The Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) Board of Education held a Special Meeting on August 15, 2023. The meeting was called to order at 5:06 p.m. by Board President Kathy Gebhardt. Board members present were: President Gebhardt, Treasurer Nicole Rajpal, and members Richard Garcia, Beth Niznik, Kitty Sargent, and Stacey Zis.

Also attending to present to the Board and respond to questions from the Board during this special meeting were Legal Counsel Kathleen Sullivan, Director of Academic Services Lynn Gershman, Post-Secondary Success Coordinator Nettie Welk, and Superintendent Dr. Rob Anderson.

This meeting focused on Policy IKF: Graduation Requirements. The Board requested a review of the district’s graduation policy. The last time BVSD made changes to their graduation requirements was in 2017.

Colorado state law requirements say that students must receive an Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP). In BVSD this starts in sixth grade. The State also says that students must satisfy Colorado Academic Standards in all content areas as well as Civics and Genocide & Holocaust Studies. BVSD is still developing material to embed these topics into middle and high school curriculum. The State also says that students must demonstrate readiness for college and career through performance measures on reading, writing, and communicating, and one measure in math.

Dr. Anderson commented that he believes his team and the Board are looking for “rigorous requirements with flexibility.”

The Board had a lengthy discussion about math graduation requirements and what options students can have.

Board President Gebhardt commented about students taking online courses and that these courses need to count toward a student’s graduation credits. Gebhardt specifically mentioned Nederland High School during this comment

IKF Policy revision may impact the following: FTE allocations, transportation, bell schedules, curriculums and pathways, budget, physical space, and student schedules and plans.

This is a long process and will take the Board and the BVSD community some time to examine. This year will be spent gathering feedback on IKF and looking at potential changes.

The second agenda item was the proposed Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) resolutions. The Board discussed language for the proposed resolutions.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:25 p.m.

To read more details of BVSD Board of Education meetings you can view the meeting agendas at https://go.boarddocs.com/co/bvsd/Board.nsf/Public. Board meetings are livestreamed and can be viewed at BV22. The direct link is https://bv22.viebit.com/player_ live. php?hash=0622f51b-2efa-4f4c-8424- 8c23ee51b653. The BVSD Board of Education meetings are held 6500 East Arapahoe Road, Boulder, Colorado. The Board meets every second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 6 p.m.

The Board will be holding a Regular Meeting on September 12, 2023, at 6 p.m.