Laguna Beach School Board Governance Committee Meeting- October 20, 2026

October 20, 2026

Executive Summary

- The committee deferred Board Policy 4000 (Concepts and Roles) to a subcommittee comprised of Superintendent Dr. Don Austin, teacher Mr. Todd (identified as Dr. Todd or Jonathan), Board Member Howard Hill, and a union/staff representative to address concerns that the policy inappropriately mixes philosophical language about employee empowerment with transactional provisions about hiring and collective bargaining procedures, with the subcommittee to report back at the next committee meeting. - Student Board Members Logan and Samia Sultan presented a petition with 84 signatures (exceeding the required 80) seeking formal recognition of student board representatives under California Education Code Section 35012, marking the first documented petition in district history after at least two years of questions about compliance; the petition will be agendized for board resolution on November 12th, 2026. - The committee approved Board Policy 0410 (Non-Discrimination in District Programs and Activities) and moved it forward to the full board after making specific edits including changing 'may only be collected' to 'shall not be collected except' regarding immigration status information; decl

Key Decisions

- Approved Board Policy 0410 (Non-Discrimination in District Programs and Activities) with amendments including changing 'may only be collected' to 'shall not be collected except' regarding immigration status information and correcting grammar errors; declined to add political ideology as a protected category. Approved to move forward to the full board. - Approved Board Policy 1312.2 (Uniform Complaint Procedure) to move forward to the full board without substantive changes. - Approved Board Policy 1312.3 (Complaints Concerning Instructional Materials) to move forward to the full board after d