Okay.
This is President Hersey.
I am now calling the April 20th 2022 Regular Board Meeting to order at 416 p.m.
This meeting is being recorded.
We would like to acknowledge that we are on the ancestral lands and traditional territories of the Puget Sound Coast Salish people.
Ms. Wilson-Jones will you please call the roll.
Vice President Hampson.
Here.
Director Harris.
Director Rankin.
Here.
Director Rivera-Smith.
Present.
Director Sarju.
Present.
Director Song-Wen.
Present.
And President Hersey.
Here.
We are holding today's meeting in a hybrid format with directors and staff and members of the public here in person with remote access also available through SPS-TV by broadcast and streaming on YouTube and by phone consistent with the Governor's proclamation on open public meetings.
For those joining by phone please remain muted until we reach the testimony period and your name is called.
I will now turn it over to Superintendent Jones for his comments.
President Hersey, Board of Directors, good evening.
I hope you all found some time to relax and recharge over the spring break.
While students were away my staff and I took stock of where we are in implementing our strategic plan and how we're measuring the progress to our goals.
So we're refining strategies to improve student outcomes and literacy, math, and college and career readiness.
And we're mapping those strategies to our budget.
When we meet again next week during our budget work session we'll focus on how we are allocating dollars to support those high quality instruction outcomes and we'll discuss the investment and strategies that align with our academic goals.
The pathway to student outcomes is built on ensuring high quality instruction.
As a district we support high quality teaching and learning with our dollars our training curriculum and our engagement.
And this won't happen all at once but we have a sense of urgency around paving the way to improve student outcomes.
And this is our focus.
Yesterday we started the first of seven superintendent listening sessions that's co-sponsored by the Seattle Council PTSA.
And in those sessions we're gathering perspectives around our guardrail of safe and welcoming environments as a foundation for student success.
The insights from these conversations will inform our collective efforts to support our schools.
Ensuring quality teaching and learning in the classroom is our North Star.
Our job at central office all day and every day is to support the educators and building leaders in our schools so that they can best support our students.
School leadership is critical.
And we are taking steps now to fill our principal vacancies with strong leaders over the next several weeks.
So this concludes my remarks and thank you for your continued commitment and partnership to our schools and supporting our staff and supporting our students.
Thank you.
Thank you Superintendent Jones.
We have now reached the consent portion of today's agenda.
May I have a motion for the consent agenda.
I move approval of the consent agenda.
Second.
Thank you.
Approval of the consent agenda has been moved by Vice President Hampson and seconded by Director Rivera-Smith.
Do directors have any items that they would like to remove from the consent agenda this evening.
Okay seeing none we will now move to a vote.
All those in favor of the consent agenda please signify by saying aye.
Abstentions.
Nays.
This motion passes unanimously.
Okay.
We have now come to the Board Committee Reports section of the agenda.
We will briefly now hear from the chairs of the boards for committees.
We will begin with the Audit and Finance Committee which is chaired by Vice President Hampson.
I'm sorry I'm restarting my computer.
So I think the only thing I would have to report is that we have an Audit and Finance Committee coming up next week I believe but I can't confirm because I don't have the date in front of me.
So that would be at 8 a.m.
on Monday the 25th.
Is that correct.
So take a look at the agenda on the web page which we'll post by Friday and we'll see you there.
Thank you.
Okay we will now hear from the Operations Committee Chair Director Rivera-Smith.
Hey thank you.
Yeah so our next Operations Committee meeting is tomorrow.
It's going to be online so people can tune in via Teams or teleconference.
We have we have well several BAR's but they're kind of lumped together first.
We have a distressed school grant.
We have final exemptions we actually have five actually six of them which is And those are all going to be done together because the biggest item on our agenda tomorrow is actually going over the transportation service standards.
It's for it comes to our committee first for approval.
And so we'll be looking at that tomorrow.
That is the one that a lot of us know as sort of the bell times because that's kind of the way people are hearing about it and are hearing from community on.
So I'm actually not going to share too much about that right now because that we just got the BAR this morning this afternoon.
And I have not had a chance to go through it thoroughly.
So but we're going to be talking about it tomorrow and I'm I'll be honest I wish we'd have more time to look over it.
I understand though that there's a lot of work being done on these items every time a BAR comes forward from staff.
So I can appreciate that.
Also I want to make sure that we are giving it the attention it deserves.
So if you want to join us tomorrow again we meet tomorrow at 430 p.m.
online and it's open to the public.
Come and listen.
There will not be a chance for public comment but definitely you can listen in and we welcome comments via email or phone whatever works.
So that is tomorrow.
Thank you.
Okay.
Thank you Director Rivera-Smith.
We will now hear from Chair of the Student Services Curriculum and Instruction Committee Director Rankin.
Thank you.
We have our April meeting next week on Tuesday the 26th at 430 and as with operations it can the public can listen in by phone or by Teams.
We have a kind of hefty section of board action reports which means that once they if they are voted past committee then we'll see them come to the board for introduction at the next board meeting.
A few are some annual items and a one I'm very excited about is that the K-5 math instructional materials adoption process that has been happening is coming as a BAR meaning the committee The work has been done to to make a recommendation for adoption which is really exciting.
And so that will be coming through committee and then if it passes out of committee then we'll be we'll be seeing the recommendation of the adoption committee for that in a couple weeks.
Let's see.
That is probably the most sort of or the least kind of typical standard thing that is coming through.
Another thing I want to mention is last night I attended the monthly special education PTSA commit community meeting.
And they had some fantastic presentations about CTE and continuing continuing education for students with disabilities.
And we were joined by Dr. Caleb Perkins and by our recently joining us in SPS CTE manager Brian who's embarrassingly my his last name is escaping me but he he is is diving right in.
He had some great information and data about student participation in CTE programs and comparisons and some historical data on participation of students with IEP's in various CTE areas and how that compares to the general student body population.
And that just gave me I'm just I'm so excited about these real numbers that we were seeing and that he was doing that work so quickly and it aligns really well with our focus on you know making sure that students with disabilities have access to everything that students without disabilities have.
And and just some really forward thinking and in align with in alignment with our improvements and inclusive practices.
So that was just and thank you to the special education PTSA for coordinating that and having that meeting and to our staff for joining us.
