Lexington School Committee Unanimously Adopts Two Graduation Policies After Third Reading

LEXINGTON — November 18, 2025 — Lexington School Committee voted 4-0 to adopt two graduation policies and heard a sweeping sustainability report spanning every school in the district. Chair Eileen Jay and members Kathleen Lenahan, Sarah Cuthbertson, and Sarah Carter — meeting by videoconference with Larry Freeman absent — approved the Competency Determination Policy (IKFE) and the Graduation Requirements Policy (IKF) on their third readings after a live editing session that clarified cross-references between the two documents and preserved a senior opt-out provision covering math, science, and social studies. Sustainability and resilience coordinator Lynn Jensen and school-based champions reported that composting at Fisk School cut weekly trash bags from 15 to roughly four; a new dishwasher at Harrington, funded in part by a $25,000 legislative earmark from state Rep. Michelle Ciccolo and a $10,000 Community Endowment Lexington grant, has replaced plastic trays with stainless steel; and every school in the district now has a hydroponic growing tower. Diamond advisor Christine Goulet reported that three eighth-graders testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources this fall in support of legislation restricting anticoagulant rodenticides. Superintendent Dr. Julie Hackett announced the Lexington girls' cross-country team claimed its first state title since 2016, and reminded the public that the town-wide debt exclusion vote on the Lexington High School building project is set for Monday, December 8, with a voter registration deadline of November 28.