a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
Found that the decision of the Denver Public Schools in denying the renewal of the charter for Life Skills Center of Denver Charter School was contrary to the best interests of the pupils, district, or community. The vote was 4:3 (Berman, Middleton, and Suckla dissented).
Found that the decision of the St. Vrain Valley School District in denying the application of the Imagine Charter School in Firestone for the second time was contrary to the best interests of the pupils, district, or community and to remand it for reconsideration. The vote was 4:2 (Middleton and I dissented; Berman was absent).
MIDDLETON: Will be having a town meeting to discuss library issues this Saturday in Aurora.
SCHAFFER: Was at a conference recently about No Child Left Behind. Thinks we have done a good job as a Board and as a state of giving feedback about NCLB, but as the Congress is looking at bills for the reauthorization, wants the SBE members to look at them. For example, yesterday there was a bill introduced on improving supplemental services and parent involvement. We have talked about the "A Plus" proposal allowing states flexibility to use their own accountability system. Also, we talked about the Teacher Incentive Fund that is crucial to DPS and other districts; appreciates the SBE members who joined him on the letter regarding that. The financial impact of the TIF funds being reduced can be significant. Knows that other states are looking for support from their Boards.
STROUP (Deputy Commissioner, in place of the absent Commissioner Moloney): Many state employees in this building work very hard, and in the spirit of Teacher Appreciation Week, we want to recognize them.
SUCKLA: NASBE needs our votes on President-Elect, Treasurer, and Western Area Director. There is only one candidate for each of these. Randy DeHoff is the candidate for Western Area Director.
(1) ENDORSEMENT PREPARATION PROGRAMS
(2) DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
(These remain confidential until action is taken by the Board.)
Gave notice of a hearing at the August 9, 2007, meeting to repeal and re-enact the rules for the Read to Achieve Grant Program in compliance with SB 07-192. [The Read to Achieve grant program was created pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) 22-7-901 through 22-7-911. The statute states that CDE shall solicit proposals from any public school, including charter schools and Institute Charter Schools, or consortium of schools, to fund research-based, intensive reading programs specifically for kindergarten through 3rd grade students and students between the 3rd and 4th grade whose reading readiness or literacy and reading comprehension skills are below the level established by the SBE in the Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA). SB 07-192 reauthorizes the program and requires the SBE to determine an assessment to be used for the program.]
Approved charter school waiver requests from May 10, 2007, to June 30, 2011, for Ridgeview Classical Charter Schools in the Poudre School District.
(1) PEAK PARENT CENTER
Approved the contract for the use and benefit of CDE, Exceptional Student Leadership Unit, and the Parent Education and Assistance for Kids, d/b/a Peak Parent Center, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $244,874 for 7/1/07 through 6/30/08. [This is an on-going contract with PEAK and is the 3rd year of this contract. The SFY08 statement of work will be processed as an Amendment to the contract and the amount will be $244,874. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Parent Training and Information Centers, and the Exceptional Children's Educational Act (ECEA) require that parents be actively involved in educational planning for their children and that they participate in statewide and local program development through advisory councils and other mechanisms. CDE intends to meet this requirement through a contract with Peak Parent Center, Inc. (PEAK) to do the following: Provide educational workshops and materials for parents and educators; Inform parents and educators of educational opportunities; support parents financially to participate in statewide program development initiatives; provide support and mentoring to parents who volunteer for advisory councils; conduct local workshops to increase parents’ skills to participate in educational planning and program development; conduct statewide conferences to educate parents and educators about quality practices in special education and early intervention; facilitate leadership training as part of school improvement planning to assure there is family involvement in the process; and assist with product development.]
(2) LINDAMOOD BELL
Approved a contract with Lindamood Bell Learning to provide a training program and technical assistance for 3 pilot implementation sites in accordance with the Workforce Investment Act, Title 2, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA). [The funds for this contractor and services to be provided were approved at both the federal and state level in the interagency agreement between CDE and Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.]
Revoked approval of Eligible Facility school, BIG (Buchanan Instructional Group). [BIG (Buchanan Instructional Group) no longer has a Department of Human Services (DHS) Day Treatment license as of 4/3/07. Because having a DHS license is a cornerstone requirement for CDE school approval, staff recommends that BIG’s CDE approval be formally revoked. If they wish to obtain CDE approval in the future to operate a school in an eligible facility, they will need to go through the initial approval process.]
Approved the list of special education excess cost rates for students with disabilities in Eligible Facilities provided by staff for the extended school year 2007.
