CVUSD's Communication Snapshot

📝 Welcome to the 2026-2027 School Year:

• The First Day of Classes for the New School Year is this Wednesday, August 19th!
• Introducing CVUSD's Communication Snapshot: Your Weekly Resource for the 2026-2027 School Year!
• A Welcome Message from CVUSD Superintendent Dr. Mark McLaughlin
  
  

⏰ Time-Sensitive Back-to-School Reminders & Information:

• Available in Q on 8/17 & 8/18: Student Class and Teacher Assignments
• CVUSD Families Please Complete: Important, Required Annual Updates for the 2026-2027 School Year
• Please Review: 2026-2027 Annual Notice for Students, Parents, and Staff and the 2026-2027 Discipline Policies and Procedures
• Sustaining Student Mental Health & Wellness: CYBHI & Healthy Campus
• Protect What Matters Most: Affordable Student Accident & Health Coverage Now Available

🍎 Fueling Bright Futures with Nutritious Meals: Information from Our Child Nutrition Team

• Free School Meals for All TK-12 Students - Check out the August Cafeteria Menus!
• CVUSD School Cafeterias Are Cashless for À La Carte Purchases

💻 Student Device & Technology Use Updates/Information

• Supporting Safe & Focused Learning: New Student Device Policy
• Reminder: Required Secondary & Post-Secondary Student Q Password Reset
• Introducing the LightSpeed Parent Portal for the 2026-2027 School Year
• Now Available: Chromebook Accidental Damage Protection for the 2026-2027 School Year

• Parent/Guardian Participation - A Top Priority: Learn About CVUSD's Advisory Councils/Committees
• How CVUSD Communicates With You
• "Where Do I Start?" - Communication Guidelines for Parents & Guardians

📍 Upcoming Events/Deadlines

• Meet CVUSD's School Resource Officers: Brewing Connections Back-to-School Coffee Event on Tuesday, August 18th
• Apply to Serve: CVUSD's Personnel Commission - Deadline this Wednesday
• Apply to Serve: CVUSD's Measure I Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee

• Free Preschool Available for Income-Eligible Families at CVUSD Preschool – Enroll Now!

Welcome to the first edition of the Communication Snapshot for the 2026-2027 school year! In the CVUSD, we believe that quality education and effective communication go hand-in-hand. The purpose of this districtwide message is to provide a brief weekly update featuring important news, announcements, events, highlights, and key information from across CVUSD. Each edition will keep you informed about what's happening in our schools, celebrate the accomplishments of our students and staff, and share updates that matter to our school community.

This message will be sent out via email, text and CVUSD app each Monday at 4:30pm, unless there is a holiday or school break, in which case the message will be sent on the day classes resume. Check out the "How CVUSD Communicates with You" section below to make sure you have opted in to receive text communications from your CVUSD school and the District.

Note:

• Language Translation: This newsletter features a built-in language translation feature by selecting the "Translate" button at the top of the newsletter.

Reminder: Student class and teacher assignments will be available via the Student and Parent Q Portals this week, with the following schedule:

📍Students Entering Grades 6-12: Beginning at 12 p.m. on Monday, August 17th.

📍Students Entering Grades TK-5: Beginning at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18th.

As with each new school year, required Annual Updates must be completed by parents/guardians prior to the first day of instruction. We are pleased to be able to provide all Annual Updates information, including required acknowledgments and permissions, within the Q-Parent Connect Portal again this year.

📍 Click here to learn more.

📍 Click here for step-by-step instructions for completing the CVUSD Annual Updates for 2026-2027.

In accordance with California Education Code 48980, every school district must notify the parents and guardians of each pupil and staff annually of their rights and responsibilities related to school.

Please click here to review the 2026-2027 Annual Notice for Students, Parents, and Staff (English) / Aviso Anual para Estudiantes, Padres y Personal (Spanish) which provides a summary of those rights and responsibilities.

Please click here to review the 2026-2027 Discipline Policies and Procedures (English) / 2026-2027 Disciplina Reglamentos y Procedimientos (Spanish) which provide parents and students with tools to help understand the importance of students conducting themselves in a manner that results in success for them and those around them, resulting in a positive and productive school year.

A new Initiative from the State of California has made it possible for our CVUSD schools to directly be reimbursed by private health insurance plans for the mental health and wellness services provided to students on campus by our mental health clinicians and counselors. By providing CVUSD with your health insurance plan information, CVUSD can begin the process of billing for the mental health and wellness services your student(s) receive, which will provide critical financial support for the District's Mental Health & Wellness Services. Please be assured that there is no cost to you. You will not receive a bill or a co-pay, and these services will not count towards or impact your insurance deductible in any way.

💡Families must opt in to this initiative each school year by providing parent/guardian consent and health insurance information. This can be completed during the Annual Updates process or at any time through the Q Parent Connection portal.

Learn more on the CVUSD's Sustaining Student Mental Health & Wellness webpage.

The safety of our students is of critical importance to all of us and we want to protect them from injury.

