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Heads up! We have scanned the upcoming agenda for San Dieguito Union High. We found 10 items that need your immediate attention before the vote.
| HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 10) |
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District to Pay $49,600 for ‘Challenge Day’ SEL Program
The district plans to approve two payments of $24,800 each to Challenge Day LLC, totaling $49,600, for programs at Torrey Pines and La Costa Canyon high schools. These emotionally-charged, day-long sessions often pressure students to share sensitive personal information with peers and staff, bypassing parental guidance and consent.
Recommended Action Plan
PACK THE ROOM: This is a massive expenditure on a controversial SEL program. Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘I demand the Board reject the $49,600 contracts with Challenge Day LLC under Purchase Orders 0000033572 and 0000033573. Our children’s emotional and psychological development belongs to families, not to school-sponsored group therapy sessions.’
💰 Impact: $49,600
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| HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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New ‘Ethnic Studies’ Graduation Requirement Proposed
Under agenda item 11.B, the Board will vote to adopt revised policy BP 6146.1, which adds a mandatory one-semester course in ‘ethnic studies’ to graduate. These courses are often a vehicle for politically-charged, divisive ideologies like Critical Race Theory, replacing history with activism.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Vote NO on adopting the revised BP 6146.1. Parents will not accept a mandatory ‘ethnic studies’ course designed to divide students by race. We demand a focus on core academics, not political indoctrination.’
💰 Impact: Mandatory Activist Curriculum
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| HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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New Policy Could Punish Students for Off-Campus Speech
The Board is set to adopt Policy 5145.2, a new ‘Freedom of Speech’ rule that allows the district to discipline students for their off-campus and online speech. Vague terms like ‘substantially disrupts’ can be used to punish students for expressing religious or conservative views if another student claims to be offended, creating a chilling effect on free expression.
Recommended Action Plan
PROTECT STUDENT RIGHTS: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding Item 11.B, vote NO on adopting Policy 5145.2. This policy is a dangerous overreach that allows the district to police students’ private speech and unconstitutionally punish them for expressing their beliefs.’
💰 Impact: Your Child’s Free Speech
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| HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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School Plans Confirm ‘Social Emotional Learning’ Programming
School Plans for Student Achievement (SPSAs) for Earl Warren Middle School and Canyon Crest Academy, found in the agenda attachments, explicitly detail the implementation of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs. These plans name specific vendors like ‘Wayfinder’ and initiatives like ‘The Student Belonging Project,’ confirming a focus on psychological programming over academics.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Pull Item 8.B from the Consent Agenda. Parents deserve a public discussion on the SEL programs like Wayfinder and the Student Belonging Project embedded in the SPSA documents. We want academic instruction, not emotional engineering.’
💰 Impact: Academics Replaced by SEL
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| NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 7) |
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Undisclosed Vendor Contracts Hidden on Consent Agenda
Item 10.C asks the Board to approve a list of vendor agreements and amendments, but the actual list of vendors and contract details was not included in the public agenda packet. This practice allows the district to approve spending on potentially controversial ideological or SEL-focused consultants without public scrutiny.
Recommended Action Plan
INVESTIGATE: Open the file attached to Item 10.C in the Official Agenda (linked above) to see the list of vendors. If you see a name like Panorama, CASEL, or another SEL provider, email the Board immediately: ‘Pull Item 10.C from the Consent Agenda. The public has a right to know who the district is contracting with and for what purpose before you approve these agreements.’
💰 Impact: Undisclosed
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| NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 6) |
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Multiple School Plans Withheld from Public Review
Item 8.B bundles the approval of School Plans for Student Achievement (SPSAs) for every school, but the agenda packet only includes the plans for two of them. The plans for Sunset, Torrey Pines, SDA, PTMS, OCMS, LCC, and DNO were not provided, preventing parents from seeing if they also contain the extensive SEL/DEI programming found in the two visible plans.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Do not vote on Item 8.B until the SPSA documents for ALL schools are made public for parental review. Approving these plans sight-unseen is a violation of public trust.’
💰 Impact: Hidden School Agendas
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| NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 6) |
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Discipline Policy Shifts to ‘Restorative Justice’
Under Item 11.B, the Board will vote to add ‘restorative justice’ to the district’s official suspension and expulsion policy (BP 5144.1). This approach often reduces consequences for misbehavior and focuses on group discussions and feelings, undermining classroom order and safety.
Recommended Action Plan
OPT-OUT ALERT: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding Item 11.B, I oppose adding ‘restorative justice’ to the discipline policy. We need clear consequences for misbehavior to ensure a safe learning environment, not therapeutic interventions that fail to hold students accountable.’
💰 Impact: Reduced Classroom Safety
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| MONITOR (LEVEL 5) |
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Resolution Endorses ‘Whole Child’ and ‘Mental Health’ Ideology
Item 8.D is a resolution for National School Psychology Week that is filled with ideological buzzwords. It promotes meeting the ‘needs of the whole child,’ providing ‘multi-tiered supports,’ and focusing on students’ ‘social, and emotionally’ health, which are all euphemisms for implementing school-wide SEL and mental health interventions.
Recommended Action Plan
OPT-OUT ALERT: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding Item 8.D, the district’s role is to teach academics, not to be the mental health provider for my child. I oppose the normalization of school-wide psychological interventions disguised as ‘whole child’ support.’
💰 Impact: Normalizing School Psychology
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| ALERT (LEVEL 3) |
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District Adopting More Student Screen Time Software
The district’s purchase card and purchase order reports show spending on ‘Gimkit,’ a student-facing educational software. While the amount is small, it represents an ongoing shift of instructional time from teachers to screens, often without proof that these programs produce real academic gains.
Recommended Action Plan
MONITOR: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding the Gimkit purchases on the financial reports, before any EdTech software is renewed or expanded, please publish the independent, non-vendor-funded evidence that this product produces academic gains and disclose how much daily screen time it adds for students.’
💰 Impact: Increased Screen Time
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✅ Wins to Defend
Good moves worth showing up to support so they stick.
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| Win (LEVEL 6) |
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WIN: District Defends Parental Role in Special Education
In the review of Board Policy 6146.4 (Item 11.B), district staff are recommending the Board REJECT a change from the California School Boards Association that would have weakened the role of the IEP team. The district is fighting to keep language that explicitly states ‘the IEP team for each student with a disability shall determine’ key decisions, protecting the voice of parents who are a critical part of that team.
How to Lock It In
SECURE THE WIN: Show up to thank the Board for defending parental rights in special education. Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Thank you for your recommendation on Item 11.B to preserve the authority of the IEP team in Policy 6146.4. Please adopt this policy as recommended to ensure parents remain key decision-makers in their child’s education.’
✅ Why It Matters: Protecting Parent Voice
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