a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
Karen Gerwitz announced that she is resigning as of March 16, 2007, to serve as Director of Communications at DORA (Department of Regulatory Agencies); she will be working for former SBE member Rico Munn. She said she feels that the new position fits her skills more appropriately. Suckla said that we will discuss the position of Director of State Board Relations at our Work Session on March 7, in the late afternoon after the charter school hearings.
We approved a contract with NASBE (National Association of State Boards of Education), in an amount not to exceed $50,000, to do the search for a new Commissioner (Chief State School Officer), beginning on February 28, 2007, and to be completed no later than August 1, 2007. The vote was 6:0 (Schaffer was absent for the entire teleconference). It was noted that as members of NASBE, we are entitled to a 25% discount on some of the costs, and in addition, we do not expect the cost to exceed $44,000.
Michael Hill and Brenda Wellburn from NASBE joined the meeting at that point (1:30 p.m.). They said that when applications come in, NASBE asks for proof of the applicants’ educational degrees. The SBE comes up with a checklist of key questions that address particular issues/criteria of concern to us. It is our choice as to whether we want NASBE to look over applications that don’t have these required items. Also, NASBE won’t rate the applications unless we want them to. They will bring all the applications for us to see. NASBE provides a scoring sheet to help us each evaluate the applications. In Kansas, NASBE is doing ranking on their own, but they won’t share that unless the SBE wants to see it. We agreed that we would like to see NASBE’s ranking.
Moloney asked about how many applications states typically receive. Wellburn said it is much lower than districts get when they do a search for a superintendent, about 20-30, but since they started using the checklist, it reduced the number of applicants and improved the quality of applicants. Hill said they create a matrix to help the candidates discuss their background in terms of the qualifications the SBE is looking for.
NASBE is meeting with Governor Ritter in the morning of March 12 to get his input. They will also meet with the Legislature. I asked if they intend to meet with the Education Committees only or all legislators. Wellburn said that it is up to us who in the Legislature we want to speak with. We decided to invite the Education Committees primarily, but invite any other legislators to attend who are interested. We will set this up for Tuesday afternoon, March 13, at a time that the Education Committees don’t meet.
NASBE’s intention is to hold focus groups on March 12-13. They would like to speak with as many people as possible. They like to do hourly meetings with about 6-7 people at a time. NASBE can also interview people over the telephone, in order to interview everyone that we think would be appropriate. They also allow employees in CDE to express their concerns and views. The results of all these comments will be made available to us online. Wellburn and Hill can conduct interviews simultaneously. They want us to put together a schedule for them. There will also be a link on NASBE’s website for people to e-mail their input. We will be given a list of people who showed up in person. Littleton said she’d like to know the names of the people who gave input through e-mail, but Middleton said that this might preclude people giving their honest input. I said that I think it’s important for confidentiality to be allowed, so that people will be honest. I pointed out that we are only considering the input, not necessarily making the decision based on it solely. Wellburn said that the vast majority of people tell who they are. The final candidates also get to see the input.
We can e-mail NASBE suggestions for people to be interviewed. The environmental scan will begin after the in-person visit that Michael Hill will be doing on March 8, when he meet with us for a couple of hours in the afternoon, to determine our key issues. For the focus groups, we discussed including CASE, CASB, CEA, the Commissioner’s Superintendents Advisory Group, higher education, people from both political parties, early childhood, our advisory committees, etc., as well as the list we regularly send out press releases to. Hill said we could have 7 time slots, during which we could do two focus groups, one with him and one with Wellburn. We could categorize the types of groups. We should send our suggestions to Karen Stroup (via Jennifer Brittenham). Suckla said we should send out a press release so people know that we are doing this. We can do another one after we meet with Michael Hill, when the website is up. Wellburn said that we should determine who at a minimum we want in the focus groups, before opening it up to the whole world.
Berman asked what our timeline looks like for future meetings with NASBE. Wellburn said there will be one for looking at the applications and one to do the interviews. She will e-mail us a tentative schedule.
