School Committee Votes to Hold Special Ed Hearing

School Committee · Meeting of August 17, 2026

WATERTOWN — The Watertown School Committee voted 7-0 to schedule a public meeting for caregivers on special education services after months of public pressure over district practices. Chair Kendra Foley also faced public pushback over her description of a reported threat tied to the Watertown Special Education Alliance Facebook page. The committee separately voted 7-0 to accept Superintendent Galston's 2025-2026 evaluation, with five of seven members rating her "proficient" and two "exemplary" overall, though four members rated her "needs improvement" on family and community engagement.

Member Rachel Kay said she was "skeptical" the new caregiver meeting would rebuild trust, while Lisa Kapocha said "it will improve the quality of how we move on." The committee also appointed Sheila Krishnan to chair a new ad hoc Student Services Subcommittee and reviewed a revised restraint-and-seclusion policy tied to new state rules effective the same day.

In the full story:

• Public Forum: Threat Characterization and CPAC Governance
• WIN and iReady Data Review
• Health and Wellness Curriculum Review
• Personnel and Budget Reports
• Chair and Superintendent Updates
• Superintendent Evaluation Vote
• Ad Hoc Student Services Subcommittee and Public Caregiver Meeting
• Policy First Readings
• Minutes and Routine Business
• Second Public Forum
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,954 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of August 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.