As ESSAA’s Regents Liaison, Paul Scampini attends the monthly meetings of the Board of Regents. Following is a summary of meeting held on June 12 and 13 of 2017:
The June 2017 Board of Regents meeting began with a review of the feedback that has been received through the public hearings that have been occurring throughout the state on the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) draft plan.
A variety of concerns have been expressed with the majority focusing on the level of funding required to fully implement the plan and the need to provide adequate support to high poverty school districts.
Any proposed changes to the plan that result from the public hearings will be presented to the Board of Regents for approval at their July meeting. The plan will then be sent to the Governor for his review. The finalized application is due to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education by September 18, 2017.
The Board of Regents announced their decision to reduce the number of Grade 3-8 ELA and math testing days from three to two beginning in the spring of 2018.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/
The Board took emergency action to extend the current guidelines (adopted in 2015) that are in place for identifying students in grades 3-8 who receive AIS services.This will enable the department to consider the newly adopted standards and assessments in future recommendations for improving the AIS identification process.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/
The Safe Schools Task Force presented a set of recommendations based on the work they have been doing over the past three years.The task force is recommending that the focus on school safety move away from concentrating mainly on measuring school violence and bullying-related incidents. Their proposed recommendations include the use of school climate surveys and more formalized steps toward promoting social emotional learning in schools.
The task force is recommending that NYSED implement a School Climate Index for all schools that will include three factors:
1. Data received from administering School Climate Surveys
2. School Violence Index (VADIR/DASA) Data
3. Chronic Absenteeism Data – percentage of students who miss 10% or more of instructional days.
They recommended that a full scale pilot of the proposal be carried out in selected schools across the state in the 2017-18 school year.More detailed information on the proposal is provided in the links below.
https://www.regents.nysed.
The Board of Regents has directed SED staff to begin considering the potential assessment issues and opportunities associated with the implementation of the newly adopted standards and ESSA guidelines. A presentation was made by Jennifer Dunn and Scott Marion from the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment. They provided a comprehensive overview of ideas, challenges, and potential opportunities for NYSED to consider as the assessment plan is developed.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/
The Board took emergency action to approve an amendment to permanently extend the option for out-of-state teaching candidates, who have met all other requirements other than the edTPA, to obtain a conditional initial certificate.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/
The Board also took emergency action that applies to out of state candidates who pursue administrative positions in New York State schools.The amendment requires that out-of state candidates complete out-of-state leadership programs at higher education institutions accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the US Department of Education to be eligible to receive NYS certification.The action primarily would impact individuals who are completing online or distance learning type programs.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/