Under state law, school districts are required to ensure that all members of school athletic teams have accidental injury insurance that covers medical and hospital expenses. This insurance requirement can be met by the school district offering insurance or other health benefits that cover medical and hospital expenses. Some pupils may qualify to enroll in no-cost or low-cost local, state, or federally sponsored health insurance programs. Information about these programs may be obtained by calling (800) 541-5555.

Conejo Valley Unified School District does not assume responsibility for such costs and does not provide medical, accident, or dental insurance coverage for students injured on school premises or through school activities and field trips. (Cal. Education Code §§ 49470-49472.)

However, a plan is available for voluntary purchase through K&K Insurance. Details can be found in this flyer. Applications to enroll may be submitted through the K&K Insurance website.

Fueling Bright Futures: School meals, breakfast and lunch, will be available to all students at NO COST during the 2026-2027 school year!

🍎 Click here to view your school's menus!

⭐ Although all students will receive free meals through the duration of this school year, we request for all families to please complete the Free / Reduced Meal Application for the 2026-2027 School Year - available online here. A PDF of this application is also available here.

The Free / Reduced Meal Application affects a variety of areas unrelated to school meals, including school funding, college application fees, SAT fees, bus passes and more. Even if your child does not plan to eat school lunches, it is important to fill out this form to help ensure our schools and families receive the available resources.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Plan Ahead: CVUSD school cafeterias utilize a cashless payment system for all a la carte purchases. A la carte offerings, such as snacks and beverages, are available at all secondary schools and items range in price from $1.00 - $2.50.

Students will need to use funds preloaded onto their Parent Connect accounts to make all a la carte cafeteria purchases. Cash payments are no longer accepted.

👉 Click here for more information and instructions for how to load funds to your student's account.

During the 2025–2026 school year, the Conejo Valley Unified School District formed a Technology Committee composed of stakeholders representing a variety of roles. Together, the Committee members met regularly over a six-month time span, to review proposed technology policies, gather feedback, and develop thoughtful updates to technology guidelines and systems for the 2026–2027 school year.

The work from this Committee, along with a review of proposed amendments to district technology policies, were presented to the Board of Education at its May 6, 2026 meeting. Click here to view the presentation that was shared at the May 6th Board of Education Meeting. A video recording of this Meeting’s presentation is also available to watch online here.

As a result of this collaborative work, and building on the District’s existing technology use practices, the following updates will be implemented for the 2026-2027 school year:

• Blocking TK-8 students’ access to search YouTube, which was previously filtered.
• New CVUSD Elementary Student Use Technology Guidelines, which set the framework for instructionally focused and gradual technology usage at elementary grades. No device usage for TK-5 students before, after, or during lunch/recess unless supervised by certificated staff.
• LightSpeed Parent Portal to allow parents/guardians to monitor, manage, and limit district devices when used away from school.
• Eliminating use of student personal devices to increase online safety and staff monitoring.

This fall, the CVUSD will be continuing its work of Technology use oversight with the formulation of a districtwide AI policy. Click here to learn more.

The District’s new Elementary Technology Guidelines (available in Spanish here) focus on technology as a support for learning. Instructional goals drive decision-making with technology use supporting and enhancing students’ achievement of those goals. There is grade-level differentiated guidance (TK-5), included below, which outlines clear categories for technology use, ultimately supporting students’ progression toward digital literacy, and responsible and appropriate technology use.

Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, students will no longer be permitted to use personal devices, such as student-owned laptops and ipads, on campus. All students will continue to have access to district-issued chromebooks and classroom-based devices to support learning both at school and at home. This update is intended to create a more safeguarded and consistent learning environment for all students.

Moving away from student "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) for school instruction will help us:

• Improve online safety and strengthen cybersecurity protections for student accounts and data.
• Provide a more consistent classroom experience and reduce time spent troubleshooting different personal devices.
• Support classroom focus by reducing distractions from personal apps, games, and notifications.
• Improve network reliability and performance across school campuses.
• Allow teachers and schools to better support students using district-managed tools and systems.

We appreciate your partnership and support as we implement this transition.

From August 4th through August 6th, CVUSD parents/guardians of secondary students (grades 6-12 and post-secondary) received an email titled “Student Account Password Update” with step-by-step instructions for establishing a new password for their student’s District Chromebook and ClassLink account. The email included each student's username and a temporary password, which is required to sign in and create a new password for the 2026–2027 school year.

All secondary students should complete the password reset process prior to the first day of school on August 19th to ensure a smooth start to the school year and to avoid potential login issues.

If you did not receive this email or need any additional assistance, please email technology@conejousd.org and include your student's name and student ID number.

As part of the CVUSD's continued focus on digital safety and family partnership, the CVUSD will be rolling out the LightSpeed Parent Portal for families later this month. The LightSpeed Portal is an optional resource that gives parents and guardians greater visibility into their student’s activity on district-issued devices whenever the device is at home or off the district network, including weekly summaries of web activity and the ability to manage certain at-home access features. Parents and guardians will be able to disable access to specified websites whenever the device is at home or off the district network or even pause internet browsing completely.

The goal is to strengthen communication between schools and families, support healthy technology habits, and provide parents with additional tools to support safe and responsible digital citizenship at home. CVUSD successfully piloted the LightSpeed Parent Portal this spring with CVUSD parents and guardians, who provided positive feedback regarding this digital tool.

