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P-16 News & Notes
From Senior Deputy Commissioner Johanna
Duncan-Poitier |
Back to EMSC Home SED Home Disclaimers and Notices emscsupinfo@mail.nysed.gov |
The New York State Board of Regents met in Albany on September 15-16,
2008. Reports of the Board of Regents committees are now being made
available on the Web to provide you with a timely summary of Regents discussions. The
September 2008 committee reports can be found at http://www.regents.nysed.gov/2008Meetings/September2008/0908commrep.html.
Topics discussed this month by the Board of Regents Elementary,
Middle, Secondary, and Continuing (EMSC) Committee include:
Topics discussed by the Board of Regents Higher Education Committee include:
Advance materials and meeting agendas are also available on the Web at http://www.regents.nysed.gov/2008Meetings/September2008/0908monthmat.html.
Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007 calls for the creation of an enhanced accountability system, which includes the adoption of a Growth Model for Accountability by 2008-09. The New York State Board of Regents has taken the lead on drafting an enhanced accountability system that will help to drive student achievement and strengthen our ability to identify and close achievement gaps. The Growth Model proposal will have to be approved by the United States Education Department.
To make sure that New York’s accountability system is high quality, relevant and meaningful to teachers, administrators, parents, students, policymakers and others, we invite you to participate in a series of public forums in September and October throughout the State. The forums are being convened to provide the Regents and the Education Department with a representative sampling of stakeholders’ views on an enhanced accountability system. We hope you will be able to join us at a regional forum. We look forward to receiving your input.
The new School Executive’s Bulletin provides an update on progress made over the past year to carryout the Board of Regents and the State Education Department’s P-16 Education Agenda as well as proposed policy directions for the year ahead. We would like to thank you for sharing your ideas and recommendations for strengthening the Department’s approach to supporting the important work that you do to help students to succeed and graduate prepared for college and the workforce. We look forward to working with you over the next year and beyond to carryout each of the important priorities identified in the report.
BEDS Day is Wednesday, October 1, 2008. If your school is closed in observance of the religious holiday on October 1, then you may consider the next day that your school is in session and not observing a religious holiday as appropriate for completion of the BEDS survey. The due date for submission of all BEDS survey materials remains Friday, October 24, 2008.
The speed of access to Interactive Reports for the New York State Testing Program and the New York State Alternate Assessment showing aggregated results for a district or school and scores and performance levels by individual student has been significantly improved in recent weeks. Authorized users may view these reports by logging onto nySTART at www.nySTART.gov and selecting the Interactive Report for the desired assessment and school year.
Additional information is now available on the Department's Student Support Services website regarding dental health certificates. Beginning September 1, 2008 schools are required to request a dental health certificate of students at the same time that a health certificate/appraisal is required in grades pre-K or K, 2, 4, 7, and 10. A sample certificate is available on the Department's website at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/sss/HealthServices/. Also available on the Department's Office of Professions website is a Q & A to assist dentists in completing the certificate at http://www.op.nysed.gov/dentnews.htm. The New York State Department of Health will be providing a list of dentists who are willing to perform the dental exam free or at reduced cost. This list will be posted as soon as it becomes available.
Effective with the 2007-08 school year, magnet school grant funding has been combined into Foundation Aid. Your district will not receive a separate magnet school grant again this year. However, consistent with Section 49-a. and b. of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2008, your district is required to set aside an amount, as specified on the attached chart, for developing, maintaining or expanding magnet schools or magnet school programs for the 2008-09 school year.
The funds you set aside may be used for:
Your district must maintain appropriate accounting records to support
the use of the funds and make these records available to the State Education
Department upon request or in the event of audit.
If you have any questions or need additional guidance, please
contact Janet Bruce at (518) 486-1544.
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Page last updated: 07/09/08