The Orange County School Board meets Tuesday, November 10, 2026, and holds a special impasse hearing Friday, November 13, 2026, after rescheduling the October 21, 2026, hearing. Wednesday is Veterans Day and still a school day, with early release.
For the week of November 8 to 14, 2026, Orange County Public Schools has a full five day week from Monday, November 9, 2026, through Friday, November 13, 2026, and the official 2026 to 2027 OCPS school calendar, checked November 7, 2026, lists no student holiday until Thanksgiving break, Monday, November 23, 2026, through Friday, November 27, 2026.
When does the Orange County School Board meet this week?
The board meets Tuesday, November 10, 2026, in the Board Room of the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center, 445 West Amelia Street, Orlando. Open public comment starts at 4 p.m. Eastern, and the regular session and public hearing start at 5 p.m. Eastern, according to the district's meeting notice dated November 3, 2026. The full agenda is posted on the board's BoardDocs page for the meeting, checked November 7, 2026.
Earlier that day, the board and Superintendent Maria Vazquez hold a planning meeting at 12 p.m. Eastern in Conference Room A on the first floor of the same building, according to a planning meeting notice dated November 3, 2026. The notice says no formal action will be taken and that the public does not have the ability to provide public comment at work sessions, committee meetings, executive sessions, or closed sessions.
A separate notice dated November 3, 2026, says two or more board members will attend a reception for outgoing board members at 2:30 p.m. that day in Café A on the first floor.
Parents can speak at the 4 p.m. open comment period and on agenda items during the regular meeting. Under Policy BEDH, the open comment period runs no more than 45 minutes. Speakers get three minutes when 1 to 10 people sign up, two minutes for 11 to 20 and one minute for 21 or more. When 21 or more sign up, parents, guardians, students and district employees get first priority. Everyone signs up before speaking.
The district's Meetings, Agendas and Minutes page, checked November 7, 2026, says speakers may register online at publiccomment.ocps.net once the agenda is posted. The online form closes at 11:59 p.m. the day before the meeting, which for Tuesday is Monday, November 9, 2026. Speakers who register online must check in when they arrive. People may also sign up in the lobby beginning 45 minutes before the meeting starts.
If you cannot attend, email publiccomment@ocps.net by 5 p.m. Monday, November 9, 2026, and include your name, address, agenda item and comment. The meetings page says emails received by then go to each board member by 10 a.m. the day of the meeting.
You can watch the regular meeting on the OCPS board meetings YouTube channel, which the district's School Board page links for broadcasts. The meetings page says regular meetings, work sessions and rule development workshops are streamed live and archived there. People who need a disability accommodation should call School Board Services at 407 317 3236 at least 48 hours ahead, the Tuesday notice says.
What is on the November 10, 2026, agenda?
Most items sit on the consent agenda, which means the board can approve them in one vote without discussion unless a member pulls one out. Nothing below is approved until the board votes.
Four policy changes are listed as public hearings, so the public may comment on those items before the vote. The board is asked to repeal Policy FE, Facilities Construction, and Policy FEG, Construction Contract Bidding and Awards, and to revise Policy DJA, Purchasing Authority, and Policy DJB, Purchasing Procedures. The DJA item says the revisions update the delegation and approval authority for purchasing goods and services. The DJB item says the revisions would conform that policy to current law and to the proposed DJA changes.
A $20 million reserve transfer. The Office of Management and Budget asks to move $20 million from General Fund reserves to the Employee Benefits Trust. The agenda says the money is needed "to cover November costs resulting from the delayed implementation of plan changes and increases in premiums and Board contributions, while supporting the Trust’s financial stability and providing funding toward the 60-day claims reserve requirement." A second line adds $2 million from Capital Improvement Tax reserves for teacher device replacement.
A former school site could go to a charter. OCPS owns about 6.06 acres of vacant land at 905 Waltham Avenue in Belle Isle, which the agenda calls "commonly known as Pine Castle Elementary School." Two linked items would declare the land surplus and sell it to Cornerstone Charter Academy, Inc., for $1,500,000 so the charter can develop "an educational facility." A joint use agreement would let the district use recreation areas on the property after construction.
Two school renovations move forward. The board is asked to approve firms for the Hunter's Creek Middle School renovation, with Hunton Brady Architects as architect and Gilbane Building Company as construction manager. The agenda puts the construction notice to proceed in July 2028 and substantial completion in June 2030. For the Pinewood Elementary School renovation, T&G Corporation, doing business as T&G Constructors, is the recommended construction manager, with a notice to proceed in February 2028 and substantial completion expected by November 2029.
Land for East River High School access. A resolution would let the district use eminent domain to take a parcel for the East River High School SR 50 access project. The agenda says an appraisal valued it at $94,528 and that the owner never responded to contact attempts on June 28, 2022, November 18, 2022, January 21, 2026, and September 11, 2026.
A dual enrollment agreement with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, covering August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2029, sits on the consent agenda. The item estimates the cost for tuition and instructional resources at about $120,000.
The board will also hear the School Safety Specialist's first quarter report for 2026 to 2027, listed as information only.