That was just an exciting piece that's related to curriculum and instruction.
But yeah join us if you are interested for the next SSC&I committee meeting.
Thank you Director Rankin.
The next Executive Committee meeting will not be nearly as exciting as Operations and the Student and Curriculum Instruction Committee Student Services rather.
But it will be held on Wednesday the 27th at 8 a.m.
So if you feel so inclined please do join us.
And with that we are going to move on to the next section of our agenda.
Okay.
We have not yet reached 5 p.m.
which is our time for public testimony.
Do we have any directors who would be interested in providing their board comments early this evening.
Director Song-Moriz.
Yeah.
I have three thoughts that I'd like to share this evening.
Last week my family and I did get to go on a trip for spring break to the East Coast to visit our extended family.
And I had the opportunity to meet with school board directors and city council members in the Boston area.
And they are leading a municipalities that are very different from our own.
And yet we discussed a set of common challenges facing that school district.
Fiscal challenges.
COVID leading through COVID and the fallout with learning loss.
Resourcing special education and also working with their community around issues related to educational justice.
And so I really enjoyed that opportunity to kind of see their own take on these challenges and also took faith and knowing that we are not alone.
And so I really thank those people that took the opportunity to meet with me.
In the last few months as serving as a school board director I have had witnessed or had to make difficult decisions on behalf of our school district.
And tomorrow during the operations committee when we're talking about our transportation service standards and the proposed change to bell times something that I will be reflecting on is upheaval.
And I don't need to talk to the 5,000 staff members in our district about upheaval.
They have experienced it every single day as a consequence of this pandemic.
But I think that when we're making this decision we need to be very conscious in making sure that we are doing everything we can to mitigate the potential upheaval to our students and their families because those do have direct impact to academic outcomes.
I had a wonderful conversation with a the director of pediatric sleep from Seattle Children's Hospital and we talked about the last time that these bill time changes were made and what kind of immediate impact there was.
And and I think it's just important as we make this decision that we give consideration to that.
And finally.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful panel discussion with our very own Dr. Brent Jones and Dr. Dwayne Schiphol who is the Director of the City of Seattle's Department of Education and Early Learning.
And it was really a very robust conversation about our aligned priorities for our city's young people.
And something I wanted to share from that panel discussion was Dr. Schiphol was talking about his time as being a principal at Rainier Beach High School and on graduation day Looking out into that group of our graduating seniors there were many of our students who were throwing up their caps with great tremendous excitement.
And yet we also did notice that there were some young people who were just sitting more quietly because their futures perhaps seemed less uncertain.
And I'm glad that he shared this example with me because that really crystallized for me the three goals from our Student Outcomes Focused Governance.
What why why are those goals important.
Those goals should enable every student in our district on graduation day to throw that cap with great confidence.
And so that is certainly what I'm excited to work with our colleagues and district leaders.
Thank you.
Thank you Director Samuels.
Any other takers.
I believe in you.
Nice.
Thank you Director Rankin.
By all means the floor is yours.
I am I just have like a reflection I guess thinking about that we just had spring break and it seemed like more than other years I saw a lot of people taking spring break outside.
In I saw tons of people on the rainy Oregon coast in social media and text messages and stuff.
And my family took advantage of the fourth grade every child outside National Parks Pass.
If you have a fourth grader talk to your librarian talk to your teacher.
All fourth graders in the country have access to a National Parks Pass that gets them and their families free admission to all national parks.
And we have three.
incredible national parks in Washington state.
And then, of course, a bunch of state parks.
And so we went to the Olympic National Forest and then, in spite of recent gas prices, trucked our way down the coast and went to the Redwoods.
And it was incredibly restorative.
But what made me sad was how much my kids needed that and how different it is from their...
I mean, vacation is supposed to be vacation, right?
It's supposed to be different from your everyday life.
But the gulf between the kind of slogging every day that I know everybody is feeling, especially right now, and the stress of trying to catch up or, you know, whatever that is, and being outside and having the freedom to explore and learn by doing and seeing, that gulf for me is too wide.
And also not, you know, experience that I had with my family is one of great privilege and one that a lot of children and families can't can't do for work-related reasons income reasons whatever it may be.
And so I don't know the reflection I think that I have was the kind of collective desperate need for spring break this year.
And it was very hard to transition to come back.
It was very tempting to just keep driving down the California coast and switch my license plate out or something and just vanish.
But so that's just something that I'm thinking about and I know that we as Seattle Public Schools cannot alone you know make so many drastic changes in a short amount of time that that we relieve some of that pressure for everybody in our system.
That's just not possible because we have state requirements and federal requirements and and other obligations.
It made it even more of an urgent need more more grateful for the passage of the Outdoor Education for All Bill in the legislature this this past session that would allow districts to apply for grants to provide a week-long outdoor opportunity for students.
And the sort of I mean and I'm even more grateful for the fact that we have a teacher on special assignment working on increasing access to outdoor education within our curriculum department.
And it's just it's just something that I'm thinking about.
And if anybody out there who's listening has ideas on how we can And I know I've talked about this before, but just relieve some of that pressure in our day-to-day life because education and being around children and this responsibility that we have should also contain a great deal of joy.
And that seems like something a lot of people need right now.
And I don't know what the solution is, but I also think we're headed towards a a statewide conversation and at the legislative level about behavioral health and mental health that is desperately desperately overdue and and a positive thing to have happen.
And so yeah I just I guess I'm kind of putting that out there into the ether to sort of thank people who have been doing that work for their work and also to say We're you know I'm open to hearing about ways we can bring bring joy and relief to not make it a break from our system but but it should actually be part of the experience of of staff and students as part of participating in public education because it's a really awesome thing that we all get to do together and and I think we all need need to remember that part of it so.
Thank you Director Rankin that was wonderful.
Any other directors or else I will go.
Okay.
I'm going to dive in.
I have no really like pertinent comments tonight but I do want to give a couple of shout outs.
For those a lot of people know that in what little free time I have I also run a scout troop along with two other Black Eagle Scouts.
And this week after much work we have produced our first Eagle Scout in the history of the troop.
His name is Lincoln Wilmore and he is an absolute giant in his community and I just wanted to shout him out.
