a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
In the interests of time, since the meeting was scheduled for only one hour (because of the Governor's press conference on the State Accountability Reports), there were no reports given.
(1) EMERGENCY RULES FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND GRANT PROGRAM
Adopted emergency rules for the Administration of the School Improvement Plan and Grant Program. (Emergency rules must be adopted at this time because the full process of adopting rules requires several months.)
[The School Improvement Plan and Grant Program, created in SB00-186, provides grant money to schools rated "unsatisfactory" on the SARs. The rules are required to include timelines and procedures for annually notifying schools that received an "unsatisfactory" rating on the SARs; the guidelines for their improvement plans, which are to be coordinated to the extent possible with federal program requirements related to student achievement; and procedures and timelines for distributing the money to identified schools. Eligible elementary schools will receive $75,000 per year for two years; middle schools or junior high schools, $100,000 per year for two years; and high schools, $125,000 per year for two years.]
(2) EMERGENCY RULES FOR THE SUMMER SCHOOL GRANT PROGRAM
Re-adopted emergency rules for the Administration of the Summer School Grant Program.
(Emergency rules were adopted in the August 2001 meeting, but since they are good for only a short time, they needed to be re-adopted until the full adoption process can take place.)
[The Summer School Grant Program, created in SB 01-129 is designed specifically to fund summer reading programs for children who have scored "Unsatisfactory" on CSAP Reading after they have completed 3rd and 4th grades and before they enter 4th or 5th grades respectively. The rules address application procedures for the disbursement of the funds appropriated. Approximately $945,800 has been appropriated to fund the first year of the program. This is a formula-driven grant program. The rules specifically address funding programs designed to provide intensive literacy and reading comprehension services to eligible children; application procedures that describe the curriculum the school district will use in the summer reading program, the form of the grant application, and the times frames for distribution of the grant monies; and other criteria the SBE deems appropriate.]
(3) EMERGENCY RULES FOR THE COLORADO SCHOOL AWARDS PROGRAM
Adopted emergency rules for the Administration of the Colorado School Awards Program.
(The emergency rules are being adopted so that the money can be distributed immediately.)
[The Colorado School Awards Program, created in SB 00-186, includes both the John Irwin Schools of Excellence Awards and the Governor's Distinguished Improvement Awards. The program is designed to present financial awards to the highest performing and the most improved public schools, as determined by the School Accountability Reports. During the first year of implementation, all the awards go to the schools rated "excellent" on the SARs. In subsequent years, one-third will be awarded for the overall academic performance ("excellent" rating) and two-thirds for the most improved schools in the state ("significant improvement" rating). Approximately $1.5 million has been appropriated this year. The rules address the relationship of funding levels to number of pupils attending the school and the use of the money.]
(4) HEARING ON THE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND GRANT PROGRAM
Scheduled a hearing on the rules for the Administration of the School Improvement Plan and Grant Program for November 8, 2001.
[See item A (1) above for information about the program.]
(5) SCHEDULE HEARING ON REPEAL OF RULES
Scheduled a hearing on November 8, 2001, to consider the repeal of rules for the Administration of the Teacher Certification Act of 1975, the Teacher Qualification Driver Education, and the Teacher Qualification Motorcycle Safety Education. (No oral testimony will be accepted on that date, as the Department of Education deems such testimony unnecessary because the law on which these rules were based has been repealed.)
Adopted the meeting schedule for the State Board of Education for 2002, as follows: January 10, February 2 (Retreat), February 14, March 14, April 11, May 9, June 12-13 (Retreat), July 11, August 8, September 12, October 10, November 14, December 12.
(1) ON-GROUNDS SCHOOL FACILITIES
Approved the establishment of the following on-grounds special education schools/facilities, which have met the criteria for eligible facilities as described in the Rules for the Administration of the Public School Finance Act of 1994, as well as the requirements set forth by the Special Education Services Unit:
Rocky Mountain Youth Academy(2) STATE GRANTS
Approved the basic grant in the total amount of $10,000 to each of the eligible boards of cooperative education services (BOCES):
(3) ACCREDITATION CONTRACTS
Approved accreditation contracts for the following school districts:
(1) EDUCATOR INDUCTION PROGRAMS
Approved educator induction programs for the following:
(2) WAIVER REQUEST
Granted a waiver of the PLACE assessments for alternative licensure candidates for Littleton Public Schools.
[Littleton Public Schools, a designated agency for alternative teacher licensure, seeks this waiver so that their alternative teacher candidates may accept employment prior to taking the PLACE test, as long as they meet all other requirements for the program. The candidates would then be required to complete the assessment during the school year and prior to receiving their provisional license.]
(3) EMERGENCY EDUCATOR AUTHORIZATIONS
Approved emergency Type III educator authorizations for 123 initially and 119 renewals.
