a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
DEHOFF: Will be attending the NASBE Annual Conference next week; beforehand, will attend NASBE’s conference on bullying with SBE members from 26 other states. On the agenda is former State Representative Don Lee, who carried the anti-bullying bill after Columbine. On Saturday afternoon will stay for the business meeting. On Oct. 18, Jay Green, education author, will be in this room discussing his book Education Myths: What Special Interest Groups Want You to Believe, sponsored in part by the Independence Institute. The National Association of Charter School Authorizers will hold its conference in Denver October 24-25; he will be on two panels at that. Shortly thereafter will be a conference of the Colorado Charter School Authorizers. The Education Trust has a conference in Washington DC on closing the achievement gap that he will be going to on behalf of CDE. [We other Board members were very surprised to hear about this and dismayed to not have had the opportunity to go; it appears that Moloney selected him to go, without even the SBE Chair’s knowledge.] Things won’t be the same without Jennifer Brittenham, who is resigning at the end of the month.
HUDAK: I will be very busy over the next month. This afternoon I’ll be moderating a panel discussion on early childhood issues at the Adams County Early Childhood Summit. Tomorrow I’ll be in Steamboat Springs for my job presenting rules for final approval by the State Board of Human Services, an interesting role reversal for me. I will be going to the NASBE conference. I encouraged my fellow Board members who represent parts of Jefferson County to attend the school visits we’ve been invited to by the Jeffco Legislative Forum. I will be attending the annual CAPE luncheon (Colorado Association for Partners in Education), as I usually do. Election Day will precede our next meeting, and I am hoping that not only Referenda C and D pass, but also the various school mill levy and bond issues in the school districts. I will be resuming the regional accountability committee conferences with CSAN (Colorado State Accountability Network) soon. I wished Jennifer Brittenham well and pointed out that we couldn’t have survived without her during time when we were without a Director.
LITTLETON: Will be attending the Reading Summit on October 21, and encouraged the SBE members to come, even if it’s only for half a day. The event is capped at 700 people, so the SBE members’ seats that are not taken will be redistributed soon. Will be attending the NASBE conference. Will be going to superintendents’ meetings in the Pike’s Peak region; will try to get out to Fremont County too. Said that we would all be happy to write Jennifer Brittenham a letter of recommendation.
MIDDLETON: Will be attending the upcoming Civic Mission of Schools advisory meeting and a meeting of Accelerated Learning.
MUNN: Sent us a copy of a draft paper for CTAG; will send out this week, to start a broad discussion for the rules we’ll pass later this year. This will enable us to bring a more concrete proposal to the Legislature for funding. Many good events are coming up, and SBE members seem to be invited more in helping to create policy, which he attributes to the SBE’s efforts based on our strategic plan. There are many discussions taking place regarding 5th year programs and the issue of new SARs for schools like Randolph Middle School; he feels that the staff advises us a bit too conservatively regarding our authority to do things in these areas. Was also surprised that Jennifer Brittenham is quitting; hopes that in her “tell all” book she’ll treat us kindly.
ORR: Honored Michael Clough for his work with the Greeley School District; will have a meeting with the Greeley community on Nov. 8 to discuss CSAP and their Accreditation status. The Chamber will attend. The new district superintendent is wonderful and will deal with the situation. Spoke at the state PTA’s Legislative Training about School Lands; had good questions by the group. Always has appreciated PTA, because it was the only group in the state that opposed Amendment 16 back in 1996.
POLIS: Spoke to the Accelerated Learning conference about the benefits of college programs for high school students. The Colorado Commission on High School Improvement is about done with its final report. At the Adams County Early Childhood Summit today, will be giving an introduction. On today’s consent agenda we will be approving the capital construction projects that will be funded by the Powerball spillover; it includes many roof replacements, fire alarm upgrades, and boiler replacements. Money from Powerball is insufficient to fund the Giardino settlement, but at least it helps.
