Katy ISD’s board of trustees, in a 4-3 vote on July 28, declined to allow home-schooled students to participate in the district’s extracurricular activities. Recent action by the Texas legislature – SB 401 – now requires districts to opt out of doing so; previously, districts had to opt in to allow home-schooled students to join extracurricular activities. Trustees Mary Ellen Cuzela, Morgan Calhoun and Amy Thieme supported the measure, stating that parents of home-schooled children also pay school taxes and should get something for their money; Cuzela also said that KISD would receive $1750.00 from the state for each home-schooled student participating. However, the three were outvoted by the remainder of the board. Board president Lance Redmon said that the matter could be reconsidered in the future, when the district had more data on the potential number of participating students and when policies and procedures could be developed for their inclusion.

The updated discipline management plan, discussed in the July 21 work-study meeting, was pulled from the consent agenda and debated in lengthy and sometimes contentious discussion. In addition to the new cell phone policy restrictions imposed by HB 1481, two other bills have impacted KISD’s discipline management plan. Senate Bill 326 adds a definition of anti-Semitism and provides for additional training for administrators while HB 6 deals with teacher removal and out-of-school suspension of students, disciplinary alternative education changes and expanded jurisdiction for expulsion. Trustee Morgan Calhoun questioned the definition of anti-Semitism and expressed concern that Christianity and other major world religions were excluded from the policy; she also mentioned concerns about protecting students’ First Amendment rights.

Board Secretary Dawn Champagne asked for stronger protections for students who defend themselves during a physical altercation, noting that students who respond with physical violence receive the same punishment as the initiator of the conflict. Cuzela also pushed for changes to the policy, saying the it was poorly written and unclear. However, Sherri Ashorn, KISD Director of Student Affairs, defended the policy as written, stating that it gives administrators discretion and flexibility when assigning discipline. The policy was upheld in a 4-3 vote, with Cuzela, Thieme and Calhoun dissenting.

Other presentations to the board included a progress report on the “Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow” Student Attendance Incentive Initiative which is designed to increase average daily attendance in the district. State funding to the district is based on an average daily attendance allotment per pupil. Presenters Emily Craig, assistant superintendent of School Leadership and Campus Support, and Jamey Hynds, assistant superintendent of finance, said that the program had resulted in an average of 700 more students in class across the district every day, which has created more than $5 million in revenue

from the state each year since the program began. About $2.75 has been distributed to campuses as incentives. Since many campuses are now at high attendance levels, the program will be modified to focus on maintenance and “keep the momentum going” to maintain those high levels, officials said.

Chief Operating Officer Ted Vierling also shared the results of savings from the district’s utility management strategies, which has resulted in over $4.2 million rebates and credits from CenterPoint and other companies since 2017. “Every dollar we save goes back to the classroom,” Vierling said.

Future meetings of the board will be held:

· Work study meeting, August 18

· Regular board meeting, August 25