 Welcome, everyone. We're going to call the School Board meeting to order at 6.30. And we will start off with public comment. I see we have a few folks in the room and maybe online as well. And just to make sure we do also have a pack agenda. So I'm gonna have my little handy timer going to keep everybody in two minutes. Is there anyone who would like? Sure. And then just as also as a reminder, please make sure to state your name and town or the record. My name is Richard Shear and I am from Montpelier and my son Gabriel is on the first ultimate crispy team and recruited Ed Mokson to coach. Um, I'm here today with a real simple proposition for the schools and that's that the city of Montpelier is right now considering locations for the recreation center and I'm asking that the school at least offer up as an alternative an area next to the high school that would allow for the synergy of that facility and high school right now. The present rec center is being overused by seniors because it's proximate to the senior center during the day on the edge of town, it would be seen by just a small number of parents and small children here you have the opportunity for a full gymnasium and all you have to do is have it open at nights in a lot for parking and on weekends and I'm just saying you don't have to make the decision all we wanted up here, but just tell the city that at least we would be open to consideration and that didn't take two minutes but I would love for the school board to step forward because it would be a fantastic resource potential resource and again, I'm not asking for any kind of commitment whatsoever except for to contact bill and say could you at least look Thank you. Thank you. Oh, okay. That's all Thanks much. Just our practice and actually procedure is not so we don't respond to public comment in meetings. So we just listen and express gratitude for you showing up. Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you Do we have any other members of the public who want to okay I move that we approve the consent agenda. Second? Second Any discussion? I would just like to appreciate the principal's report But thank you. It's just really to hear all the exciting things happening in the school there's just like a lot of positive things to celebrate and just kind of taking into like the classrooms and student experiences, you know, bringing us in there with you. It's just really great. You appreciate You know, I think there's some administrators that maybe don't get in the trenches and appreciate them that you're being able to discuss Any other discussion? All those in favor? All right. All right. I'm not supposed to vote. Any opposed? Great so We have one addition to the agenda Which is to just do a quick overview of the rest of the school year for board meetings Keeping so the plan for the school board is to hold one of our retreats More early-ish in the summer if we can given, you know, our schedule if our schedules line up and And then the second one to be closer to the end of the summer to the start of the coming school year And that the retreats would be The first retreat would be to finally and fully land our priorities indicators of success and then goals for You know relative short term like one to two year goals And then the second retreat would be to set up the work plan that would for the board that would facilitate us getting to those goals So I wanted to share with the board what the rest of our board meetings look like to Um get us to the point where we can have that conversation at the first retreat And what we'll be covering in the next Upcoming board meetings with in my keeping in mind anything that the board needs to know In order to be able to land our priorities and indicators of success and then also ask Michael award numbers if there's anything missing from this list of the schedule that we should Try and work in so are you able to share your screen so it goes up there? Thank you Yes, yeah, you'll have this right school board yearly calendar or yeah board yearly yearly board calendar So it's also kind of shocking to see how few Meetings we have left until the end of the school year, but right so for um this Tonight's meeting. We have the special ed presentation Then in two weeks, we'll have the the audit presentation the results from the needs assessment. We have Presentation from jim birmingham birmingham on our um school our food service We're going to be doing an equity training, which is um now i've lost but the dates are but i think that's sometime in may It's the second meeting in mid may yeah Which will be um around what the board's role is in closing the academic gap Which is actually one of our um priority areas and then at the end of may the Middle school sustainability leadership group has asked to do a presentation to the board And then the June meeting which happens i think mid june i think it's june 14th is when we will get the last of the data presentations for the school year from our administrators So all of those are keeping in mind the um themes that we've already identified for priorities for the board and the district closing the academic gap A community or an environment that fosters belonging safety and wellness And community engagement. Those are our three main themes And with those in mind, this is what we've laid out so far But also wanted to throw it out to board members to know if there's anything More that you would want to include in the lead up to the Board retreat in order to be able to learn our Priorities and indicators of success and you don't have to answer tonight because we're just putting all this out there in front Of you right now But if as you think about that question more over the next couple of days, please email jim libya myself so that we Can try to work it in But also if you have any thoughts right now happy hearing and write them down and take note Do you have anything? Yeah, it's looking pretty good I just want to say because we're a public meeting that if anyone's listening on May 3rd I think it is the May 3rd meeting where We're looking at student applications for the next student representative positions So if anyone listening knows anybody who is a student in our district and is interested in being one of our student reps Zach and there are both graduating and Moving on So we're going to need to be filling those positions and we'll be making those appointments on I think it is May 3rd, right? And what's the deadline in the process? If you want to let those down I have a document that I believe I shared with you I'll make sure that it's out there. Matt McLean. So Matt McLean is sort of running the process There's a document that outlines. It's the same document pretty much. We've updated it from winzack america five Um, but it's I think it's April 27th is the deadline to email letters of interest I have my email address there and also Matt McLean's email address So they can I mean they can send it to any of you and you can forward it to me And I'll compile a list and then we'll be reviewing those Letters of interest on May 3rd and then ultimately making the appointment to a woman's How did those openings become known to students? So Matt McLean is what is his director of flexible pathways? He is very high school. Yeah, he's very tied to the students And does a lot of this work with the kids. So I'm sure And the small influence and yes, I don't know if it's in if it's been in the gator news yet So I'll check the most recent gator news, but it goes out into all the school newsletters It goes out directly to students via their email addresses. It's it's it went out to leadership of student groups so that they could potentially Let the students from their groups know But if you have any other ideas of how it should be Put out there I'll make sure to get that document to all the board members. That was an oversight on my part Thanks, and then yeah, if other requests or ideas for information Come to you after this means over. Don't forget. Just send us email We'll try and work it out. There's a there's a policy recommended by the formal school board association acquired and It's parent and family engagement related to title one schools and it's really really massive And it includes 30 different areas with prompts for community engagement and how that might happen and we've talked about a Community engagement committee and It's So large and it's so comprehensive that it will for us to for us to adopt the policy once we finally get there It's going to take a lot of collaboration with a lot of different levels in school districts, and I don't know if there's a place or a process in a board meeting or Another way to sort of begin to sort of consider How because it it's going to require potentially The Community engagement committee that we talked about Will probably be required to monitor all of the actions that are required by the state board by the school board association So it's a it's a I'm not sure where it fits into board meetings But it's a massive undertaking and I think we do a lot of this And this would formalize some of those processes, but I think it's going to take a lot of collaboration So I don't know whether that fits in a board meeting or whether it's its own Discussion of a new committee or we've come to some of current communities or what that might look like but It sounds like we could use time with the retreat when talking about Community engagement since we've already made it as a priority To figure out what that looks like. That's that's what we would be. Maybe we would use the policy as you know to help ground our Indicators of success or something like that Do you just need for information purposes? Maybe share with them just to keep the open meeting Make sure that we're not violating open meeting. Yeah, share the link from bsda. That's to the model policy Which is you know just for people's information. We have three required policies. This is not on our agenda tonight So we're kind of going off on a tangent. All right. I'm just trying to bring this back. Yes. I I think We so I think we're in pretty good shape working on it at drafting it Yeah at the policy committee, but I think working on it at the retreat or discussing it is a good idea Yep Okay, and so in order for us to be able to do that effectively does sound like it would be useful for more members to read even the draft model policy from bsda So that would be great. Thanks, right Okay, so let's move on to hanging soon You're up. Thank you for being here Okay, um, so I tried to put together Some information about special education to kind of give an overview and provide some detail, but not too much detail So hopefully this meets what you all were hoping Or what you were looking for So maybe you're gonna be my vanna. Okay. All right, you can skip that one Okay, so when we think about students with disabilities, there are three federal laws that Encompass most of the work that we do and so I'm not going to go into them in great detail But I wanted to just identify what those are. So we have IDEA, which is the individuals with disabilities education act That is what special education rules fall under and laws fall under That was reauthorized in 2004 and most recently amended in 2015 Um, there's the section 504 of the rehabilitation