, AS THAT MOVING FORWARD ANY POLICY WE HAVE THAT HAS AN AFFILIATED REGULATION, WE WILL KNOW IT AT THE VERY TOP OF THE POLICY. AND FOLKS DON'T HAVE TO SEARCH FOR IT; IF YOU DON'T SEE AN ASSOCIATED REGULATION THERE, THE PARTICULAR POLICY DOES NOT HAVE ONE. WE ARE ALSO TRYING TO REALLY BUILD INCONSISTENTLY DEFINITION SECTIONS WITHIN OUR POLICIES SINCE COMMON TERMS LIKE SPORTSMANSHIP CAN BE LOTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS TO LOTS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE. BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE PARTICULARLY WHAT IT MEANS WITHIN A PARTICULAR POLICY. KEY TERMS WERE DEFINING. AS YOU WALK THROUGH THIS POLICY, SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS ARE THAT AS I SAID, WE HAVE DEFINED SPORTSMANSHIP, HAVE EXTENDE BEYOND JUST OUR STUDENTS, EXTENDED BEYOND JUST SPORTS. AND AS WE SCROLL TO THE REGULATION AS WELL, AS I MENTIONED, THIS ALIGNS WITH THE NEW VHS ALL RULES. WITH THIS RULES DO IS IT DISQUALIFIES PARTICIPANTS TO USE ESSENTIALLY HATE SPEECH. AND IT IS TITLED PROHIBITION OF USE OF HATE SPEECH, ETHNICALLY OR RACIALLY INSENSITIVE EXPRESSIONS AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. WE HAVE TRIED TO MAKE CLEAR THAT THIS REGULATION ALSO APPLIES BEYOND THE SPORTS FIELD, APPLIES TO ALL OF OUR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. AND AN INTERESTING PART OF THIS REGULATION IS THAT IT ALSO ADDRESSES THE PROCESS FOR RESOLVING ALLEGED INCIDENTS BETWEEN SCHOOL DIVISIONS. [00:20:02] VHS L HAS SPELLED OUT HOW THEY ARE GOING TO HANDLE THAT MOVING FORWARD. THEY ALSO WOULD NOT JUST HANDLE -- RESOLVING ISSUES BETWEEN SCHOOL DIVISIONS, BUT THEY HAVE ALSO SPELLED OUT WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE FOR ATHLETES OR, YOU KNOW, AS YOU ARE AWARE OF, VHS L GOES BEYOND GOVERNING JUST SPORTS BUT ALSO DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES LIKE DEBATE. AND SO, THEY HAVE SPELLED OUT WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE FOR USING HATE SPEECH DURING WHILE PARTICIPATING IN A VHS ELEPHANT. WE HAVE SOME CONSEQUENCES THIS YEAR THAT ARE EVEN STRONGER STARTING NEXT YEAR WHILE FOLKS ARE GETTING TRAINED UP ON THIS AND STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AND COACHES ARE BEING MADE AWARE OF THIS. ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT'S BUILT AND IS FOR OUR STAFF MEMBERS TO HAVE MEETINGS WITH ALL OF THE PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR FAMILIES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASONS, THE BEGINNING OF THE ACTIVITY, SO EVERYONE IS ON THE SAME PAGE ABOUT WHAT THE EXPECTATION FOR BEHAVIOR IS. AND WE ARE GOING TO, AS YOU SEE IN THE REGULATION, WE HAVE EXTENDED THAT TO ALL EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AS WELL. WE HAVE ALSO TALKED ABOUT TRAINING FOR OUR STAFF, HERE AT THE END OF THE REGULATION, AND WE'VE GOT INFORMATION HERE ABOUT NOTIFYING ALL OF OUR SUPPORTERS AND SPECTATORS THAT ARE COMING TO OUR EVENTS ABOUT HOW WE ARE GOING TO SPEAK TO EACH OTHER AND TREAT EACH OTHER WHILE WE ARE PARTICIPATING IN THESE ACTIVITIES. AND WE WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR AND SET SOME GUIDELINES FOR OUR SCHOOL DIVISION. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT ONE? DR. HUTCHINGS? >> MALE SPEAKER: I WANT TO MAKE A COMMENT, BECAUSE I REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT A CPS REALLY WAS, I THINK, ONE OF FEW PIONEERS TO GET VHS L TO START TAKING THIS HATE SPEECH SERIOUSLY. AND I WANT TO COMMEND US FOR DOING THAT. AND ALSO BY LEADING BY EXAMPLE, WITH INCLUDING THAT INTO OUR ACTUAL POLICY MANUALS AND REGULATIONS, THE FACT THAT NOW VHS L HAS THE SPORTSMANSHIP COMMITTEE WHERE WE ARE ABLE TO SUBMIT INCIDENTS, AND ITS PEOPLE REVIEWING OR INVESTIGATING THAT PARTICULAR AND THIRD-PARTY INNOCENCE BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT PART OF OUR SCHOOL DIVISION. THAT IS LIKE GIANT, A GIANT LEAP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. WE ARE SPEAKING -- THIS HAPPENED WITHIN THE PAST YEAR. IT WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT TOOK MANY YEARS TO DO. HAPPENED IN A QUICK FASHION. I WANTED TO COMMEND A CPS FOR THAT AND MAKE THAT POINT, BECAUSE THIS IS HUGE. I THINK PEOPLE ARE GOING TO MODEL THEIR POLICIES OFF OF OUR POLICY ONCE IT IS ADOPTED. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: NEXT, WE HAVE JF CE, WHICH IS GANG ACTIVITY OR ASSOCIATION. THE SAME AS THE LAST POLICY, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS, IT'S MOSTLY BLUE TEXT. WE REALLY TRIED TO BUILD THIS OUT. WE HAVE, AGAIN, TRIED TO BE VERY CLEAR IN OUR DEFINITIONS BECAUSE GANG IS ACTUALLY DEFINED IN STATUTE. GANG ACTIVITY IS NOT FULLY DEFINED AS STATUTE AS CONCISELY AS GANG IS, BUT WE DID RECEIVE COMMENTS FROM OUR CITY OF ALEXANDRIA GANG TASK FORCE. AND SOME OF OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS AND OUR OWN SPECIALISTS WITHIN OUR OFFICE OF THE SAFETY AND SECURITY SERVICES, AS WELL AS RECEIVING FEEDBACK FROM OUR STAFF IN STUDENT AND FAMILY FOCUS GROUPS ON WHAT SOME OF THIS ACTIVITY LOOKS LIKE. AND WHAT SORTS OF PROVISIONS WE NEEDED TO MAKE TO THIS POLICY. ONE OF THE REASONS WE WENT TO CAREFULLY DEFINE WHAT GANG AND GANG ACTIVITY ARE IS TO AVOID OVERIDENTIFICATION OF OUR STUDENTS IS BEING CLASSIFIED AS MEMBERS OF A GANG OR PARTICIPATING IN GANG ACTIVITY. THE LANGUAGE IS VERY BROAD BEFORE AND OPEN TO INTERPRETATION. ANOTHER THING WE WANT TO DO IS BUILD IN SOME PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTO THIS POLICY AS WELL AND ALSO DISCUSSED THE FACT THAT WE ARE APPROACHING THESE ISSUES FROM AN EMPTY SS FRAMEWORK. AND WE WANT TO DISCUSS OUR PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES AS WELL TO TRY TO HELP STUDENTS WHO WE THINK ARE VULNERABLE TO BEING RECRUITED BY GANGS OR IMPACTED BY GANG ACTIVITY OR EVEN WHO SUFFER RETALIATION FROM GANGS FOR PARTICIPATING ARE NOT PARTICIPATING. IN ADDITION, 20. CHANGE I THINK IS TALKING ABOUT HERE ON THE FINAL PAGE OF THIS POLICY, THIS SECTION 3, COLLABORATION REPORTING AND REVIEW. [00:25:03] ONE OF THE KEY FEEDBACK POINTS WE RECEIVED WHEN WE RECEIVED THIS POLICY IS PREVIOUSLY SAID THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT WOULD ANNUALLY ESSENTIALLY REVIEW A LIST OF, YOU KNOW, GANG SYMBOLS, ARTICLES OF CLOTHING THAT GANG MEMBERS WEAR, THAT SORT OF THING, AND THE MAIN FEEDBACK WE GOT IS BY THE TIME YOU LOOK AT A LIST ONCE A YEAR, IT'S ALREADY OUT OF DATE. WHAT PURPOSE DOES THAT REALLY SERVE? IS THAT JUST TO CHECK A BOX TO SAY WE HAVE COMPILED A LIST ONCE A YEAR? SO WE HAVE TRIED TO REVISE THE SECTION TO SAY WHAT IS ACTUALLY MORE HELPFUL IS IF WE LOOK AT THESE PARTNERS, WE HAVE LISTED HERE AND LET'S COLLABORATE WITH THEM MORE FREQUENTLY AND LET'S STAY UP-TO-DATE ON THIS AND SHARE WITH THEM WHAT WE ARE SEEING AND THEY CAN SHARE WITH US WHAT THEY ARE SEEING, BE MAKING EACH OTHER AWARE OF GANG ACTIVITY OR NEW GANGS THAT ARE PROPPING UP IN OUR COMMUNITY AND JUST KIND OF SHARING THE LATEST INFORMATION. AND SO, THERE ARE SOME COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS AND STAFF LEVEL AND ALSO THE SUPERINTENDENT LEVEL. AGAIN, PULLING IN SOME REPORTING STRUCTURES HERE IN TRAINING FOR OUR STAFF. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT ONE? NEXT? >> FEMALE SPEAKER: NEXT, WE HAVE POLICY JFC LETTER OFF, LETTER I, WHICH A COUPLE YEARS AGO WE COMBINED OUR POLICY ON DRUGS IN SCHOOL CENO: SCHOOLS. THIS IS ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS AT SCHOOLS. YOU WILL SEE IT HAS AN AFFILIATED REGULATION. AND THE CHANGES WE HAVE MADE TO THIS, THE FIRST THING, AND THIS IS A COMMON THEME IN THESE EQUITY AUDIT POLICIES, IS, AGAIN, MOVIN BEYOND APPROACHING THIS FROM A PUNITIVE TONE OF ZERO-TOLERANCE TO INCORPORATING OUR POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORTS IN A MORE AFFIRMING APPROACH IN RECOGNIZING THAT SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND ALCOHOL ABUSE EXISTS WITHIN OUR STUDENT BODY AND OUR STAFF AND WHAT SUPPORTIVE MEASURES ARE WE EMPLOYING TO TRY TO HELP THOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE CONFRONTING THIS ISSUE AND NOT PURELY TALKING ABOUT WHAT ARE OUR DISCIPLINARY MEASURES. SO THERE ARE SOME AREAS OF THE CODE OF VIRGINIA THAT ARE QUITE CLEAR ON DRUGS AND ALCOHOL ON SCHOOL PROPERTY. AND SO, WE ARE RECOGNIZING THOSE. BUT WE ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE ANSWER IS NOT ALWAYS EXPULSION. THE LAW WAS RECENTLY CHANGED THAT SAID, IT GIVES SCHOOL DIVISIONS A LOT MORE LATITUDE NOW PARTICULARLY WITH OFFENSES WHERE YOU ARE JUST TALKING ABOUT POSSESSION OR USE AND NOT DISTRIBUTION. SO IN THE PAST, IT WASN'T MUCH, A MUCH STRICTER APPROACH THAT WENT STRAIGHT TO EXPULSION AND NOW THERE'S A LOT MORE LATITUDE TO TAKE A TIERED APPROACH TO ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, YOU WANT TO ADDRESS USE, POSITIONED DIFFERENTLY OBVIOUSLY THEN YOU WOULD OF PROCURING DRUGS OR DISTRIBUTING THEM. SO WE HAVE TRIED TO TAKE THAT APPROACH HERE. AND THE AFFILIATED REGULATION, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, WHAT IS -- WHEN WE LOOK AT ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG ABUSE, WHAT SUPPORTS ARE WE PROVIDING IN OUR DIVISION? SWEET TALK THROUGH THOSE AND WE TRY TO GIVE A LOT OF CLEAR DEFINITIONS SO THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE CLEAR ON WHAT THE RULES ARE. AND THEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR TIERED APPROACH AND THE DIFFERENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE. I WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP TWO KEY POINTS, AND THAT IS IN RELATION TO A LOT OF THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED IN OUR FOCUS GROUPS, NOT ONLY AMONG OUR STUDENTS, BUT ALSO OUR STAFF. AND THAT WAS REGARDING OUR REFERRAL PROCESS OR VIOLATIONS OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUGS. WE OVERWHELMINGLY RECEIVED FEEDBACK THAT, YOU KNOW, VERY PARTICULAR GROUPS OF STUDENTS, BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS ARE BEING REFERRED FOR THESE VIOLATIONS AND VERY DISPROPORTIONATE LEVELS. WE RECEIVED GENUINE FEEDBACK FROM OUR ADMINISTRATORS THAT THEY COULD USE MORE TRAINING ON MAKING REFERRALS AND THE REFERRAL PROCESS. AND SO, WE ALSO RECEIVED A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM STAFF THAT SAID NOT ONLY WOULD IT BE MORE EQUITABLE TO HAVE ALL STUDENTS WHO HAVE THESE TYPES OF VIOLATIONS QUALIFIED FOR REFERRALS TO OUR SUBSTANCE ABUSE SUPPORT SERVICES AND INTERVENTIONS, BUT ALSO BY NOT AUTOMATICALLY MAKING ALL STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR [00:30:04] REFERRALS, THEN WE ARE ALSO PROBABLY MISSING A LOT OF STUDENTS SUBSTANCE ABUSE ISSUES. SO IN THIS REGULATION, IF WE GO TO A COUPLE PEOPLE AT SOME OF THE TO POINT OUT WHERE WE HAVE CHANGES THAT HOPEFULLY WILL BE IMPACTFUL, IN THE REGULATION UNDER SECTION 5, ACCESSING SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES, YOU WILL SEE THE FINAL HOLLOW BULLET THERE. I MIGHT JUST READ THIS BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT, AN IMPORTANT CHANGE. TO SUPPORT ACPS STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS AND TO REDUCE THE DISPARITY IN ADMINISTRATIVE CONSEQUENCES ISSUED A DIFFERENT STUDENT GROUPS FOR THE SAME AOD RELATED OFFENSES. AOD IS ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS, TO COMBAT THE DISPROPORTIONALITY