I know he is by no means watching a school board meeting but Lincoln we are very proud of you man.
You have nothing but stars in your in your path before you and we are just so excited about everything you're going to continue to do.
We also got to go out a little bit during the week before spring break because Federal Way spring break is the week before Seattle blah blah blah.
And coincidentally where we headed was also called Boy Scout Trail which is in Northern California.
We took the 101 down.
A bucket list item for me was seeing the redwoods.
I am a very outdoorsy type person and I have always wanted to see trees that look like they are out of Jurassic Park.
For those of you who don't know, Redwoods, the average age of those things is like 500 to 800 years old.
And specifically in this park, they had a tree that was 1,200 years old.
It was insane.
What I noticed about this tree, though, is that if you look up, it feels like it goes up for like a mile.
There's this big gash in the side of it from a tree that fell.
And you could tell that it was like knotted over or whatnot.
It damaged the tree.
It happened like 40 or 50 years ago.
And there's a park ranger out there and I'm talking to him about the tree because I'm annoying like that.
And I was asking like okay so what happened here.
Says tree falls hits other tree peels over da da da da.
And for me it's just a big reminder that over the past couple of years there has been a lot of trauma.
A lot of families out there specifically the families of our most marginalized students our Black and Brown students namely have felt like trees have landed on them.
And it is also a good reminder that with time and a lot of patience we all will heal and we will continue to stand and we will continue to grow.
What I also appreciated is that for the first time in a long time in my neighborhood I am seeing kids outside playing together.
Kids outside outside of their homes playing together in the streets not with cars but you know The what I really want to encourage folks to consider by no means are we out of this pandemic.
There is a new variant.
Please continue to mask up.
Please continue to wash your hands all that good stuff.
But as we head into summer months as we are staring down a very clear pathway to a break that I think a lot of us need I just want folks to remember that life was a thing before all of this and the simple pleasures of Sitting outside wherever you may live if you have the ability to do that and appreciating the neighborhood that's around you the vibrancy that makes Seattle Seattle and the wonderful wonderful culture community that we have continued to build and continue to persist through the most tragic of times.
Those moments for me especially over the past few months have been priceless.
So just taking the opportunity to just appreciate and stand outside and let nature heal you is a recommendation that if you can take advantage of I strongly recommend that you do.
That's all I've got to say tonight.
We will pass it over to Director Hampson.
I just two things.
One I did want to note today is today not the deadline for the student board member applications.
I believe that it is.
Yes.
End of by midnight tonight.
So text.
I'm not going to be able to come up with that.
I don't know if we ever got a TikTok out but that we talked about that.
Did anybody do the TikTok.
Okay.
So there was a there was a TikTok.
I'm not on TikTok so I didn't see it.
No I'm not on TikTok.
Getting shamed up here.
I I can I have the app but I'm not on it I'm not signed up I can see them but so anyway but just resend whatever you do on TikTok or other social media to remind folks to to get their applications in.
And I think the one thing that I want to emphasize that I heard last night when we were talking with Native families about it is that it's we want to make it a supportive role so that it's doable.
And we are working very hard through our shift to student outcomes focused government governance to lessen the time commitment specifically.
And then there are also thanks to the advocacy of the NAACP Youth Coalition and their participation the additional supports provided for the students that do participate.
So please for anybody who's listening are watching get the word out for students to apply.
They don't have to be straight-A students.
They don't have to there's no specific set of criteria.
It's not like the ASB you know have to be in a leadership class kind of kind of scenario.
We want our real full spectrum of students represented and we'll I'm sure have some really hard decisions to make about that.
And I don't think we've had the opportunity to celebrate the confirmation of Judge Katonji Brown-Jackson to the Supreme Court who is a product of public schools.
So I just wanted to I know it's been like the news is you know but I feel like we need to celebrate that every day for a really long time because she warriored through and has a road ahead of her that I can't even imagine.
I can't imagine the road she's had to come and I can't imagine the road that she will now have to, or the road that she's going to have to hoe.
It's just monumental what is going to be ahead of her and I just am so grateful.
to her existence on this earth and in this country and being willing to step up to take that important position.
And that's all I wanted to add.
Thank you President Hersey.
And I just want to also shout out staff who have been working to get our student board member application process off the ground.
That has been a herculean effort and has done a really amazing job of not only getting it to the finish line at this point well almost to the finish line but also centering students all along the way.
So thank you very much.
We really appreciate and we look forward to continuing that work.
So great work.
I also want to shout out Director DeWolf every opportunity I can without Director DeWolf and his foresight we would not be in this position.
So Zachary I also know that you are not watching this.
Shout out to you.
Any other comments prepared.
We did pretty good.
We got through most of those.
Shaming no one.
All right.
Right on.
Cool.
You don't have anything to say.
You can also just say that.
Oh so you're not going to give any comments later.
Oh lit.
Okay great.
Thanks.
I can't see you guys.
Was that was that Director Harris.
That was Director Sargey.
Sargey okay.
I can't see you guys so.
So who's left.
Okay.
Well we also can we've got about 15 minutes so let's move into our first introduction item if we're prepared to do so.
I think we also only have one.
Let's see.
I know we have students here to speak on that item in particular.
Oh so let's wait.
Yeah let's wait.
That's fine.
I was going to say I can I can probably give mine now if I'm compelled.
Sure.
No pressure.
I mean yeah I can.
Sure.
Okay.
By all means.
Okay.
So well I want I guess I can also just piggyback off of some things that were said there.
I appreciate Director Songwritz's comments regarding tomorrow's I guess our tomorrow's committee discussion on the transportation standards which again is going to encompass the bell times for next year it was proposed to at least.
So again we're going to be taking a look at that.
And like I said I appreciate her her her care about the upheaval it will cause to families if we do that because it will.
And change is hard.
It is all around.
And that is something that we all we all know we all feel.
But we also have you know we have important decisions to make.
So I encourage everybody who wants to to listen in tomorrow.
I won't go on too much more about that.
But also I guess I'll add that today was a big day because it was also the deadline for the 2022 WSSDA permanent and legislative position proposals which I'm sure not many people listening know about but board members do.
These are the standing and legislative positions that are WSSDA's positions and priorities which inform their strategic advocacy efforts throughout the year.
