Committees take up policies, contracts and safety work; board to weigh social media lawsuit
Lower Merion School District's Policy, Curriculum, and Facilities and Purchasing committees met over the past two weeks, but only agendas have been released for those sessions — minutes are not yet published, so no votes, approvals, or outcomes from them are confirmed. The next scheduled opportunity for formal board action is the Regular Business Board Meeting on Oct. 19 at 7:00 PM, where the Board of School Directors is set to consider authorizing outside counsel to join a multistate lawsuit against social media companies.
Board agenda: litigation, licensing, windows, transportation
The Oct. 19 agenda lists five items. All are proposals before the board, not decisions already made:
- Authorization to join multistate social media addiction litigation. The meeting summary states the authorization would allow outside counsel to join the suit at no cost to the district.
- A 3-year PowerSchool/Schoology Text Help licensing agreement for $9,268.35.
- A work order to Gilbert Architects, LLC for impact resistant window film drawings, not to exceed $10,000.00.
- A transportation contract with King Transportation Service running from Oct. 20, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
- Adoption of Policy 100 - Goals and Philosophies of Education.
Policy Committee — Oct. 12, 7:30 PM
The committee's agenda listed a proposed adoption of Policy 100 (Goals and Philosophy of Education), a first reading of Policy 115 (Career and Technical Education), and a first reading of Policy/AR 135 (Overnight Student Trips). Members were also scheduled to discuss Policy 128 (Instrumental Music) and to note a future review of AR 134.1 (Use of Generative AI) set for January 2027.
Policy 100 appears on both the committee agenda and the Oct. 19 board agenda, where adoption is listed.
Curriculum Committee — Oct. 12, 6:00–7:20 PM
The Curriculum Committee was scheduled to review contracts and course and textbook proposals, and to hear two presentations: one on 2026 Summer School Programming and one on Beginning-of-Year (BOY) Data. No details of either presentation were included in the released material.
Facilities and Purchasing Committee — Oct. 15, 12:30 PM via Zoom
The committee's agenda included a Gilbert Architects Individual Work Order for district-wide school safety and security upgrades, and a Student Transportation Contract for 2026-2027. Members were also scheduled to review district contracts, a purchasing report, and the list of bills. The window film work order that appears on the Oct. 19 board agenda is a separate item from the safety and security work order listed for this committee.
What is and isn't established
The available records for the three committee meetings are agendas only. They show what was scheduled for discussion or review; they do not show what was said, what was recommended, or whether anything was approved. Dollar figures and contract terms listed above come from the Oct. 19 board agenda and describe proposed authorizations and agreements, not payments made.
Coming up
- **Oct. 19, 7:00 PM — Regular Business Board Meeting.** Scheduled items include the social media litigation authorization, the $9,268.35 licensing agreement, the window film work order capped at $10,000.00, the King Transportation Service contract, and adoption of Policy 100. This is the meeting at which formal action is listed.
Residents can check the district's published agenda and, once posted, the minutes of the Oct. 12 and Oct. 15 committee meetings for the record of what was discussed.