(1) HEARING ON AMENDMENTS TO RULES FOR SCHOOL FINANCE ACT
Gave notice of a hearing at the August 9, 2007, meeting to make amendments to the rules for the Administration of the Public School Finance Act. [Rules for the Administration of the Public School Finance Act have not been updated for several years. Legislation has been passed that has affected various elements of the Act. Auditing requirements have been updated, but the rules that coincide with statutory language and auditing requirements have not. The Fast College Fast Jobs Program, to be passed as emergency rules at today’s meeting, needs to be included in the rules.]
(2) PAYMENTS UNDER PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE ACT FOR JUNE 2007
Approved payments under the Public School Finance Act for state share of total program for June 2007. [Local districts are entitled to receive monthly payments from the state by the 25th of each month, under provisions of the Public School Finance Act of 1994, as amended.]
(3) PAYMENTS UNDER PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE ACT FOR JULY 2007
Approved payments under the Public School Finance Act for state share of total program for July 2007, in the estimated amount of $276,143,655.52. [Local districts are entitled to receive monthly payments from the state by the 25th of each month, under provisions of the Public School Finance Act of 1994, as amended.]
Approved 7 initial emergency Type III educator authorizations on a vote of 5:2 (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.]
Determined which assessments to approve for the Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA). [The SBE is required by law to approve and identify the assessment instrument(s) for CBLA. The SBE requested that CDE staff gather focused input from the field to guide the decision about which CBLA assessment instrument(s) to approve for annually assessing the reading levels of Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students. Three focus groups were held in April.]
CDE staff recommends that we approve only the following assessments for CBLA: DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills), PALS (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening), and DRA 2 (Developmental Reading Assessment, used by most large districts, including Denver, Jeffco, and Douglas County). Jo O’Brien, Assistant Commissioner for Learning and Results, said that her staff did "due diligence" in receiving as much input as possible for this recommendation. She said that there aren’t instruments that perform in a perfect way, although there are some new ones that show promise, but the focus groups discouraged the selection of those at this time.
Suckla asked if the purpose of the testing is for data collection for comparison purposes and rating districts. O’Brien said that the testing for Read to Achieve is necessary for the purpose of assessing the success of the program. Suckla said she thought the focus groups said that they would like to design an assessment that matches our state standards. I said that it was my belief that the purpose of CBLA is to determine which students, prior to taking the 3rd grade CSAP, are behind in reading, and that in addition to the assessment, districts are required to use a "body of evidence." O’Brien confirmed that this is the case. I proposed that we allow districts that have developed their own assessment to continue to use it if they can prove that theirs is valid and reliable. Also, I said that there is no "rating" based on this. Middleton said she doesn’t think making an exception is in everyone’s best interests to have common data. O’Brien said that districts must "turn in" a report of how their students are doing in reading, although that report is just filed at CDE and not used for ratings. Suckla said that we should pick just one for this year and then have a better assessment developed based on our revised Reading standards – since this is the year that we are reviewing the Reading standards. Berman said she is willing to endorse the staff suggestions for the three assessments. She read part of a letter from the Assessment Director at DPS, which pointed out that assessment scores are not collected, so he doesn’t think the argument about data collection is valid, since multiple measures are required for CBLA. DeHoff questioned the validity of DRA2, because he doesn’t believe it is "valid and reliable." Berman said her belief is that it is a new assessment that hasn’t had time for its validity to be established.
Middleton moved, and Berman seconded, to approve the staff recommendation for the three assessments. Berman stressed the importance of listening to what we heard in the focus groups. I insisted that my colleagues are misunderstanding the purpose of CBLA, which is to help districts prepare students in reading, and I mentioned that I was at the Legislature when the bill was passed, and this is not what they wanted. I said that if the Board did not agree to allow districts to use assessments that they have spent millions of dollars on and can prove are valid and reliable in predicting how students will do on the 3rd grade CSAP, I would vote against the motion. There was no willingness to listen to me. The three assessments passed on a vote of 6:1 (only I dissented).
Repealed and reenacted Emergency Rules for the Administration of the Read to Achieve Grant Program, in compliance with Senate Bill 07-192. [The Read to Achieve grant program was originally created to allow CDE to solicit proposals from any public school, including charter schools and Institute Charter Schools, or a consortium of schools, to fund research-based, intensive reading programs specifically for kindergarten through 3rd grade students and students between the 3rd and 4th grade whose reading readiness or literacy and reading comprehension skills are below the level established by the SBE in the Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA). SB 07-192 reauthorizes the program and requires the SBE to determine an assessment to be used for the program. The rules are being repealed and re-enacted to make it simpler to see what the new rules are saying, rather than having excessive strike-throughs and additions. The new rules include students in kindergarten through 2nd grade as well.]