AND REFERRALS TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION SERVICES WERE TRADITIONALLY MARGINALIZED STUDENT POPULATIONS, TO MAKE PROGRESS TOWARD EQUITABLE OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS, TO ENSURE THAT STUDENTS' POTENTIAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND UNDERLYING ISSUES ARE PROPERLY IDENTIFIED, AND TO SUPPORT STUDENTS WITH APPROPRIATE INTERVENTIONS, ALL STUDENTS WHO VIOLATE THIS POLICY WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR REFERRAL TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES. AND THIS IS NOT THE CASE IN THE PAST. IN ADDITION, THERE IS ANOTHER BULLET I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT, AND THAT IS TWO BULLETS DOWN ON THAT PAGE. THIS IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE VIRGINIA CODE: A CPS WILL REQUIRE ANY STUDENT INVOLVED IN A CODE OF CONDUCT VIOLATION RELATED TO ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS TO BE REFERRED TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES FOR EVALUATION AND OF ASSESSMENT FOR DRUG OR ALCOHOL ABUSE OR BOTH. IF RECOMMENDED BY THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELOR AND WITH THE CONSENT OF THE STUDENT'S PARENT GUARDIAN, THE STUDENT MAY BE REFERRED TO PARTICIPATE IN A COMMUNITY-BASED TREATMENT PROGRAM. AGAIN, THAT IS NEW LANGUAGE THAT WAS NOT THE CASE IN THE PAST. HOPEFULLY THOSE TWO CHANGES WILL BE IMPACTFUL FOR OUR STUDENTS. SHOULD ALSO JUST POINT OUT, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE IN SOME OF THE OTHER POLICIES, THE FINAL SECTION IN THIS REGULATION, AS WE TRY TO BUILD IN SOME ACCOUNTABILITY, DATA TRACKING AND REPORTING, DISAGGREGATED DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ON WHO EXACTLY, WHICH OF OUR STUDENTS THIS PARTICULAR POLICY AND REGULATION ARE IMPACTING. WHO IS BEING REFERRED? >> CHAIR ALDERTON: ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT ONE? >> FEMALE SPEAKER: OKAY. MOVING ON, THE NEXT ONENESS -- GOT TO PUT MY CLASSES ON. GBEC, AND JFCH. WE WILL NOTE THAT IN GOING TO THIS EQUITY AUDIT, NOT ONLY ARE WE TRYING TO REALLY LOOK AT OUR POLICY MANUAL AS A WHOLE TO RUN EQUITY LINES, BUT WE ARE ALSO DOING SOME CLEANUP ALONG THE WAY. AND THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT. WE REALIZE BY LOOKING THROUGH THESE POLICIES, WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT POLICIES THAT ALL POINTED TO TOBACCO USE OR POSSESSION OF SCHOOL PROPERTIES. WE HAD A SEPARATE ONE FOR VISITORS WHO HAVE TOBACCO ON SCHOOL PROPERTY, WHEN FOR STAFF, WHEN FOR STUDENTS. SO WE TRIED TO CLEAN IT UP AND JUST COMBINE THEM HERE. THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THIS POLICY HAS SO MANY CROSS-REFERENCES. WE ALSO DID HAVE SEPARATE POLICIES FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND NICOTINE VAPOR PRODUCTS. REALLY THESE DAYS, YOU NEED TO BE ADDRESSING BOTH OF THOSE ISSUES IN CONJUNCTION WITH EACH OTHER. AND SO, WE HAVE COMBINED THEM HERE. LIKE YOU SAID, BEFORE WE TRY TO BE CLEAR IN OUR DEFINITIONS, CLEAR AND WHAT THE RULES ARE. ALSO, THIS HAS AND AFFILIATED REGULATION, WHICH IS NEW. AND YOU SCROLL, SUSAN, WE WILL GO TO THE REGULATION. AND THIS JUST SPELLS OUT EXACTLY WHAT THE RULES ARE, WHO THEY APPLY TO. YOU WILL SEE THAT THEY ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT RULES FOR STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES REGARDING, YOU KNOW, HAVING TOBACCO ON SCHOOL PROPERTY IS GOING TO BE A DIFFERENT ROLE FOR EVERY STUDENT AND PERHAPS AN EMPLOYEE OR VISITOR. WE TALK ABOUT OUR ENFORCEMENT AND WHAT RESOURCES WE ARE PROVIDING TO OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF WHO MAY BE SUFFERING FROM NICOTINE ADDICTION AND WOULD LIKE SOME HELP IN THAT AREA. TO CONFRONT THAT AND I THINK THAT'S ABOUT IT FOR THIS REGULATION. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? >> MALE SPEAKER: I HAVE A, FROM THE PREVIOUS SECTION IN REGARDS TO JFCF REGULATION. ON TO POINT OUT, I KNOW YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE DISPARITIES, AND I MADE A NOTE TO MYSELF THAT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO TALK ABOUT THE RACIAL [00:35:01] DISPARITIES, BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY CLEAR THAT WHAT IS HAPPENING IS AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS OR STUDENTS OF COLOR, BLACK, BROWN STUDENTS, THAT THEY TENDED TO BE SUSPENDED FOR HAVING ANY TYPE OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA IN SCHOOLS. AND WHAT WE SAW WAS THAT SOME OF OUR WHITE STUDENTS TYPICALLY WILL REFERRED TO SOME FORM OF COUNSELING. AND THAT IS A HUGE, YOU KNOW, DISPARITY THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN ACPS. AND I LOVE THE FACT THAT WE ARE BEING VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT PROVIDING THAT COUNSELING ACCESS FOR ALL, FOR ALL STUDENTS, BECAUSE REGARDLESS OF WHAT COLOR YOU ARE, IF YOU ARE IN POSSESSION OF DRUGS, YOU MOST LIKELY HAVE A DRUG ISSUE AND THERE ARE OTHER FACTORS THAT CAN COME FROM THAT OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING THAT. SO I'M GLAD THAT WE ARE NOW INCORPORATING THAT. FOR ALL KIDS. BECAUSE IF WE CAN BEGIN PROVIDING SUPPORTS NOW, THAT MAY LEAD TO THEM NOT HAVING SIGNIFICANT ADDICTION ISSUES AS ADULTS IF WE CAN SOLVE SOME OF THOSE PROBLEMS. I WANTED TO MAKE THAT POINT IN REGARDS TO THE RACIAL DISPARITIES TO REALLY HIT HOME. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: BEFORE YOU MOVE ON, THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT TOBACCO NICOTINE VAPOR PRODUCTS? OKAY. >> POLICY. