School board approves consent agenda and May VSBA policy updates; adopts 2025-26 meeting schedule

Charlottesville City Schools’ board voted to approve the consent agenda, adopt the May 2025 Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) policy updates for the 2025–26 packet and approve the 2025–26 school board meeting schedule during the meeting.

Board members moved and seconded the consent agenda; the board approved the motion by voice vote. Later in the meeting, the board voted in favor of accepting the May 2025 VSBA policy updates as presented for inclusion in the 2025–26 policy packet. The board also approved the 2025–26 school board meeting schedule after discussion about adjusting dates for some religious and cultural observances.

During the consent-agenda discussion a board member asked for clarification about state testing for homeschooled students. A district staff member said students who are homeschooled and students with religious exemptions are not required to take Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. The staff member added that, under state code and local practice, families who homeschool must submit the curriculum they will use and must show that the student is making academic progress at grade level each year; many families use third-party curricula or boxed programs that provide assessments and grades.

Board members discussed the meeting calendar adjustments that were proposed to accommodate identified community events and holidays. Speakers who worked on the calendar said the district consulted leaders within affected communities, including representatives of Muslim and Lunar New Year communities, before making specific date changes. Members acknowledged the difficulty of covering every religious or cultural observance and emphasized the need for cultural sensitivity when adjusting dates.

On policy updates, staff said redline edits in the VSBA templates had displayed formatting issues in an earlier packet but that the content had been reviewed and corrected in the materials before the vote. The board took no immediate action on a separate substitute-teacher policy (GCG/GCE) that was noted for further review and will consider several revised policies at the board’s September meeting.

Ending: The board approved the listed motions by voice vote; staff said the district will post the updated policies and the draft SRO MOU (discussed separately) for community review and will continue public engagement leading into the September meeting when additional policy actions are scheduled.