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Meeting Recap: Strengthening Student Safety and Belonging, Legislative Priorities, Student Device Use, and More (October 8, 2026)
Dear Neighbor,
Last week, the Fairfax County School Board held a forum discussion and work session on Tuesday, October 6 (agenda | video) and a regular meeting on Thursday, October 8 (agenda | video). We discussed and advanced several key priorities.
At the Forum and Work Session, the Board unanimously approved my proposal directing the Superintendent to assess and improve how FCPS prevents and responds to bullying, harassment, discrimination, and bias-based incidents.
At the Regular Meeting, the Board adopted PreK/K device restrictions with limited Lexia use to support early literacy while giving elementary school parents the ability to opt out of using the platform and ST Math. We also approved this year’s legislative priorities and discussed financial planning efforts.
As always, I invite you to learn more about the various topics discussed during these meetings by reviewing the updates below. You are also welcome to attend School Board meetings (schedule) and register to share your thoughts with us during community participation (sign-up).
Karl Frisch
Providence District Representative
Fairfax County School Board
Table of Contents
Forum and Work Session (October 6, 2026)
At last week’s School Board forum and all-day work session, we discussed my proposal to strengthen student safety and belonging and reviewed progress on Strategic Plan Goal 1 in early childhood education and multilingual learner support.
Board Approves Frisch Proposal: Strengthening Student Safety and Belonging
Video | Meeting Materials
Every student deserves to feel safe, valued, and included at school, regardless of their race, religion, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or background. I’m grateful that the Board unanimously approved my proposal directing the Superintendent to complete, by June 30, 2027, a comprehensive assessment of how the school division prevents and responds to bullying, harassment, discrimination, and bias-based incidents. The review will examine our policies, reporting procedures, investigations, student supports, and accountability measures to ensure every school handles concerns fairly, consistently, and transparently. It will also examine how FCPS identifies patterns of discrimination and addresses repeated incidents, and identify ways to strengthen prevention, improve communication with families, enhance staff training, and ensure students get the support they need when incidents occur.
Motion: Frisch Second: McDaniel / Vote: Yes 9, Absent 3
Work Session: Strategic Goal Report 1: Strong Start Pre-K–12 Discussion
Video | Meeting Materials
The Board received and discussed the annual progress report on Goal 1 of the school division’s 2023–2030 Strategic Plan, Strong Start: Pre-K–12, which showed significant gains in early childhood education and multilingual learner support. In 2025–26, 83% of kindergarteners entered with preschool experience, up nine percentage points from the baseline, and they were nearly twice as likely to meet readiness benchmarks as peers without it (71% vs. 36%). Since 2022–23, FCPS has invested $6.1 million to add more than 600 full-day preschool slots and expand inclusive classrooms for students with disabilities. Of roughly 35,000 multilingual learners, 60% met state English language development progress standards, up 15 points, and 17% reached proficiency and exited services, up 10 points. FCPS will continue prioritizing high-quality, inclusive preschool, targeted English instruction, and academic support so every student has a strong foundation to succeed. In my comments, I discussed the need to deepen our work with independent preschool providers to ensure all early learners have quality access.
Regular Meeting (October 8, 2026)
Pre-K/K Device Use and Lexia / ST Math Elementary Opt-Out
Video | Meeting Materials
The Board approved the Superintendent’s recommendation to allow limited Lexia use during the 2026–27 school year for kindergarteners who need additional reading support. Under Virginia’s Early Intervention Reading Initiative, K–3 students who score in the high-risk range on the state literacy screening must receive 150 minutes of reading intervention each week, which FCPS has historically met through a mix of teacher-led instruction and Lexia. The approved exception to the Board’s kindergarten technology restrictions, recommended by the Educational Technology Review Committee, allows eligible kindergarteners to use Lexia for up to 75 minutes per week, keeps existing exceptions for students with IEPs, 504 plans, translation needs, or multilingual education support, and lets families opt out. In 2025–26, about 30.6% of FCPS kindergarteners required reading intervention, with some schools having greater needs. The Board also directed the Superintendent to develop a process for families to opt elementary students out of ST Math and Lexia, with instructional alternatives provided.
Device Motion: S. Anderson Second: Frisch / Vote: Yes 8, No 4
Opt-Out Motion: S. Anderson Second: Dannan / Vote: Yes 8, No 2, Abstain 2
Board Orders Independent Review of Lexia and Elementary Learning Apps
Video | Meeting Materials
The Board approved two motions directing the Superintendent to evaluate the cost and instructional effectiveness of digital learning tools used in FCPS classrooms. The first calls for an expedited review of Lexia, including independent research not funded by the vendor, comparisons with other ways of meeting Virginia’s Early Intervention Reading Initiative requirements, and identification of alternative reading resources backed by independent research and approved by the Virginia Department of Education or otherwise available to FCPS. The second directs a broader review of the core instructional applications and software widely used in elementary classrooms, drawing on independent research where practicable and comparing them with non-digital approaches. Together, these reviews will help the Board make informed decisions about educational technology, use taxpayer dollars responsibly, and identify the approaches that best support student learning.