We discussed an appeal received from Transition2Success regarding their denial by the Charter School Institute. Because it is a CSI matter, it is handled differently from other charter school appeals (because there is a different statute regarding it), and we have a choice whether to hold a hearing on it. The standard of review is different from regular charter school reviews – we don’t have to look at the whole case; we simply decide whether CSI’s decision was "arbitrary and capricious." We can have oral arguments presented at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 8. We will receive confidential information from our attorney to use in determining whether we want to have the hearing. Suckla asked Board members to send her our opinion by noon tomorrow, and she will decide based on that.
Berman asked if the Board is going to get a briefing on the task forces’ reports about online education, since legislation is forthcoming on the issue. Moloney said we will get a briefing on March 7 during our legislative briefing. Berman asked if we can bring in some people from the SBE’s task force and the Trujillo Commission. Suckla said she is not sure she wants to hear from the Trujillo Commission, but we certainly should hear from our own task force. Karen Stroup said we reported to the Audit Committee the changes that CDE would make and the dates that they would occur. Moloney added that the Audit Committee did not approve the audit report or tell CDE specific things to do. I asked Stroup to provide us with a brief list of the items that CDE promised the Audit Committee would be done.
Affirmed the decision of the Gunnision Watershed School District in denying the application of the Louden Mullin Charter School. (The vote was unanimous.)
Affirmed the decision of the Delta School District in denying the application of the Vision Home and Community Program to be a charter school. (The vote was 6:1; Schaffer dissented.)
Found that the decision of the State Charter School Institute in denying the application of the Transition 2 Success Charter School was not arbitrary and capricious. (The vote was 5:1; only I dissented; DeHoff had to recuse himself, since he is the Executive Director of CSI.) [Note that the terms of consideration for an Institute charter school appeal are different from the regular ones, requiring the SBE to determine if the Institute was "arbitrary and capricious" in making its decision, not if the decision was in the best interests of the students, district, and community.]
BERMAN: Our focus groups for the Commissioner search will be conducted next Monday and Tuesday. We apologize for the short notice, but it is essential to get community input on the key issues in education around the state and what we would like to see for the new Commissioner.
DEHOFF: Represented SBE on the Learning Task Force of the Arts Coalition to create objectives for arts education and creativity. Went to the opening exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on Bejamin Franklin; it was fascinating. Went to one of the Institute schools for Read Across America day.
HUDAK: I attended the last meeting of the Civic Canopy; Karen Gerwitz did a great job arranging the meeting so it had a café feeling. There was excellent conversation and mixing of people into various groups. As the Board’s liaison to CSEAC, I attended its meeting. Some of the issues discussed relate to changes in the rules for ECEA (Exceptional Children’s Education Act), which the SBE will be looking at in the near future. There are many difficult decisions we will have to make in how we want to implement the regulatory guidance that the U.S. Department of Education promulgated for the newly reauthorized IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). I attended the CASB Legislative conference, and at the workshop that we SBE members did, we received several excellent suggestions for what districts would like to see in a new Commissioner. I attended the conference of CCFLT (Colorado Council of Foreign Language Teachers), in which they raised some concerns about allowing foreign language teachers to take Praxis for licensure, rather than just PLACE; it would help us gain more qualified foreign language teachers. I visited with the Mapleton school board and was briefed on their success in the implementation of their small schools of choice in the district. I went to the School Safety conference, called because of the incident at Platte Canyon High School; it covered many good strategies for preventing school violence. Finally, I attended a meeting of the Colorado School Finance Project, where we delved into the cost of living factor in the school finance formula; it is a very complicated issue.
LITTLETON: Went to Austria for a vacation and had a great time. Invited us to the annual Reading Summit and urged us to invite others, including legislators. Registration will be done online.
MIDDLETON: Met with Regent Steve Ludwig to discuss how to create a more formal relationship for dialogue, based on the conversation when the SBE met with the Board of Regents. Someone from the Community College Board and CCHE were also in the group. They have not determined any strategy yet. Four of the SBE members were at the CASB conference and on the panel; we had a good dialogue, and it was good to hear from school board members. As the liaison to the State Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented, reported that they have asked us to support the bill mandating gifted education; they feel it is essential to serve all these students. Raised the issue at the CASB conference and heard what concerns school board members have; people would prefer making incremental steps in this direction without its being an unfunded mandate. GERC (Gifted Education Regional Coordinators) are working with BOCES to coordinate and improve gifted education. They are very committed to it, and the bill might pass. Integrating Advanced Learning Plans into schools and utilizing post-secondary options would help provide the curriculum these students need.
