The April 2019 Board of Regents Meeting began with another update/discussion of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Commissioner Elia provided an extensive update/review of the various components of the plan along with an outline of the implementation schedule.
The slide presentation used by the Commissioner (see link below) provides a concise summary of the key components of what is a very complex plan. The document included in the link is a useful reference to access in the future, both for administrators and for discussions with staff, parents, or community members.
Of special note to administrators, Slide 15 includes an update on the next phase of the Principal Preparation Project. Six districts (Buffalo, Mt. Vernon, NYC, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers) have received funding to participate in pilot partnerships to develop and implement a competency based program leading to School Building Leader (SBL) Certification. Also as part of the Principal Preparation Project, CUNY/Hunter College and University at Buffalo are partnering with local school districts to develop and implement a competency based program to train current principals and assistant principals to lead struggling schools.
The Board of Regents was updated on the implementation of the Financial Transparency Requirement associated with the Every Student Succeeds Act. Districts are now mandated to report per-pupil expenditures of federal, state and local funds including personnel and non-personnel expenses for each individual school.
NYSED has spent the last twelve months seeking feedback from stakeholders toward the goal of developing a reporting template and guidelines for submitting expenditures. Preliminary information will be published later this spring for districts to review and submit feedback with the goal of having finalized guidelines completed in early 2020. Districts will be expected to submit their 2018-19 per-pupil expenditure data in March of 2020.
The link below provides more detailed information on the implementation process and timeline.
The Board discussed a proposed amendment which would require teacher preparation programs to provide at least three semester hours of study in literacy development of ELLs and three semester hours of study relating to literacy development of all students.
If adopted, the new regulation will apply to candidates who first enroll in teacher preparation programs in the Fall 2022 semester (graduating class of 2026). It is anticipated the amendment will be presented for formal adoption at the September 2019 Board of Regents meeting.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/common/regents/files/419p12hed2.pdf
The State Aid Subcommittee updated the Board of Regents on the recently enacted state budget and how it compares to the initial proposal submitted by the Board of Regents. The link below includes a breakdown of the initiatives that received increased support and the new legislative provisions that were included.
The Board of Regents adopted previously discussed amendments which will increase the student teaching experience requirement to include a full-day experience for an entire semester.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/common/regents/files/419hea2.pdf
The Perkins Grant provides federal funding to districts for supporting career and technical education programs (CTE). For the next round of funding, the recently enacted Perkins V Grant includes many revised goals and expectations aimed at improving the quality of CTE programs. During the meeting, the Board of Regents was updated on the framework for developing the new grant proposal.
The grant requires the submission of an initial Transition Plan by the end of May. The Transition Plan outlines the general framework for the goals of the finalized four-year grant proposal, which is due to the Department of Education in the spring of 2020.
Some key requirements for the new grant proposal include:
- Alignment with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act (WIOA).
- Increasing the number of approved CTE programs.
- Strategies to improve equity and access within CTE programs especially for learners of color, low-income learners, females, and students with disabilities.
- Increased accountability measures
Commissioner Elia emphasized that stakeholder input will be crucial for the development of the grant proposal. NYSED is currently developing a Stakeholder Engagement Plan to gather ideas from educators, parents, community members, and representatives from business and industry.
The Board or Regents approved a previously discussed amendment prohibiting the listing of 3-8 assessment scores on student transcripts or permanent school records.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/common/regents/files/419p12a7.pdf
