As part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) regulations, school districts are required to have a staff member who is assigned to monitor and assist students who transition in and out of the juvenile justice system.The October Board of Regents meeting began with a presentation/discussion of efforts that are underway in the Division of Criminal Justice Services to reduce the number of students engaged in the system and a review of recent data associated with their efforts.
A summary of the 2018 3-8 ELA and Math Assessment data was presented.Key points of interest include:
- Approximately 950,000 students across the state took the assessments.
- The opt out rate for 2018 was 18%, down 1% from 2017.Long Island represented the geographic region with the highest refusal rate.
- 45.2% of participating students were proficient (scoring 3 or 4) in ELA.
- 44.5% of participating students were proficient in math.
- More than 145,000 students participated in Computer Based Testing (CBT).
More than 100,000 students took the ELA on the computer.
More than 74,000 took the math on the computer.
NYSED is committed to increasing these numbers in 2019.
Due to the new two day administration format, the 2018 results cannot be accurately compared with data from prior years.The 2018 scores will serve as baseline data for comparisons with 2019 and 2020 results.
The link below provides more specific information and includes results broken down by subgroups.
The State Aid committee provided an update on the development of the 2019-20 budget proposal that will be presented to the legislature in early 2019. Priorities for increased funding will focus on:
- Equity
- Successful Implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act
- Expanding Early Childhood Education
- Increasing support for ELLs
- Investment in streamlining NYSED and school district administrative functions
Further discussion will occur at the November BOR meeting with formal approval of the budget scheduled for December.
- The Board discussed recent changes to state and federal law relating to the educational stability of students in foster care.Over the past eighteen months, NYSED has partnered with the Office of Children and Family Services to develop guidance on implementing the new regulations which includes a Foster Care Toolkit for educators. The law clarifies state and local points of contact and establishes the rights of students placed, or moved into foster care to:
- Attend a school determined to be in their best interests
- Immediate enrollment at the school
- Receive district-provided transportation
On October 29, 2018 a statewide educational webinar session will be held through local BOCES sites across the state to review the new requirements and provide an overview of the Toolkit.
The link below provides key information that was covered in the discussion and includes information on the webinar and how to access the Toolkit.
In recognition of October being School Vision Health Month, a presentation was made to acknowledge the importance of providing students with access to vision health care.In addition to encouraging all schools to promote eye health and safety, NYSED, in collaboration with several corporate partners, is sponsoring eye clinics for students in Schenectady, Camden, Amsterdam and Rome. Licensed optometrists will provide students with free eye exams and eye glasses, if needed.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/
The Board continued discussions on an amendment which would allow special education teachers who teach a special class to obtain Statements of Continued Eligibility and Limited Extensions to teach one or more content area subjects.It is anticipated that the proposed amendment will be presented to the Board for formal adoption at the February 2019 meeting.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/
An amendment was discussed that would create an extension for holders of CTE certification which would allow them to teach grades 5 and 6.It is anticipated that the amendment will be presented to the Board for formal adoption at the February 2019 meeting.
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/