act of 1973 and then the American with disability act of 1990 And so I'm going to just briefly talk about those to just put some context Next there we go. Thanks. So IDEA um is Because I can't see that Is an entitlement law that Provides individuals with rights to receive a benefit from the law. So A quote from the law, which I think just kind of summarizes its purpose Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the rights of individuals to participate in or contribute to society Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring Equality of opportunity full participation independent living and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities So again, this is where the federal laws around special education services services come and we'll talk more about that The next law section 504 Is something that actually started Because of vietnam vets and it's an anti-discrimination law And it's really about making sure that we're not That we're not discriminating discriminating against people with disabilities and we're making sure they have equal access to participate in and benefit from any programs that receive federal assistance And then ADA which came in 1990 It's also anti-discrimination and basically extended those protections To include things that don't necessarily require or get federal financial assistance so Those are the three federal laws So in vermont, we have the vermont special education rules Which we that are taken from the federal law. We have to follow the federal laws at a minimum And then in vermont, there are some things that are obviously different That i'll talk a little bit about These rules were most recently updated in july of last year Although some parts have been delayed and will be implemented this coming july Because there was a concern in the field that people weren't ready for the changes some of the changes So those rules were open because the funding for special education has changed so they had to open them up for that and when they did that there were opportunities for public comment and also The people at the agency of ed to think about best practices and things that had been learned Since the last time they were opened and so there were a lot of changes that were made Some of the most significant changes Were around special education eligibility So there's a lot of Change around what specific learning disability looks like and determining that that isn't coming in effect until july This year, there are some changes around adverse effects. I'm going to talk about these things more in detail Which also is not until july They changed the definition of specially designed instruction and who can provide it that one is currently in effect Functional skills has been added as a basic skill area and we'll talk about that more as we go through And they are also more specific opportunities for parental input So parents obviously have always been a big part of it. But now there are specific places where you're documenting clearly the input of parents So specially designed instruction that is really what special education is about This is the definition of it I'm not going to read it all to you But the the two parts that I want to highlight is that it the purpose of specially designed instruction Is to address the unique needs of the child that results from their disability And to ensure access that that child has access to the gen ed curriculum so That they can work towards meeting the same standards that all students should be meeting or asked or hope that we're hoping to have them meet so How does a student become eligible for special education in vermont? Currently there are three gates I don't know where the word gates came from but that is how we tend to talk about it In vermont that need to be met for a student to qualify for special education So we have to look at disability. We have to look at the adverse effect of that disability And then is there a need for specialized instruction? So the first gate is does a child have a disability? This is a list of the categories of disability that are in the federal and the vermont rules Um with each of these categories, there are specific criteria and questions that you need to answer Um to make that determination around whether or not um a child qualifies under this disability category Um, I did put a note on here. There's a lot of conversation around dyslexia Dyslexia is listed as one of the conditions that fall under specific learning disability So if a child is diagnosed with dyslexia Their special education paperwork is going to say specific learning disability because that's what the category is in the vermont reg. So they're for the purpose of special education They're Kind of the same terms but the the term that is used in the regs is specific learning disability so So if a student has a disability Then a team needs to decide does that disability have an adverse effect on their educational performance Currently in vermont and I say currently because it's changing after deluxe The way that adverse effect is defined is you have to look at the lowest 15th percentile rank This gets into a lot of the things lowest 15th percentile rate compared to same grade peers In at least one basic skill area and this basic skill areas are up there That you can show with three pieces of evidence Three different pieces of evidence and there are six categories of evidence. It's a very comfortable It's it's a lot, but anyway, that's what it is right now So right now we have to look at compared to other students in the same grade Is there an adverse effect and it's demonstrated by this after july 1 The 15th percentile rank is going away Um, there is no longer a specified a number of pieces of evidence you need nor is there specified types of evidence you need Um, functional skills is being added as a basic skill area So right now when you look at the basic skill areas, they're all academic in nature Um, functional skills is one that's being added Um, and reading fluency is being removed Um from this list after july Uh, the reason reading fluency is being removed is because right now in the regs reading fluency can only Be looked at for a basic skill area if the primary disability is specific learning disability After july specific learning disability is no longer going to be required to look at adverse effect so So this is where i'm like how much do I share like like it gets barely but anyway, so No, I don't know So so so after july Yeah Specific learning disability and actually deaf blindness Are the two areas that the rules have changed so the teams no longer have to look at adverse effect In determining eligibility So it doesn't need that second gate. It doesn't need a second gate only the one right and the The first gate the third gate still to be asked the first gate for specific learning disability Has gotten much broader and really like it's the adverse effect is kind of built into the process that you're going to have to do To look at specific learning disability. So that's why that's removed And so the reading reading fluency The reason reading fluency is removed is because right now it's only for a specific learning disability And the general idea here is that it's going to make it a little easier to identify if someone needs Um, not necessarily easier. Um, I think it's just a more So you mean why are they pulling away the adverse effect? Yeah That's a good question. So It used to be there wasn't the 15th percentile rank um Criteria it was just Is the disability impact having an adverse impact? And so there are lots of ways people looked at it and I think they were trying to Make things more consistent across schools with with less room for interpretation so they Put this 15th percentile rank in and they and they talked about functional skills also needing to be considered but not as a separate area And so their goal of being more consistent didn't actually happen because I think people still Some people were really hard and fast with 15th percentile and didn't necessarily People interpreted the functional skills part differently. So I think their goal of being more consistent actually didn't end up being more consistent And so I don't know why they're going back But that that's kind of the history of it because we didn't have 15th percentile Vermont is one of the only states that had that So that was like more restrictive than the federal definition and guidelines And so I think maybe they're trying to align more with the federal guidelines I'll just add I know this is a significant shift for our special educators and psychologists And we've been doing training The woman named Jen Patnow And the rest of the state for the last few minutes are you over here? We were just talking about it Sorry across this spring Winter and spring, but it is a significant change for our special education department And I will also say that the agency of application is not provided much guidance. It's not how to do this change Which is the reason why those organizations bringing Jen Patnow to us I think there was a high difference As a recorded option as well, if anybody needs to access it, they can purchase it So I think I heard you say that Vermont used to not have the 15% And that many most states also don't have it And so I'm just curious What what about it is so significant for Because it's a different way to identify students So can I answer this because there's two big significance One of the things is the adverse effect that's really significant The other really significant change is the way that specific learning disability is looked at Which is a lot of what we've done in those trainings So there had been an option And many places in Vermont used what was called the discrepancy model So you looked at a student's cognitive level You looked at their academic achievement level And if there was a gap of a certain range Then you said that because of this discrepancy That a student had a specific learning disability Now they're taking that discrepancy model away So it used to be Plug the numbers into the computer figure you know that That now no longer is an option And so what the wording is around And I'm gonna I don't know the exact wording of the law But basically what we're looking at now Is looking at cognitive patterns of strengths and weaknesses And or a response to intervention model To look at learning disabilities and determine that And so that requires us to look at To it becomes a little grayer in a sense Which again but it's more I would say it's probably more genuine to really understanding Children and how they learn and digging deeper into The way their brains work versus being able to give tests And plug in numbers and make a thing So that I would say is the biggest change probably Is that for a lot of districts in Vermont Especially districts without school psychologists That that was a that's that's a big change We are so happy to have school psychologists next year Because she is going to be critical In making sure that we're doing this in a way That you know with her expertise is going to be great So that is a big change And then the adverse effect part is a big change Because it's not as clear cut with that just that again That mathematical so And in the board will recognize the response to intervention