Menu

Fairfax County Public Schools committee meeting, Aug 20, 2026

1 h 54 min · 0 public speakers

Click any moment below to jump the video to that second. Video length 1 h 54 min.

This board doesn’t post agenda times.

What happened

What happened at this meeting

Governance committee approves 18 policies to go to new business, then consent agenda 1:43:21

  • The committee chair said 105 policies were outstanding because they were out of compliance, out of date or due this year, and that 24 of them were ready for discussion. 3:56
  • Committee members went through the policies one at a time, proposing wording changes and voting to move them toward the consent agenda. 32:25
  • The chair said the remaining six policies would be held to the next meeting and outlined plans for the governance manual and ed tech policies. 1:35:45
  • The chair said the committee looked at 24 policies and approved 18 to go to new business and then to the consent agenda. 1:43:21
Item by item (13)
  1. Opening and approval of minutes 2:18
    • The chair called the meeting to order at 4:32 PM and asked members physically present to vote on confirming the chair's approval of a member's request to attend remotely. 2:37
    • The committee voted on the minutes of the June 16th, 2026 meeting. 3:28
    • The chair said the vote on the minutes was unanimous for all committee members. 3:28
  2. Policies with full committee agreement 3:28
    • The chair listed seven policies with full agreement to move to consent: 1106, 1200, 1301, 1406, 5105, 5501 and 5790. 4:23
    • A speaker read wording stating that the division superintendent shall periodically review the current budget, including statements and analysis of all funds, and present the findings to the school board. 23:25
    • For 5790, the field trip policy, a speaker said that, without objection, the document would state that the division superintendent shall maintain a regulation outlining the required adherence for foreign exchange and overseas study and travel program field trips. 31:40
    • The chair said the vote to move the seven policies with the agreed changes to consent was unanimous for all committee members. 33:01
  3. Flag rules and regulations 33:51
    • A committee member asked to use students instead of pupils in the policy. 36:23
    • The chair said Policy 1354 was added to the previous motion to move to consent without objection. 38:18
  4. Visitors to schools 38:19
    • A committee member asked that visitors go to the main office rather than the principal's office to obtain a pass. 47:15
    • Proposed wording said dignitaries wanting to arrange visits to schools or central FCPS offices should contact the Office of the Division Superintendent. 47:48
    • A speaker said dignitaries would likely not go through the visitor management system but would sign in so the district knows who is in the building. 49:40
  5. Distribution of materials 51:45
    • A committee member said the policy did not refer to electronic communications, including messages sent by PTAs. 53:28
    • A speaker said the district would look at whether digital distribution is addressed in a different policy. 58:19
    • Members raised no objection to renaming the policy distribution of print materials. 58:38
    • The chair said members were all in agreement and Policy 1365 would be moved to the consent agenda. 1:01:24
  6. Accountability for division efficiency 1:01:24
    • Members discussed changing the phrase use of the public trust to use of public resources in the philosophy section. 1:03:03
    • A speaker said the vote to put 14.05 on the consent agenda was unanimous. 1:05:42
  7. Public access to information 1:05:42
    • A committee member asked to remove a definition that is not used in the policy. 1:06:35
    • The chair asked whether to remove a clause about community visibility into the decision-making process from the definition of public session. 1:10:04
    • A speaker said the vote to move 15.01 to consent was unanimous. 1:12:36
  8. Free and reduced-price meals 1:13:38
    • A committee member proposed wording changes to the purpose and responsibilities sections. 1:14:25
    • After a motion to move 5002 to consent, a speaker said the vote was unanimous. 1:15:13
  9. Procurement policies 1:15:20
    • Discussing 5010, a speaker said the policy did not recognize in any way that sole source contracting exists. 1:15:20
    • A speaker said that, without objection, suggested language would be brought back at the next meeting, and a speaker said 5010 would be worked on for new language. 1:18:58
    • A speaker said the vote to move the policy to the consent agenda with that change was unanimous. 1:22:07
  10. Inventory management 1:22:07
    • A committee member asked that the philosophy state that inventory management shall be regularly conducted. 1:23:04
  11. Student personal property 1:24:10
    • A speaker said a new law requires the district to take possession of cell phones used inappropriately in schools. 1:28:40
    • A speaker said that under Virginia case law the school board is immune from liability and individual employees can be held liable. 1:31:45
    • Members discussed changing the title to Responsibilities for Student Personal Property. 1:35:17
    • A speaker said the vote to send the policy to the consent agenda was unanimous. 1:35:41
  12. School stores 1:35:45
    • Members discussed adding a sentence that school stores shall not be in competition with the cafeteria during its open hours. 1:39:28
  13. Future planning for the committee 1:41:47
    • The chair said Policies 1203, 1310, 1375, 1475, 5029 and 5030 remained for the next set. 1:41:47
    • The chair said an outline for governance manual revisions would be brought to the next meeting. 1:44:20
    • The chair said the goal was to have the ed tech policies done by the end of this calendar year, and the meeting adjourned at 6:22. 1:50:11

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

Who spoke

Who spoke

We can’t yet tell who is speaking at this board’s meetings.

Video: posted by the district as “8/20/2026 - FCPS School Board Governance Committee Meeting”