[Local districts may request Type III Emergency Authorization to employ non-licensed teachers, principals, administrators, or special services providers if they agree to provide an induction program. The SBE's approval is based on consideration of whether the district has demonstrated a shortage of licensed personnel and the employment of non-licensed personnel is essential to preserving the instructional program and to the well-being of the children enrolled.]
(4) TEACHER IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM
Approved the Teacher Residency Program for the following:
[Colorado school districts and boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES) are authorized to establish teacher in residence programs, enabling them to hire non-licensed individuals with appropriate degrees for two years, providing that they give these people individual training, support, and evaluation and that they recommend them for licensure upon completion of the program. The intent of the teacher in residence program is to enable districts to address teacher shortages and reduce the number of people employed under Type III Emergency Authorizations. It also attempts to help school districts and BOCES to recruit and employ nontraditional teacher candidates.]
(5) DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
(These remain confidential until action is taken by the Board.)
Instructed the department staff and the attorney general's office to prepare the documents requesting a formal hearing to revoke the license of one teacher.
(1) CONTINGENCY RESERVE PAYMENT
Approved the request for a payment of contingency reserve funds from the General Assembly to the following school districts in the amounts indicated:
[The SBE has the authority to make supplemental payments to school districts experiencing financial difficulties. The statute (C.R.S. 22-54-117) allows payments to assist districts with financial emergencies of various types.]
(2) SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION FUND
Approved proposed recommendations for grant awards totaling $5,000,000 for capital construction projects, to go to school districts from the School Construction and Renovation Fund.
[The SBE is responsible for determining which capital construction projects to recommend to the Capital Development Committee of the General Assembly be funded from the School Construction and Renovation Fund. This year's allocation to be distributed is $5 million.]
Approved charter school waiver requests from September 13, 2001, to October 4, 2001, for the following:
Approved charter school waiver requests from September 13, 2001, to June 20, 2006, for the following:
Approved charter school waiver requests, except for 22-60.5-101, et seq., from September 13, 2001, to October 4, 2001, for the following:
[Denied request for waiver of 22-60.5-101, et seq., because it is a section with only definitions.]
Approved charter school waiver requests, except for 22-54-105, from September 13, 2001, to June 20, 2006, for the following:
[Denied request for waiver of 22-54-105, because the Board is prohibited by law from granting waivers of Title 54, the School Finance Act.]
Clair Orr asked that this be pulled off the consent agenda because he had questions about some of the courses described by the University of Denver as part of their curriculum for a Library Media Specialist certificate. Specifically, his concerns were regarding LIS 4000, "Understanding the Information User"; LIS 4040, "Management of Information Organizations"; and LIS 4301, "Information Seeking Behavior." His specific concern regarded the use of the word "behavior" because he wondered why a person training to help people find information in a library needed to learn about "cognitive behavior" and "information seeking behavior." He was assured that this is just the terminology used to describe how people attempt to acquire information and do research, and these are not psychological behavioral courses.
Evie Hudak asked that a vote be taken on Charge No. 2001EC08, because the Board was not unanimous in accepting staff's recommendation for acceptance and approval of the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement. (Hudak and Burnett cast the dissenting votes.)
Postponed hearing on rules for the Administration of the Science and Technology Education Center until October 4, 2001.
JOE SHEA: S.M.A.R.T. (Student Mastering and Responsible Teaching) Schools provides internet-based K-12 education services and support. They submitted a letter to the SBE with three concerns: (1) The current method of educating juveniles in the Department of Juvenile Services (Department of Corrections) has problems; students are moved every 30-60 days, and there is no continuous education. When these kids return to their regular school, they usually drop out after about 5 days. Coordination between the DOC and the districts that the students come from is spotty. We have never had any formal jurisdiction over these kids. (2) Current law prevents school districts from providing internet-based education to home-schooled students; students must have been enrolled in a public school for the preceding academic year prior to being eligible for enrollment in a district-based virtual school. This portion of the law may be unconstitutional because it effectively denies equal education for schools receiving federal funds. (3) At a briefing in July, the SBE was asked to approve their internet-based education program. At that time, it seemed that the SBE misunderstood that it was being asked to approve the software; in fact, the request was to approve the education process that S.M.A.R.T. Schools provides.
JUDY AHLBERG: In regard to the School Capital Construction Expenditures Reserve Projects the SBE will be asked to approve (see Information for Future Action), there is a concern about the money for Las Animas. Developers are exerting undue influence on the school board to build a new building rather than restore and renovate the old, historic building that houses the school. The new building is contingent on voter approval of a bond issue that will provide matching funds. The bond issue can be a burden on senior citizens on fixed income, and it is unnecessary since the cost would be less to renovate the old building and preserve something with historic significance.
Following an Executive Session dealing with personnel matters, the State Board reconvened an open session, in which Polis moved that Commissioner William J. Moloney be removed from the position of Commissioner of Education and be replaced as soon as possible. Voting in the affirmative were Hudak and Stanford; dissenting were Burnett, Chlouber, DeHoff, and Orr; Polis was temporarily absent.
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