photo by: Rochelle Valverde

All members of the Lawrence school board were present for a meeting on Monday, March 21, 2016.

At its meeting Monday, the Lawrence school board will discuss potential districtwide changes regarding LGBT students.

One of the school board’s goals for the 2015-2016 school year was to investigate issues related to LGBT students and implement supports. In September, the board finalized the goals, which are established annually by asking teachers, staff and administration what issues the district needs to focus on.

“The discussion started that this is a group of students in our schools that we need to be more concerned about,” Lawrence schools Superintendent Rick Doll said at the time. “We would like to learn more about what it means to be an LGBT student in our schools.”

“If there are challenges that are special to this group of students, we want to identify what those challenges are and then start to plan for solutions,” he added.

To that end, the district created an LGBT task force made up of LGBT students, parents of LGBT students, district administrators, teachers and community members. The task force met throughout the 2015-2016 school year and will present its report to the board Monday.

The report covers various topics, organized under five categories: facilities, curriculum, resources, professional development for staff, and student awareness. The report includes challenges identified by the task force in each area, as well as recommendations to address those challenges. Topics include the use of restrooms and locker rooms, as well as education for teachers and students regarding LGBT issues.

Lindsay Buck, an interrelated resource teacher at Lawrence High School, will present the report to the board. Buck is also one of the sponsors of the school’s Total Equality Alliance, a youth-led advocacy group for LGBT students and allies focused on educating within the school and community.

In other business, the board will:

• Meet at 5:30 p.m. with members of the City Commission and County Commission for their annual joint meeting.

• Review a report updating the board on legislative and school finance issues affecting the district, and the potential for a shutdown of schools statewide. The report will provide information to the board regarding what a potential shutdown would look like and how the district would need to respond.

• Review a report on mental health services in the district. The report will summarize current programming and review outcomes from the district’s recently adopted Ci3T program, touted as a comprehensive approach — emphasizing the academic, behavioral and emotional needs of students — to help those who are struggling in school.

• The school board will meet for the joint city, county and school board meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. The board’s regular meeting will begin at 7 p.m.