a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
BURNETT: [No report.]
HUDAK: As the Board's liaison, I attended the quarterly meeting of CCLD (Colorado Council for Library Development). They have established their goals for the year, of which the following are particularly noteworthy: (1) assist school districts to implement programs leading toward higher students achievement; (2) assist school and public libraries to collaborate on family-based programs to develop and enhance reading skills; (3) use technology efficiently to promote and deliver continuing education content, including distance learning; and (4) determine the needs of special populations that can be met through library services. and work with libraries to develop these programs. I attended the training session of the Colorado Staff Development Council, which Board members were invited to, and have forward to the SBE members a copy of the PowerPoint presentation; in contains some good quotes, including the following: "The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is today." And (a good one for us to remember) "Have a simple, clear purpose which gives rise to complex, intelligent behavior, rather than complex rules and regulations that give rise to simplistic thinking and stupid behavior." I attended the NASBE Legislative Conference earlier this month. Some of the speakers included Senator Paul Wellstone, who was on the committee that drafted the HR1 legislation; Stan Collender, who always makes an enjoyable and understandable presentation about the national budget; and U.S. Undersecretary of Education Gene Hickok. NASBE's Governmental Affairs Committee made an excellent presentation about IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and the issues we can expect to come up with its reauthorization next year. We also made visits to our members of Congress, which I'm sure Clair Orr will talk about, because we harped on the issue of the School Trust Lands. We also handed out this nice brochure "NASBE's 2002 Legislative Agenda," which includes the areas that NASBE is focusing on, such as full funding for IDEA, funding for professional development for special education teachers, the over-representation of minorities in special ed., and the discipline of special ed. students. Finally, one of the elements of HR1/NCLB is the requirement that the state have a report card. At NASBE I got a couple of copies of the pocket edition of the Texas report card; it is very handy, and I suggest that we consider producing something like it. I am very concerned about the AYP (adequate yearly progress) provisions of HR1.
ORR: At the NASBE conference, our visits to members of the state's Congressional delegation focused on the School Trust Lands issue. It appears that some partisan out-maneuvering is going on between Udall and Allard and McInnis regarding this issue. If you look at the court case regarding the Enabling Act, on page 20, it goes through the concerns that the plaintiffs had. The court ruled that Amendment 16 does not conflict with the Enabling Act, which is the main contention that the Congressional members are using to support their bills. Pointed out to them that the children of Colorado don't even know that this trust exists for them. "I really appreciate the Democrats, because they did meet with us. . . . If I let this go through, I'd just be playing politics, and I won't do it. I spoke up to my fellow Republicans at Lincoln Day dinners. We need to have undivided loyalty to our school kids." Using the land for open space divides the loyalty. "I understand the politics, but I don't agree with it." We're trying to set up a meeting with the State Land Board over this issue, because they are the trustees. Met with them last month and felt for the first time that they are willing to do something to move forward for our school kids. The SBE was never notified that these bills were being introduced. We were elected to represent the school kids, and both delegations were made aware of this issue. Tancredo and maybe Schaefer are supporting us.
POLIS: There is a terrific group working with Eric Feder from CDE on online learning efforts in the state to improve online learning. They are trying to establish an online learning organization to prevent duplication of efforts. Seeking a legislative declaration to give the movement some momentum. Optimistic about how it's going and legislative efforts to allow home-schoolers to enroll in online learning. Congratulations to Roscoe Davidson and Gary Sibigtroth on their new positions. Appreciate continued service to CDE. They are both continuing to do their previous regional team leadership as well as taking on their additional duties.
STANFORD: Thanks to the productive meeting with the Governor recently, we were put in touch with Matt Needler about School Trust Lands. Had breakfast with Teagarden, new member of the State Land Board, who has fond memories of the campaign for Amendment 16; he may still be willing to work with us on this. Pleased to report that the Denver Chamber of Commerce is supporting a pilot for longitudinal academic growth proposed by Rep. Keith King. Keeping a watch on Sen. Evans' bill on training principals, SB 152, to do what SB 154 did on performance-based standards for teachers. Still trying to keep alive funding for closing the achievement gap; the bills aren't dead yet, but the budget isn't optimistic - despite people pulling Amendment 23 money in several directions. Out in soon-to-be former part of 1st CD for demonstration of MAP, a norm-referenced test that is well aligned with CSAP, as a pre-test and post-test. Progress is being made in our school districts and it was nice to observe that.