piece That we have to show we have to show evidence of that So all the work we've been doing around the tier three In particular systems particularly our elementary schools Is going to be really key to this process Right so if we're in order for us to determine That a student has a specific learning disability We have to essentially prove that they had really good first instruction That they had additional like a second dip of that first instruction That then we did intervention But then you know like that they're not responding to all of these things And that our interventions are getting more targeted And more focused on how they learn as individual students Yeah so those of you who've been on board for a while That should sound familiar Right because that's what we've been working to create Yeah nice two quick questions Yeah am I picking up on that this is a challenging But not necessarily bad change overall Are we happy with this change Are special to players happy with this change Or is this problematic I don't think it's problematic I think it's a different way of working And I think it's there is A concern not because they don't want to meet kids needs But that there's going to be a significant increase In the referrals which we already have this year And also you know so the grayer things are The more difficult it is to make sure that we are You know probably what we need to follow Kids are going to need to get it It's just it I think it's uncomfortable because it's new And people want to make sure that we're doing it right And one of the things that's interesting is the state hasn't said You need to do it this way They said you can choose by the district So it doesn't necessarily mean that there's going to be more consistency Between school districts because every district is kind of Figuring out how they're going to do it And then my other Thank you yeah Another just quick question was Does this have any impact on students that are already at some point in their Education like do students that are already under a plan for example Have to have it revisited no So when you are when you receive special education services There's a requirement that every three years you have a reevaluation to determine if there's still that need of service So as people's reevaluation dates come up There could be a change in what that process looks like for students And part of what the new law also says is there's more Ability to say like we already know this kid has a disability. We don't need to keep checking that part So it's really that conversation about needs so there might be less repeat of testing That we've probably done Every three years for a while because now we can look and say yep We still all agree that based on the way they're presenting in school that this disability category makes sense So now we just need to talk about is there still a need for specialized instruction? okay So there we go the third gate is that need question So if a student has a disability that is adversely impacting their educational performance Then the team talks about for gate three Is there a need that they require something specialized that's not provided through the system of supports for all students? And so if they say if a team says yes to all three of those gates Then a student is eligible for special education And then there's the note which we already talked about just that after july That specific learning disability and deafblind no longer have to look at adverse effect the specific learning disability You know, it's just it's more built-in and deafblind. I think it's just a no-brainer If you're deaf and blind, there's likely an adverse effect and you're going to need some special education um, so Once that happens then a team gets together to develop an individual education program or an IEP um IEPs are developed as a team. There are required team members and that's the list there So you need a special educator classroom teacher your caregivers obviously the student When appropriate an lea representative, which is someone from the school district who can make decisions about resources And then related service providers As appropriate and other people with knowledge So if there are other people that the caregivers or that the work with the students that the Team feels like would be important to have their input then they would come to the meeting um, IEPs are reviewed at least annually And updated There are several components to IEPs so you talk about the present level So what is the student educational performance? What do they look like functionally? What is the impact of their disability? What are their strengths their needs? if there's medical information that's important for Teams to know and this this document is really about creating a plan That is information for anyone working with the students in the schools as well as obviously the parents, but really You know making sure that this is information So that someone working with a student has a good picture of the student and the impact of their disability There is a new parent input section that is on the IEP that's currently started that started last July That is just a place to really be clear about what the parents want to make sure is in that plan And then you identify goals and objectives For the student and then think about what services the students needs in order to meet those goals that have been identified We talk about accommodations and modifications I'll talk a little bit more about what those are and then for students who are Turning 16 or older you there's a post-secondary transition plan requirement So we have a requirement to work with students in high school And identifying what they want to do after high school and then looking at what do we need to do While they're in high school to help them work towards those goals And so there's a requirement around making sure that we are Working with community partners and that kind of stuff to make sure that students are set up for what they want to do after high school Which not many 15 year olds know what they want to do. So that's always fun to work on those plans There's also an independent living component part of that So it's work looking at um education at work and then an independent living and so really making sure that we are providing students what they need And then Oh, I just made a note that when we're thinking about IEPs that we're really thinking and Identifying the impact of the disability That's what we're really looking at and trying to address through an IEP questions about that Uh, just a couple key terms to think about Within special education. So we talk about accommodations a lot Accommodations are how a student is going to access the curriculum and demonstrate their learning So they're about removing the barriers that are preventing the student from fully accessing that. So examples might be Untimed assessments getting copies of class notes having less problems on a math page something like that. So it's really about the access Modifications are about changes to what the student is expected to learn. So accommodations are Not looking to change what is happening as far as the content modifications Could mean that we're changing what we're asking the student to learn. So A couple examples like if a class is working on writing paragraphs to express themselves an individual student might be working on writing a sentence to express themselves Or class is learning like standard units of measurement for weight and length and an individual student could be learning Heavy versus light long versus short. So looking at what is the grade level Um expectation and then kind of backing that out to where is the student right now and making sure that that's how they're accessing that content Um, and then least restrictive environment Is um something that is in special education law And it basically says that students are required to be educated with their non disabled peers to the fullest extent possible A child with a disability should not be removed from education and their age appropriate classrooms solely because of the need for modifications So, um, just because they're not learning exactly what's being taught in that class is not a reason that then they should be pulled from those classes Um, so important note with least restrictive environment We always start with the regular classroom But that's not the least restrictive environment for all students based on what their needs are and you know What they're what we need to provide them Maybe should yes, how does this work? So It went like my kids are elementary school. So with specials, right um how do the the teachers for specials integrate into the IUP or is there integration of them into the team so all of the teachers who work with students get copies of IUPs and Generally, it's near to impossible to get every teacher at a meeting And so special educators would be reaching out to teachers ahead of time to get their input if there was something specific That they felt like they needed to make sure we talked about in the meeting But all of the specials teachers have those and have the obligation to do the accommodations and modifications as required Is that answer your question? Yeah, and then I'm going to imagine the complexity Scales as you get to middle and high school for sure. Well, even right even elementary school, right? Like just the number of kids with plans Gets pretty. Yeah, I have some thoughts in my my brain of how to help We've been talking a lot on our leadership team about our our north star being a list of Things that happen in every single classroom and mrps that we can like guarantee Like every single teacher does all of these best practices and therefore these things don't have to be in plans So that then the the plans actually are smaller and more manageable, but we'll get there Okay, so switching gears a little section 504 we talked about that's the Anti-discrimination law People who are protected under section 504 People who have or have are suspected of having so if we believe somebody has a physical or mental impairment Which substantially limits one or more major life activities? Those are the people that are protected and this is not just a school space thing This is we have many section 504 plans for students, but this is a workplace Law as well, so Mental or physical impairment We don't often There's not a lot of testing necessarily done by the school districts around section 504 plans. Generally we are getting information from PCP for physicians or counselors or things like that about students coming in Not to say that there aren't times when we do assessments for that But generally it's often information we're getting from some outside provider There is a team decision making process around this But it doesn't have the like you have to meet every year. Although it's best practice when we do that, but there's not all of the strict Procedural things necessarily that special education has Sistentially limiting is not defined in the law The office of civil rights is the agency that oversees this law And they have given us something to consider They say that the effect of the impairment On the major life activity is measured by comparing the individual's ability to that of an average person in