October 13, 2026 — Board of Education Meeting Recap 📋

The preview for this meeting expected the library and controversial-issues policies to be the main event. Instead, they were adopted in about two minutes with no board discussion. The evening's real debate concerned an AP Psychology textbook that had never been formally approved by the board.

No official minutes for this meeting are in the archive yet. This recap is drawn from the agenda and the automated transcript. Under this archive's rules, statements and votes from this meeting are not attributed to named individuals.

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🧠 AP Psychology: a "discussion only" item becomes the main event

The agenda listed a report on how AP Psychology materials are selected, with no vote scheduled 8. It produced the longest discussion of the night.

What staff explained 28:

• The 2014 approval. The board approved the second edition of the Myers AP Psychology text in 2014, and it is used at Redlands High, REV and Citrus Valley.
• Why Citrus Valley switched. The Citrus Valley teacher concluded after AP training that the fourth edition was better aligned to the exam.
• How it was paid for. The school bought a class set with site funds in September 2025.
• Results and enrollment. The school reported AP pass rates of 86% in 2026. Enrollment grew to about 47 students, which required buying more books.
• What is new in the content. The fourth edition has a unit on gender identity, with modules not found in the second edition.

Staff also acknowledged that several books used in AP classes have never come to the board for approval 29.

Where the board disagreed:

• Process concerns. One board member said the textbook was never adopted through board approval and a public hearing. That member framed the choice as reverting to the 2014 edition or bringing the new one forward for formal adoption 29.
• The "supplemental" label. The same concern resurfaced over how the book had been described. One board member said the board was first told it was supplemental and argued "It's not the proper way to sneak it in as a supplemental." 30.
• The pushback. Another board member responded: "I don't think it's a fair assessment to say that it was snuck in" 30.
• Staff's explanation. Staff said the book had been bought "through the process of supplemental, and it just got lost in translation." 33.
• Outdated policies. A board member described the relevant policies as decades old and vague. That member stressed the board's oversight role over curriculum 30.

Where it landed 🧭

• No formal vote this year. A proposal to put the textbook to an adoption vote at the next meeting was raised 31. It gave way to a compromise: the class finishes the year with the fourth edition, and families receive an opt-in notice describing how it differs from the approved edition 3234.
• No opt-outs so far. Staff noted that "nobody opted out of that section" among last year's 23 students, and none of this year's students have either 32.
• Next year requires adoption. One board member said continued use next year would require formal adoption 32.
• Policy revisions coming. The board will revisit how textbooks get adopted. Policies 6141, 6161.1 and 6179 were named, and the presiding officer concluded: "So we're going to bring that policy back for discussion." 3334. Staff offered to draft language 34.

Background. The issue reached the board through public comment on September 8. A speaker then objected to the fourth edition's modules on sexual orientation, gender identity and biological sex 56.

Public comment 🎤 The textbook drew most of the six agendized speakers 17:

• The science. Speakers argued that gender identity and sexual orientation are established subjects in psychology 1819.
• Who sets AP content. One speaker argued that AP content is set by the College Board, not districts, and referenced Florida's earlier dispute over the course 21.
• A former student. A former AP Psychology student said the course led them to a psychology degree and a master's in counseling 20.
• Access to the book. A parent noted that, unlike library novels, "students cannot purchase this textbook on their own or borrow it from the public libraries." 23.
• Personal attacks. Some commenters went beyond the merits. One speaker used insults against a trustee during agendized comment, then returned during open comment to call the trustee a Nazi 2135.

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📚 BP 6144 and AR 6163.1: adopted with no discussion

The two policies flagged in the preview passed quickly:

• BP 6144 (Controversial Issues). The presiding officer asked "Any discussion? No? Okay. We'll call the vote." and the motion carried 26.
• AR 6163.1 (Library Media Centers). The regulation followed immediately, also with no board discussion, and the motion carried 26.
• No minutes yet. The archive does not include minutes recording the vote.

What was adopted. According to the agenda:

• BP 6144 addresses balanced instruction and teacher neutrality, and adds language on library access to materials about U.S. history, government and civic institutions 7.
• The library language. The first-reading text said school libraries "shall provide access to age-appropriate materials and a balanced selection of library content." 73.
• AR 6163.1 sets district guidance for keeping a balanced selection of library materials, including politically controversial materials 7.

Earlier steps. The substantive changes happened at the September 22 first reading:

• The purchase requirement. The board struck a requirement that opposing-viewpoint books "shall be purchased." It substituted a "concerted effort" toward balanced selection 68.
• Teachers' concerns. At that meeting, the RTA president warned that BP 6144's vague language could discourage educators from addressing controversial topics 72.
• August discussion. BP 6144 had been an August 11 discussion item 62. The Redlands Daily Facts covered that round, noting the district's existing policy, adopted the prior August, already allows challenged library books to be pulled and reviewed by a committee 90.
• The 2025 book policy. That earlier policy was the "sweeping revision" to the library complaint process reported by Community Forward Redlands in August 2025 86. Redlands Community News later reported the district seeking volunteers for review committees under AR 1312.2 91.

Public comment. Only one speaker addressed BP 6144 this time, linking it to the AP Psychology debate 22.

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🚨 Safety: union warnings and a family's plea

Teachers. The teachers' association report described its bargaining priorities as employee protections and staffing. It cited "more than 200 workplace injuries" since the school year began, mostly from student aggression 15.

Support staff. The classified union's report pressed for a raise, concluding "One job should be enough." 16.

Special education. An agendized commenter described a crowded special-education classroom that combined students who use wheelchairs with students who have significant behavioral needs 18.

A Cope Middle School family. During open comment, three relatives of a Cope Middle School student described several incidents:

• What happened. He was pressured into a fight, carried into a restroom and assaulted, and later told he would be shot [Sources 37–39, October 13 2026].
• The school's response. They criticized the school's suggestion of independent study and a safety plan that had the boy hiding during passing periods 38.
• Their questions. One relative asked, "At what point does suspension stop being an adequate response?" 39. Another said: "I am not asking for revenge. I am asking for protection." 38.
• Follow-up. Several board members acknowledged the family in their comments, and district staff collected their contact information 43.

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🏫 Orangewood building naming

The screening committee recommended the "George Barich Administration Building" 5.

• The amendment. The motion was amended to add the title "Dr."
• The debate. One board member questioned whether titles belong on building names 25.
• The tribute. Another recalled Dr. Barich as the founder of Orangewood High School 25.
• The result. The motion carried 25.
• A later precedent. A commenter later pointed to USC's Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow Center as an example of a building named with a title 36.

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💰 Hearings and routine business

• Public hearings. Both hearings were opened and closed with no public comment captured: the RTA reopener proposal and the developer fee 24.
• Developer fees. Resolution No. 11 passed, raising fees to $5.38/sq ft residential and $0.87/sq ft commercial 425. The June 2024 rates were $5.17 and $0.84 70.
• Other resolutions. Resolution No. 12 (CFD annexation) and Resolution No. 13 (Red Ribbon Week) carried 2526. During Red Ribbon Week discussion, board members asked what middle and high schools have planned 26.
• Consent calendars. Business, educational services and HR consent items were approved 252627. A board member clarified that LCAP funds cover only substitute costs for the $125,800 Atlanta choir trip 26.
• Other actions. The board approved the stipulated expulsion and the September 22 minutes 2614.
• Opening and next meeting. Student editors from Moore Middle School's journalism program opened the meeting 10. The board was told the October 27 meeting will include a discussion of community schools funding 24.