SUCKLA: We should get a copy of the report of the State Land Board and see it. It showed how much land is in each school district, how much is forest land, etc.
DEHOFF: Also attended NASBE conference, followed by study group on low-performing schools, focusing on success stories. One of the more interesting presentations was from a representative of NEA and NFT on professional development, leading to a discussion about assembling the right staff, what impacts teacher contracts have, and the ability of principals to make changes. Report will be out this fall. Had pleasure of spending time in Englewood at two elementaries and a middle school, regarding schools not dropping the arts to raise their CSAP scores. It was marvelous to see how the arts are infused in everything they do, including team teaching and middle school marching band. Clayton Elementary, one of their high-poverty, high-ESL schools, has a high level of proficiency.
COMMISSIONER: Two milestones in the department. First, Dick Elmer is retiring. "If you would seek his monument, look about you." Next Wednesday afternoon at the department will be a small retirement reception. Second, congratulations to Roscoe Davidson for taking over the position of Deputy Commissioner, and to Gary Sibigtroth for taking over Roscoe's position heading the regional teams. It was a special experience yesterday attending Gov. Owens' third education summit. Dr. Reid Lyon's presentation about literacy was especially good. It is always special when the U.S. Secretary of Education (Dr. Rod Paige) visits our state. Hank Brown had a small dinner for Dr. Paige on Tuesday night, during which Paige expressed thanks to the ELC (the Education Leadership Council) for helping with the passage of NCLB. Paige has a compelling and powerful message about leaving no child behind and what it means to really mean that.
Rescheduled hearing on proposed new rules for Administration of the ACT Assessment on a National Test Date for the April 11, 2002, meeting.
Scheduled a hearing to consider proposed new Rules for the Implementation and Financing of Regional Education and Support Services for the May 9, 2002, meeting.
Approved the establishment of Denver Children's Home - Discovery Home, Group Home - in Denver, to establish 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.
Approved appointments to the Colorado Council for Library Development. Due to the resignation of two members, the SBE was asked to appoint two individuals. CCLD asked for the re-appointment of one member who has completed one term and is eligible for a second term; this person is a representative of a community college. The new appointments are needed for citizen representatives from CD 1 and 6, and are as follows:
[Members of CCLD serve 3-year terms and are eligible for reappointment to one additional 3-year term. Meetings are held quarterly. CCLD is the principal advisory body on library matters to the SBE, the State Librarian (Commissioner of Education), and the Assistant Commissioner for State Library and Adult Education Office. There are 19 members.]
(1) EMERGENCY EDUCATOR AUTHORIZATIONS
Approved emergency Type III educator authorizations for 78 initially and 20 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.]
(2) ALTERNATIVE TEACHER LICENSURE PROGRAM
Approved P.S. 1 Charter School to serve as a designated agency for the Alternative Teacher Licensure Program.
[SBE rules provide that Colorado school districts, BOCES, accredited independent schools, or accepted institutions of higher education may develop and implement alternative teacher programs for the preparation and licensure of individuals who have not completed a program through an approved teacher education institution. Such programs must meet the requirements of SBE rules and state statutes.]
(3) WAIVER REQUEST
Approved request of for Alternative Licensure Candidates for P.S. 1 Charter School beginning March 14, 2002, through March 14, 2004, for a waiver of the requirement that their alternative teacher candidates pass the PLACE assessments prior to accepting employment as alternative teachers. The waiver allows the school to employ alternative teachers who have not yet passed the assessments but meet all other requirements for the program. The teachers are then required to complete the assessments during the school year and prior to receiving their provisional license.
[The SBE may grant waivers, with a two-thirds vote, for any requirement in the rules regarding alternative teacher programs. Waivers may be granted only if they are necessary to improve the quality of the affected educators and with evidence of the need to prevent extreme hardship to the district. Waivers may be for a two-year period and are renewable.]
(4) DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
Approved the capital construction projects, as submitted, in the amount of $1,162,090.60.
[The SBE is allowed by statute to grant, in addition to any amount annually appropriated by the Legislature as a contingency reserve and any amount for school capital construction, an amount equal to the appropriated amount for the budget year, for school capital construction expenditures reserve. Funding for the Charter School Capital Construction program required a supplemental amount of $1,162,090.60 because of an increase in charter school enrollment. There are five capital construction projects that need this money, three in Sanford School District in Conejos County for their main school, one in Ellicott in El Paso County for their middle school, and one in Widefield in El Paso County for an elementary school.]