SCHAFFER: Much activity in Greeley about being on Accreditation Watch. The community is rallying around the district and trying to make innovations to help children who are falling behind. It’s exciting to watch how parents, business, and University members are getting involved. The biggest hero is the Superintendent. Wall Street Journal had an editorial on fixing NCLB; it indicates that if anyone has high hopes for flexibility in the reauthorization, they will be disappointed. Doesn’t think NCLB will be changed into something positive.
SUCKLA: It has been a busy month for all of us. Attending CASB was a great opportunity to see folks from her Congressional District. Much is going on in the district, as we heard from the Superintendent of Montezuma-Cortez yesterday. There has been a struggle with higher education in trying to keep a vocational school viable – a turf waris going on. Will be attending the CASB Board meeting March 23-24. The Mineral and Energy Advisory Board is meeting this month too; about 5 districts have applications for the $20 million in grants that will be given. Our focus groups with NASBE for the Commissioner search will not allow a lot of people, but they are vital.
COMMISSIONER MOLONEY: Introduced the report of the Online Education Task Force that he and Suckla commissioned. The co-chairs, Jared Polis and Senator Nancy Spence, came to present their findings. Ed McVaney, Michelle Brandstetter, Senator Jack Taylor, and Alex Medler from the task force were also in attendance. There are 10 recommendations:
1. Consider multiple meanings of the term "at-risk" for online students, including students who are behind academically, when comparing outcomes of online students to students in physical schools and when evaluating the efficacy of schools in general.
2. Have the SBE rather than the Legislature define "complete education program" and consider its application to online schools and learning centers.
3. Clarify the application of rules for online learning centers in a way that does not discourage online schools from using learning centers.
4. Encourage the sharing, documenting, and clarifying of performance indicators.
5. Clarify the roles and responsibilities of online educators.
6. Encourage state and/or district cooperation for the CSAP testing of online students.
7. Examine options for a state inter-district entity for online school accountability, such as the Charter School Institute, CDE, or BOCES.
8. Remove the current funding restriction that mandates enrollment in a public school in at least one semester of the previous year for online students.
9. Provide the state PPR average for online students or a consistent and reasonable amount of state funds for online students regardless of the local share capacity.
10. Have the SBE encourage partnering and collaboration between districts with the online option and those without their own online options so that funding can be negotiated between districts or could be taken from the district of residence.
Further study is recommended for the following:
Schaffer asked them what they think should be done regarding the problems with transfer of student data from district to district for online students. Polis said there needs to be an incentive to help this happen. I asked if #5 applies to mentors at learning centers. Polis said we should define who is the teacher and which ones are not teachers, but what their roles are. I also asked about the funding for #8 and if there appears to be willingness for this funding. Senator Spence said that there is a legislative initiative that is looking at the issue. Suckla said we will continue the discussion on this topic at our Work Session next month.
(1) REAUTHORIZATION OF TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM
Reauthorized the Teacher Preparation Program at Western State College. [The program reauthorization documentation submitted by WSC contains the applicable content and supporting documentation required to assure the SBE that candidates prepared in the WSC program will meet and/or exceed licensing requirements. The recommendation to the SBE is based on the alignment of the WSC preparation program to the SBE’s teacher performance-based preparation standards, including literacy preparation requirements, and all relevant SBE-approved endorsement standards. Staff indicates that WSC is to be commended, as an institution, for the importance it has given and the attention it has paid to its educator preparation program. Its educator preparation program leadership and staff are to be commended for their strong commitment to the SBE-adopted rigorous standards.]
(2) APPROVAL OF ALTERNATIVE PREPARATION PROGRAM
Approved the proposed Teach Now Alternative Preparation Program at Western State College of Colorado. [Colorado school districts, boards of cooperative services (BOCES), accredited independent schools, and accepted institutions of higher education or any combination thereof, may apply to the Colorado State Board of Education for approval of an alternative teacher preparation program. CDE staff and the Reading Directorate have reviewed this proposal and recommend its approval.]
(3) DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
(These remain confidential until action is taken by the Board.)