SUCKLA: Will be attending the Native Americans conference on October 6-9 and the Western Slope superintendents meeting. Can’t make the NASBE conference because of a Mineral and Energy Board meeting, but wants to again congratulate Orr for receiving NASBE’s Distinguished Service Award. We can’t even begin to believe that Jennifer Brittenham is resigning as of November 1; she will be truly missed. She has been incredibly helpful to Suckla. We will write her a letter of recommendation from the SBE.
COMMISSIONER MOLONEY: Understands that there are times that people want a different, larger challenge. As the word spread about Jennifer Brittenham’s resignation, many people lined up to request that she work for them. Above all, she exemplified generosity of spirit. Assigned the Cabinet at CDE to read The World is Flat, which DASSC also assigned for their retreat. What it says about education is that the pace of education has dramatically increased, and there is a “triple conversion” of forces. There is a call for alignment in P-20, a rising chorus from the business community that the U.S. isn’t competitive enough in the global economy or the proportion of students with degrees in math, science, and engineering. Much of the book dwells on China and India and business development out of the country. The best tutoring providing supplementary services is in India.
Approved the Highlands Education Learning Program as an eligible facility to establish an on-grounds school. [Highlands Education Learning Program (HELP) is a new day treatment center for students ages 12-18 who are in need of mental health treatment beyond what a public school setting can provide. HELP has 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 the appointment of Patti Bateman, representative from a large public library, to CoLAB. [Due to the resignation of Kathy Lawrence, a vacancy exists on the Colorado Library Advisory Board (CoLAB) for a representative from a large public Library. According to the CoLAB Bylaws, the Large Public Library representative must be currently working in a medium to large public library; CoLAB recommends the appointment of Patti Bateman, Library Services Manager at the Aurora Public Library.]
(1) DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
(These remain confidential until action is taken by the Board.)
(2) ENDORSEMENT PROGRAM
Approved the content of the Proposed Endorsement Preparation Programs in Spanish and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) submitted by the Mesa State College.
Approved projects for use of the “Powerball Spillover” funds and for listing as “Back-Up Projects.” [This is the sixth funding cycle for capital construction and renovation for school districts. On November 7, 2000, Colorado voters approved Referendum E allowing the Colorado Lottery to participate in multi-state lottery games and the use of spillover funds for school capital construction. The “Powerball spillover” funding becomes additional funding for the Capital Construction Expenditures Reserve. The State Board of Education has the authority to fund projects from the Capital Construction Expenditures Reserve. The amount of Powerball spillover funding is $1,691,454. A list of projects recommended for funding is available on the SBE meeting website. Additionally, a prioritized list of projects is available with projects recommended as “Back-Up” projects. School districts often do not use all of the awarded funding on projects granted from the Capital Construction Expenditures Reserve and Powerball Spillover. As it becomes available, the unused funding is awarded to projects in the order they are listed on the back-up list.]
Conducted a hearing to consider amendments to the rules for the Administration of the Educator Licensing Act to the October 6 meeting. [HB 05-1026 necessitates amendments to the Rules for the Administration of the Educator Licensing Act, relating to requirements for the alternative principal authorization, changes in the rules for renewal activities for professional licensure, inactive status of licenses, changing the name of the provisional license to initial license, changing the name of the temporary authorization to interim authorization, and hiring of a person who holds an alternative teacher license.]
GOTLIEB: The Special Education Generalist will become an added endorsement, so they don’t have to repeat coursework. The changes also allow a licensee called to military experience to suspends the time in service. There is a new requirement for licensing credit of 3 out of 6 hours in the endorsement content area. The annual renewal for TTEs (Temporary Teacher Eligibility) is a compliance issue under NCLB; there is a new requirement that CDE monitor them during their 3 years. Changed the regular “temporary” authorization to “interim” authorization, because “temporary” is not a compliance term in IDEA. It will be called “Interim Authorization.” Also changed the term “Provisional” to “Initial” because of NCLB.