Adopted DIBELS as the "valid and reliable" assessment for the Read to Achieve program, for schools receiving the grants to use in assessing students’ reading. I said that on behalf of some of the districts I represent, I oppose the motion. The vote was 6:1 (only I dissented). [The Read to Achieve grant program requires the SBE to adopt a valid and reliable Read to Achieve assessment for schools to use in assessing students reading proficiency for students whose reading readiness or literacy and reading comprehension skills are below the level established by the State Board of Education in the Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA). SB 07-192 requires the SBE to approve only one assessment for all grant recipients to use.]
(1) POUDRE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Held a hearing to consider the request for a grant of exclusive chartering authority for the Poudre School District pursuant to 22-30.5-504(5)(a)(I) & (II), C.R.S. [22-30.5-504(5)(a) says that exclusive chartering authority must be granted if the local board "has provided fair and equitable treatment to its charter schools … through demonstration of" a number of things, one of which is that it has not had a moratorium on charter schools within the last 4 years. The record shows that on April 22, 2002, the district board amended District Policy LBD to limit the number of charter schools in the District to three with the provision that the board "may at its discretion review proposals for charter schools with new, innovative educational programs not currently in existence in any District school, including charter schools"; then on August 9, 2004, the Poudre Board repealed the conditional limit of three charter schools in District Policy LBD. However, yesterday, May 9, 2007, Governor Ritter signed SB 199, which prohibits the SBE from denying exclusive chartering authority based on a moratorium.]
JANA LEY (Poudre School Board): Not here to reiterate the information submitted in their request for exclusive chartering authority. They have a third of their students in schools of choice, 3 of which are charter schools, and a number of option/focus and alternative schools and schools-within-a-school programs. They visited the Edmonton, Canada, school system to see their decentralized program. Their district deserves exclusive chartering authority because they have proven their commitment to choice.
LARRY NEAL (Poudre School Board): The district needs to have a good idea of how many students they will be serving [which would not be the case if state charter schools were put into the district]. Would like the opportunity to coordinate all the schools within the boundaries of the district and utilize the lessons learned from them. Acknowledges that there have been conflicts in the past with some of their charter schools, but they would like to "raise the level of the conversation."
CRAIG HORTON (Liberty Common Charter School): The public school system is financially bloated and competition is good for it. Opposes the district’s exclusive chartering authority because it exhibited constant resistance in regard to accepting the renewal of the charter contract. Liberty Common School has been a very successful school, receiving some awards.
T.O. MOORE (Ridgeview Classical Academy): His charter school had a very difficult time reaching agreement with the district on their re-chartering, and the SBE had to remand the school to the district. Fears that they will have no ability to be re-chartered without another chartering authority. The district was very unfriendly in negotiating with them after that remand and would not agree to allow them to contract for the purchase of food services. They are filing for a declaratory judgment because of that.
Schaffer moved to deny Poudre exclusive chartering authority, seconded by Littleton. Schaffer said the statute is clear in 22-30.5-504(5)(a)(I), which requires them to adhere to the provisions of the Charter School Act, part of which allows the charter school to contract with the district for a number of things; we heard that the district would not agree to everything the charter school wanted in its contract, including the purchase of food services. The vote was 5:1 (only I dissented; DeHoff was absent on recusal).
(2) PUEBLO SCHOOL DISTRICT 60
Considered the request for a grant of exclusive chartering authority for Pueblo School District 60 pursuant to 22-30.5-504(9)(a), C.R.S. [22-30.5-504(9)(a) says: "Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, the state board shall grant to a local board of education exclusive authority to authorize charter schools within the geographic boundaries of the school district if the … total number of students enrolled in charter schools authorized by the school district … exceeds by more than three percentage points the percentage of students enrolled in charter schools statewide." The district states that the percentage of students in charter schools qualifying for free/reduced lunch is 9.69%. The state average is 6.59%.]
There were a couple of people from the district that spoke on its behalf. Dolores Atencio from the League of Charter Schools said that she had nothing to add to the record she submitted on behalf of Cesar Chavez Academy, which is disputing the district keeping its exclusive chartering authority.