Last year I had the pleasure of co-sponsoring the successful adoption of a legislative position entitled Attract Recruit and Retain Diverse School Board Directors.
So that experience sort of motivated motivated me to give it another go this year.
And so in collaboration with board directors from Shoreline Edmonds North Shore Federal Way and Rainier the next is out of five so.
although we're still working on others too.
I drafted a position I'm sorry proposed revision to a permanent to a to a permanent to a current permanent position and also a new legislative position both of which address both of which are would have the goal of giving school district support and leverage for addressing the growing number of incidents of online harassment threats and hateful speech.
which we're seeing more and more of and we all remember last fall.
So these these incidents are you know like I said we're seeing more and more of them.
They are being directed towards our students our staff our school communities and they're taking place on social media on other types of digital communications such as text messaging instant messaging blogs digital distribution platforms there's all sorts of them out there.
Considering these challenges I submitted a proposed revision to us as permanent position that's called comprehensive school safety.
And this revision will establish that harmful online and digital conduct is an area which districts should address in our comprehensive school safety plans.
And the new legislative position is called social media reporting point of contact and that one will create what is the goal of creating legislation that would establish a method by which school districts can directly report posts or statements which cause or threaten to cause a substantial disruption to the operations of schools.
I that all being said I will be bringing that hopefully before our board for consideration and approval and then that those will go there.
Next step there of course is there before the WSSA legislative committees to work on and I see if other districts have also proposed similar positions and proposals and in the end it'll hopefully come to the General Assembly General Assembly this fall.
So a lot of a lot of stuff going on there.
And again I will be bringing that to this board sometime soon I hope.
Thank you.
Director Rivera-Smith.
Okay.
We've got about 10 minutes so should we recess.
Perfectly fine.
I don't know the proper terms to call a recess but the board now stands.
Oh I get to use the gavel.
The board will now recess for 10 minutes until 5 p.m.
when we will return promptly and proceed with public comment.
Thanks.
Thank you.
We greatly appreciate it.
We got one.
We got two.
Director Rivera-Smith is frozen.
And she's back.
Wait for Director Harris.
I'm going to start without you Les.
You're right.
We do have a quorum.
All right.
Thank you.
Calling back to order.
Okay we will next go to public testimony.
We will be taking public testimony in person and by teleconference today as stated on the agenda.
For any speakers watching through SPS-TV please call in now to ensure that you are on the phone line when your name is called.
Board Procedure 1430BP provides the rules for public testimony.
And I ask that speakers are respectful of these rules.
I will summarize some important parts of this procedure.
First testimony will be taken today from those individuals called from our public testimony list and if applicable the waiting list which are included on today's agenda posting on the school board website.
Only those who are called by name should unmute their phones or step toward the podium.
And only one person should speak at a time.
Speakers from the list may cede their time to another person when the listed speaker's name is called.
The total amount of time allowed will not exceed two minutes for the combined number of speakers, and the time will not be restarted after a new speaker begins.
In order to maximize opportunities for others to address the board each speaker is allowed only one speaking slot per meeting.
If a speaker cedes time to a later speaker on the testimony list or waiting list the person to whom time was ceded will not be called to provide testimony again later in the meeting as there is only one speaking slot per person.
Those who do not wish to have their time ceded to them may decline and retain their place on the testimony or wait list.
Finally, the majority of the speaker's time should be spent on the topic they have indicated they wish to speak about.
Ms. Wilson-Jones will read off the testimony speakers.
Thank you President Hersey.
For those who may be watching on SPS-TV and planning to give testimony remotely please make sure you call in now so that you're on the line when your name is called.
Also just a note that there was a correction in kind of our student assigned student testimony on the agenda so please listen for your name as the order may have been updated since you reviewed it previously.
The first speaker for today's testimony is Nico Potesta.
Nico Potesta.
Hello, and thank you for the opportunity to speak.
My name is MJ Lambard.
We are representatives of Students Against Sexual Assault.
Over the last several months we've been working with the Title IX Task Force to give suggestions on what needs to change from old policy 3208 based on our experiences and suggestions from other students around the school district.
Since November when we started working as advocates for survivors of sexual assault we have heard countless stories from survivors about their schools about how their schools mishandled their cases of sexual assault.
How they were not given the accommodations that they needed to recover from the traumatic experience that is sexual assault.
How they were treated not like students but like a case that needed to be handled.
This new updated policy would shift the focus to a survivor-centered system.
The ideals included in this policy such as offering individualized court measures for survivors and ensuring that the effects of said sexual assault are remedied and would improve the lives of survivors of sexual assault throughout the district.
I was sexually assaulted in 2018 when I was 12 years old.
When my middle school found out I was taken to speak with a counselor she explained to me with no emotion how she was not going to be able to remove my rapist from my classes with her and told me to figure out a way around the hallways myself so I wouldn't run into her.
She had no empathy no compassion and no requirement to show either of those things.
For four months I continued to go to school with my rapist and my PTSD from the event grew worse and worse.
I was not able to make progress in my recovery until the next year when I was finally given space and time to heal without seeing my rapist every day.
I know countless other survivors with stories just like mine who were given little support and less compassion.
If this policy had been in place outlining a survivor-centered method of dealing with cases of sexual assault and harassment and a focus on remedying the trauma and providing support, maybe I and countless others would not have been left in the dark to learn how to cope.
We could have been given the time and space we needed to heal and recover.
And we can give that now to any current or future survivors of sexual assault if we are able to pass and implement this.
Thank you so much.
And then the next speaker I don't believe we have Nora with us but if Nora is online or in the room just checking Nora came in.
Okay moving to the next speaker Emily Lee.
Hi I'm Emily.
I'm a sophomore at Franklin High School and a youth leader in F.E.A.S.T. which is a youth-led organization that trains students for transformative and systemic change in schools.
This year we surveyed high school students across SPS about the most prominent issues in schools and they chose mental health.
Afterwards we held one-on-ones with students to get a better understanding of their mental health in school.
Asking them how they are affected by mental health.
If school is providing enough resources and what are some practical solutions.
We also talked to the UW SMART Center, district level decision makers, and many more.
As we start to finalize the solutions, I'd like to take this time to share why a diversity of mental health counselors is important.