Approved charter school waiver requests from March 8, 2007, to June 30, 2010, for Life Skills Center of Colorado Springs Charter School in Colorado Springs District 11.
Approved additional payments to school districts and administrative units for Special Education Programs under the Exceptional Children’s Educational Act, for 2006-2007. [Under the state special education funding formula, administrative units will receive $1,250 for each child with disabilities that was reported on the December 1, 2005, special education count. An additional $6,000 will be distributed to administrative units for a percentage of the children reported on the December 1, 2005, count with the following disabilities: significant limited intellectual capacity, significant identifiable emotional disability, hearing disability, vision disability, autism, traumatic brain injury, deaf-blind, and multiple disabilities. The percentage of the $6,000 to be funded is determined by the amount of funding appropriated. At the beginning of the school year, actual student figures were not available for some of the new institute charter schools, so an estimate was used for those schools, and only 90 percent of the estimated funds were distributed to administrative units. Now that the number of children with disabilities is available for the new institute charter schools, the attached figures reflect the final allocation figures. Approval is requested to distribute the remaining 10% of the ECEA allocation to administrative units for Fiscal Year 2007.]
Approved emergency Type III educator authorizations for 21 initially on a vote of 6:2 (DeHoff and Littleton 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.]
Conducted a hearing on the proposed permanent rules for the Accessible Educational Materials for Students with Print Disabilities Grant Program. [The General Assembly enacted House Bill 06-1004 to provide funding for accessible educational materials for students with print disabilities, charging the State Board with promulgating rules to allow the Department to administer the grant program. The Board adopted emergency rules at its January 2007 meeting and approved the grant based on those at the February meeting.]
There are some guidelines that cannot be incorporated by reference into the rules; therefore the Board agreed to close the oral portion of the hearing, direct revisions, and place the item on the agenda for next month for final approval. The vote was 6:1 (Schaffer dissented).
Approved expenditure of $60,000 from the Mary Jones Trust Fund. [The Mary Jones Trust Fund was created in 1981 when a donation of $91,000 was made to the Colorado Talking Book Library. Since that time the fund has increased to $1,134,150. The intended use of the trust is to support projects that have an impact on a large number of library patrons. CTBL is requesting that funds from the trust be used for operational expenses. This expenditure is monitored by the CDE Chief of Staff. All requests for expenditures must be made to the CDE Chief of Staff in writing by the director of CTBL and must be approved before any funds are expended. The balance in the Mary Jones Trust Fund as of 09-30-06 is $1,134,150. The amount requested by CTBL for period of 7-1-07 to 6-30-08 is $60,000. The 2007-2008 request covers the position cost for existing 1.5 FTE’s. This includes the salary and other costs as well as an estimated amount to cover whatever salary increase might be approved and other increases in position cost for the upcoming fiscal year. If the increases are small, the total amount requested may not be used.]
Schaffer said we are dipping into the principal of the fund by a little, whereas the intent was to use only the interest. He says it is a valid concern; he said the interest being earned looks good, but it is a bad precedent to set. Nevertheless, the expenditure was approved unanimously.
Conducted a hearing to consider proposed amendments to Minimum Standards for School Transportation Vehicles. [The purpose of these amendments is to upgrade the rules for Colorado minimum standards governing school transportation vehicles. The amendments will improve the safety of the students riding the school bus and the mechanical efficiency of the school bus. They are designed to meet or exceed changing needs of operation, the national recommended minimum standards, and new federal safety and emission standards, and to utilize state-of-the-art industry advances.]
The changes reduce the number of categories of vehicles from 4 to 3 for coach-style buses for activity trips. Any new vehicles purchased after the effective date of these rules would have to meet the new federal and state rules for transportation. Based on findings by the National Transportation Safety Board, there are new standards recommended for body roof and sides to stay intact in a rollover accident. Bruce Little from CDE shared examples of accidents in Colorado where passengers died because these standards were not in place. This proposed change would not affect districts that charter for buses, only when the districts buy their own new ones. We discussed whether to change the amendment prohibiting the purchase of buses that are older than 15 years to say that buses purchased must meet specific safety requirements rather than just putting the time restriction. Little said the 15-year language was written because of certain safety requirements enacted 15 years ago; DeHoff pointed out that as time goes by, it will be more than 15 years, and districts need to be able to purchase older buses if they are in good condition and meet safety requirements.. Berman asked, "as a relatively new Board member," whether CDE sought input from people in the field on these rules, particularly district transportation directors. Little said CDE did and always does, and these changes have been sent out to districts twice. Gerwitz said that they have been on our website for several months. Berman also asked what negative feedback, if any, we can expect to receive if we pass these changes. Little said some districts may complain about the limitations, but they are necessary for safety.
