Preview: Capistrano Unified Board of Education Meeting - Oct. 15, 2026
Agenda Highlights: 🏫 Campus Closure 🤖 New A.I. Policy 🐜 Pest Management Update
The Capistrano Unified School District Board of Education is scheduled to meet on October 15, 2026. Closed session is set to begin at 5 p.m. and open session is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at the District Office Board Room at 33122 Valle Road, San Juan Capistrano.
Watch the meeting on YouTube
Agenda highlights
Closing of Elementary School
Citing ongoing declining student enrollment, the board will consider “repurposing” Tijeras Creek Elementary School, a TK-5 campus in Rancho Santa Margarita that opened in 2000. If approved, the school will close at the end of the current school year.
The move is expected to create an estimated savings of $700,000 for the district, according to the agenda. There are 178 students currently enrolled at the campus, including 18 from outside of the district. The board will also consider dividing the Tijeras Creek attendance area between Arroyo Vista TK-8 and Wagon Wheel Elementary, while adjusting middle school boundaries for Arroyo Vista and Las Flores TK-8, according to the presentation attached to the agenda.
According to the agenda, CUSD Superintendent Chris Brown, Ed.D., met with Tijeras Creek families earlier this month. The recommendation to close the school follows district efforts to review and analyze data on school capacity through a District Advisory Committee (DAC). In 2024, the DAC issued a final report identifying ten elementary school sites for further study, including Tijeras Creek Elementary School.
The process of analyzing school capacity and preparing for more campus consolidations continues this school year with CUSD's School Capacity and Consolidation Committee. The committee had its first meeting on August 25 and is expected to meet again in early 2027, according to the district.
Pest Management Program Update
After pausing the use of landscape herbicides and weed-management spray products in July, the board will hear an update on the review of the district's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. During this time the district has received “71 ant-related work orders” in cafeterias and other food-service areas. The district is “evaluating whether the alternative products and nonchemical measures under consideration will effectively address the District’s pest-management needs,” according to the agenda.
The effort from CUSD comes amid two issues facing O.C. communities. First, the pushback from residents regarding the spraying of chemicals in local waterways for weed control, and second, a spike in cases of a rare cancer among youth in Ladera Ranch.
Artificial Intelligence Policy
The board will consider the first reading of a new policy and administrative regulation governing artificial intelligence use across district classrooms and operations. The rules restrict student A.I. use to authorized instructional purposes, prohibit A.I. as the sole basis for grading or discipline, and establish privacy and human oversight standards. See the policy below.
Related: Last November, CUSD announced it would adopt ChatGPT for Teachers.
Press Releases
Recruitment, Selection and Appointment Policies
The board will review updated district-wide hiring and recruitment policies for certificated, classified, and managerial staff. The updates require pay scales on job postings, mandate misconduct checks with prior educational employers, restrict inquiries into salary history and off-the-job cannabis use, and make employees fired for misconduct ineligible for rehire.
- Find the entire agenda at https://www.capousd.org/District/Board/Board-Meetings/2026-27-Board-Meeting-Agendas--Minutes/.
- Watch the meeting on YouTube.
- Read more Spotlight Schools' coverage of Capistrano Unified here.