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Tuscaloosa County board approves data-privacy agreement, software pilots and apprenticeship partnerships
Summary
The Tuscaloosa County Board of Education unanimously approved agreements Jan. 5 to govern a Reading Horizons data-privacy addendum for a reading software pilot, a no-cost SeeSaw pilot at Big Sandy Elementary, apprenticeship programming at Northside High, a no-cost forklift simulator for career-tech annexes, and a clinical affiliation with Shelton State Community College.
The Tuscaloosa County Board of Education unanimously approved a package of agreements and pilot programs at its Jan. 5, 2026, meeting that the minutes record as intended to expand instructional technology and career-technical opportunities across the district.
The board approved an Exhibit E data-privacy agreement with Reading Horizons to govern a pilot of its reading-instruction software, a measure the Superintendent recommended and that passed on a motion by Mr. Lance Bailey, seconded by Mr. Bill Squires. The minutes record the vote as unanimously approved.
Also approved was a no-cost, one-school pilot of SeeSaw Learning for Big Sandy Elementary. The Superintendent recommended the pilot; Mr. Randy Smalley moved and Mr. Lance Bailey seconded the motion, which the minutes record as unanimously approved. The minutes describe the SeeSaw arrangement as a one-school pilot provided at no cost to the district.
The board approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Skilled Trades of West Alabama to provide apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programming at Northside High School for the spring (second) semester. Mr. Lance Bailey moved the recommendation; Mr. Don Presley seconded, and the motion was approved unanimously.
A separate MOU with the Modern Manufacturing Center of Excellence was approved to provide, install and permit educational use of a forklift training simulator at Hillcrest, Northport and Brookwood Career Tech annexes at no cost to the schools. The Superintendent recommended the MOU; Mr. Randy Smalley moved and Mr. Neal Guy seconded the motion, and the minutes record a unanimous approval.
The board also approved a clinical affiliation agreement between Shelton State Community College and the Tuscaloosa County School System to support clinical placements; Mr. Bill Squires moved the recommendation and Mr. Neal Guy seconded. That motion was recorded as unanimously approved.
The minutes show the board approved consent items A–I and the Certified/Classified portion of the Human Resources report as presented; motions and seconders are recorded for each approval and the minutes record unanimous votes. Kellie Hubbard, Coordinator of Human Resources, presented the HR report to the board.
The actions taken on Jan. 5 are recorded in the meeting minutes as unanimous approvals. The meeting record lists six voting members present and one absent; the minutes note the regular board meeting was called to order at 5:04 p.m. and adjourned after the business of the evening.
Next procedural steps for the approved pilots and partnerships (such as start dates, participating-student counts, or data-privacy implementation details) are not specified in the minutes and would be set by district staff and partners according to the agreements approved by the board.
