Fewer than half of Davis School District secondary students called civil-rights reporting processes clear and easy to use in 2026. Exposure to racist comments remained common.

Those findings anchor the Effectiveness Assessment Report, a four-year review set for presentation to the Board of Education at a study session on Friday, Sept. 25. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Fidel Montero authored the report, which caps an improvement cycle triggered by a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The district's average rating across the report's assessment areas rose from 2.10 in 2022–2023 to 3.80 in 2025–2026, with every area remaining above its baseline. But the report found that organizational capacity improved faster and more consistently than student experience.

The report drew on 74,295 student survey responses and 142 student focus groups involving 1,156 participants across the four-year period. An additional 40 adult focus groups included 298 teachers and school leaders. KND Consulting, an external research team, partnered on the work.

Two of the report's four integrated findings carry the most weight for families: formal systems became more reliable than universally trusted, and progress differed across schools, student groups and individual adults. The report noted particularly meaningful improvement among Black secondary students.

Over the four-year cycle, the district created an Office of Equal Opportunity, formalized reporting and investigative procedures, expanded professional learning and established recurring cycles of student inquiry.

Montero's report also outlines a second phase. The planned "EAR 2.0" cycle would extend belonging work into leadership, instruction, academic opportunity and whole-school improvement.

The presentation was one of four agenda items at the 9:30 a.m. study session. Other items included a print shop tour at Freeport Center West led by Materials Distribution and Nutrition Services Director Brock Robins and a board member training session led by Board President Brigit Gerrard, Vice President Emily Price and Superintendent Dr. Dan Linford. No votes were scheduled.

The full 38-page report is available as an attachment on the board's online agenda. Families who want school-level breakdowns can submit a records request to Davis School District under Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act.