Granted waiver requests for June 30, 2006, to Boulder Valley School District RE-2 for Summit Middle Charter School.
Lorrie Harkness, Director of Special Education: We are proposing amendments to the rules for the Administration of the Exceptional Children's Education Act, as a follow-up to the process of implementation of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). The federal government said that they need to see some specifics on how we enforce the law, which we do through the Continuous Improvement Monitoring Process. Most of the changes are what OSEP (the federal Office of Special Education Programs) requires, straight out of IDEA. Some of them help us comply with FERPA (Family and Education Rights to Privacy Act) and other legislation. The input that we received has been minimal; six letters have been submitted with feedback about the proposed amendments.
Assistant Commissioner Bill Windler: We are still awaiting the rule-making process being completed. The state plan is due to the U.S. Department of Education by May 15. We are in "pretty good shape . . . in the top 4 or 5 in the country" in terms of the requirements of NCLB. We were wondering how specific the components of the plan need to be, but just received that information from the Federal Register and have distributed it to people in CDE who need to work on the various parts; they will meet next week. There are 5 or 6 over-arching goals to be met. We're in a good position to submit the preliminary plan by May 15.
We have been discussing the pros and cons of asking to be one of the 7 pilot states for State-Flex; it doesn't seem that it would be in our best interests at this time. States can apply next year if all of the slots aren't taken, which it is thought that there will be. It appears that it would be very difficult to do at this time, being very labor-intensive (documentation) and require significant restructuring of our accounting system. It doesn't appear that any of our districts will ask to be in the District-Flex pilot, either. Most of the waivers we asked for in the past related to the poverty level on Title I for being school-wide; those levels have already been lowered.
After we get the CSAP data from this year, we'll be able to submit in spring 2003 the baseline for Colorado's AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress). Spoke with Dr. Sanders about developing a definition of AYP that is aligned with the value-added concept and our accreditation rules. Tennessee is going through the same discussion, and we'll be in touch with their people.
The district report cards required will be satisfied by the reports that districts make in their annual reports. The state has an annual report that we send to the Legislature and it is on the web.
Regarding the teacher quality requirements that all of our Title I schools must meet in the fall and eventually all schools in the future, there is still discussion going on in Washington about the definition of teacher quality, and we might receive some "guidance" from USDOE on it. All newly hired paraprofessionals in Title I schools will have requirements for quality also; in the core areas of reading, writing, and math, they will need an associate's degree or a qualifying test to endorse them administered by the state or local school. Rep. Spence is working on this issue with higher education in HB 1306. Colorado gets $29 million flowing through to districts for development of teacher quality development programs.
A provision on school safety requires the state to come up with criteria for identifying "persistently dangerous schools." We already have the Colorado Safe Schools Act. The key area that might be difficult to define is "persistent."
Regarding the supplemental service providers list, the Grants Unit will be coming up with the process for districts to apply for services from the providers, since Title I schools currently on corrective action will need to be able to access them in the fall. NCLB requires that these providers have proven effectiveness in helping children with remediation and use scientifically based research.
The overall purpose of this federally funded early childhood initiative is to develop and implement a statewide comprehensive and coordinated system of services and supports for infants and toddlers (and their families) who have special health care needs or disabilities. A community development strategy is used for this initiative. A large geographic area of the state is sparsely populated and does not lend itself to a completely local capacity to respond to all the needs of the infants and toddlers eligible for this program. Therefore, a statewide initiative is required to support these rural communities. The Colorado Foundation for Families and Children will ensure the implementation of the requirements of Part C of IDEA in 40 rural counties of the state. At the local community level, the contractor will assist local service providers.
Each year the Special Education Unit of CDE conducts a monitoring process for each eligible facility with an approved on-grounds school. These facilities include residential treatment centers, day treatment programs, and hospitals that have been approved by the SBE to receive per-pupil funding and provide educational services to the children and youth placed in the programs. The monitoring process reviews the basic requirements for approval, to determine if the facility continues to be eligible to receive state funding. Some of the factors reviewed are appropriate licensure for teaches, sufficient numbers of teachers, and calendar and schedule.
[Nobody came to address the Board.]
Affirmed the decision of the Aurora School District to deny the charter application for Legacy Charter School. (Motion was carried unanimously, 7:0.)
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