School can negatively impact students' mental health because the expectation of being in class and work six hours a day is a lot to handle.
Especially for students who are dealing with difficult situations elsewhere.
Due to the stress that may come from this it can be hard for them to focus on their learning.
A solution could be talking to counselors but this is difficult for students of color because many of our mental health counselors don't reflect the diversity of students.
At my school our mental health counselor is White so we have differing cultural backgrounds.
Because of this I don't feel understood since you can't relate to my specific stresses and experiences.
Having counselors that represent more diverse backgrounds such as being queer or POC could help reach the barrier between students and counselors.
It should be a priority that students have access to mental health counselors who can relate to more specific stresses and experiences.
If SPS prioritizes mental health more then students can invest more time into and effort into their own learning.
If SPS hires more counselors that reflect students' diverse backgrounds school will become a happier place for me because then I would know that there are others who breathe life just like me.
Thank you for listening and please come to our panel about mental health on May 3rd from 530 to 7 p.m.
You can register on our website at VCL.org.
The next speaker is Chris Jackins.
My name is Chris Jackins.
Box 84063 Seattle 98124. On the minutes of the April 6 board meeting nine points.
Number one on April 6 the board voted to approve the closure of three instructional program sites for Interagency Academy School.
The item was submitted for both introduction and action at the same meeting.
Number two prior to the board vote I asked the board vote no on the item.
Number three it was clear that the closure process had not followed board policy state law and that no hearings had been held.
Number four the district appeared to be acting under a mistaken assumption that if a school instructional program was not being closed then board policy H0100 and RCW 28A 335-020 would not apply.
Number five in fact it appears that they do apply because the action was a closure of school sites for instructional purposes.
Number six this was the conclusion of both the district and a judge in a 2010 appeal of the closure of Cooper Elementary School.
King County Superior Court case number 09-2108048.
Point number seven.
Research by the district and board could have revealed this information.
Instead the board report listed research as not applicable.
Number eight I wrote a letter asking that the state auditor look into these concerns.
Number nine please rescind the closure action and conduct a proper closure process prior to any future closure actions.
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Janice White.
Janice White.
Hi just checking that you can hear me.
We can hear you Janice.
Great.
Great.
During today's meeting you will be considering an amended sexual harassment policy for students.
I was struck by the fact that students with disabilities are not specifically mentioned in the board action report or the policy.
Did you know that people with disabilities particularly people with developmental or intellectual disabilities are two to three times more likely than the general public to be the victim of violence or abuse, and according to some sources, have as high as a 90% chance of experiencing sexual abuse in their lifetimes.
It's also estimated that only 47% of cases of assault against people with disabilities are reported.
Only 22% of perpetrators are charged with an offense, and only 9% are convicted.
The Seattle Special Education PTSA recently partnered with the Arc of King County to learn more about the risks to our disabled students and to talk about these issues.
Why are our children at such a higher risk.
Ableism plays a role because in our culture and in our schools students with disabilities are often overlooked or dismissed.
The isolation of students with disabilities in contained classrooms.
can make it easier for disabled students to become victims.
For some students the inability to communicate makes them into targets.
And many students with disabilities don't have access to the same sexual education curriculum that neurotypical students receive or in some cases any sexual education.
They need to learn about the names of their body parts about consent and about how to tell if someone isn't treating you right.
So when you review the amended policy today Please ask whether it should include recognition of the increased vulnerability of students with disabilities to sexual violence and specific directives to protect our disabled students in Seattle schools.
Thank you very much.
And the next speaker is Mom Wallace-Lai.
Buenas tardes.
My name is Manuela Sly Seattle Council PTSA board member and proud parent of a West Seattle High School senior.
Regarding Board Policies 3208 and 5011. As a member of the Title IX Task Force, I want to praise the brilliance of the students that contributed to this work.
The Task Force student members were brave, committed, and genuine and brought up their life experiences with and those of their classmates to ensure the policies reflected the actual need in their school buildings.
Thank you so much for recognizing the importance of these two policies and the need to update and add the appropriate language to Policy 3208 to emphasize district's commitment to student safety and well-being by offering complainants appropriate individualized supporting measures as well as the necessary language to emphasize that the district and their schools will take proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring.
The task force identified many more specific concerns that must be addressed in the superintendent procedures.
For example sensitive and thorough investigations and appropriate response and support when reports are made.
We're looking forward to Dr. Jones listening tours to discuss this and other issues that impact our students.
I want to close by renewing Seattle Council PTSA commitment to supporting family and community engagement in this district.
We have organized a meeting for the West Seattle District 6 school community this coming Saturday April 23rd from 3 to 4 30 p.m.
Director Harris I hope that you can join us.
It will be important for you to be there.
Thank you.
I also want to say that I will be hosting the multilingual multilingual session with Dr. Jones tomorrow.
We're very happy and looking forward to it.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Christy DeVater.
Christy DeVater.
Checking to see if you can hear me.
Sorry.
We can hear you Crystal.
Hello.
Thanks.
To start I want to thank the Seattle Council PTSA and Superintendent Jones for centering the voices of families and students in the listening tour that you've begun.
It shows your commitment to understanding the lived experience of students and families and using that understanding to guide your work.
I was happy to see listening sessions scheduled for students on May 2nd for students with IEP's and 504's and on May 5th for all students.
Hearing seeing and understanding our students is the most important work that our educators and administrators can do.
The ways we listen to our students matter as do our modes of engagement.
The choices we make and how we listen and who we listen to determine the quality of information we can gather the voices we can hear and the paths we can take based on the insight we gain.
So before these student sessions happen I'd like to ask how or if you plan to try to engage the students you tend to hear from the least.
The students who struggle in our schools due to barriers like trauma including the traumatic effects of schooling or a lack of cultural responsiveness to race ethnicity disability or other barriers.
Those students who have been so marginalized that they're not likely to believe it's worth participating in listening sessions.
Do you have a plan to reach these students invite them in and create a space where they can feel safe heard and understood.
Assuming you can bring these students in I wonder how during the listening sessions you plan to engage them.
as they're the ones who know the experience of disengagement all too well.
Will you structure the sessions in ways that employ the principles of universal design for learning and culturally responsive education.
Will you ask questions in ways that allow them to bring their authentic selves and will you provide them with multiple means to give you their answers.