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: THE NEXT ONENESS SEARCH AND SEIZURE. THIS IS JFB. WE HAVE TRIED TO CLARIFY IN THIS POLICY, BECAUSE IN APPROACHING THIS ONE, WHEN YOU REALLY DIG INTO IT, YOU WILL SEE ALL OF THE NEW SECTIONS AND SUBSECTIONS OF TRIED TO LAY OUT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THERE ARE SEARCHES WHERE REASONABLE SUSPICION IS REQUIRED. THEY ARE TYPES OF SEARCHES WHERE IT'S NOT REQUIRED. BEFORE THIS POLICY WAS PRETTY MUDDLED, WE HAVE TRIED TO INCLUDE SOME VERY CLEAR DEFINITIONS. THEY ARE MOSTLY STATUTORY ABOUT WHAT REASONABLE SUSPICION IS, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT THE THRESHOLD IS, WHAT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SEARCHES ARE, NOT JUST WHAT THRESHOLD IS REQUIRED TO PERFORM A SEARCH, BUT WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SEARCHES AND WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT CAN BE SEARCHED. A PERSON, THEIR BELONGINGS, THEIR LOCKER, THE OUTSIDE OF THE CAR, THE INSIDE OF THE CAR IF YOU REASONABLE SUSPICION. THERE ARE DIFFERENT THRESHOLDS AND ROLES FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF SEARCHES, WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO DO IT, WHO DOES NOT. YOU SHOULD HAVE TRAINING BEFORE YOU ARE DOING SEARCHES. IN ADDITION, YOU WILL SEE ON PAGE 3, WE HAVE COMPLETELY DELETED THE SECTION REGARDING STRIP SEARCHES. ACPS DOES NOT PERFORM STRIP SEARCHES. THERE WAS NO REASON TO HAVE IT IN THIS POLICY AND IMPLY THAT WE DO. WE HAVE ALSO TRIED TO ADDRESS BLANKET AND RANDOM ADMINISTRATIVE SEARCHES AND ALSO WHAT CONSENT SEARCHES ARE. AND ALSO TRIED TO BUILD IN A REQUIREMENT HERE TO NOTIFY OUR STUDENTS THAT THEY ARE NOT REQUIRED TO CONSENT TO A SEARCH. AND THEN FINALLY, ADDRESSING THE ROLE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT. AND NOTE THAT HAS BEEN A HOT TOPIC. WE NEED TO MAKE IT VERY CLEAR. WHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT IS AND IS NOT INVOLVED IN THE SEARCHES OF STUDENTS AND THEIR BELONGINGS. FINALLY, THE LAST PIECE THAT YOU ARE GETTING IS TO SEEING ON DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING. WE WANT TO BE LOOKING AT OUR DATA EVERY YEAR TO SEE EXACTLY WHO IS BEING SEARCHED, WHAT IS BEING SEARCHED, WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF THOSE SEARCHED, WHAT PICTURE IS THAT DATA PIECE FOR US. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: OKAY. OUR NEXT POLICIES JAY GDA, DISCIPLINING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. WE HAVE TRIED TO START OUT BY DISCUSSING OUR USE OF OUR MTS AS FRAMEWORK AND THE DIFFERENT SUPPORTS AND INTERVENTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS. AND WE HAVE ALSO TRIED TO REALLY SPELL OUT THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT DISCIPLINE REGARDING YOUR CHILD IN PARTICULAR, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY, ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL THINGS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNICATION IS CLEAR. WE AGAIN HAVE BUILT IN A PROVISION THAT ALL COMMUNICATIONS WITH PARENTS ABOUT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS POLICY OR VIOLATIONS OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT, THAT INVOLVE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, THOSE COMMUNICATIONS WILL BE IN THE PARENTS' PREFERRED LANGUAGE. THANKS TO MR. SUAREZ' SUGGESTION, I ALSO TRIED TO DROP IN HERE SOME PROVISIONS [00:40:04] THAT REQUIRE US TO BE VERY CLEAR IN OUR COMMUNICATION ON WHAT THE RIGHTS OF THE STUDENT ARE ALL THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, THE FACT THAT THERE WAS A RIGHT OF APPEAL, THE FACT THAT THERE WAS THE RIGHT TO LEGAL REPRESENTATION. WE HAVE LOCATED SOME PRO BONO LEGAL RESOURCES THAT SPECIALIZE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION PROCESSES, WHETHER IT IS MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION REVIEWS OR APPEALS. AND SO, WE WILL PROVIDE THOSE RESOURCES TO PARENTS IF THEY ARE GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS ARE AWARE OF THEIR PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS IN THESE AREAS AND WHAT THEIR RIGHTS ARE. AND THEN WE DISCUSSED THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DISCIPLINARY MEASURES TAKEN FOR CODE OF CONDUCT VIOLATIONS AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. AND I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE -- I DON'T KNOW, MR. SUAREZ, IF YOU AND ADD ANYTHING. WE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS ONE. >> MALE SPEAKER: YEAH. I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR MAKING THESE EDITS. THEY LOOK REALLY GOOD. REALLY APPRECIATE YOU PAYING ATTENTION TO THE PROCEDURAL RIGHTS PEACE AND THAT WE WILL HAVE RESOURCES FOR PARENTS TO LOOK AT WHEN THEY ARE IN THESE SITUATIONS. IT'S IMPORTANT THAT PARENTS ARE AWARE THE PROCEDURAL RIGHTS. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: AGAIN, AS MENTIONED IN THE OTHER POLICIES, THIS PIECE AT THE END REGARDING DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING, W HAVE ALL DISCUSSED HERE BEFORE ABOUT WE HAVE HAD OVER IDENTIFICATION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR DISCIPLINE AND CONDUCT VIOLATIONS. SO, AGAIN, WE WANT TO LOOK AT THE DATA AND SEE IF THE DISCIPLINE AND CONDUCT DATA FOR OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ALIGNS WITH OUR STUDENTS WITHOUT DISABILITIES WHO DON'T HAVE DISABILITIES. >> MALE SPEAKER: I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, I'M SPEAKING SO MUCH TONIGHT BECAUSE I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF OUR STUDENT SERVICES TEAM. I WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT I AM SPEAKING ON THEIR BEHALF TONIGHT, AND THAT'S WHY I'M TAKING SO MUCH TIME TONIGHT. BUT I DO WANT TO SAY THAT THIS