Dr. Shepherd, superintendent of Huntsville Independent School District, told trustees the district held a three-day leadership retreat and that lawmakers passed many education-related changes this session that will affect local policy. "We've had 3 days of, leadership retreat in the district with our campus and district leaders, 60 some odd people," Dr. Shepherd said.

Why it matters: Dr. Shepherd said new state laws will require updates to district policy and the student code of conduct. He told the board those code revisions will likely be considered at a special called meeting so the district can implement changes before the school year starts.

Details from the presentation: Dr. Shepherd recounted speakers and sessions at the retreat, naming Dr. Mike Moses, David Anderson and Dr. Shannon Holmes among presenters. He also said the district's law firm led a "4 hour session on chapter 37 revisions," referring to student discipline provisions. "So we'll be bringing revisions to to code of conduct, more than likely, at a special called meeting so that we can get that all done," Dr. Shepherd said.

The board president provided calendar items and meeting notices during the session, including that convocation will be Wednesday, Aug. 6; a budget workshop is scheduled for Aug. 7; and the next trustee meeting will be Aug. 21. The board also entered closed session for a formative superintendent-evaluation conversation; Dr. Shepherd said there was "no action, no personnel action." The board president clarified the closed session was formative, not summative.

Discussion vs. action: The superintendent announced staff will prepare code revisions and bring them forward (a staff direction), but trustees did not adopt any new policy at this meeting.

Ending: Dr. Shepherd closed his report by thanking staff and praising the team, and trustees moved on to other agenda items.