The Santee School District Board of Education met at 6 p.m. April 18, 2023. Meeting highlights included:
Reports and Presentations
- The Board recognized Andrew Lawson, a student at Carlton Hills, for his work in creating the Mental Mentor Program. This program offers peer mentorship for students with special needs that are struggling socially or behaviorally in school.
- Evonn Avila, Executive Assistant for Business Services, was recognized for her 27 years of service to the District. Ms. Avila is retiring this month as the longest current serving manager. The Board and District leadership thanked her for her service and celebrated her many contributions to the district over the years.
Discussion and Action Items
- The Board approved the agreement with Frantz Law Group to list the district as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against social medial companies. Frantz Law Group has commenced litigation on behalf of public entities, such as school districts, against Meta, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube as well as other social media companies. This lawsuit alleges that these companies have caused a mental health crisis among children and teenagers that is marked by higher proportions of anxiety, depression, and thoughts of self-harm, all of which severely affect their ability to succeed in school.
- The Board approved the annual Declaration of Need for Fully Qualified Educators. In the past, requests for emergency certification required individual statements of need which were signed by the Superintendent and approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Effective July 1, 1994, legislation altered the method by which districts declare the need for utilization of individuals on emergency certification. By submitting an annual declaration, the District is certifying that a diligent search to recruit a fully prepared teacher for the assignment(s) was made, and that if a suitable fully prepared teacher is not available to the school district, the District will make a reasonable effort to recruit based on the priority requirements stated in the declaration.
Board Policies and Bylaws
- First reading for:
- BP 6142.6 – Visual and Performing Arts Education: Policy updated to reflect revised content standards for visual and performing arts, including media arts, adopted by the State Board of Education. Policy incorporates the philosophical foundation, lifelong goals, and artistic processes upon which the state standards are based.
- BP 6142.7 Physical Education: Policy updated to add statement on equal access and equal opportunities for participation in physical education regardless of gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, and mental or physical disability, as included in CDE's Federal Program Monitoring instrument. Policy also reflects U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendations for moderate to vigorous physical activity in children and clarifies credential requirements for teachers of physical education.
- The following policies/bylaws were adopted:
- BP 6120 – Response to Instruction and Intervention Policy: updated to emphasize the importance of learning and behavioral outcomes and progress monitoring as it relates to response to instruction and intervention (RtI2), reference multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) and the integration of RtI2 into such frameworks, expand the list of individuals that may be included in designing the district's RtI2 system, add the examination of student social-emotional well-being as one of the bases for design, provide more detail regarding strategies and interventions including ten core components of the RtI2 model identified by the California Department of Education, and that RtI2 may be utilized as one component when considering the referral of a student for evaluation for special education or other services.
- BP 6142.5 Environment Education: policy updated to reflect law which required that the state-adopted environmental principles and concepts be integrated into content standards, curriculum frameworks, and textbook criteria. Policy also reflects legislative intent that governing boards undertake specified actions to promote instruction in environmental literacy, including by embedding environmental literacy in the local priorities addressed in the district's local control and accountability plan, collaborating with other agencies to enhance the environmental curriculum, providing professional development in environmental literacy, and ensuring equity in the provision of environment-based learning opportunities.
The next meeting of the Santee School District Board of Education will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, 2023, in the Educational Resource Center, 9619 Cuyamaca, Santee.
Note: These are not official meeting minutes of the Board of Education but rather a brief recap of the Board’s actions. For official meeting minutes and a complete list of actions taken, visit bit.ly/3gejSgf.