RIGHT HERE IS SO EQUITABLE FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS. WE ARE BEING VERY EXPLICIT AROUND, YOU KNOW, WHAT SERVICES WE HAVE AS WELL AS WHAT ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE. AND THAT IS WHAT EQUITY IS. EQUITIES ABOUT MEETING A STUDENT WHERE THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, EVERY STUDENT IS NOT AT THE SAME PLACE. AND US BEING ABLE TO DEFINE THIS IN POLICY AND REGULATIONS, I MEAN, YOU ALL HAVE NO IDEA HOW FORWARD THINKING THIS SCHOOL DIVISION IS. EVERYBODY'S POLICY MANUAL DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THIS. THIS IS WHY IBRA IS GOING TO BE USING THIS PRODUCT FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS AS AN EXAMPLE FOR THE WORK. PEOPLE ARE NOT SCHOOL DIVISIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE NOT INCLUDING THIS SPECIFIC INFORMATION THAT TIES TO SUPPORTS AND EQUITABLE PRACTICES FOR STUDENTS. SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT PUBLICLY ON THE RECORD, AND I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, JENNIFER ADVISES HE HAS BEEN LEADING THESE EFFORTS WITH, NATURE WOULD. BUT THIS REALLY IS GROUNDBREAKING. NOT JUST FOR A CPS, FOR SCHOOL DIVISIONS ACROSS THE NATION. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: MS. GREENE? >> FEMALE SPEAKER: THANK YOU, CHAIR ALDERTON. I ECHO WHAT YOU SAID, DR. HUTCHINGS. THIS IS HUGE. AS I CONTINUE TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE DONE AS A COMMITTEE AND SUBCOMMITTEE AND JUST ALL OF THE GREAT WORK THAT HAS BEEN PUT INTO THIS, THANK YOU, MS. EVERS AZ, BUT THE FACT THAT IN EACH OF THESE WE WILL HAVE DATA TO BE ABLE TO ASSESS WHAT IS GOING ON, WHAT WE'VE NEVER REALLY HAD BEFORE, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, AMAZING. AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD, IT'S JUST GOING TO PUT US IN SUCH A BETTER, EQUITABLE PLACE. YOU KNOW, I THINK WE DEFINITELY WILL BE GETTING CALLS FROM OTHER SCHOOL BOARDS AND, YOU KNOW, ASKING, YOU KNOW, FOR THE PROCESS OF WHAT WE'VE DONE, BUT IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I AM LIKE, WOW, EACH ONE THAT WE GO THROUGH, ALL OF THE CHANGES IN ALL THE WORK THAT'S BEEN PUT INTO IT AND THEN TO SEE IT COME TO FRUITION, IT IS, YOU KNOW, KUDOS TO ALL OF US ON WHAT WE'VE DONE AND HOW IT WILL BENEFIT US MOVING FORWARD. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: THANK YOU. I HAVE TO CREDIT SOME OF OUR THOUGHT LEADERS WITHIN THIS DIVISION. YOU KNOW, IN REACHING OUT TO THEM, AS I WAS BUILDING IN THESE REVISIONS, I REACHED OUT TO FOLKS IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS I SPOKE TO DR. CRAWFORD'S TEAM AND MR. CONTRARIWISE AND MS. WARNER AND TALK TO THEM AND SAID, YOU KNOW, IF WE [00:45:04] BUILD IN THE STATE REPORTING AND TRACKING REQUIREMENT IN THIS POLICY, CAN WE COLLECT THIS, CAN WE DO THIS? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM TO THE LETTERS, LIKE, WE CAN DO IT, ABSOLUTELY. EITHER WE ARE ALREADY COLLECTING IT OR WE CAN EASILY COLLECT IT AND REPORT IT. NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL. THE WHOLE TEAM IS BEHIND IT. MS. THORTON, I CAN HEAR HER IN MY EAR TOO AT EACH SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING OR SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING SAYING DATA TRACKING, DATA TRACKING, DATA TRACKING. ANYWAY, ONE MORE POLICY AS PART OF THE EQUITY AUDIT PRESENTATION TONIGHT. THAT IS THE SORT OF GOES HAND-IN-HAND WITH OUR LAST ONE. THIS IS JGB, DISCIPLINE OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR INFLICTION OF SERIOUS BODILY INJURY. AGAIN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS, TWO PAGE POLICY, THE MAJORITY OF THE TEXT HERE IS BLUE, WHICH MEANS IT IS NEW. THIS WAS A VERY SHORT POLICY THAT ESSENTIALLY JUST SAID FOR INFLICTION OF SERIOUS BODILY INJURY, YOU CAN REMOVE A STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY FROM THEIR EDUCATIONAL SETTING FOR 45 DAYS WITHOUT A MANIFESTATIO DETERMINATION REVIEW. AND SO, THAT MR. SUAREZ' SUGGESTION, IT WAS AN EXCELLENT SUGGESTION, WE NEED TO REALLY POINT OUT FOR FOLKS, THIS IS A POLICY THAT IS ONLY USED IN EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. YOU ARE GENERALLY GOING TO BE ADDRESSING CODE OF CONDUCT VIOLATIONS TO THE POLICY WE REVIEWED A MOMENT AGO. WE TRIED TO VERY CLEARLY DEFINE WHAT SERIOUS BODILY INJURY IS SO WE CAN POINT OUT HOW EGREGIOUS OF A SITUATION IT WOULD TAKE TO TRIGGER THE SITUATION AND THE SCENARIO. THEN, AGAIN, BUILD IN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COMMUNICATION AND BUILD IN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DATA COLLECTION SO THAT WE KNOW HOW OFTEN THIS IS HAPPENING IN WHICH STUDENTS IT'S IMPACTING. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THAT ONE? ALL RIGHT. SO THESE WILL THEN BE ONLY DOCKET FOR APPROVAL ON THE 16TH. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, JUST SEND THEM OUR WAY. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: YEP. THANK YOU. WE HAVE TWO MORE POLICIES AND THEIR AFFILIATED REGULATIONS THAT BELONG IN THIS GROUP, BUT I CANNOT GET THEM UP IN TIME FOR TONIGHT'S MEETING. YOU WILL SEE THOSE NEXT WEEK ON THE 14TH. AND THOSE WILL COMPLETE THIS GROUP OF POLICIES THAT HAVE BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COMMITTEE. AND THE NEXT -- THIS EVENING, AND AGAIN YOU WILL SEE ON THE 14TH AS WELL, WE ALSO DO HAVE A GROUP OF STATUTORY POLICY REVISIONS TO WALK THROUGH THIS EVENING AS WELL. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: DR. HUTCHINGS, MS. GLENN. >> MALE SPEAKER: BEFORE WE GO INTO THE STATUTORY REGULATIONS, AND WHEN I MENTIONED THAT WITH THE REVISIONS AND THE ADDITION THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, WANT TO JUST POINT EXPLICITLY OUT TO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GROUNDBREAKING, WE ARE THINKING EQUITABLE. AND SOME OF THE INSTANCES IN THE FACT THAT WE ARE USING AN TSS, MULTITIER SUPPORT SYSTEMS, IT IS IN OUR POLICY, MEANING REGARDLESS WHO IS SITTING IN THE SEATS, INCLUDING THE SUPERINTENDENT, THAT'S AN EXPECTATION FOR ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT WE USE THE MULTITIER SUPPORT FRAMEWORK TO HANDLE ANY SUPPORTS FOR STUDENTS. THE ACCOUNTABILITY THAT YOU WILL FIND IN REGULATIONS, IT IS SO KEY. SOME THINGS WE ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT TO THE STATE. BUT IT NEVER REALLY COMES ACROSS THE DESK OF THE SCHOOL BOARD WITH THE COMMUNITY. IT'S JUST A FORMALITY THAT WE SENT TO THE STATE, RIGHT? THEY HAVE AN ACCOUNTABILITY STRUCTURE IN PLACE. IT DOES REQUIRE THE SUPERINTENDENT AS WELL AS THE STAFF TO SHARE OUT OUR PROGRESS. THAT IN ITSELF IS GOING TO HELP WITH SOME OF THE DISPARITIES, BECAUSE NOW YOU ARE SPEAKING INTO EXISTENCE AND IT'S A PUBLI BACKING. IT'S NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT IS SUBMITTED TO THE STATE AND IT CAN ONLY BE FOILED. THE DOCUMENTATION PIECE, IT SPECIFICALLY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE INCIDENT REPORTING AND REMOVING STUDENTS AT THE CLASSROOMS, THAT WILL BE KEY TO REALLY CHANGING PRACTICE IN OUR CLASSROOMS, BECAUSE WE HAVE TALKED SO MUCH ABOUT THE INEQUITIES. OUR STUDENTS, STUDENTS REPRESENTATIVES HAVE TALKED ABOUT THEM THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, SCHOOL BOARD REPRESENTATIVES. THEY'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS. BUT THIS REALLY IS GOING TO ALLOW FOR STAFF TO BE REQUIRED TO DOCUMENT SO IT'S NOT JUST WHAT I THINK OR MY OPINION, BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE BIASES, AND THIS IS HOW WE GET THE DISPARITIES. [00:50:01] OUR PERSONAL BIASES, AND PLAY, WHAT WE MAY THINK ABOUT A CERTAIN TYPE OF STUDENT, HOW SOMEBODY MAY LOOK COMES INTO PLAY. AND NOW YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DOCUMENT WHY THAT PERSON IS BEING REMOVED OUT OF YOUR ROOM. WE WILL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, DO AN ANALYSIS OF THE INFORMATION AND THAT WILL HELP US. I WANT TO POINT OUT SOME SPECIFIC AREAS THAT MAKE THIS GROUNDBREAKING WORK AND WHY IT'S MAKING IT EQUITABLE PRACTICES FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: JUST TO ADD TO THAT, AND THEN I WILL GO TO MS. THORTON TOO, THE GOOD THING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FRAMING EVERYTHING AROUND AN TSS, EVEN NOT, YOU KNOW, WHAT COULD BE A NORMAL SORT OF DAY-TO-DAY PRACTICE OF WRITING A DISCIPLINE REFERRAL OR WHATEVER, THAT, HAVING THAT IN OUR POLICY BECOMES A PART OF OUR MTS US NORMAL PROCESS. SO IT IS -- EMP'S ESTEEM KNOWS THAT PART OF THEIR JOB IS, YOU KNOW, TO LOOK AT THESE DOCUMENTS AND MAKE THEM A PART OF THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE REGULAR MEETINGS SO THAT WE ARE CONSTANTLY THINKING ABOUT WHERE OUR KIDS ARE. WE ARE CONSTANTLY THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OUR OWN PRACTICE AND IT JUST BECOMES A PART OF HOW WE DO THINGS. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S DISAGREEING WITH HOW POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE THAT CAN BE FOR US. MS. THORTON? >> FEMALE SPEAKER: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I DO NOT WANT TO LET THE MOMENT PASS TO SAY THANK YOU TO MS. EVERS EASY. THIS IS JUST SUCH A NO MORE MISS LEGACY THAT YOU ARE LEAVING FOR ACPS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, EQUITIES ARE THE NAME OF THE GAME HERE. I THINK A LOT OF TIMES WE LET THESE HOT TOPIC ISSUES KIND OF OVERSHADOW THIS TYPE OF WORK THAT IS OCCURRING. I JUST WANTED TO PUBLICLY SAY THANK YOU AND I HOPE THAT MOVING FORWARD, A CPS REALLY ADVERTISES THIS TYPE OF WORK THAT IS OCCURRING, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE PRETTY MONUMENTAL CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING. AND I'M REMINDED OF WHAT MS. ALDERTON OFTEN SAYS ABOUT THE CULTURE CHANGE. AND EVEN THOUGH, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE WERE DOING A LOT OF THESE THINGS IN DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AS FAR AS MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE MULTITIER SUPPORT SYSTEM, THE PEOPLE AS HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED FOR A WHILE, BUT I THINK THAT THIS DOES IS KIND OF SHOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT CONSISTENCY ACROSS ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS AND WE WANT IT SET PUBLICLY IN EVERY DOCUMENT THAT THI IS OUR PRIORITY. AND BEFORE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A VERY ZERO-TOLERANCE STANCE AND A LOT OF OUR POLICIES, EVEN THE PUBLICLY THAT'S NOT WHAT WE ARE SAYING WE WANT TO DO, THAT'S NOT OUR VALUE. BUT I THINK THAT'S. PUTTING IT FORWARD IN EVERY DOCUMENT THROUGHOUT DATA COLLECTION, WE WILL CARE ABOUT STUDENTS FIRST AND WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS APPLIED CONSISTENTLY AND EQUITABLY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. THAT'S REALLY MONUMENTAL TO ME. AND SO, I JUST HOPE THAT DEFINITELY WE CAN HAVE MORE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PUBLIC SO THEY UNDERSTAND THESE CHANGES, UNDERSTAND THEIR RIGHTS AS HAS BEEN STATED ANOTHER POLICIES. JUST REALLY LIKE TO SEE THAT WE ARE PUTTING THE WORK IN. IT'S NOT JUST A BUZZ WORD THAT WE ARE USING. SO IT'S PROBABLY JUST A COMMUNICATIONS KIND OF SHADOW THAT I WENT TO GIVE AND THAT I HOPE CONTINUES TO MOVE FORWARD. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO YOU AND EVERYONE BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. THANK YOU. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: MS. GENTRY? >> FEMALE SPEAKER: REALLY. >> ,BECAUSE I DO THINK THIS IS A SUCH TREMENDOUS GREAT WORK, BUT I THINK TOO, YOU KNOW, TO EVERYONE'S POINT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME VERY REAL CONCRETE CHANGES IN THE WAY THAT THE STAFF WILL NEED TO DO THINGS. AND THE REALITY IS WE ARE GOING TO BE PASSING THIS, YOU KNOW, NEXT WEEK, WHICH MEANS WHEN ALL OF THE STAFF RETURN IN JANUARY, THIS IS THE NEW POLICY. SO I AM SURE YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS, BUT, DR. HUTCHINGS, WHAT KIND OF THOUGHT IT HAVE YOU BEEN AND HOW YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO SORT OF HIT THE GROUND RUNNING WITH THIS COME JANUARY? >> MALE SPEAKER: I CAN SPEAK SO MUCH BECAUSE ALL OF THIS IS INTENTIONAL! RIGHT, IN REGARDS TO THESE CHANGES, A LOT OF THE STUFF IS ALREADY HAPPENING. AND THAT IS A GOOD THING FOR US. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN PREPARING. THIS IS WHY WE HAVE BEEN SO ADAMANT ABOUT AN TSS. AND NO THAT CHAIR ALDERTON HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT THAT SINCE THE MOMENT SHE SAT IN THE CHAIR AS A BOARD MEMBER IN JANUARY 2019. AND IT REALLY IS A PART OF OUR CULTURE NOW. REALLY, WITH THESE POLICIES ARE NOW DOING IS JUST VALIDATING THEIR WORK AND ENSURING THAT REGARDLESS OF IF I AM SITTING IN THE SEAT OR IF YOU ALL ARE SITTING IN [00:55:03] THE SEATS, THAT IT WILL STILL BE A PRIORITY. SO WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO ALREADY HAVE THIS AS A PARIAH -- PRIORITY. THIS IS FOCUS FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD, IT'S ALSO BEEN PART OF OUR BUDGET PRIORITIES TO THE SCHOOL BOARD OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS. ANALYSIS CONFIRMATION THAT HAS NOT GONE AWAY. AND I THINK THAT SOUNDS REALLY CLEAR MESSAGE TO OUR STAFF AND THAT'S NOT IN A NEGATIVE WAY. THE STAFF ARE NOW SAYING, OKAY, WE REALLY ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH SOMEBODY COMING IN AND CHANGING EVERY THING AGAIN, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WITHOUT A REVOLVING DOOR AS WELL KNOW SUPERINTENDENTS AND SCHOOL BOARDS, AND THIS IS WHY WE HAVE BEEN IN THIS STATE THAT WE ARE IN BECAUSE NOTHING HAS BEEN PUT IN POLICY. SO I JUST TOOK THAT INTO YOUR QUESTION, MS. GENTRY. >> CHAIR ALDERTON: OKAY. >> FEMALE SPEAKER: WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR STATUTORY POLICY PROVISIONS THIS [3. Statutory/Regulatory Policy Revisions] EVENING. WE WILL START WITH POLICY EB WHICH IS OUR SCHOOL CRISIS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND MEDICAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN. THE ONES MEAN STATUTORY CHANGE HERE IS ON PAGE 1 AND IT'S AT THE TOP AND ESSENTIALLY JUST THE CHANGES IN THE PAST A CPS AND EACH SCHOOL IN PARTICULAR WOULD DEVELOP A WRITTEN SCHOOL CRISIS AND MEDICAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN AND THEN SHARE IT OUT WITH SOME OF OUR LOCAL PARTNERS, INCLUDING THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, ETC. AND THERE IS A CHANGE IN THE LAW THAT WE WANT TO NOW PULL THESE PARTNERS AND AND HELP -- HAVE THEM HELP US DEVELOP THESE PLANS FROM THE BEGINNING. SO THAT REQUIREMENT SPELLED OUT HERE ON PAGE 1 THAT WE WILL COLLABORATE WITH OUR PARTNERS FROM THE BEGINNING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EACH SCHOOL'S PLAN AND IN THE REVIEW OF THE PLAN. YOU KNOW, THE IDEA, WHICH MOST THINGS IN LIFE, HOW MANY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES IMPROVE THE PROCESS WHEN YOU BRING EVERYONE TOGETHER TO THE TABLE, YOU WILL DEVELOP A RICHER PLAN, MORE ROBUST PLAN IF YOU WERE BLIND SPOTS. THEN WE HAVE JUST UPDATED, MADE A FEW MINOR CHANGES IN THIS POLICY, WHETHER IT'S UPDATING THE POSITION TITLES OF WHO WE HAVE ON STAFF HERE AT A CPS, ADDRESSING ISSUES IN THIS AREA. ESSENTIALLY, THE MAIN CHANGES ON PAGE 1. IN THE NEXT TWO POLICIES ARE ALSO VERY MINOR CHANGES. THIS IS EBB, THREAT ASSESSMENT AND SAFETY TEAMS. WE HAVE JUST MADE SOME CHANGES BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD SOME CHANGES IN OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE CURRENT POSITION DESCRIPTIONS AND OUR POLICIES. BECAUSE IF THERE WAS A POLICY THAT POINTS TO A PARTICULAR STAFF MEMBER TO REACH OUT TO, WHO WILL BE THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT OF THIS PARTICULAR AREA OR WHO YOU REACH OUT TO WITH A QUESTION, YOU CERTAINLY WANT TO KNOW, YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO THE CORRECT STAFF MEMBER. WE HAVE MADE THAT CHANGE IN EBV. AND ALSO IN ITS AFFILIATED REGULATION, EBBR AND AT THE TIME OF THIS REGULATION, WE ARE AT THE VERY BEGINNING POINTING OUT THAT THIS REGULATION HAS GOVERNING POLICIES. SO IF SOMEONE COMES ACROSS THIS REGULATION, THE NEURAL UP TO THE POLICY AS WELL. OKAY. NEXT, WE HAVE POLICY EF. THIS REALLY WAS ONLY -- I JUST UPDATED THE REFERENCES BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING AT AFFILIATED POLICIES. AS LONG AS I SAW THAT THERE WERE DISCREPANCIES IN THE CROSS-REFERENCES, I JUST UPDATED THOSE. IN A REALLY JUST COME ACROSS THAT WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THE NEXT POLICY WHICH IS EFB, WHICH USED TO BE CALLED FREE AND REDUCED PRICE FOOD SERVICES, BUT THERE WAS THE RECOMMENDATION TO COMBINE THIS POLICY WITH JAY HCH, WHICH YOU WILL BE FAMILIAR WITH, CALLED SCHOOL MEALS AND SNACKS. MOST PEOPLE REFER TO IT AS OUR MEAL CHARGE POLICY, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE HAVE, INSTEAD OF HAVING A SEPARATE POLICY ABOUT FREE AND REDUCED PRICED FOOD SERVICES AND THEN HAVING OUR SCHOOL MEALS AND SNACKS