the general population Major life activities are everything from learning to using the bathrooms to reading like the lists I don't know what's not a major life activity like it's a really long list of things for people to consider Um And so the purpose of a section 504 plan is to remove the barriers to access So it's about leveling the playing field. So it's the accommodations we talked about Students with a section 504 plan would not have modified curriculum because that would be special education So this this is really about like what are the things we need to do to support their access um I put a note on here Because I think it's important You can have a disability or an impairment and you may not be protected under this law Um, and they did note that a student with an impairment who's succeeding in regular education cannot be viewed as substantially limited in the area of learning so There's not this isn't like a Door prize that you got a few there, you know, there are a lot of conditions that people may have That may not That that may be considered a physical or mental impairment But that may not substantially limit something enough that you'd be protected under this law So there still is a process and the team really needs to consider the impact of that disability to decide if someone's protected under that law Yeah, this is something that's not defined by law. Does that mean that it's going to be interpreted very differently across districts? And does it mean that Welcome to education And does it mean that There's disagreement among special ed educators and disagreement between educators and Caregivers and caregivers can caregivers push Really hard if they're up to believe that this is going to help And that kind of push somebody over the line to get a 504 because there's no way to rebut it Or so there's always a way to rebut it and we certainly want to work with caregivers One of the things I should say section 504 is actually a general education. That's not special education It is about people with disabilities, but it's general education. So Um We happen to have a special educator at the high school who oversees section 504 but in the other schools It's the school counselors that are the 504 case managers. So I just want to say that and yes So one of the things that's really important is to have A caregiver be a part of that conversation because we may not be seeing the impact In the way that you are at home. And so really making sure that we're having those conversations Um, one of the things that we ask so More than once in my 26 years. Have I gotten like a doctor's little notepad that just says johnny has adhd give him a 504 plan That's not helpful. So like what I want to know is how is adhd Manifesting in johnny like what are the things that we should be looking for to address because that's what we need to figure out Right, like so great. He has adhd. But what does that look like for him? And then what are the barriers that we need to remove? So if we're able to identify barriers, then absolutely we're going to have a plan I don't I mean, I think that they're Yes, and then you know the other the office of civil rights. Not that that's where you want to go Please come see me first But um, you know if you had some kind of concern or you know, we're feeling like You know, this was something that you really felt like your time needed. Um, and you know had information that Back that up then we would have that conversation and figure it out Um, the other thing that's important to know is that The sat company we have no control over what they do for accommodations. And so A lot of students when they get to high school people are looking for them to Have accommodations on those tests and all we can do is send them what we have and then they make those decisions Likewise when you go to college, you can take special education and today graduate from high school Section 504 is something that can go into the workplace and go into You know college, etc. But again, that's about What the college decides like we don't like we us writing a plan doesn't guarantee that like that's what's going to happen in college So sometimes there are more requests in high school I think because people are getting nervous about leaving the protections of like the smaller place where their kids are known or whatever and so Yeah, does that answer your question? I mean, there's there's right. I mean, I think it's the conversation, right? Yeah, there isn't a clear like the 15th percentile thing, right? Like that's But if I would say like we're not There's no reason for us not to provide a student a 504 plan if there is any for like it doesn't You know because there's not services attached like it's not going to I mean, there's just and we not that that's why we make decisions anyway But like there's like if a student needs that support and that access we're going to figure out how to get that to them I didn't answer your question. No, I think so. I think so the difference is the Essentially in the resources needed to meet the plan This is something that you can share with a classroom teacher And you don't need to have a special educator Right necessarily providing Right the only types of services that generally would that I've seen and 504 plans would be things like If there's a teacher of the deaf who's providing some kind of consultation or You know things like that, but for the most part, there's not Generally services. It really is about just the access part Yeah, and All of all of these plans also go into any After school anything that the school facilitates So if there's a students if your child is on the sports team that's run by the school then The section 504 plan should be shared and that kind of stuff You know what concerns me a little bit about this is the vagus of the Gigi or the Things that we're looking at That could just be me They're loosening up or they're more open to interpretation is how I'm feeling about what you're describing. And so We all know that it's expensive, right? And I would really hope that school and especially our school wouldn't Cut back on services because we didn't have to provide them or we couldn't interpret them Oh, yeah now We're not doing that and I I guess the other thing I should say is because there is there are Things that districts have to Make decisions about one of the things that we will be doing We just haven't got there yet is creating more processes and procedures about this. So in my failure This is how we're going to look at adverse effect. This is how we're going to make determination about specific learning disability And that's work that the team that's been going to those trainings are going to do and then with our new school Psychologists we're going to we need her expertise in that So we will be coming up with like procedures around this stuff so that there is some consistency That's actually something that I've been doing Despite all of this is just trying to create more consistency for families and students So it's not dependent on which person you're working with or what school you're at or whatever So that there feels like a more consistent experience because there aren't necessarily a lot of procedures and processes that Go across the district at this point Okay I think we're getting there. Okay. So just real quickly. How do they overlap? They're both for students with disabilities They both focus on the impact of disability They're both federal laws with protections And I want to Point out that just because a student is behind or struggling doesn't mean they have a disability and so there are requirements Um That well one that's why we have our multi-tiered system of support so that all kids are getting what they need And it's not based on just those who have a disability But it's also um important and one of the things that we have to do Especially if we're looking at specific learning disability is we have to rule out all the other factors before we can say That a student has a disability learning disability. So things like attendance or disrupted schooling or Lack of you know first instruction that's high quality. So like for example, I went to a different school every year until I was in high school So I missed geography like because there wasn't a consistent curriculum somewhere. So on the way. I missed it, right? So Looking at you know, if we have a student who has been to a bunch of schools for example, and they're struggling to read We need to provide them some really clear reading instruction before we're going to say That this child has a disability so that we can rule out the fact that this just it isn't They have a disability but that they just haven't had the opportunity to learn yet so So, uh, what does special education look like in my pillar So we make decisions about student needs and services as iup teams. We always start with the general education classroom Um to ask can we do that especially design instruction there? Um, if we can it might look like the special educator Co-planning with the classroom teacher and the teacher providing the service It could look like the special educator and the teacher providing the instruction together. So just examples Teams talk about does it need to happen in a separate space due to student specific reasons And I want to highlight that due to student specific reasons. So if we are pulling kids out It's not because it works better for the adult schedules. It's because that's what that student needs Um, so for example, many students need a quiet quiet environment to get that really targeted instruction So we would think about that and then we look at Can it be done in a small group or does it need to be individual? So if we're thinking about being restrictive individual is more restrictive than small groups So if we can do it in a small group, that is our preference Um, and then what are the skills that the professional who's providing that instruction need to have? Um, so especially design instruction should be provided by a professional In the lot it says IA's can do it in rare cases if it's under the guidance of a specialty character Like that doesn't make sense because we need the professionals to be able to in the moment respond to What they're seeing the student provide or give them Based on their professional knowledge um, so Has to be by professional and then teams also talk about how much time Does the service need to be in order for the student to progress towards the goals that have been identified? Um, a note here Students should not be pulled from their grade level of first instruction for special design instruction So special education is supplemental to first instruction not a replacement for Just a side note on this the school board is getting presentation on our ability challenge audit We've got a lot of good feedback around this in particular So you'll hear a lot of where we need to grow and where our opportunities For for doing this better at the next board meeting having kids stay in the classroom Is that the this you're talking about? Uh, this process like what does specialized instruction look like at MRPS? And where our opportunities to grow our capacity here. We got a lot of really great feedback Yeah So Just kind of continuing what it looks like at Montpelier So we have