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East Penn School District board meeting, Sep 28, 2026

53 min · 0 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 53 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
  7. Shonta E. FordPresident
What happened

What happened at this meeting

East Penn board holds first reading of several new and updated policies 12:53

  • The board heard a first reading of several policies, one new and several updated, including a new policy on virtual attendance and wellness checks. 12:53
  • Board members asked about pilot program language, the staff workload from wellness checks and testing for PFAS in drinking water. 15:50

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Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and approval of minutes 0:03
    • The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, and there were no requests for public comment. 0:03
    • A district staff member clarified the record of the September 14th, 2026 meeting, saying a resolution on increased state funding was on the April 27th, 2026 agenda and that the board approved an action item on it on May 11th, 2026. 0:48
    • The roll call vote on the minutes ended with 8 ayes. 3:10
  2. District update and recognitions 3:11
    • A district staff member said the East Penn Education Foundation recognized 5 Employee of the Year finalists and announced the 2026 Employee of the Year, the principal of Emmaus High School. 3:20
    • The staff member said the registration deadline for winter sports is October 20th. 6:51
    • Joshua A. Levinson said the employee tailgate was very well attended. 7:32
  3. Educational conferences 8:02
    • Timothy Kelly asked to hear what guidance counselors presenting at a conference would present about. 9:24
    • A staff member asked whether that could be when they return. ~9:46
  4. Personnel agenda 10:14
    • A clerical error in Section 3 of the personnel agenda was noted, with one effective start date changed to October 28th, 2026 from September 29th. 10:14
  5. Contracts and use of district facilities 11:19
    • Items 6A, contracts and agreements, and 6B, use of district facilities, were taken together in a voice vote. 11:19
    • The record showed no opposition on the voice vote. ~11:42
  6. Academic standards and curriculum policies 12:42
    • William Whitney asked for an overview of the social media literacy curriculum, and a staff member said it would be embedded in middle and high school health and physical education classes. 13:49
    • One board member asked whether the objectives and evaluation of pilot programs could be made clear before the pilots run. 15:50
    • A staff member said that was existing policy language and that such specifics are typically in administrative procedures rather than board policy. 16:40
  7. Virtual attendance and wellness checks policy 22:08
    • A staff member said the new policy, required by the PA School Code, calls for weekly wellness checks for students in the district's virtual program and that the process is already in place. 22:08
    • Joshua A. Levinson asked what could make the requirement difficult, and a staff member said an increase in students not logging on could burden staff. 22:57
    • William Whitney asked about students in cyber charters, and a staff member said those schools are responsible for them. 27:02
  8. Health, wellness, facilities and calendar policies 29:13
    • One board member said the policy should specify that menstrual cycles will not be tracked, and another board member said it is not required under the law and not necessary in the policy. 30:05
    • Gabrielle Klotz asked about PFAS testing, and a staff member said that testing is the borough's responsibility. 33:48
    • A staff member said the updated calendar policy requires the board to discuss remote learning days before finalizing the school calendar. 35:01
  9. Career and technical school report 36:25
    • Joshua A. Levinson said the LCTI JOC met on September 24th, 2026 and that LCTI was given a clean opinion on its audit. 37:01
    • Joshua A. Levinson said East Penn will again have 4 of the 21 JOC seats. 38:49
    • Timothy Kelly asked about the decline in drop requests, and Joshua A. Levinson said LCTI improved its process for placing students in their top choices. 42:55
  10. Intermediate unit report 43:47
    • William Whitney said the deaf and hard of hearing program served 153 students last school year, 26 of them from East Penn. 43:52
    • William Whitney said the CLIU board voted to decommission 12 vehicles and to approve a new full-time outpatient therapist position. 48:12
    • Timothy Kelly asked whether the district offers American Sign Language, and a staff member said it is a world language option for high school students. 50:00
  11. Announcements and adjournment 51:22
    • Executive sessions were held on September 22nd, 2026 at 5:30 PM for personnel and on September 28th at 7:15 PM for items of confidentiality. 51:22
    • The next regular board meeting is set for Monday, October 12th, 2026 at 7:30 PM. 52:10

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “EPSD Board Meeting - September 28, 2026”