Nobody signed up to testify in the hearing. Middleton pointed out that TIRs are not eligible for an Initial License without two years in a preparation program; it can be a problem because the contract for teaching in a TIR is for one year.
Motion passed unanimously to close the oral portion of the hearing and schedule for Board consideration at the next meeting.
Conducted a hearing to consider the rules for the Administration of the Dropout Prevention Activity Grant Program. [HB 05-1024 established this program to be funded by a tax check-off on the state income tax return form. The rules must specify the procedures for applying for the grant, the form of the grant application, the information to be provided by the applicant, and the criteria for awarding grants.]
DAVID SMITH (Director of Center for At-Risk Education in CDE): These rules follow the requirements of the law.
REP. SOLANO: Sponsored the bill; the intent of the bill is to provide supplemental arts and vocational educational activities. It was included in the title.
Polis suggested that we add “the extent to which the program offers arts-based or vocational activity programs to students in grades 6-12" to the criteria for awarding the grant. DeHoff asked if this program is supposed to improve academic achievement. Polis explained that these kinds of after-school programs help keep students in school and thereby improve academic achievement; also these are the areas that are often being cut. The amendment passed unanimously.
Motion passed unanimously to close the oral portion of the hearing, direct revisions, and schedule for Board consideration at the next meeting.
Extended the deadline for an applicant for an alternative teacher license to file exceptions to the initial decision of the Administrative Law Judge to November 8, 2005 (passed unanimously). Denied the applicant’s request for an extension of the period of time to file a designation of the record (this second motion passed 6:1; I dissented).
Approved emergency Type III educator authorizations for 95 initially and 18 renewals on a vote of 7:1 (DeHoff dissented). [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.]
DeHoff asked to pull this off the consent agenda because he has some questions about the granting of any emergency authorizations; feels that it is being abused and especially questions why renewals are necessary, since the reason for the initial emergency authorization is generally to give more time for teachers to take the PLACE test. Gotlieb said that these are “documented hardship situations” because some schools are in dire need of a teacher for the classroom and can only find these people to take the jobs. We have cut these down from large numbers in the past, and now only documented situations of dire need are put on the list. Some districts literally cannot find people to fill the jobs. Gotlieb really does not think districts are taking advantage of the situation. DeHoff still doesn’t see that renewals can be necessary, because these candidates haven’t been able to pass the test. I said that I have heard complaints from constituents about the rigor of some of the tests; he said that maybe the test should be changed, but if someone can’t pass the test, they are no better than a babysitter. I strongly disagreed, reminding him that they have already taken all the courses and done many hours of practicum.
Considered adopting amendments to the SBE’s Administrative Procedures for Review of a State Board Grant of Exclusive Chartering Authority. [These administrative procedures were originally adopted in April 2005. Subsequently, public comment has been received and now amendments are being presented to the Board. Last month the SBE conducted a hearing on the proposed amendments. One of the proposed changes is the addition of language to the section “Term of Exclusive Authority” that specifies a requirement of submission of documentation by March 1 of each year demonstrating that the district is still in compliance with the criteria for their eligibility, such as having the percentage of students in charter schools or percentage of students on free/reduced lunch. The question is whether districts should have to reapply yearly for exclusive authority or not. Mike Freeman, President of CASB, testified in September that school districts of fewer than 3000 students should not have to annually request to be granted exclusive chartering authority. Another issue is who has standing to bring a challenge to exclusive chartering authority; it had been suggested that we specify who is allowed to bring a challenge, rather than leaving it as “any person or entity.” Nina Lopez from the League of Charter Schools expressed a concern about putting the burden of proof on the party who brings a notice of change status.]
