Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Behavior topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board debates SWIS behavior‑tracking license amid equity and fidelity concerns
Summary
District staff proposed licensing SWIS to aggregate disciplinary referrals and PBIS data at elementary sites and Monrovia High; trustees questioned rollout timing during middle‑school consolidation and asked for a short staff presentation on fidelity, training and disproportionate discipline safeguards.
Monrovia Unified staff asked the board to approve a contract for the School‑Wide Information System (SWIS), a web‑based tool that aggregates office disciplinary referrals, disaggregates data by subgroup and supports PBIS and MTSS planning.
Dr. Tanya Cabeza explained that SWIS is intended to replace disparate Google‑form referrals and provide site teams with dashboards that can instantly disaggregate data by setting, infraction and student group. “It gives those site teams the data that they need to then revise those site interventions,” she said.
Several trustees welcomed centralized data but raised concerns about fidelity, particularly at Clifton as the district consolidates two middle schools. One trustee said mandating a tool before a consolidated PBIS structure is in place would be “cart before the horse.” Another asked how the district will prevent the tool from unintentionally reinforcing disproportionality.
Staff replied SWIS will be rolled out to five elementary schools and Monrovia High initially; middle‑school participation will follow once site teams establish shared expectations. Dr. Cabeza said SWIS provides built‑in disaggregation and dashboards for site teams, but that training, district teams to review patterns, and consistent definitions are required to ensure correct use.
Board member questions focused on whether SWIS is optional or district‑wide and on staff accountability for cross‑site data reviews. Trustees asked staff to return with a brief presentation addressing implementation, training, fidelity, and how disaggregated data will be used to reduce disproportionality.
The board did not finalize a contract at the meeting; staff were directed to provide more information and a short demonstration when the item returns to the agenda.