Beginning the week of August 24th, all families will receive an email directly from Lightspeed Systems with instructions on how to enroll in the Parent Portal. Enrollment is completely optional. Families who choose to participate can create an account and access available Parent Portal features and reports.

Additional information, including parent resources and frequently asked questions, can be found on the Technology Services Lightspeed Parent Portal website.

We are proud to provide all students with a Chromebook through the District’s 1:1 Program. While Chromebooks are provided at no cost to families, proper use and care of the Chromebook is the responsibility of the student and their parent/guardian. To support this program, CVUSD is offering Chromebook Accidental Damage Protection (ADP) program for families to eliminate the concern and costs of repairing or replacing damaged, or stolen Chromebooks.

The District recommends parents/guardians purchase this $25 device accidental damage protection from CVUSD. This fee provides coverage for common incidents such as cracked screens, missing keyboard keys, damaged casings and liquid spills. The plan also includes one device replacement per school year for loss, theft, or irreparable damage.

💻 Click here to learn more about the Chromebook ADP program.

💻 Click here to purchase Chromebook ADP now.

Parent engagement and participation is a major priority of the CVUSD. Family involvement is encouraged through many formal and informal organizations and activities: including our six parent advisory councils. Learn more by reviewing the below flyers and/or by visiting the District's Parent Participation webpage.

✋ Parent/Guardian Participation: A Top Priority - Overview Flyer (English/Spanish)

✋ District Advisory Councils/Committees: 2026-2027 Meeting Schedule (English/Spanish)

Our goal is to keep all stakeholders informed of all things CVUSD. Whether that’s via our website, social media channels, the CVUSD mobile app, or in more traditional settings – we hope you will find the perfect touchpoint for staying up to date on all things CVUSD.

📲 IMPORTANT: We strongly encourage all CVUSD families and staff members to double check the contact information (phone number, email, and SMS number) provided within their Q profile. If you do not provide a mobile/SMS number and check the box to opt in to receive text messages, you will not receive text message communication - which is a crucial communication method for urgent information to be shared. If you are unsure what contact information you've provided, need assistance to update contact information and/or need to add a mobile/SMS number, please contact your school site's main office.

🛑 Note: This message was deployed via email and text message. If you did not receive a text message communication, this likely means that our communication system does not have a mobile/SMS phone number in your profile and/or you did not check the box to receive text communication.

🛑 A Note on Unsubscribing: If you click "unsubscribe" via the button at the bottom of a District or CVUSD school email - please know that this will opt you out of all future, non-emergency e-mail communication from all CVUSD schools and the District office. If you unsubscribe by accident, you will need to contact your school's front office to begin receiving email communication again. If you reply "STOP" to a text message sent from the District or a CVUSD school - please know that this will opt you out of all future, non-emergency text communications from all CVUSD schools and the District office. If you unsubscribe by accident, you will need to contact your school's front office to begin receiving text communications again.

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Conejo Valley Unified School District is dedicated to providing you with transparent information about your child’s education in a timely manner. We want you to feel comfortable addressing your questions in our District. With direct and respectful communication, most issues are resolved at the school level.

Please use this "Where Do I Start?" Communication Guidelines for Parents & Guardians to help address any current or future questions and concerns you may have.

CVUSD's Personnel Commission has an upcoming vacancy and is seeking qualified community members to apply. Individuals with experience in human resources, public administration, labor relations, organizational leadership, community service, or related fields are encouraged to apply!

The Personnel Commission is an independent three-member body that oversees the District’s Merit System for classified employees and helps ensure that employment practices are conducted fairly, impartially, and based on merit and fitness. The appointment will be for a three-year term beginning December 1, 2026, and ending December 1, 2029.

👉 Click here to learn more about this opportunity.

👉 Click here to complete the online application. The deadline to submit an application is this Wednesday, August 19th at 2pm.

Community Service Opportunity: CVUSD is seeking qualified individuals to serve on its Independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. We are currently looking to fill the following openings for the 2026-2027 school year:

• A Representative from a Business Organization
• A Representative from a Senior Citizens’ Organization
  
  

The committee is charged with informing the public concerning the District’s expenditure of Measure I bond proceeds, reviewing expenditure reports, and preparation and presentation of an annual report. The committee meets approximately 4-5 times per year.

👉 Click here to learn more about this opportunity.

👉 Click here to complete an online application to serve on this Committee.

The CVUSD Preschool, with campuses in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park, offers a State Preschool program that provides free enrollment to families who meet income eligibility requirements. There are currently openings available, for eligible children ages 3 years to 5 years, in the free half-day preschool program for the 2026-2027 school year!

CVUSD Preschool unites curiosity, play and learning, proudly serving children ages 3 years to 5 years. The school's caring teachers provide a well-rounded and enriching experience for young learners by utilizing hands-on, individualized teaching, combined with play and engaging environments.

Click here to complete the CVUSD Preschool Interest Form to learn if you qualify, and a member of the CVUSD Preschool team will connect with you!