Lexia Motion: Dunne Second: McElveen / Vote: Yes 8, No 4
Broader Review Motion: Dunne Second: McElveen / Vote: Yes 8, No 4
School Board Approves State and Federal Legislative Priorities
Video | Meeting Materials
The Board adopted its 2027 State and Federal Legislative Priority Positions, which call for stronger investment in public education and protection of local school board authority. At the state level, the priorities seek a more equitable funding formula that reflects Northern Virginia’s higher cost of living, improvements to testing and accountability, expanded college and workforce readiness, universal state-funded pre-K, broader access to free school meals, and more funding for school construction, noting that state funding covers just 27.4% of the FCPS operating budget. At the federal level, the Board urges Congress to meet its commitment to fund 40% of special education costs (federal IDEA funding now covers less than 8%, and full funding would bring FCPS an estimated $165.4 million more), protect Head Start standards, restore universal school meals, fully fund Impact Aid, sustain key programs such as Title I, Title III, E-Rate, Perkins CTE, and Medicaid reimbursement, and reduce workforce disruptions from Temporary Protected Status expirations that could affect 840 FCPS employees by 2030.
State Motion: R. Anderson Second: McElveen / Vote: Yes 11, Not Present 1
Federal Motion: R. Anderson Second: McElveen / Vote: Yes 11, Not Present 1
Superintendent Performance Review
The School Board evaluates the Superintendent's overall success based on the school division’s reasonable progress toward achieving the 2023-30 Strategic Plan goals and adherence to the 13 Executive Limitations outlined in the Board’s Strategic Governance Manual. The Superintendent provides the Board with annual monitoring reports for each Executive Limitation, and the Board then votes on whether the provided reports comply with the Executive Limitation. If the report finds noncompliance, the Superintendent provides a corrective action memo addressing the Board’s concerns.
Executive Limitation 5: Financial Planning
Video | Meeting Materials
The Board received the Superintendent’s monitoring report on Executive Limitation 5: Financial Planning, which requires FCPS to maintain a transparent, data-driven, multiyear financial plan aligned with its Strategic Plan. Despite a challenging budget environment, the FY 2027 Approved Budget fully funded collective bargaining agreements for teachers and staff, continues investments in academics, athletics, and the arts, and maintains additional family liaison positions. The report also highlighted efforts to improve efficiency and transparency, including cost savings identified through the Baldrige Excellence Framework that protect essential services and contributed to FCPS earning the 2026 Gold Award for Achievement of Excellence, as well as national recognition for its budget presentation and financial reporting. Following discussion, the Board found the report in compliance with Executive Limitation 5.
Motion: St John-Cunning Second: Dixit / Vote: Yes 8, No 2, Abstain 1, Not Present 1
Report: Strong Start to the 2026–27 School Year
Video | Meeting Materials
The Superintendent updated the Board on the strong opening to the 2026-27 school year. FCPS filled 99.7% of positions critical to opening schools, its highest staffing rate in three years, and 94% of nearly 6,000 bus routes arrived on time on the first day. Nearly 85% of eighth graders are now enrolled in Algebra 1 or higher, up from 58.6% in 2022–23, and students receiving high-impact tutoring gained an average of 19 points in reading and 11 in math, compared with four points for peers without it. The Class of 2026 earned $192 million in scholarships, with 8,700 students taking dual enrollment courses and 5,300 completing CTE programs. Other highlights included new secondary math textbooks, expanded water safety education, a new public library partnership for second graders, completed capital projects at four schools, including Providence District’s Mosaic Elementary, and the 2026 Gold Award for Achievement of Excellence from The Partnership for Excellence.
As part of the presentation, the Superintendent shared the following video with the Board:
Proclamation: Indigenous Peoples' Day & Native American Heritage Month
Video | Meeting Materials
The Board proclaimed October 12, 2026, as Indigenous Peoples’ Day and November 2026 as Native American Heritage Month, honoring the history, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous peoples. The proclamation recognized Virginia’s eleven state-recognized tribes and the Dogue, Manahoac, and Pamunkey peoples, among others, who originally stewarded the land that is now Fairfax County.
Motion: Frisch Second: Moon / Vote: Yes 12, No 0
Proclamation: Hispanic Heritage Month
Video | Meeting Materials
The Board proclaimed September 15 through October 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring the histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities. The proclamation highlighted the 2026 national theme, “Unidos, Somos Más. Together, We Are More,” celebrating Hispanic American | 