some students that get the push-in in class services either individually or small group Some get pull-out services Individual or small groups. So those are out of class. We have classes that are co-taught By gen ed teachers the special educators We have students accessing services through the sunshine programs ride shine and thrive which are SEL programs And then we have students whose least restrictive environment and where they're getting their specialized instruction is in therapeutic independent schools that are outside our district Currently the people providing special education services In Montpelier's special educators math and literacy interventionists Are doing services. We have speech language pathologists doing it and then school social workers counselors and other SEL professionals are doing the special education services that are focused on social emotional learning parts Yeah math and literacy interventionists They obviously would be aware of the point the IEP plan for example and do they have special education backgrounds so the They have specialty in the areas that they're intervening So in some cases they actually have more specialized Training than maybe special educators who are more generalists. And so that's part of the conversation that IEP teams have around like what is the skill set that someone needs? We try not to pull them too much because if we pull them all to special education we kind of Ruin our great system that Mike and Libby have been working on for the last several years Right and that's your free. Yeah, or even kids who don't have a disability. Right. Yeah, so so there's some of that happening but that is definitely Not what you know, not what our preference is and we're I'm working with Mike and the principals next year and looking at kind of with our The change in how special education funding works really works Really being able to look at even maximizing that more so there might be special educators providing intervention You know like really looking at how do we maximize the resources that we have in the Specialties that we have An expert in all the needs a kid has right so I have a special education degree And I would I would have been considered a great person that worked with somebody who really was reading needs social emotional learning or Kids with really significant multiple intensive needs. I know much of you know, like I would not have been your girl for that kind of thing so That's actually one of the best parts about the law change and the funding change is that we can Really match The next slide it just talks a little bit about related services just because of something you've heard so In addition to special education services oftentimes there are students that require related services And those are services that they need to benefit from their special education services. So We have students that get occupational therapy support physical therapy speech therapy counseling Audiology, there's a whole list here If a student only requires a related service, then they cannot be determined to be eligible for special education so They don't need to go down that rabbit hole, but just so you know So what's in the works for what I've been doing and working on Working on like I said creating systems and processes to try to increase our alignment between schools and practitioners Um working on looking at our allocation of resources to make sure that we are just they're distributed based on student need And not just like we've always had this person at the school. Therefore. That's where they need to be PD opportunities professional development for special educators and classroom teachers around differentiating instruction and growing instructional practices and then working with mike and jess To enhance our mtss system. So that system of support And providing PD to increase understanding about disabilities Things that were still to come opportunities for parent training and involvement Rolling out the needs assessment. So We've been doing that we're doing that with our staff right now and ahead of it coming out in public and to the board so and then identifying and confirming our priorities based on that information And I know one of the things that the board has asked for and I'm still racking my brain around is How do we measure overall success for special education? We have a new system called panorama next year that I haven't gotten too too much But I'm hoping there's some data thing there that maybe will help with that And then there's just there were a couple of board member questions I want to address One was asking why vermont doesn't require screening of all students for dyslexia So I did a little bit of research Sounds like vermont is one of 10 states that doesn't require it And I don't know why our legislator doesn't require it But what I can say is that we have a number of common assessments that we do in Montpelio and Roxbury To make sure that we are looking at developing Where students are at in developing their reading skills. So assessments that look at letter sound identification high frequency words Phonological awareness developmental spelling there are a number of things that we're doing To make sure that we are You know catching students early if they're struggling with that reading development There were a number of questions about the role of gen ed teachers With students who receive special education services This is my new mantra that I'm going to put at the bottom of my email All students are general education students some general education students also require special education ordered fully Accessor education. So That I think that's a pretty strong understanding and belief of people in this district from what I've seen But that is always really important to to clarify that all students start out as gen ed students and then some need a little more That's a little tickler So classroom teachers have a mandate to make sure that all students have access to the general ed curriculum Regardless of disability They are required to implement accommodations and modifications as described in IEPs They are required members of evaluation and IEP teams Teachers collaborate on a regular basis and co-plan with special educators So the teachers are more the content experts and the special educators are the access experts So that's why that co-planning is so important And then teachers track and provide data about student progress in their gen ed curriculum and share observations about how they see Students disabilities impacting them And Olivia was trying to say Spoiler alert So so at the next four meeting the folks from ability challenge will be here And many of the questions that were answered or were asked will be answered through their their reports This is what libya was going to say One of the quotes that we were really excited about was that the mrps community is its greatest asset Leaders and teachers believe in foundational mindsets of authentic inclusion Students are thoughtful curious and eager to learn and families are incredibly dedicated to ensuring that their children get the services they need They loved our students. They really enjoyed spending time with our students, which was great to hear And you know, I will say that it felt It was great. The needs assessment was great and really confirmed for our team I think that we're on the right track with the work that we have identified as priorities And I always appreciate having data to agree with what I think And We have the belief the foundational belief of a of strong inclusion Which is a huge hurdle that we've been working on And we have a lot of work to do as to how to actually do it So a lot of capacity building and specialized instruction And when we give that and what it looks like and and that kind of thing so That you know the the belief is sometimes the harder part. Yeah, honestly So I was super excited to see that and and we just got really good information. So I'm excited for the board to hear from Kristen and Sarah Sarah And I have to say when you get the report if you print it for some reason the eyes No, it wasn't if they printed it in the middle school too Some of the eyes don't print in the report even though they're on the digital copy And paula actually figured out it's after the letter f anytime There's an f for some reason the eye after it doesn't print So just know that on the the report you get they're all in there, but for some reason when you print. I don't know why Just I had to go through and write in all the eyes in my report How many pages is this? No, oh goodness It's great. You added eyes. Yeah after well as I was reading. Yeah All right, I think that was it for me. Thank you very much Thank you for being here and and I mean we're going to ask you to come back I I think in a couple weeks too. There is a Appreciate you spending all this time with us to to give the board this kind of information for me It was really helpful to be able to Then make meaning of what we're going to see in a couple of weeks to have this foundational understanding So really appreciate the time you put into that to follow up questions Um, yeah, thank you. This is it's a lot to I mean, you know This is a really comprehensive Overview of how things function and I've sat through a lot of Trainings as a fly on the wall and I think that this is really really well done. So thank you for that I'm also, you know, one of the notes that I wrote down and then was glad to see in your presentation is some sort of like parental involvement I think that anytime that there's a change to how things are done. It can create anxiety for people and concerns and I think You know, some of those concerns were brought up by lin You know, it can kind of go either way like our too many kids get qualifying or Using the discretion to qualify too many kids or we're using the discretion to like Deny kids services and I think those concerns are going to be raised by the community And so I think if we can kind of get out ahead of that in some way with And it seems like you're already thinking about that. But yeah, I mean, I think we have to figure out what our teachers are and then yes, absolutely look for opportunities to To to share that with parents Yes, that's and other practices too, right just there are things this year that you know, we've discovered like This is what happened when I was last year for me and it didn't happen this year So I assume that one of these people isn't doing their job right and they're both doing their job right just differently So trying to get more consistency. So there isn't that feeling of you know, I mean, this is your your children, right? It's your most precious thing. So yeah, we want to make sure that parents know that we are there teaming with them And you know, we're going to do what we need to do for their kids Yeah, and thanks for taking the initiative too. It sounds like um developing, you know district-wide procedures and sort of a clarity and transparency around the way that This district interprets and and works with within the law is going to be very helpful. I think Thank you I feel like when any sort of law change happens there's a new initiative It lands in different ways for different people and I'm curious how these changes Maybe some of them are