I moved to delete Section E (seconded by Middleton). I explained that I believe this section exceeds the law by requiring all the provisions of the exclusive chartering authority statute to have been in effect for four years prior, when the statute only requires that the district have provided “fair and equitable treatment” to its charter schools during the previous four years. Denise Mund, CDE Director of Charter Schools, explained that this was added based on a suggestion by Littleton at the last meeting. Littleton said that it would streamline our decision processes. Mund added that our legal counsel, Tony Dyl, had worked with Mund to draft this paragraph and said this was appropriate. Dyl showed up at that time and said that it was added because of Littleton’s request. Middleton said she thought that districts should be given the leeway to have made changes within the past four years, and she pointed out that this had been a point of contention. [DeHoff, who was supposed to be recused during this part of the meeting, went over to Littleton, spoke in whispers with her, and typed something on her computer. Middleton raised objection to these actions of his. Suckla ruled that because DeHoff is staff at the Charter School Institute and has professional interests in this topic, and because we had closed the oral portion of the hearing at the last meeting, he was out of order to participate in any way and couldn’t make comments – which he tried to do after Middleton’s comments – and that he needed to sit in the audience and just listen, like the staff and members of the public.] Munn asked what the intent was to add this section as a “standard of review.” Dyl made an explanation (which I didn’t really understand). The vote was 3:3 (Littleton, Polis, and Suckla dissented; Orr was absent and DeHoff was recused). Thereupon, it was agreed that we would still make a revision to this section to clarify the standard of review. Suckla said that Munn should work with Dyl to create language for next month’s meeting. I asked to be included, since concerns about this paragraph were raised by me; Littleton said that she too should be included, since it was her idea.
Littleton moved to amend the entire section “Term of Grant of Authority” by deleting the entire language and substituting different language that grants the authority for one year at a time and requires submission of documentation if there have been changes. Littleton said that she was streamlining the process by combining 7 points into 3. I said that it would create more work for all the districts, as well as staff, because it makes most districts reapply every year, with extensive documentation to be submitted. Mund indicated agreement with this. Dyl pointed out that it would open up the possibility that districts would forget to send in their request every single year. Polis and Suckla asked Littleton if she would be willing to wait until next month, so we would have time to digest her amendment.
Middleton said that we’ve been putting off amending these procedures for months and it would be better to decide now. We voted on that, and the vote was 1:5 (all but Littleton dissented; Orr was absent and DeHoff was recused). Then Middleton moved to pass the rules as amended today, with a clarification in the “Standard of Review” section to apply the four-year provision only to the portions that the statute applies it to. The vote was 4:2 (Littleton and Polis dissented; Orr was absent and DeHoff was recused).
Accepted the report from the State Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented Student Education.
CoLAB (Colorado Library Advisory Board) will be appointing a Library Education Representative and a Citizen Representative from the 3rd Congressional District. [Due to the resignation of Deborah Grealy, the Library Education Representative, the State Board will be asked to appoint a new individual (must be currently working in a library or serving as part of it governing body) to serve on the Board. Also, the Citizen Representative from Congressional District 3, JD Miller from Grand Junction, has resigned. The State Board of Education is asked to recommend a new individual (must not be currently working in a library or serving as part of it governing body) to serve on the Board.]
Moved to hold a teleconference to discuss the position of Assistant to the Director of State Board Relations, since Jennifer Brittenham is resigning prior to the next Board meeting.
JIM GRIFFIN (representing the Colorado League of Charter Schools): Although the SBE has just concluded its decision-making on the procedures for granting exclusive chartering authority, he still has concerns. He is concerned that if we don’t have enough material in place in the record when we make the first decision, we are inviting challenges. Is not pleased that we have limited the opportunity to submit information about the district’s circumstances to only charter schools. Is also concerned that the Board’s decisions regarding districts with a moratorium have been inconsistent, as well as one defying a state board order. [I questioned how he came to that opinion, since in the end we granted the authority to every district that had a so-called moratorium, and we denied the authority to the only district that supposedly defied a State Board order. Suckla pointed out that we should not argue with people during public testimony, but just let them say what they want.] Said that Jeffco has clearly defied the Board’s remand on the Montessori school, because the contract for that school has not been negotiated, and he wondered what is going to be done about it. Would like the staff to look annually at districts granted exclusive chartering authority with a population close to 3,000 and see if their enrollment has surpassed 3,000.
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