I'm guessing these listening sessions are just a starting point and to really reach these students will need more inclusive tools like co-generative dialogues which I really hope will be the next step in the process.
But I would love to hear about the alternative ways you're identifying to engage our most marginalized students.
What will these look like feel like and sound like.
I ask these questions as a board member of the Seattle Special Education PTSA because we are grappling with these same questions in our outreach and advocacy.
But I also ask as a mom to a student with an IEP who I am literally begging to attend the session because I think it's important for him to share his perspective.
And if he's not able to do that.
to at least listen to the stories of his peers so that he knows that he is not alone in the experience of school.
Thanks so much for listening.
That concludes today's testimony list.
Thank you very much.
Okay we will now move into our introduction item on today's agenda.
Hello.
I'm Natasha Walicki.
I'm our Interim Director of Investigations and Compliance and the district's Designated Title IX Coordinator.
And I'm here to talk to you about our intro item which is the renaming and amendment of Board Policy Number 3208 Sexual Harassment and adoption of Board Policy Number 5011 Sexual Harassment of Staff Prohibited.
So I'm also joined on the call with Rebecca Milliman.
She's the Prevention and Education Manager at Harborview Abuse and Trauma Center.
She's been a community participant on the Title IX task force that you all have heard about a couple of times already from speakers.
And she has been co-facilitating the task force with me in recent there we go recent changes that we've had some transition from our former co-facilitator Tina Mead who had been the Director of Investigations and Compliance prior to me taking on the role in the interim.
Rebecca are you present on the call.
Hello good evening.
Hey thank you.
Great.
So I'm just going to go very briefly a little bit an overview into why we're here tonight sort of what has led us here.
As you as I had said you've heard a few times we do have a Title IX task force.
It started in 2019. It got a little waylaid with COVID and the school closures but our task force was charged with examining district policy and practices regarding response to and prevention of sexual harassment.
And one of those tasks included updating our sexual harassment policy and then weighing in on procedure and district practices.
Our task force is made up of school staff community members including experts in the field of violence prevention trauma response and prosecution and legal victim representatives.
And then we've had some students you heard from tonight.
We have a few more students who participated and then over our two and a half-ish years now we've had a couple more students too at the outset.
In addition to the policy revision our task force created an interim report which was provided to you all in your packet and we'll be writing a final report of recommendations that'll go more towards our procedural changes.
So that's the task force portion.
In addition in August of 2020 there were amendments made to the federal Title IX regulations that significantly change the definition of sexual harassment under federal law and the process for responding to these concerns.
So because of this change to federal regulations we also need to update our policies and our procedures to reflect those changes.
So what you what you have in your packet are draft versions of our 3208 sexual which currently the district has one policy it covers employees and students as as individuals reporting concerns about harassment.
What the best practices WSSDA has and other organizations say essentially is to have two policies.
So we're amending our 3208 so that it's sexual harassment of students prohibited.
And then we've created 5011 which is sexual harassment of staff prohibited.
The biggest changes in Our 3208 beyond again separating into two policies our language changes which you've heard.
So our new 3208 has more supportive language.
It emphasizes safety and well-being and supporting students.
It emphasizes proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment and it softens legally required language around false reporting.
It it also includes a section that asks for student and community feedback in the annual review of our sexual harassment policy and procedures and the drafts that you see exist after our task force recommendations after the district legal team's review and then after the Audit and Finance Committee's review.
So that is sort of an overview of what you're seeing why you're seeing it now.
And I would welcome any questions that you all may have.
Thank you very much.
Directors do we have any questions on this item.
Okay Director Harris by all means.
Yes by all means.
I did not see your finger.
By all means.
So I just want to note that the.
This is a long, long time coming and also that it will continue to be a process because the feds are going to put out the promises that in April there will be new rules that will be much more transgender-friendly much more LGBTQ-plus friendly that were removed in the last administration that hopefully will be amended and even further improved coming out in April.
But it will be a year-long process of commenting on that.
So while we are seeing how this policy plays out in SPS the feds will be taking a look at at the comments on the the new rules and then we will have to come back again and make additional amendments.
So as is good practice this is this will be a living policy.
I want to be clear that when we moved this forward out of committee it was a process that acknowledged there was still some some work to be done some feedback to be given.
We had a second meeting.
on a Friday and I want to be I want to extend my gratitude to Director Song-Hurts and Rankin for spending that time with staff and doing some really hard work of trying to get to the appropriate place within the context of some very difficult legal requirements and language that represents as much as close as we could get it to what policy should be as opposed to what procedure should be.
It was a particularly difficult task for this and so I want to thank staff for their patience in working through that.
It was a new effort for all of us and I think a really good exercise in terms of focusing on the the bigger picture in policy that is about the principles of things and about the the vision that we want to put forth And then also meeting the statutory requirements in this very very delicate and critically important as you heard from the students because of the harm that they can experience at the hands of each other and unfortunately staff members as other adults in the in the system as well.
So it couldn't this couldn't be more important that it's coming forward now but I also want to acknowledge that we will be looking at this again.
We're not going to put it away and have it sit on a shelf and then not take a look at it again.
This is one of many but we our policy work and our policy diet work is going to be so important so that we have the capacity to continue to pay attention to critical policies like this one.
So I just wanted to express that and then the the three directors we approved it moving out of committee with I believe it was as not for approval but for consideration but only because we knew there were going to be some additional amendments which staff then did.
And then staff took additional feedback that I took that same draft.
There was yet another draft provided by staff the legal team and Natasha and then I sat down with some of the students that were here tonight as well as some others and went through it line by line and then provided that feedback again.
And I want to thank you all again for that feedback.
Some of it was just little nits and gnats and some of it was was bigger concepts.
And I've forwarded that to the students so they had their questions answered and understood.
And there were only just a couple that I wanted to go to.
And one was the and maybe it's only one.
One of the questions that had that students had asked for is whether or not it was possible to note up front in the policy that victims would be referred to moving forward as complainants.
And so and you gave a response but I wasn't but the response wasn't it says not use it so I don't think that they were saying don't use the word they understood that we'd need to use the word complainant but could we state up front as sort of a trigger warning in this policy And maybe we can't even say victim but I would just ask if between now and when it comes back we could take a look at that was number 6 on the list whether we can at least warn the reader that goes into policy who is potentially a prospective victim or the the family of a victim that they know that they will be referred to as a complainant in in the in the policy.