anticipated because it sounds like these have sort of been like way late a year to kind of get ready But um like where is their excitement? Where is there like trepidation? You know in these new maybe neither of those things that exist, but it certainly sounds like it's going to Change your change how you do work, right? So i'm just curious like where there might be excitement or trepidation within the within the special education world and then most importantly i'm curious what your Opinion is where this where these changes are going to benefit students Um So I think that there Some of the things that are exciting Which will be referenced a little bit is with the funding changes with their being more flexible um Funding around special education. There is more opportunity for us to Collaborate in team and really look at how we use all the resources in the school Instead of like this student needs special education services. It has to be the special educator, you know so like opportunities for really looking at what are the skill sets of our professionals and kind of maximizing our What we are getting from them? That sounds terrible, but you know what I mean, um, so I think that Well the kids yes. Well, that's what I mean. Yes um So I think there's exciting opportunity around teaming Mike and I have been doing a lot of work together and jess, although Jess's isn't quite it's more focused on the s al than the academics But Mike and I have been thinking about how we can use our academic resources in a way to really maximize opportunities for kids So I think that's exciting. Um, I think that I'm very excited to have a school psychologist I had one of my last districts and they just have an expertise that Really is crucial and there's a big difference between Contracting with someone who comes in and does testing and gives a report and someone who can be at the meetings Who can consult with the teams after and really help people Understand how kids brains are working or you know, what is the information that they're able to dig in to? I think that the Trepidation I think that people are doing a lot of great work, but not necessarily having documented like I think about classroom teachers there's a lot of documentation Requirements around some of this at those levels that there are they're doing the work But aren't necessarily Documenting it's just built into how they practice and so that part probably is going to feel uncomfortable and take some like getting used to and feeling like They're under a microscope, right? And so I think that that's a hard Place for teachers to work anyone to work, right? If you feel like you're under a microscope and you're everything you're doing is being judged and you have to like that doesn't feel great So, um, I imagine there will be some trepidation there with that Um, I think the functional skills piece is something that's really important I think there's a lot of advocacy from people with children with autism Because there are a number of people with autism who didn't necessarily hit that 15th percentile academically the lowest 15th percentile But that there's a need and so those needs have been Addressed mostly through section 504 and now there will be more opportunities for direct instruction. So I think that that Um and the SEL world as well I think that you know, I think having just this position and really having someone be able to focus on Building up those support systems is huge and crucial for kids. And so I think that That's great So if it seems like this could kind of cast a white like a wider net could be cast by way of of these new laws Are you assessing just sort of like the capacity of our existing special education staff to Field that those potential increases and are we looking at Recommended changes or increases. I just need to hire people. Libby tells me not to stress yet, but we'll stress There aren't a lot of special educators out there. Right. Um So everybody is looking for everyone's look. I know it's not just here. It's everywhere. Um, I think that You know, it's not going to all be in place for next year, but I think there are opportunities kind of looking More long term around specialization. So if there becomes a point where Special educators are hard to find Then do we look at having them do the Like someone specialized in just the case management piece and then we find people that are Math and literacy, you know, like are there there are other ways that we can be flexible to make sure that student needs are getting met. Um, so Thinking about that stuff for sure Right now trying to think about Ways that people can collaborate more and like what are who are the resources that we have right now without you know Trying that first and trying to fill in those empty vacant spots that have been vacant all year And they're well, we're going to have to have some hard conversations around delivery model and And is it working? Is it effective? Or do just the adults like it? and How do we provide the services that we need like case management services And specialized instruction with what we have which is what ladies who is just referencing And there can be some hard conversations most definitely with our staff and leaders around how to make this possible Because we can't conjure up people as an air, you know, like we have we're trying. Yeah We have what we have and we'll continue to just to search and all that kind of thing, but um It's we have what we have so we got to do the most we have with it So there'll be some hard conversations. There'll be conversations around the The co-teaching at union elementary school. Can that continue based on the needs that we see from kids? That's going to be very hard for us to have for both the community and the teachers So but they're just where we are right now And I think the other thing that We're we're looking at and people have been great the leadership team of a team has been great about this is it's not like We've always had this number of special educators of high school. Therefore. That's what has to be here It's like looking at where the numbers of kids right now and where do we need to shift people so that We're not burning out the wonderful people that we have And we've had to make more shifts this year than we ever ever have in my 10 years How do um kids who are english as second language fit into this and And do you provide services for them or does that funding come from somewhere else? So how many kids do we have? We I think we have around 50 something. Yeah They we have three teachers whose focus Is working with those students They don't fall under special education unless they also have a disability But they And there are sometimes where that happens Which is always tricky to tease out, but there's lots of great guidance around that So there are three there are three teachers that have caseloads that work on supporting those students I work with them some is definitely not my area of expertise. They are the experts and tell me what they do Which is great. Um, I think that what we with them again, it's about how do we Many of the things that we could Support classroom teachers with will also be helpful for students that english is a second language for so You know, they're looking for opportunities to also provide Coaching to teachers and you know, they're often they're planning with teachers as well around accessibility From their lens and their angle versus the accessibility based on disability But the funding is totally different I don't actually think there's much funding specific We'll have scott be last and don't forget. We're going to see Peggy sue in a couple weeks So scott will go last and then we'll move on to our next agenda item. Thanks I'm curious. So there's a slide. What does special education look like at mrps? Yeah, um In your opinion When you look at how we provide special education services here What are you like most proud of what what's like really exemplary about special education services at mrps and Where do you think we really need to like where our growth edges where where can we really improve? Um, I think the thing to be most proud of is that every single person I've met Is doing what needs to happen for kids. So super flexible staff super kid focused Really strong special educators. I mean they've been working all year with three less professionals Then they should have in there, you know, three less special educators. So and not one time as someone said to me That's not my job. I'm not going to do it. It's like, all right How we you know, how are we going to figure this out? How are we going to you know, how are we going to make this work? so I think that they the Commitment and dedication to getting kids what they need is huge um I think that as When I think about what could what do we need to do? I think it's that specialization thing It's that next part like and we don't like and most people I'm trying I don't think I can think of anyone who's not interested in growing as a professional So it's really helping people figure out. How are we going to? Target professional development for them so that is increasing Whatever area they're interested in and or we need for the district This year our target our focus has definitely been on these rule changes and you know, unfortunately, that's not necessarily about instructions so You know, there's some exciting instruction coming next year. I know about for reading at union at rocksbury And I think that the conversations. I know I don't think the conversations I've been having with special educators as we kind of wrap up The year is around. So what is your target? What is what is the area? Where are you looking to grow? Instructionally, and I think we could all you know keep growing and learning as new research comes out And I see that it's it's an awesome group of people like I'm really happy to be able to work with them All they're great and I get to see them every week and and it's all about kids It's never about like nope. I can't do one more. I can't like oh another kid moved in like that That is not what I hear. So I think that that's fantastic And we can figure out everything else as long as we have that mindset Thank you, Peggy zoo. You're welcome. Thank you. Thanks again for being here Good night Okay, I'm going to turn it over to our facilities and energy committee for the net zero resolution great. Thanks So before you this evening for the first time is going is the draft I want to say it in full The draft Resolution to set goals for net zero facilities and operations and establish a decarbonization roadmap Um I sent an email to the board last week that just gave a little bit of like a historical Retrospective in some context of you know, how this came to the board Um, which I think originally I'm not sure if it was actually meaq. I'm not kill your energy advisory committee Um who tim favorite is here and he is a member of meaq and he has been Incredibly helpful to the facilities and energy committee in doing this work So thank you publicly for all the time and energy. We appreciate you Um, so meaq has come to the board at least twice during my time Talking about the city of montpellier's goals around achieving that zero by 2030 Meaq had also commissioned a study that was done by the eic The Words behind that back