Citizen Portal
Sign In

Committee approves HR omnibus to full board; debates legal-counsel language in employee-protections policy

Fairfax County School Board Governance Committee · January 5, 2026

Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts

Subscribe
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Governance committee advanced seven HR-related policies as an omnibus item while sending Policy 44.11 (employee legal counsel/protections) separately after debate about whether the draft's 'shall' language conflicts with Virginia code's permissive 'may.'

The governance committee unanimously approved an omnibus motion on Jan. 6 to send seven HR-related policies to the full board, asking clerks to standardize phrasing to reference the superintendent (or designee) and to confirm compliance with collective-bargaining agreements.

Members cautioned against naming specific department titles in policies so future organizational changes would not require policy rewrites; they instructed clerks to use language such as "superintendent or designee." The omnibus motion excluded Policy 44.11 (Support: Employee Obligations and Rights), which prompted a separate discussion.

Policy 44.11 drew attention because the draft states the board "shall make available legal counsel to advise employees," while counsel noted the Virginia code uses "may" and lists several circumstances in which a board may pay legal fees for employees. Board members debated whether to adopt a narrow 'shall' commitment for specific job‑related assault/battery cases (accepting associated fiscal risk) or to align the policy more closely with the permissive state language. Mr. Foster (legal counsel) read the code language aloud and explained it authorizes — but does not require — boards to pay legal fees in certain circumstances.

After discussion, the committee voted to send Policy 44.11 to the full board for adoption; roll call in committee showed four in favor and one opposed. Members asked staff to prepare background on financial implications if the board chooses broader coverage beyond the narrow circumstances currently enumerated.

Next steps: clerks to standardize HR policy formatting; staff to prepare cost/risk estimates and precise code citations for the legal-counsel provision for the full-board packet.