And I think that was the only that was the only thing that I thought that was wasn't a complete answer to the all the questions that they had and again forwarded.
So thank you so much for taking time to do that.
And then and then there were a couple of changes that were made including adding regularly to the statement about superintendent report.
reporting.
So again I think that covers everything.
My fellow committee members will take care of anything that I missed.
But my extreme gratitude to everyone that helped get this forward.
We we aren't going to have the full approval by May or by the end of April but we will have it by the first week in May which was the deadline that we had told the students that we would stick to.
So I'm really.
proud that we were able to stay on track with that and I know it was a lot of work.
Thank you so much President Hersey.
Director Hampson.
Director Harris.
Thank you.
And thank you to you Natasha for stepping in as interim.
Probably didn't see that coming a year ago.
I sure did not.
But thank you.
My question is for anyone Natasha Legal Dr. Pedroza etc. to reflect on the public testimony that we heard with respect to students with disabilities not being called out in this policy.
I I'd love to hear the feedback and the perspective there.
Thank you.
Sure.
So I think the initial feedback and I talk again with legal on this as well but but the initial feedback is that our policies apply to all of our students.
And so where we're looking at students that may be in particular risk groups may need additional supports that would be something that potentially would be more in a procedure or more in a practice.
Right.
So we would have our staff like specific training that would more get at that those areas where we need to be more aware of particularly in the public testimony as noted you know the the self-contained classrooms those situations where you may have one-on-one staff interacting with students but that's where that would play.
So it's certainly it's even without the policy changes it's certainly on our mind in the Title IX office and in the work we do now and it particularly we'll be moving forward to as we look at what the new procedure would look like and again where those practice areas we may need to shift and update to be more responsive.
Director Rankin.
Thank you and thank you for that question and response.
I'll add that in next week's SSC&I committee meeting we have a special attention item as an update on sexual health education which is in response to a state law requiring age-appropriate sexual health education in K-12 and that has been Coming before our committee a little bit as that as that moves through, but I.
think that the note about thinking about that education as being accessible for students with disabilities and and having all kinds of and I know this isn't what we're talking about but I'm just sort of adding that in response to the the testimony that um how how important that is and um that I'm really glad to hear that that's being thought about in the in the procedure.
I don't have questions I just wanted to say a huge huge thank you to staff and students and colleagues and everybody that has worked to bring this forward.
I know it's been a long process and just the patience and diligence and seriousness with which everyone undertook this was really something I'm glad to have observed and proud to have been able to participate in.
And especially for students it was you know I'm not one of the students but it was my perspective that and a lot of that is due to Director Hanson in my perspective that they really were authentically included.
It was not a box check of oh yeah yeah student input.
And I think that was just really really important and makes the policy stronger.
And and I'm looking forward to seeing this again to vote on.
Any other directors questions or comments at this time.
All right.
Thank you very much.
Can we just give one more.
I have my hand up.
I have my hand up.
Sorry.
I was just going to say.
I was doing both.
For the students and their participation because they did that.
They put their classwork aside to.
So I would like to thank them for their rally.
They worked with us to make sure that their rally was done in a way that they could actually have us be part of that.
And I know it was all of your first board meeting and I just It shows true leadership that they were able and willing to get to that level of detail and be so collaborative.
Skills that are definitely not you know they're just beyond their years.
And I know I don't know if Rebecca's had a chance to speak as well if you want to go to her before we finish up.
Yeah absolutely.
So let's go to Director Rivera-Smith and then we'll check in afterwards.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Sorry about that.
I was trying to get your attention.
I had a question on page 2 under Staff Authority Responsibilities.
It says reports of discrimination and discriminatory harassment will be referred to the district's Title IX Civil Rights Complaints Coordinator.
Reports of disability discrimination or harassment will be referred to the district's Section 504 Coordinator.
Now I'm wondering I initially was wondering about the second but really I guess on either one of those are they are those people staff agents are they trauma-informed.
I can I can imagine that the Title 9 one and civil rights compliance one maybe but is the 504 coordinator a trauma-informed or a trained member.
You know essentially these might be the intake agents I'm not sure but the goal of trauma-informed care is to avoid re-traumatizing somebody who clearly if they have these experiences that they're reporting they've been traumatized and we want to make sure that we are not doing harm anywhere in the process.
Sure.
So thank you for the question.
I will have to let the board office know the answer to that.
The 504 coordinator doesn't know our office so I don't know what training our 504 coordinator has.
Okay.
Yeah that would be great to find out and see if we can make sure that they are.
We want to again for both those pathways we'll make sure our our students are getting the care all along the way that they need.
So thank you.
Thank you.
Okay.
Rebecca do you have anything that you would like to share at this time.
Oh hi.
This is Rebecca Milliman and I work at the Harborview Abuse and Trauma Center and have stepped up as a co-chair temporarily for the Title IX task force and I really want to thank all the as well thank all the folks that worked on this draft policy and it was a long road coming and it's it is you know finally getting introduced tonight and I'm really glad it was in the month of April which happens to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
And so I appreciate that this pushed forward despite everything else that's going on.
And I agree with what all the speakers said tonight.
When you think about the experience of a young student who experiences a sexual assault and then every day has to deal with the person and see the person who assaulted them.
When you think about how that affects someone's education.
When you think about students with disabilities that do experience sexual assault at much much higher rates as well as several other marginalized communities as well.
I really want to emphasize the need for not just a really thorough investigation and supportive response for survivors but also proactive efforts to prevent this from happening in the first place.
And there are really effective strategies that can work toward improving school climate and you know promoting healthy relationships promoting a culture of consent in school buildings and amongst students and staff.
And I just want to reiterate that as a priority as well to not just respond effectively and supportively when it occurs but also that schools do more to prevent it from happening in the first place.
And so you've a lot of you have mentioned that this evening as well.
And so I look forward to supporting the district in these types of efforts as well.
And again thank you to everyone who spoke tonight.
and everyone who worked on the draft of this policy.
Director Sarduy.
