July State Board of Education Report
The State Board of Education held the monthly Committee, Committee
of the Whole, and regular State
Board meetings on July 19. The Audit, District Flexibility &
Charter Schools, and State Schools Committees did not meet this month. To view
the complete agendas, click the highlighted links above. Rules Committee Deputy Superintendent of Policy, Flexibility, and External Affairs
Tiffany Taylor presented the 12 items on the Rules Committee agenda. Ten items
were placed on the consent agenda, and two concerning State Board Rule
160-4-2-.13 and universal reading screeners were pulled for a separate vote. Discussion centered on three agenda items: =
Adoption of the changes to State
Board Rule 160-4-2-.13: Statewide Passing Score o
Tiffany Taylor said 13 or 14
public comments were received, and some Board members said they received dozens
of comments sent directly to them. o
Helen Odom Rice shared concerns
that members of the public may have been on vacation so they did not look at
the comment page and may have found it difficult to enter their comments. o
Martha Zoller said she heard
overwhelmingly positive comments from her district and that people appreciate
the flexibility. o
Frank Griffin said educational
leaders in rural districts told him they appreciate the flexibility as well. o
Mike Royal said most comments sent
to him were in opposition, and he referenced a speech from Coach John Scolinos because
he worries the state is “widening the plate” when the going gets tough. =
Initiation of public comment for amending
State Board Rule 160-3-1-.07: Student Assessment o
The purpose provided is “to adopt the
mathematics and English Language Arts courses that will be assessed with the
Georgia Milestones EOCs and Georgia Alternate Assessment 2.0 in alignment with
Georgia’s new mathematics and English language arts standards, adopt dyslexia
and universal reading screening requirements as specified in state law, provide
exemption from the GKIDS ELA portion for kindergarten students being
administered dyslexia and universal reading screeners, and adopt general rule
clean-up.” o
The public comment page about the rule change is
posted here
and will be open for 30 days. =
Universal reading screeners o
Helen Odom Rice wants to know more about
challenges and highlights for the reading screeners because she believes the
process and information is a bit incomplete right now. The Board also heard brief highlights about positive public and
industry comments concerning new CTAE standards and course revisions for biotechnology,
healthcare science, light duty/hybrid electric vehicle technology, and
marketing principles. These updates improve course alignment with industry
standards and exams. Additionally, the
new standards for the Business of Entertainment, Sports, and Event Management
and Event Planning Applications will be posted for public review and comment. The committee did not discuss the last agenda item, but eight more
private schools applied to be on the 2023-2024 school list for the Special
Needs Scholarship Voucher Program. The program began with 117 private schools
participating and now has 302 participating with the new additions. Budget Committee Chief Financial Officer Rusk Roam
presented the 16 items on the agenda. All items were placed on the consent
agenda. Budget highlights: =
$1,666,106 in
federal funds to the Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education Resource
Network (CTAERN) to facilitate professional learning opportunities to support
local CTAE programs =
$4,525,928 in
federal funds to 48 local education agencies (LEAs) for activities under the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth grant =
$1,171,279,188
in federal funds to LEAs
for Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) =
$5,000,000 in
federal funds for a contract with Coastal Plains and Southwest Georgia Regional
Education Service Agencies (RESA) to plan and establish a Completion Special
School in Zone 7 per HB 87 =
$1,450,000 in
state funds to LEAs to provide feminine hygiene products to low-income students =
$800,000 in state
funds to the 16 Regional Education Service Agencies (RESAs) to assist with
mental health awareness activities to support student mental health and
well-being Committee of the Whole/State Board Meeting In lieu of an inspiration, Chair Jason Downey shared inspirational
quotes from educators and authors. My favorite quote was one from Barbara
Coloroso that says “If kids come to us from strong, healthy, functioning
families, it makes our job easier. If they don’t come to us from strong,
healthy, functioning families, it makes our job more important.” 2024 Teacher of the Year (TOTY) Christy
Todd, a music technology teacher from Fayette County, attended her
first State Board meeting as the 2024 Teacher of the Year. Ms. Todd shared that
she is grateful for the opportunity and excited to serve as part of the Board. Public Hearing No one signed up to speak about the changes to State
Board Rule 160-4-2-.13: Statewide Passing Score. Actions Taken Ten items from the Rules Committee and all 16 items from the
Budget Committee were placed on the consent agenda. The June Board minutes,
personnel report, and legal appeals were also added to the consent agenda. The
consent agenda was quickly approved by the Board. Two items were pulled for a separate vote: =
Adoption of State Board Rule
160-4-2-.13: Statewide Passing Score o
Helen
Odom Rice said she is concerned that dropping the minimum percentage to 10
percent decreases the merit of the test and does not properly value the work of
teachers. o
Mike Royal said he believes the
state already has many areas of flexibility. o
Stan DeJarnett emphasized that students must
still pass the Georgia Milestones EOC exam, but the school district will have
more flexibility to determine whether the exam should count as ten percent or a
higher percentage of a student’s grade. o
Helen Odom Rice, Lisa Kinnemore, and Mike
Royal voted “no” while all other members who were present voted “yes.” Two members
were absent. The final vote was 9 to 3. =
Universal reading screeners o
Helen Odom Rice wants clarification because several
of the reading screeners submitted are the same as those submitted for dyslexia
screeners. o
The Dyslexia Taskforce did not analyze the
list because the taskforce wrapped up their work at the end of April right
before the list was released. o
Matt Jones agreed to share more information
about the reading screeners with the Board. o
All twelve members who were present voted
“yes.” Superintendent’s Report Chief of Staff Matt Jones attended on behalf of Superintendent
Woods and waived presenting the superintendent’s report. Chair’s Report Chair Downey waived presenting the chair’s report and moved to
announcements. Announcements =
Stan DeJarnett shared the meeting information
about the Georgia Council on Literacy, which held a virtual organizational
meeting on July 19 at 2 PM. The first official council meeting will be held on August
7 at 10 AM at Georgia Southern University. =
Dr. Keith Osborn, Associate Superintendent of
Georgia Virtual Learning, recently received the Jim Puckett Award for his
leadership skills. =
GaDOE was recently awarded the State
Leadership Award at the 2023 SREB Making Schools
Work Conference for School Improvement and CTAE. =
Helen Odom Rice attended a Science of Reading
and literacy conference put on by ExcelinEd and 95 Percent Group. She would
like to share information about that with Matt Jones and the Board. =
The next State Board of Education meeting
will be held on August 23 and 24 at the Georgia Academy of the Blind in Macon. |