STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING REPORT- APRIL 2010
By: Stuart Bennett | April 14, 2010, 7:02 pm
This month the Georgia State Board of Education departed from their usual format of a two day meeting; as this month’s meeting fell right in the middle of spring break for most systems, and they had a light agenda. Instead they voted to amend their own policy and conduct their business in a single day, albeit a long one. With the official meeting happening later that afternoon. The three standing committees; Budget, Rules and Charter met early Wednesday morning and deliberated their agendas recommending the majority of the items forward for consent at the committee of the whole meeting. The Budget committee voted to amend the contract with IBM (Cognos) to extend to September 30, 2010 and at no cost for the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) reporting requirements; to amend the contract with Covendis Technologies to increase the cost by $1,200,000.00 for a new total contract of $7,012,838.00 for Temporary IT staffing; to award a grant to a maximum of ten (10) LEAs for $645,828.00 in Federal Funds for engaging Advanced Placement (AP) students through handheld computing; to award a grant to selected Local Education Agencies (LEAs) for $1,492,973.00 in State Funds for special education residential and reintegration services to students in private facilities placed by the LEA and to distribute carryover Reading First grant funds to twenty-eight LEA’s for a cost of $3,677,129.43 in Federal Funds.
The Rules committee recommended that the current State Board of Education Rule 160-4-8-.12 be repealed and a new rule 160-4-8-.12 ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS be initiated in order to provide more specificity and guidance to local school districts. This new rule defines instructional services local school districts must provide, references the Alternative Education Program Standards, and ensures alternative education program accountability. Significant changes to the rule include the following: additional definitions for clarity; requirements for local school systems contracting with private vendors to provide alternative education programs; a requirement that the alternative education program curriculum is aligned to the Georgia Performance Standards; a requirement for all alternative education programs/schools to provide standardized testing as specified in SBOE Rule 160-3-1-.07 TESTING PROGRAMS STUDENT ASSESSMENT; a requirement that all alternative education programs/schools operate in full compliance with federal and state laws and State Board Rules governing students with special needs; and a requirement that all alternative education programs/schools adhere to SBOE 160-4-2-.05 Middle School Program Rule. He DOE staff assured the committee that various internal and external stakeholders were included in the development and vetting of the revisions.
Additionally the board approved 13 system waivers Approved waivers of State Board rules as follows: Scheduling for Instruction: Chatham, Hall; Dual Enrollment: Clarke; Class Size: Appling, Bibb, Candler, Rabun, Randolph Wheeler; Direct Instruction: Burke, Jones, Randolph, Treutlen, Wheeler and Wilkes; Early Intervention Program: Randolph, Wheeler; Program for English Language Learners Requirements: Rabun; Georgia High School Graduation Test Remedial Program: Clayton; Guidance Counselor Requirements: Wheeler; Instructional Extension Requirements: Burke, Clayton, Jones; Middle School Program: Randolph, Treutlen, Wheeler; Personnel Required: Randolph; Professional Learning: Jones, Upson; Standard Cost Development: Johnson, Putnam; Summer Opportunity Program Grades 4-8: Clayton; and finally Student requests for waivers of high school graduation requirements.
The Charter committee recommended and the board approved system charter status for Putnam County, pending addition of contract language related to operational performance measures and approved renewal of the charter for Drew Charter School (Atlanta)
During their information section of the meeting the board received a few updates worth noting; an update on the CRCT erasure investigation; an update on the Longitudinal Data System; a Race to the Top update and an update on the Federal School Improvement Grants program. All of these reports can be viewed on line at www.gadoe.org. Just follow this link to the eboards option under state board of education to view the archived meetings.