Littleton moved and Schaffer seconded to deny Pueblo 60 its exclusive chartering authority. Littleton said she doesn’t believe the district is following all the requirements of the law. Schaffer said that he doesn’t feel that law has been satisfied. The vote was 2:4 (Berman, Middleton, Suckla, and I dissented; DeHoff was absent on recusal). I moved to grant the authority to them; the vote was 4:2 (Littleton and Schaffer dissented; DeHoff was absent on recusal).
(3) MONTROSE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Approved Montrose County School District for renewal of its exclusive chartering authority on a vote of 6:0 (DeHoff was absent on recusal), based on a resolution submitted stating that the district has a percentage of free or reduced-cost lunch students enrolled in charter schools greater than the percentage of free or reduced-cost lunch students in the district, pursuant to 22-30.5-504(5)(b)(II), C.R.S. [22-30.5-504(5)(b)(II), C.R.S., allows the granting of exclusive chartering authority for districts with students eligible for free/reduced lunch enrolled in their charter schools is greater than the percentage that is 1 percentage point below the district’s overall percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch.]
Approved charter school waiver requests from May 10, 2007, to June 30, 2019, for Liberty Common Charter School in the Poudre School District. My motion to amend the motion to change the date to June 30, 2012, rather than 2019, failed; the vote was 1:7 (everyone else dissented).
Adopted emergency amendments for the addition of the "Fast College Fast Jobs Program" to the rules for the Administration of the Public School Finance Act. [It is imperatively necessary for immediate adoption of emergency rules to comply with SB 07-148 to allow eligible school districts time to establish programs beginning in FY2007-08. The program allows certain school districts and certain "target schools" to implement a dual enrollment program that would allow students to receive a high school diploma and an Associate’s Degree or Technical Certificate within five years. There are 62 schools eligible for the program in 20 school districts or BOCES.]
Middleton moved, and I seconded, to pass the Emergency Rules with an amendment to strike 5.18 of this rule, 301-39. [Districts with students who enrolled during their junior year in post-secondary options programs that were designed to allow students to voluntarily extend their high school education one year and graduate with a high school diploma and an Associate’s degree simultaneously became ineligible to receive funding for the fifth year under SBE rule 5.18. Elimination of this type of program was passed by SBE rule as a result of interpretation of a performance audit of post-secondary programs for high school students conducted by the office of the State Auditor in 2000 and an agreement between the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Education.]
Middleton said that she believes this amendment would allow more access to these fifth-year programs so that they are available to all districts, and it is wise "in the spirit of the P-20 Council." DeHoff said that the Legislature considered opening it up to all schools and did not, and he thinks it would be "arrogant" of us to do so. He thinks we need a bigger discussion about how it would be paid for, and we didn’t change our rules to allow students into online programs. Suckla said she agrees that it should be open to all schools and is torn about this. Middleton said that we had a rule allowing it prior to the change in 2001 and that passed muster. She believes it allows the opportunity for more inclusion of at-risk students, who are already spending 5 years in the public school system and being paid for anyway. It puts us "out front" on this issue. DeHoff pointed out that 5.18 pertains to enrollment in the junior year only, and he thinks the Legislature has provided enough "wiggle room." Berman said she thinks that if we make this available to Sheridan High School and Lincoln High School from SB 07-148, we should make it available to all. I pointed out that this program has always been legal, and SB 07-148 doesn’t change it; it merely adds a new provision and an appropriation for schools with many at-risk students. Littleton asked how the new provision would be paid for. Vody Herrmann said that it would come from the General Fund. Berman said that the current limitations are unfair, and we should insist on fairness. DeHoff said that doing this suddenly without public testimony is irresponsible. Middleton reminded us that when we tried to do this the last time, we had many people come and speak in support of it.
DeHoff said he would only agree to it if we added an exemption for students to enroll in online schools without having been in a regular public school the previous year. He moved to add an amendment to strike 5.17(3) [the rule that prohibits this enrollment], and Middleton seconded. Berman said that she thinks this is a different topic, because it has to do with online enrollment, not 5th year programs. DeHoff said that SB 07-215 makes that change for the following fiscal year. Our attorney, Tony Dyl, said he has concerns about passing this amendment, because it differs from statute, whereas the statute on 5th year programs is vague. He suspects that Legislative Legal Services would surely pick up on it. The vote on the amendment was 6:1 (only I dissented).
The Emergency Rules, as amended for both the post-secondary programs and the online enrollment, passed on a unanimous vote.