acronym. I cannot recall. Um, however, they did develop an action plan for the city Around achieving that zero the heating systems at ms ms and mhs were named as target, you know, kind of priorities To to hit that 2030 goal We also heard from The montpellier high school earth group in the spring of 2021 I believe it was and they made a direct request to the board to adopt a net zero policy So those in my time have been kind of the primary You know drivers, you know for the board to really kind of take this up and take a look at it and It's taken us a minute to get to this work as I think the Earth group came to the board at the time when the facilities and energy committee had just been created so we've been kind of getting our bearings and Centered this work really in the last six months or so and after Looking at a lot of resources out there and looking at how different school districts really from around the country were taking on net zero You know fossil fuel transitions decarbonization, etc One way that they were kind of starting that work was to Write a resolution that kind of helps define the way forward. It kind of prioritizes the work You know, it sets a plan for what the work is generally going to be Sends a message to our constituents who are clearly very You know, this is a topic of interest We also heard from folks in the thought exchange that was I think in december of 2021 There was an infrastructure thought exchange and we got a lot of feedback from community members That net zero was a priority for them in terms of Yeah, our facilities as a district So We decided to go ahead and write a resolution Knowing that a policy we weren't quite sure how to go about that because net zero is there's a Lot to be done. There's a lot to be considered. It's not simple. It's complex So the purpose of the resolution is to really kind of carve out, you know The the way forward in the next steps for the board while also, you know making mention of just the the context of Science things happening in the city of montpelier and the state of vermont Really in you know in the world in terms of climate change and Climate emergency whatever you might call it. So we really kind of tried to mention those things in our Our preamble all of the where as is of the resolution And within the resolution we get into, you know setting that That goal of net zero facilities and operations by 2030 which You know and kind of teaming up with the the city, you know, what they're considering net zero is really eliminating fossil fuels As a source for heating and transportation And then we talk a bit about hopefully you've all read it You know we talk about the need for kind of a A decarbonization plan like a way in which that we would go about You know doing this doing this work, you know, we've worked closely with andrew La Rosa and getting his feedback and I think something that andrew has asked of us is you know How do I make these decisions? There's many decisions to make in terms of keeping our You know facilities up and running and up to snuff and there's repairs that need to be made How do I go about making a decision and pulling in, you know, the net zero goal piece? Like he's asking for some guidance from us to do that Because there are dollars and cents attached to all of those decisions. So So in this resolution, you know, it really just kind of makes cars the way for us to do that work in developing A framework a roadmap and also kind of like a tool sort of like similar to the equity policy review tool that You know if we have to make if there's a certain decision before, you know facilities You know would would a decision made kind of, you know, check the boxes and be aligned with the net zero goals of the district So that's what we've been talking about creating You know in developing this we also were sure to get feedback from the student earth group from We had comment from sam lash from community vermont regional planning commission. I believe it is and so she's also been very helpful with us and Just giving guidance and also providing the context around funding opportunities. I think We're not talking about things that are Cheap in terms of making changes. So Sam has been helpful to us to let us know kind of what the funding landscape is looking like right now and grant opportunities So that you know, if when it comes to the time that we're talking about making these changes How could they be supported by outside funds that are not taxpayer dollars so And Yeah, we really just wanted to get it before you all tonight to get some feedback and response and direction And we have it on the agenda. I think for next for the next meeting, but then I also saw it on the I think the main meeting with the sustainability student group, which does kind of Dovetail nicely, but For tonight, we just really want to get some initial impressions and feedback on the draft resolution. Thank you Open it up for any Comments or questions I want to give a huge shout out to christin for leading our committee in this work Um, we've done a really amazing job. And it's something that's sort of been You know discussed by the community and by students for a very long time now and to see the type of progress we've been able to make Since you've been sort of at the helm Is really impressive. So thank you so much for your work. And also tim has been really like an honorary Extra committee member attending all the glamour that comes with being a member So really big props to you for that. He's been bringing a lot of expertise to our discussion and helping answer lots of questions And attending every meeting. So it's really huge, you know, he deserves a huge. Thank you for all that work 2030 It's good to be optimistic Well What's the biggest What's the biggest Dollar Punch to the net zero You know, what's the biggest? What's the big one? Or two or three. I mean heating systems And Yes heating systems So For all the schools or I guess rds is heat pumps. That's nice. Yep Yeah, currently, I mean what's was identified in the vei c report The net zero action plan for the city or the oil based heating systems at Montpelier Main Street middle school and then Montpelier high school In the report there was two Strategies, you know that could be looked at there was the idea of Doing some wood boiler systems and then there was also ground source heat pump systems Interestingly, it does seem like there is some backing away from the idea of wood chip Boiler systems just the general kind of discussion and narrative Around them You know folks are walking back from that, you know, is this a sustainable source, you know looking at You know the carbon emissions piece does it really balance out? so It seems like the trend in the sector is definitely like electrification electrification electrification is like a lot of what's You know being talked about so like heat pumps, you know, it's like kind of a new technology So I'm not a professional in this, you know, I'm a I'm a what do we call that? armchair So Yeah, so I think we're all learning and that's also what's in here is that you know in this process that we would have You know a committee that would take it on like to really learn about this so that You know a sensible plan could be made and there has been a lot of discussion of like right like Time moves on so the technology changes over time, you know What worked? You know, however in the years ago. We didn't have seatbelts, you know now we have seatbelts, right? We have their bags so it's the technology keeps changing. So, you know, that's certainly a part of the discussion Because this is you know, would be a financial investment wherever, you know, the money comes from so But 2030 sorry just it was you know, really, um, you know Trying to stay kind of in sync with the city of Montpelio that established a 2030 goal. So that's where that came from And the other big piece it was sort of mostly twofold. It was like heating systems and transportation So our buses being electrified somehow So we'll we'll have to see I mean The inflation act Does that have a time frame because that was a tremendous amount of federal resources that I don't know I don't know but Tim there's a lot of resources because that is what sam has been saying that there's a lot of funding kind of packed inside of that that is um Could be accessible, right? Yeah, there's a lot of money coming out in the next, you know, a couple of years, I believe That that should open up. I like I think you know, Libby and Andrew already found one. Yeah, that's seem promising It'll be others So the committee is looking for any feedback from the board on the Resolution itself to take back to a committee meeting to maybe make some edits. That's right. Great I think another piece to ret's question that I remember hearing Andrew say in the past Is there's also a lot of like if there isn't just like one or two like huge things There's also like a bunch of little things that may not seem as glamorous or as obvious, right? Like replacing light bulbs that are a different way or like repairing something and making it last longer that there are like other Less exciting moves that could be part of that like strategy of windows like yes Yes, exactly. Um And I would say about that. I mean, I I think Andrew's made a ton of strides in those departments Across the district too. I mean, I know there's been huge Lighting retrofits and you know, and I know that a lot of those are showing up in the facilities the annual facilities report but he's kind of separating out and putting like a I forget what he calls it like a green technology section kind of within that so we can sort of see You know where those conservation measures are being built into facilities upgrades to so But yeah conservation, you know, not as glamorous, but you know is also important I just had a few comments which one was The goal is really impressive Strong and ambitious and that that's I think that's great And I think it makes sense because that it's aligned with what the city of Montpelier is doing since Three of our buildings are located in inside of Montpelier Um, I also really appreciate that you have defined what net zero looks like for us because that's often been the question That gets raised when people come to us and say we need you to get to net zero Or we need you to work toward zero, um net zero And for us to be able to say This is what it looks like for us. Even if it's not You know what some other district or some other Entity would define it as I think it has like to to Define it for us gives us the thing to be working toward which is Really really helpful One of the questions that I had while I was reading it that I think is answered at the end was just how We're going to hold ourselves accountable Into what we're doing, but I think one of the resolutions has the You know at least annually we will be monitoring our own progress So I appreciate seeing that and then I also had a question about How it impacts our budget, which I realize is not possible to answer today But I wonder if it's worth working it into The resolution somehow a I don't know just to acknowledge that We don't have all of the money that it would take to pay for these things right now And maybe we never will I don't know like It's that's the that's a tricky part