The Coronado Unified School District trustees met for a special board meeting on Friday, Sept. 25. The purpose was to conduct a self-evaluation and discuss board policy in three areas: controversial issues, science instruction, and history/social science instruction.
The trustees gave mostly positive performance reviews on issues relating to effective governance, direction setting, and completion of goals when it comes to supporting student achievement. An area noted for improvement included the reviewing and updating of policies and bylaws.
Trustees also discussed best practices in when it comes to voting “no” on an action item; board policy recommends that any trustee should share the reasoning behind their “no” vote. They also discussed the appropriate way to submit a letter to the editor in local media, which makes it clear that they are speaking as a citizen, and not as a representative of the board.
“It’s a sensitive dance,” said Superintendent Karl Mueller. “We are living and representing a very tight-knit community and we know the many hats that our community members wear…it’s important that we exercise our individual rights as citizens and also understand that we need to be explicit that these views are your own and not representing the board.”
The trustees were also presented with recommended revisions to board policies based on changes in law, education code, and government code. Trustee Fitz Lee suggested his own revisions, saying that we live in a moment where public discourse is polarized and trust in public institutions is under strain.
“Too often classrooms are drawn into the cross currents of cultural battles,” said Lee. “That makes balance not just a preference, but a necessity.”
He said that one way the tension plays out in classrooms is “opt-outs,” where a parent opts the child out of a class or lesson. While opt-outs are a legally-required safeguard (as decided in the Supreme Court Case Mahmoud v. Taylor), in practice Lee says they aren’t optimal for student learning.
He said that’s the spirit behind his suggested revisions.
“When teachers are equipped to frame lessons fairly, present multiple perspectives and invite respectful engagement, fewer parents will feel the need to opt out their children from instruction in the first place,” said Lee.
According to the district, CHS students can and do opt out of certain units or elements of class and are offered an alternative lesson, but it’s not something the district keeps data on. It’s between the parent, student, and the teacher.
Still, Lee said that any opt outs are a sign that something isn’t going so well. He also said that there’s an unintended consequence of opt outs, where a child can be feel isolated or stigmatized.
Trustee Renee Cavanaugh said that, if a parent opts out of something, then it’s a signal that it’s not optimal for that particular parent. She also suggested that students who are opted out of a class could grow and learn from the experience.
“They could learn a valuable life lesson,” she said. “It’s a great way to prepare someone for life.”
Lee suggested a rewrite to the board policy 6142.93 on science instruction, to foster an “environment of inquiry without an ideological basis.” He said that current policy in science includes vague, ideologically-charged language, referencing a line that states, “Philosophical and religious theories that are based, at least in part, on faith and are not subject to scientific test and refutation shall not be discussed during science instruction.”
He said the statement was educationally counterproductive, and silences discussion of scientific topics such of the origins of the universe and string theory, an advanced topic taught in college-level and graduate courses. Later, Lee said that he wasn’t aware of anyone who had opted out of any science lessons within the district.
In board policy 6142.94 on history/social science instruction, Lee said that while he supports the ethnic studies class, he doesn’t think teachers should include books like one being used that contains graphic scenes of violence towards women in the ethnic literature class.
Trustee Scot Youngblood echoed these comments, saying that teachers should be dissuaded from including material that is inflammatory or excessively controversial and suggested adding policy language to that effect.
Mueller said it comes under the umbrella of professional judgement and the curation process as a whole. He said he thinks that teachers would always defer to choosing instructional materials that would not lead a family to opt their child out of instruction.
But he also said, “I think an awareness of an acknowledgment that there are additional sensitivities to take into consideration would be appropriate.”
The board did not take any action regarding the revised policies at the meeting. Mueller suggested revisions would come back to the board at a future meeting for discussion.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting takes place on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 4pm at district offices.