Adopted the recommended amendments to the Minimum Standards for School Transportation Vehicles. There was no discussion. [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.]
(1) ACLIN/RESOURCE SHARING
An ongoing contract with the Colorado Library Consortium (CLiC) will be amended and presented to the SBE for approval at the next board meeting. [The Colorado State Library, a department of the Colorado Department of Education, is seeking to amend an existing contract with CLiC as a matter of housekeeping. The contract will continue to stipulate CLiC’s responsibility for (1) maintaining the services provided by the ACLIN network and the Colorado Virtual Library, and (2) providing coordination and training in support of library resource sharing activities in Colorado. The amendment will include contact information for individuals named in the contract, as well as an updated statement of work, to reflect the multi-year nature of the services provided through ACLIN and the Colorado Virtual Library. The fourth year of this contract for service will be complete in June 2007. As part of the amendment, the State Library will seek renewal of the contract for services through June 2008 and will seek approval by the SBE. In 2008, the State Library intends to develop a new contract and negotiate services appropriate for longstanding and future statewide needs related to library resource sharing.]
(2) CENTENNIAL BOCES/RESOURCE SHARING
An ongoing contract with the Centennial BOCES will be amended to extend an additional fiscal year of services and will be presented to the SBE for approval in June. [This is an on-going contract with Centennial BOCES (CBOCES) and is the 4th and final year under the current Sole Source approval of this contract. The SFY08 statement of work and funding will be processed as an amendment to the contract in the amount of $60,000 for 7/1/07 through 6/30/08. Competitive Grants and Awards, a unit the Office of Special Services at the Colorado Department of Education, is seeking to extend this existing contract with CBOCES. The contract will continue to stipulate CBOCES’ responsibility for (1) maintaining the online registration, hosting, certification, and higher education credit services provided to Colorado Reading First, and (2) providing coordination, development, and technical assistance for all Colorado Reading First online courses. The amendment, as a modification to the contract, will add SFY08 services and includes updating contact information for individuals named in the contract, as well as an updated statement of work to reflect the multi-year nature of the services provided by CBOCES.]
(1) PRINCIPAL/ADMINISTRATOR INDUCTION PROGRAM
The SBE will be asked to re-approve the Academy 20 school district’s Principal/Administrator
Induction Program at the next board meeting. [The Educator Licensing Act of 1991 requires school districts who hire new and new-to-district licensed educators to provide them with an induction program approved by the SBE. Colorado Revised Statutes and SBE rules further require a cyclical review of School District Induction Programs. Academy 20 school district in Colorado Springs seeks re-approval of its induction program for Principal/Administrator new to the district. The proposed program has been determined to meet SBE requirements for school district induction programs.]
(2) TEACHER/SPECIAL SERVICE PROVIDER INDUCTION PROGRAM
The SBE will be asked to re-approve the Academy 20 school district’s Special Service Provider
Induction Program at the next board meeting. [The Educator Licensing Act of 1991 requires school districts who hire new and new-to-district licensed educators to provide them with an induction program approved by the SBE. Colorado Revised Statutes and SBE rules further require a cyclical review of School District Induction Programs. Academy 20 school district in Colorado Springs seeks re-approval of its induction program for Principal/Administrator new to the district. The proposed program has been determined to meet SBE requirements for school district induction programs.]
KRISTIN HOFFMAN: Represents the National Vaccine Information Center, which opposes the mandate for the HPV vaccine. Encourages us to pass the proposed resolution that we discussed last month. Says the vaccine is new and is not proven to be safe enough, and there have been some who have had adverse effects of the vaccine. [Berman said that there is no mandate, and she pointed out that parents can always opt out of having their children be given the vaccine.]
CATHERINE REDMON: Also supports the proposed resolution on HPV. Says that the state’s allowable exemption on vaccines can be deceptive. Says that other drugs and vaccines that were considered safe have caused birth defects and serious physical conditions.
Suckla announced that we have selected a sole finalist for the position of Commissioner, Dwight Jones, who is currently the Superintendent of the Fountain-Fort Carson School District. She said that by law we have 14 days to make a decision. She pointed out that we are "very together" on this decision. Berman said she thinks the public should be very happy with the process we have used to do the search; she pointed out the input from the public, which was used in our deliberation, and said we had wonderful candidates for the position. She commended our Chair for the job she did with this difficult process.
There will be no regular meetings in June and July. We will have an Executive Session on May 18 to deal with personnel matters, and we will have at least one special meeting before the end of June. We might have a Retreat before the August meeting.
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