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Board approves Priority 4 edits after Equity Task Force rewrites goals on discipline, attendance and family engagement
Summary
After a year of work by an Equity Task Force, the board approved amendments to Priority 4 of the district strategic plan to reduce out-of-school suspensions, lower chronic absenteeism and expand family engagement and school-based mental-health work.
The Orange County Schools Board of Education voted to approve amendments to Priority 4 of the district strategic plan after staff and community members presented a rewrite developed with the Equity Task Force. The changes revise goals and action steps on disproportionality in discipline, chronic absenteeism, family engagement and school-based mental health.
Dr. Lanier and members of the Equity Task Force told the board the effort combined an equity lens, data analysis and community feedback gathered over multiple working sessions. Dr. Lanier reviewed Policy Code 1030, "Equity in Education," and explained the task force used that policy as part of its framework. He described three decision lenses—equity, data, and community—that guided revisions to Priority 4.
The nut graf: the revised priority sets measurable district targets (including a proposal to reduce out-of-school suspensions by 10% annually across subgroups and to lower chronic absenteeism from 21.83% to 19% by June 2026) and adds action steps on professional learning, restorative practices and expanded family engagement and translation services. The board approved the edits by voice vote.
Key proposals include: amending Goal 1 (discipline) to reduce out-of-school suspensions across subgroups by 10% annually and to institutionalize restorative practices and objective criteria for office referrals; revising Goal 2 (attendance) to lower district chronic absenteeism from 21.83% to 19% by June 2026 and to expand Panorama survey questions about sense of belonging; and updating Goal 3 (family engagement) to implement ongoing, multilingual engagement methods and a new "school champion" parent network.
District staff presented supporting data. Dr. Jessica Dreyer summarized attendance and Panorama survey results: participation increased from fall to spring, but some measures (sense of belonging, teacher-student relationships and positive feelings) showed small decreases that the district identified as areas to address. Daniel Kearns Pickett, the district mental-health coordinator, reported expansion of school-based mental-health contracts to multiple agencies and a virtual option (Gaggle Therapy). Pickett said the district had 193 school-based mental-health referrals this year, 135 students seen and seven students on wait lists as of May 6, 2025; he noted Piedmont Health operates a full-time on-site therapist at Eflin Cheeks and that one agency (Upward Change) plans not to renew next year.
Several board members and task force participants stressed the importance of measuring family engagement outcomes and of increasing parent access to the parent portal and other communication tools. Board members asked for follow-up materials showing progress and implementation timelines; staff agreed to provide implementation timetables and additional reports.
A formal motion to approve the edits to Priority 4 (the presentation described them as "Goal 1/2/3" action-step amendments) passed by voice vote. The board did not adopt new binding policies in this meeting; it approved the revised strategic-plan language and directed staff to implement the stated action steps and to return with follow-up reports.