We decided to continue the oral portion of the hearing, direct the revisions discussed today to be made, and schedule the hearing to continue to the next meeting.
Middleton moved, and DeHoff seconded, to suspend the rules to consider a resolution recognizing Colorado Charter Schools Week, April 2-6, 2007. The motion passed unanimously [a motion to suspend the rules requires a unanimous vote]. Middleton then moved the resolution, and Littleton seconded. It passed unanimously.
The Board discussed next steps to take with the vacancy of Director of State Board Relations.
A proposed job description was given to us, based on what Karen Gerwitz has been doing, for the Director of State Board Relations position. Suckla asked Karen Stroup if there is a chance that we could get additional money to pay for an additional staff person to handle legal matters. I said that I feel it is vital to have one person in charge of the office, and perhaps we could hire a part-time person to be a legal clerk. Middleton said that perhaps someone in the Attorney General’s office could be arranged. DeHoff said he thinks the job has evolved to the point that the current job description is inadequate; also, he suggests we check with NASBE for descriptions of other state Executive Directors. He doesn’t think we have enough time to do it today. Suckla said she would work with Karen Stroup to get that input and have other Board members give their input. Suckla said that Vivienne Belmont can handle the office for the short-term while we work this out. Stroup said that whenever there is a vacancy, CDE staff typically "pitches in" to ensure that all the necessary work is done. Gerwitz said that she is willing to consult with us as we go through the discussion.
We officially said goodbye to Gerwitz with applause and presented her with a card and gift.
The Board will be asked to appoint members to fill positions on the Colorado Special Education Advisory Committee (CSEAC). [Annually at the April meeting, the State Board appoints new members to the CSEAC to fill positions vacated due to terms ending or resignations. Currently, vacancies exist for three representatives for parents of children with disabilities or individuals with disabilities, one general education administrator, one administrator of programs for children with disabilities, one administrator of a district charter school, and one administrator from the Charter School Institute. Members are especially needed from Congressional Districts 2 and 3. CSEAC has received 25 nominations for the vacancies. The CSEAC Membership Subcommittee recommends the following people for approval: Dianna Chrisman (was appointed to fill an unexpired position on an interim basis in April 2006) – representing general education administrators (CD 4); Canase Beveridge – representing parents of children with disabilities (CD 3); Tamara Durbin – representing administrators of special education programs (CD 4); Cathy Lines – representing parents of children with disabilities (CD 6); Dr. Lu McDaniel – representing the Charter School Institute (CD 6); and Mark Zentner – representing parents of children with disabilities (CD 2). The CSEAC Membership Committee has not yet completed the nomination process for an administrator of a district charter school.]
The SBE will review the submitted Advanced Placement Exam Fee Program contract agreement between CDE and College Board. [In January 2007, the State Board of Education was sent an informational item regarding the forthcoming contract agreement with College Board. The Colorado Department of Education would like to establish a contract with the College Board for direct billing of exam fees incurred by low-income students who take the Advanced Placement exams. The direct billing process is an effective and efficient process for determining the number of exams to be billed and a more expedient method for the payment process. The amount of the contract is set at $130,000. Funds for this contact would be expended from the state’s federal grant called "ESCAPE" (Eliminating Student Cost for Advanced Placement Exams).]
The Board will consider a resolution brought forward by Peggy Littleton, saying that the SBE "does not support the mandatory HPV vaccine by making it a requirement in order to attend school, including home schools and private schools in the state of Colorado, [and] … will not support forcing parents or taxpayers to fund this vaccination series." [See notes from yesterday’s Work Session regarding this resolution.]
The Board will consider a draft of a new code of conduct/ethics for the Board members, being drafted by Schaffer and Berman.
[We ended late and there was nobody signed up to address the Board.]
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