A revised notice said the Thursday, November 5, 2026, work session at 10 a.m. would cover the Richard Milburn Academy charter school application, an OCPS 2030 first quarter update, and a superintendent search overview with the Florida School Boards Association. Work sessions do not take formal action, and minutes for that session had not been posted on the November 10, 2026, agenda when we checked November 7, 2026. The November 10, 2026, agenda does include minutes from the October 13, 2026, work session, when members expressed consensus for the Florida School Boards Association as the preferred search firm and took no formal action.
What is the special impasse hearing on November 13, 2026?
The board will hold a special school board meeting, also called a Special Impasse Hearing or Legislative Body Hearing, on Friday, November 13, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern in the Board Room at 445 West Amelia Street, Orlando, according to a notice dated November 6, 2026.
The notice says each party to the impasse will have the chance to explain their positions on the disputed issues, and that the board is to "take such action as it deems to be in the public interest, including the interest of the public employees involved, to resolve all disputed issues" under section 447.403(4)(d), Florida Statutes. That is the step in Florida's public employee bargaining law after a special magistrate's recommendations have been rejected. The statute says the legislative body, here the school board, must hold a public hearing at which the parties explain their positions, then take action to resolve all remaining disputed issues.
This hearing was supposed to happen Wednesday, October 21, 2026. The board's October 21, 2026, minutes, attached to the November 10, 2026, agenda, say Chair Teresa Jacobs called the meeting to order at 9:36 a.m. Jeffrey Mandel represented the district. Mark Richard represented the unions the minutes name as CTA and OESPA. The board agreed to give the unions three hours in all, 1.5 hours for each union. After a legal objection to the proceeding, and after several recesses, the parties agreed to Friday, November 13, 2026. Vicki-Elaine Felder moved to reschedule the hearing for that date at 9:30 a.m., Melissa Byrd seconded, and the vote was unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 11:41 a.m. without resolving the disputed issues.
The October 21, 2026, minutes say that because the board "served in a quasi-judicial capacity, there was no opportunity for public comment." The November 13, 2026, notice does not say whether the public may speak this time, and it does not list the remaining disputed issues. The district's Bargaining Updates page, checked November 7, 2026, still posts July 2026 special magistrate hearing recordings labeled for CTA, along with earlier wage and insurance proposals to CTA and OESPA, but it does not post a packet for November 13, 2026.
People who need a disability accommodation should call School Board Services at 407 317 3236 at least 48 hours ahead. For a 9:30 a.m. Friday hearing, that means calling by Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
What do the latest election results show?
The Orange County Supervisor of Elections has posted first unofficial results for the District 3 school board race and the one mill school tax question. The results page was labeled "1st Unofficial Results" when checked November 7, 2026. The canvassing board's certification of unofficial results was scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2026, at 9 a.m. at 119 West Kaley Street, and that event page now says the meeting has passed. Official certification is scheduled for Monday, November 16, 2026, at 9 a.m. at the same office, unless the canvassing board changes the notice.
New board members' terms begin Tuesday, November 17, 2026, under section 100.041, Florida Statutes, which says a school board member's term begins "on the second Tuesday following the general election in which such member or superintendent is elected." That is also the date of the board's Annual Reorganization Meeting. The meetings page says that meeting is ministerial, so there will be no opportunity for the public to provide input. The School Board page, checked November 7, 2026, still lists Alicia Farrant as the District 3 member.
A separate OCPS Insider article on the District 3 result and the one mill renewal is set for Monday and covers those races in more detail.
Is OCPS open on Veterans Day, November 11, 2026?
Yes. Veterans Day is not a student holiday on the 2026 to 2027 calendar, so Wednesday, November 11, 2026, is a school day. Because it is a Wednesday, it is also an early release day. Our Veterans Day guide has more on the holiday.
Some offices families use will be closed. The Orange County Clerk of Courts and the Florida Department of Health in Orange County both list November 11, 2026, as a closure. LYNX says buses run a regular weekday schedule that day, in its Veterans Day notice dated October 28, 2026. The same notice says the customer service window and lost and found stay open regular hours, and that LYNX administrative offices are closed November 11, 2026.
What time is early release on Wednesday, November 11, 2026?
Every Wednesday is early release unless the district notes otherwise, and buses run one hour earlier, according to the OCPS Student Ridership Information page checked November 7, 2026.
The district's 2026 to 2027 bell times PDF lists Wednesday dismissal at 2 p.m. for most elementary schools, 2:54 p.m. for most middle schools and 1:10 p.m. for most high schools. The file is still labeled a draft dated May 5, 2026, so check your own school's time. Bus questions go to the Transportation call center at 407 317 3800.
What deadlines are coming after this week?
Thanksgiving break runs Monday, November 23, 2026, through Friday, November 27, 2026. If storms close schools before then, the calendar lists Monday, November 23, 2026, and Tuesday, November 24, 2026, as the third and fourth severe weather make up days, after February 15, 2027, and April 23, 2027.
Magnet and Scholastic Academy applications for 2027 to 2028 close Friday, December 18, 2026, at 11:59 p.m., according to the OCPS APPLY TODAY page checked November 7, 2026. That is the same day the second marking period ends on the district calendar. Our Dates and Deadlines page tracks both.
If you already applied, print the confirmation page and check every line. If anything is wrong, email magnetoffice@ocps.net with the student's name, student ID and the magnets you chose, the magnet application site says.