The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education discussed its technology and transportation policies at its Monday Committee of the Whole meeting.
The board also approved its meeting calendar for the 2025-26 school year. Committee of the Whole meetings will begin at 5 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m. Regular meetings will continue to start at 6 p.m. The first meeting of the year is on Aug. 4.
Here’s what else to know from Monday’s meeting.
Board discusses student technology use
The district is set to ban YouTube access on district devices starting on the first day of summer, Executive Director of Technology Elena Cáceres said.
She said that work on the district’s technology use has been ongoing. Most recently, the board approved artificial intelligence guidelines in January.
Cáceres said over the summer, the Instructional Technology Team will partner with teachers to review all student apps for necessity to the curriculum. The team will also develop a cell phone use policy for the middle school level.
Starting next year, indoor recess will be a technology-free environment, Cáceres said.
The district will also evaluate technology use during free time and lunch periods over the summer, according to Stacy Beardsley, assistant superintendent of performance management and accountability.
For families who want to be more involved with their students’ technology use at home, Cáceres said they can use Securly Home to get usage reports and place limits on what websites their students can access.
Board member Mya Wilkins stressed the importance of implementing technology strategically in educational settings.
“You need to understand technology in our society because it is a tool, it is prevalent and because even from a job preparation perspective, being able to understand certain elements of technology early is important,” Wilkins said.
Transportation Department introduces policy revisions
District 65 transportation costs came in $1.1 million under budget for fiscal year 2025.
The district is required to provide transportation for students who live over 1.5 miles away from their neighborhood school, have transportation listed in their individualized education programs, are in foster care or are experiencing homelessness.
For the general education population, however, the district can choose how it offers transportation. Currently, transportation is offered at the K-5 level aside from one route going to Chute Middle School.
Adding any other bus routes will cost $80,000 each. Each school has at least two nearby crossing guards. Crossing guard spending is about $400,000 per year and is expected to increase to about $700,000 per year by fiscal year 2027.
For some routes, such as those serving students who live within 1.5 miles of their school, the district can impose a fee.
Wilkins said having a timeline to make decisions after the Structural Deficit Reduction Plan is complete would be beneficial in case the makeup of schools changes.
District staff present new professional training model for 2026-27 school year
As part of the collective bargaining agreement between the District 65 Educators’ Council and the district, the Staff Development Committee looked at altering the district’s professional development schedule.
Currently, educators participate in professional development on monthly Wednesday half days and biweekly Thursday staff meetings.
The new proposal would change this to be a weekly Monday early release of 40 minutes. This would limit the amount of time teachers have to stay after school to participate in a 75 minute professional development event.
The new schedule would take place at elementary, middle and magnet schools.
Park School, which supports students with disabilities, and the Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center would have four or five full days off throughout the year, aligning with other district meetings.
The committee is still determining the best model for Rice Children’s Center, which serves students with learning and behavioral challenges.
Beardsley said the committee consulted with Youth and Opportunity United and the McGaw YMCA, and both could adapt their child care programming with the district’s calendar changes.
The proposal comes as teachers didn’t feel like the current model was the most productive use of time, Jerry Michel, a Chute instructional coach said.
“It really was thinking about professional learning and making it meaningful and making that time as powerful as possible,” Michel said.
Any changes the board, administration and DEC approves will be implemented for the 2026-27 school year.
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