POLICY, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME REGULATORY CHANGES THAT HAVE EFFECTIVELY RESULTED IN RECOMMENDATIONS THAT IT MAKES NO SENSE NOT TO COME BY THESE POLICIES. SO LATER IN THE PACKET, WHEN WE GET TO THE HCH, WHICH THE SCHOOL MEALS AND SNACKS, YOU WILL SEE IT'S STRICTER BECAUSE OF THE RECOMMENDATION IS JUST TO MERGE IT WITH THIS POLICY. AND THERE ARE A COUPLE OF CHANGES AT THE SAME TIME THAT NEEDED TO BE MADE. THERE ARE STATUTORY UPDATES. SOME OF THIS TEXT IN THIS POLICY, THE NEW EFP/JAY HCH, IT IS BLUE, SO IT MAY LOOK LIKE IT'S NEW BUT IT'S REALLY NOT. IT'S JUST BECAUSE IT WAS MERGED FROM JAY HCH AND YOU WILL RECOGNIZE AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE 1 THAT WE ALREADY HAVE LANGUAGE THAT ELIMINATES ANY STIGMA AROUND STUDENTS WHO CANNOT PAY FOR THEIR MEAL. [01:00:01] WE IN NO WAY IDENTIFY THEM OR SET THEM APART. WE SEE LANGUAGE IN HERE ABOUT REQUIRING WRISTBAND. YOU KNOW, SOME SCHOOL DIVISIONS HAVE IN THE PAST REQUIRED WRISTBANDS FOR STUDENTS WHO CANNOT PAY FOR THEIR MEAL. NO OVERIDENTIFICATION. IT IS NOT THE LANGUAGE BUT IT APPEARS THAT WAY BECAUSE WE HAVE MERGED IT. BUT THERE IS A CHANGE IN HERE THAT IS A NEW STATUTORY UPDATE. THAT IS REGARDING THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH A CPS, A CPS'S PRACTICE IS NOT TO BRING ANY LAWSUITS AGAINST PARENTS FOR STUDENT MEAL THAT, THERE WAS A NEW REQUIREMENT THAT WE ACTUALLY STATE THAT IN POLICY. SO THAT ACROSS VIRGINIA, ALL SCHOOL DIVISIONS ARE SAYING IN THE POLICY, WE WILL NOT BRING LAWSUITS AGAINST PARENTS FOR UNPAID MEALS. SO THAT WAS AGAIN ALREADY OUR POLICY. OUR PRACTICE, I SHOULD SAY. THAT WAS OUR PRACTICE. BUT IT IS NOW WRITTEN INTO THE POLICY. AS DR. HUTCHINGS SAID, IT MATTERS WHOSE IN THE SEATS THAT PRACTICE WILL REMAIN. SO AFTER THAT, YOU WILL SEE THAT WE HAVE -- AND THEN YOU WILL SEE IN THE AFFILIATED REGULATION OF COMBINED THAT AS WELL, THERE ARE NO MAJOR CHANGES THERE. THERE IS ONE SMALL CHANGE ON PAGE 3 OF THE REGULATION. THURBERS AVENUE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT TO SPELL OUT THAT A CPS DOES HAVE THE AUTHORITY. THERE ARE A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS THEY CAN DO, BUT ACPS DOES HAVE THE AUTHORITY REGARDING DISPOSITION OF EXCESS FOOD FOR A FEW DIFFERENT OPTIONS WE CAN TAKE IN OUR OFFICE OF SCHOOL NUTRITION SERVICES MANAGES THAT. OKAY. THE NEXT POLICY IS GBE, STAFF HEALTH. THIS WILL LOOK FAMILIAR TO YOU BECAUSE WE JUST REVISED THIS IN SEPTEMBER. BUT AS I WAS TELLING CHAD ALDERTON, THAT PRACTICALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH OUR REVISION OF THIS POLICY MANDATING VACCINES FOR OUR STAFF MEMBERS AT NEARLY THE SAME TIME, THERE WAS A CHANGE IN THE VIRGINIA ADMINISTRATIVE CODE THAT DIRECTLY IMPACTS THIS. WE HAD TO BUILD IN THOSE REQUIREMENTS. THERE ARE TWO NEW REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST BE SPELLED OUT IN OUR POLICY: ONE IS THAT OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT WHEN THEY ARE EXPERIENCING SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19. THIS IS THROUGH LABOR LAW SECTION OF THE CODE THAT AS AN EMPLOYER, THEY ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT TO THEIR EMPLOYER WHEN THEY EXPERIENCE SYMPTOMS. THEN WE ARE ALSO REQUIRED TO BUILD INTO OUR POLICY AND ANONYMOUS COMPLAINT REPORTING STRUCTURE AND ANONYMOUS CLAIM THE LOW COMPLETE MECHANISM. SO WE HAVE DONE THAT, WE HAVE AN HR EMAIL THAT WE HAVE PUT IN HERE. BUT WE NEED TO BUILD IN THE MECHANISM FOR RECEIVING AND RESOLVING ANONYMOUS COMPLAINTS FROM EMPLOYEES REGARDING COVID-19 MITIGATION MEASURES. SO IF SOMEONE NOTICES SOMEONE NOT WEARING A MASK OR NOT SOCIAL DISTANCING OR NOT COMPLYING WITH ANY OF OUR MITIGATION MEASURES. THERE IS A WAY TO REPORT THAT WITHOUT ANYONE HAVING DISCOMFORT OR FEAR RETRIBUTION OR FEAR OF IDENTIFICATION. SO WE HAVE BUILT THAT IN. THE NEXT POLICY HAS -- I SHOULD POINT OUT, IN THE PACKET AFTER THIS POLICY IS OUR MASKING REGULATION. WE BUILT THE REPORTING STRUCTURE INTO BOTH THE POLICY AND THE REGULATION. SO THE NEXT POLICY WE HAVE IS JAY HCD, THIS IS ADMINISTERING MEDICATIONS TO STUDENTS AND THERE IS A REGULATION THAT GOES ALONG WITH IT. REALLY, THE CHANGE TO BOTH IS THERE WAS ANY LAW WHERE THIS IS BECOMING EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, THIS COMING JANUARY 1, 2022. WE WILL BE STOCKING, PROVIDING UNASSIGNED ALBUTEROL INHALERS IN ALL OF OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS. ALSO, THE LIST OF STAFF MEMBERS WHO WILL BE CONSIDERED AS QUALIFIED TO ASSIST A STUDENT WHO MADE NEED AN ALBUTEROL INHALER, THAT LIST OF FOLKS WHO CAN ATTEND TO THAT STUDENT HAS BEEN EXPANDED UNDER THIS LAW. SO AS LONG AS YOU HAVE TRAINING, ESSENTIALLY IS NOT LIMITED TO JUST THE SCHOOL NURSE. AND THERE IS NO STANDING ORDER REQUIRED FOR AN ALBUTEROL INHALER TO BE USED FOR A STUDENT ANYMORE. IF YOU SEE A STUDENT IN DISTRUST, ALBUTEROL INHALERS WILL BE ON HAND IN EACH ONE OF OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND EVEN IF THAT STUDENT HAS NO HISTORY OF ASTHMA OR BREATHING PROBLEMS AND HAS NO DOCTORS' ORDER ON FILE, WE CAN STILL INSIST THAT STUDENT. THAT'S THE MAIN CHANGE FOR THAT REGULATION AND THE POLICY. AND I THINK THAT WRAPS US UP. [01:05:05] ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? >> CHAIR ALDERTON: ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, THESE ARE ALL STRAIGHTFORWARD. WE DON'T HAVE TOO MANY OPTIONS HERE, FOLKS. ALL RIGHT. THESE POLICIES WILL ALSO BE ON THROUGH DECEMBER 16. AGAIN, ANY QUESTIONS, JUST LET US KNOW. AND WE ARE OFFICIALLY DONE. SO SEE EVERYONE TOMORROW. DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK! [LAUGHTER] * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.