of doing this and Feels like maybe worth including in the resolution somehow to talk about acknowledge the financial piece I think one area that we Address it somewhat and you can you know tell me if if you know if it wants to be more because I get it that that is a That is a glaring reality Right is the cost of which and the fact that our budget relies on tax money and in the second Be it resolved You know we talk about just changes that would be made would you know be made based upon Reasonability within budgetary it mentions that so it doesn't really get Specific beyond that however that that that that is an important variable and any kind of decision making But um, yeah, I've made a note. I'll think about it. Yeah I don't think it says anything about external funding Does it I thought we had put that in there Um I think we had uh in a whereas section The last whereas uh there whereas as of 2023 there are unprecedented federal funding opportunities available for energy infrastructure upgrades um So we we name that the You know the funding environment right now is More flush than usual um But let me um, let me go back through and see external funding I mean, I think that that's Yeah, a pursuit of yeah In terms of where we are now, how do we move forward and take advantage of that funding? You know, I mean because it's not gonna be there forever Yeah Look out and the agency of education with jill big breaks Campbell who's one of our parents You're lucky to have her as one of our parents gives us the heads up as well when the state learns of She works at the agency of education in this world And she gives us a heads up Grants are coming along Yeah, she's awesome And you feel like you're at a point or maybe this is a question for andra I don't know but that if that kind of funding comes up we can jump on it and Andrew's very good at that. So what tim was alluding to was a monster grant opportunity That he we learned about in a meeting and I think grant had a or andrew had a proposal for it Within a week to get out there. So he he's pretty quick like that. Yeah Very We didn't get it however Yes questions or Input you look like you have a thought. I know something's growing I have a question that is related but not specifically to this And so I want to hold it to the end and then maybe pop in Yeah The end of the whole meeting. No the end of this this part of the agenda. I think we're there. Okay. I think we're there. Yeah I am I'm thinking about like the landscape of The role of a board and I'm I'm What like I understand what a policy Is and does but what is a resolution? Yeah, yes We have wondered the same Because I think according to jim like this may be a first Time at least in time Memorial that a resolution has been created by the board so And again, we Kind of looked at literally nationwide, you know different, you know, there was there was more resolutions than there were policies You know adopted by school districts. So I mean my sense is that right like if it's a policy There's going to be compliance reporting. It's you know, it's binding You know, whereas I feel like the resolution is like making a a value statement and and for this the purpose is here really I'm setting a direction for the work, you know and being clearly articulating, you know What these kind of next steps are and how we as a board are going to work to Carry that work forward kind of in response to, you know, community members So I think there probably is a bit of honor system, you know in this and you know that we have a facilities and energy committee And that this, you know, will be on the work plan of that committee to keep it to keep it going forward And that's why we did build in like an annual, you know, again, it's going to be honor system But an annual, you know update for the board, you know, where where we're at and in achieving this goal So I don't know there could just be it's new territory I see it as a first step too. It's like, yeah, this is us, you know committing to To this as a value and to work towards it and then If it doesn't seem like we're on track, then maybe a policy would be in order, you know, eventually seems like a Good guiding principles kind of Merrick Yeah, so I went to an earth group meeting And kind of just gave them an overview on where we were at and in the process And then the draft resolution was provided to them to review They gave us some written feedback and they were also invited to kind of like a reviewer meeting Where folks just around the table kind of shared, you know, their feedback and we had two members Attend that meeting and then I also gave the second Resolution to those folks and I did share it with Tom Sabo Who's the coordinator for the earth group and I just I did it today Which I I meant to get it to him last week. It just got lost in the shuffle But we do have additional time to hear from it's not being, you know, it's not for approval tonight But um, I'll follow up with time again to make sure that for sure they've seen it Sounds like there was yeah Also, the you know, really the origin story of the work that started with the board kind of I mean, I'm sure there were rumblings about it prior to that big earth group presentation But when they when the student group presented to us How many years ago it was March of 2020. I think it was my first meeting I think or seven years ago. So yeah, 2020 when when that presentation happened I feel like that was really the like the impetus to move this work forward more quickly So I I would attribute the momentum around this topic directly to the students that gave that presentation So I think the next step then is to take any feedback and then, you know, we may be coming back to the next meeting for approval So anything between now and then please follow up with us and We'll get it to you in advance of the next meeting Great. Thank you again. Yeah for the great work Okay, so now we're moving on to monitoring two policies the one on budget execution and the one on diversity equity and inclusion And this Requires board action to approve the monitoring reports Have a motion I move to approve the two monitoring reports Thank you. Is there a second? I'll second that All right. Any discussion? I want to Oh, sorry I just want to thank libya again for just Sort of an honest assessment of the diversity equity and inclusion Policy and being willing to say that we have work to do there You know publicly in That capacity, so Thank you And remind us of things we have done Like the yeah, you know support we gave to the statewide waiting Work, you know equitable waiting work. Yeah, and giving very specific detailed Explanation of sort of like where what we've done and what we need to do The work that we're going to be doing. So thank you for that Christine. Did you have something? Yeah, I um in some ways, it was a little bit more of a A question or comment for the board, you know, I mean part of that policy is is a board responsibility um in terms of, you know, asks the board to I think do like an annual review of policies like with an equity lens You know, we haven't done that work in a concerted way. The equity committee did create a Policy review tool, but then didn't actually do kind of a full sweep of all the policies So I was just thinking about that in terms of what pieces does the board need to take on In terms of that piece and then I think We're I we're also responsible for training or We need to do a training for ourselves, right? So and I know we have one coming up, but um So yeah, I was just specifically thinking about the policy review and this is maybe like a question Down the line for the policy committee and kind of where that process is and maybe a question also for the equity committee of how You know doing taking another look at that equity equity policy review tool and thinking about How that could be kind of leveraged in that process that we have not yet Completed or started So I will say that we have been using the equity Tool great and we actually just at our after our last meeting we decided And I know we we spoke of that tool as being sort of a living document That could be changed. So what we're going to try to do for our next round of required policies that ret mentioned there's three of them Is where we transferred that tool into a google form Because we were finding it a little challenging even just like Sort of like little technical formatting issues of like losing the headers while you're typing down below And then having to go back and then So just stuff like that and and so we we put it in we transcribed it into a google form to hopefully Make it more user friendly and we're going to practice Using it and see how that works out. That's fabulous. But we have been using it. I mean, I will say that to do a full Read with that tool of all of our policies would be very very time consuming and we've been You know, we've been doing it as we go So we did it with the library policy and we did it with the five new board policies And we're doing it now with these three. So like we're using it as we go But if we wanted to Make a more concerted effort to go through, you know, all the policies We might need to start spreading the love into other committees For that work But so far I think it's been a helpful tool to start It's a starting a good starting point That makes me wonder if it would be worth tweaking the language in the dei policy a bit to say You use look at every look at every policy that Is up for renewal when went up for renewal or when getting written right through the equity lens because Rather rather than tasking us with gotta look at every single policy annually unless it was like maybe we Asked when you do policy monitoring reports, we there were like three key questions We asked you to answer that word Drawn from that tool or broad isn't actually how we work out. I mean knowledge Yeah, or like something like firearms also right So that's another reason I wonder if it's worth tweaking the language a bit to Maintain the spirit of what is there which makes a lot of sense But not have it be Okay, we're not we haven't looked at every single policy this year. So therefore we're not in compliance with this I think that's a great suggestion The dei policy is one of the policies that's on our list of priority policies to work on and it's something that zack and maric have been working on In their tenure as student reps. So they've been sort of honing in on the curriculum piece of it But I would imagine we're kind of waiting for new guidance from the state On dei and once that comes down, I think we'll be ready to Take another look at our dei policy at which point we could review that piece. No Yeah, the other piece to look at that every year. I'm like, I don't know how to do that is the self identifying factors And how would I report out to the board? data around self ident like lgbtq plus We certainly don't Disaggregate our reading and math data along that identifying factor nor could we so It's just something else. Yeah to think about Any other discussion on these policy monitoring reports? All those in favor of approval? I Any opposed? I think that's it Thanks everybody motion to adjourn So moved Oh, it's a tie. We'll let anna figure out this morning. I got the last one. Uh second Okay, all those in favor