So as a as a survivor of sexual assault this is always kind of a dicey situation for me. talking publicly about it, but I already put it out there.
It's not like it's a secret, but it's still difficult to engage in a conversation around it.
And it's particularly difficult to respond when I hear the student who testified today say that the response from the staff member was completely void of compassion and consideration for what this 12-year-old experienced.
And while how we respond isn't necessarily and shouldn't necessarily be a part of policy, I think we have to reconsider crafting what is an appropriate response to students.
When someone comes forth to share that they've been assaulted, it's not an easy thing to do.
And particularly for certain groups, and I will say for African American females, because we're considered, it's always questioned whether our stories are true.
We have been sexualized and fetishized, and so Oftentimes, I hear young black women say, why bother?
They're not going to believe me anyway.
And I can say that was my story.
So it does happen.
So I hope that with this policy change, we will consider crafting some language around around how we need to respond to these individuals with a lot of care and concern.
It is the response of adults.
It's the response of adults to respond with care and concern.
And I really hope that in the midst of all of this, we don't forget that, that yes, we can have a policy, but if a student reports it and the response is denigrating, humiliating, no compassion, when they share that with their friends, their friends are less likely to come forward.
So I'll just leave it at that.
But I do think that there are more things that we can be doing.
I think her name is Rebecca, but I appreciate your comments.
We cannot have a policy that is not coupled with prevention strategies.
Right.
I mean we just it's we need to have prevention education and prevention as our first you know act.
The response is something different.
But all students should understand what is and isn't appropriate.
I'll leave it at that.
Thank you Director Sharjee.
Any additional comments.
I think my last question or comment would be to those points Director Sargeu the policy it's incumbent upon us as directors not to dictate the procedure but to make sure that the procedure is consistent with the policy as written.
So that's coming forthcoming and I think the dead or the expectation for when the procedure is finalized in conjunction with the task force because this was a task force of the superintendent not of the board.
What's the timeline for that so that we know when we can expect to see that.
Sure.
So the the procedure is going to come after the approval of the policy.
The task force and Rebecca I don't have it in front of me so remind me if I'm wrong but the plan is that the task force final recommendations for practices procedure anything of that nature will be finalized I think in May.
And then staff will be working on updating the procedure and incorporating recommendations where it's possible.
It's if you if you all skim the WSSDA model procedure on the sexual harassment piece for students it's extremely convoluted and it's it It's a really complex process now because of the difference in the federal regulations versus the state regulations.
And so the intention of the task force was not to get into the weeds and kind of be out here for another year but to make those recommendations and then have follow-up with staff to work on incorporating those recommendations into kind of what the WSSDA procedure the WSSDA model procedure is.
Thank you.
And I think as those of us that are doing our best to try to stay engaged with students to follow back up with them and ask if they've looked at the procedure and how they're how it's resonating with them I think will be really important that there are so many students way more than we want to admit or believe that are impacted by this.
And we owe them that that continued collaboration and cycle of of input and reflection.
Thank you.
Thank you Director Hampson.
Director Harris.
Oh one second.
Thank you.
We appreciate it.
We will now move into our final board comments.
You may be seated.
Okay.
Thank you Director.
Yeah absolutely.
Thank you.
And thank you Rebecca.
Thank you Natasha.
Fantastic work.
Okay.
We will now move to the board comment section.
I believe the only director who is outstanding for board comments is Director Harris so floor is yours.
Outstanding isn't a qualitative judgment.
I'm sorry I had to do that.
I am so grateful for the work that's been done on sexual assault.
Beyond in my other life doing victim civil litigation suing rapists assaulters civilly.
I've seen a whole lot of it.
And to add to Director Sargeant's point about counselors and training and education.
I can tell you with permission from three of my sisters who were molested by my father.
Well-educated middle-class white family.
All three who went through Seattle Public Schools.
Why ever would they have used a counselor at school as a resource.
Because back in those days we didn't use those words.
And it didn't happen to middle class white educated families.
And we didn't teach our children about consent and body parts.
And I can tell you that it has taken five decades for my family to heal.
And we're still not healed.
And it affects everyone.
But if you as a student have seen with such what's the word dismissiveness from our counselors why the heck ever would one of my three sisters have gone to them for help.
And it affects everybody that loves a victim.
in an incredibly ways.
You know the rock in the water with the circles coming out.
So what we can do in terms of professional development in terms of attitude in terms of acceptance we have to find the money.
We have to make it mandatory because we can We can write all the darn policies and procedures until the cows come home to sleep.
But if we don't act on it then shame the hell on us.
And that means finding money.
Because every one of those counselors has to be paid full freight for that training.
And it has to be mandatory.
And and bring on the unions.
Happy to help.
With respect to mandatory professional development on that issue.
Second issue I'm sorry that was hard but I'm really happy to put it right the hell out there and I do as often as possible because if people don't get it they need to.
Second issue to tag off of President Hersey seeing children laughing and playing outside brings joy to my heart and and sadness to what we have all missed.
And I wish there was a way we could up the ante to compensate for that ugly period where we didn't see children outside playing.
Third point.
Hallelujah.
Who knew that the U.S.
Department of Education actually has spoken the words Student Loan Reform.
Now I will appreciate that we are pre-K-12.
Some people say just K-12.
I'll disagree with them until the cows come home again.
But holy smokes just saying the words out loud is a mind and world shift.
And think of all of our teachers who are caring tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt teaching in Title 1 schools and have been screwed.
There's just no nice way to say that.
So I hope that we will give them support for whatever Byzantine bureaucratic policies come up.
We we can stand behind them and make sure they get credit for forgiveness and and that we potentially work with our unions We'll pass an SEA to make sure it sticks because we can't keep people if we're paying them what we are and they're carrying tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt.
Last Manuela I'll be there.
I look forward to it.
The agenda is quite impressive for an hour and a half.
And I'll buy dinner Friday or breakfast Saturday.
One-on-one I've found to be the most effective to work through whatever issues.
And like I've said before and I will say as long as I'm sitting here it's an honor and a privilege.
Thank you.
Thank you Director Harris.
Any other things before we move to adjourn.
Going once and twice.
Aye.
There being no further business to come before the board the regular board meeting is now adjourned at 551 p.m.
Thank you.
Be safe and we will see you next time.