A
summary of major actions and discussions related to elementary, middle,
secondary and continuing education undertaken by the Board of Regents
in their monthly meetings in September (9/10-11) and October (10/22-23)
2007 is provided below. For a full list of items discussed, as
well as a complete description of each of the items below, please visit
the Board of Regents web site at http://www.regents.nysed.gov.
The next meeting of the Board of Regents is scheduled for December
13-14, 2007.
KEY ACTION ITEMS
Regents 2008-09 State Aid Proposal and Priority Budget and Legislative
Initiatives
- Board
of Regents State Aid Proposal: The Board of Regents has proposed
increasing total State Aid by $1.94 billion to help close the achievement
gap and raise achievement for all across the State. Of that total,
Foundation Aid to schools would increase by $1.8 billion. The Regents
Foundation Aid program will continue the approach that defines a foundation
amount based on the cost of successful programs, and then adjusts for
difference in student need, regional cost variations, and an expected
local contribution. Important components of the Regents
State Aid proposal
include:
- Universal Pre-Kindergarten: The Regents are proposing
the expansion of Universal Pre-K by $104 million to $535 million
and are urging for greater flexibility to support full-day pre-K,
as well as half-day Pre-K.
- Career and Technical Education: The Regents are
proposing to increase the number of proven Career and Technical Education
(CTE) programs through $6 million in Challenge Grants. CTE programs
enable students to earn a Regents Diploma and receive an industry-approved
credential. Students who complete the programs graduate from high
school at higher rates than students who do not enroll.
- Improve Instruction for English Language Learners: The
Regents are proposing expanded support for English Language Learners
(ELL) by increasing the weight given to ELL students in the foundation
formula. Implementation of proven programs and performance targets
for ELL students are being proposed as tools for strengthening accountability.
- Board
of Regents 2008-09 Budget Proposals: The Board of Regents
has proposed several major new initiatives in State funding for schools
to close the achievement gap. Highlights of the Board
of Regents proposal include:
- Build on the proven success of education partnerships across
the State to raise student achievement by creating PreK-16
Regional Education Alliances in high need communities
with $20 million in State and federal funds. These alliances would
incorporate existing Literacy
Zones in high need communities. They would link school
districts with colleges and universities, libraries, museums,
and other service and community organizations.
- Create a new Smart Scholars program
that would transform the traditional 4-year high school to college
model. This $100 million initiative would provide at least 12,000
disadvantaged students the support to graduate from high school
on time with as much as 30 college credits and graduate from college
in three years.
- Prepare
1,000 new teachers for high need schools in shortage-area subjects through
a new, three-year, $25 million program. Eight college-school partnerships
would compete for the grant funds. All teachers would commit to
work in high need schools for 4 years.
- Parent and Family Outreach,
directing $6.5 million in funds to community collaborations in
high need areas to involve parents and families in their children’s
education. Regional Education Alliances and Literacy Zones would
be eligible to receive the competitive grants.
- Planting the Seed.
Certified teachers and members from the 750,000-strong professions
licensed by the Board of Regents will mentor at-risk students.
In addition, students and their counselors, parents, and teachers
will have a single website that provides key information about
career options, educational requirements, and links to college
programs, financial aid, and grants available to students.
All of the Regents initiatives would work together, all centering on
each individual disadvantaged student. For example, a disadvantaged student
in a Literacy Zone could get help from a college or service or community
organization, may enroll as a “Smart Scholar,” get help from
parents who benefit from Parent and Family Outreach programs, be mentored
by a professional, get a well-qualified teacher prepared through the
alternative certification partnership, and get hands-on learning from
a natural history museum.
- Board
of Regents Legislative Proposals: The Board of Regents has
proposed several federal
and state legislative proposals to align to the Regents budget
priorities and carryout the Regents P-16 Education Action Plan. Major
legislative proposals include:
State Priorities
- Allow retired teachers to teach in hard-to-staff schools and
subjects without affecting their pensions
- Strengthen early childhood education – expand full-day
Kindergarten and lower the compulsory school age to 5
- Reduce the number of school district reports required by statute
- Eliminate the salary cap for BOCES Superintendents of Schools
- Other priorities impacting the University of the State of New
York (USNY) are described in detail in the report to
the Board of Regents
Federal Priorities
- Reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act – the
Regents have submitted recommendations to Congress to reform NCLB
and have recommended that improvements be made that align to the
Regents P-16 agenda.
- Amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Highly
Qualified Teacher Provision
- Reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
- Maintain Medicaid reimbursement for school-based services to students
with disabilities, including for administrative and transportation
services
- Secure continuation of the E-rate program
- Reauthorize Head Start
- Other USNY priorities are described in detail in the report to
the Board of Regents
We look forward to working with the State Legislature, with Congress,
and with other partners, in the coming months to advance these important
priorities.
Action Items to Implement Chapter 57 of the Laws of the 2007 (the 2008-09
State Budget)
- Contracts
for Excellence: In October, the Board of Regents adopted by
emergency action (fifth emergency adoption) the proposed addition
of Section 100.13 and amendment of Section 170.12 of the Regulations
of the Commissioner
to implement provisions of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007 (the State
budget) concerning the Contracts for Excellence. This emergency
action will help to provide the additional time needed to ensure that
the Department’s experience with implementing this new initiative
and comments received from the field will be carefully considered before
final adoption of the regulations by the Board of Regents.
The Board
of Regents also received an update on the status of the Department’s
efforts to review the Contracts submitted by 55 school districts statewide. In
the coming months, the Board of Regents will discuss, in greater detail,
proposed strategies for monitoring implementation of the Contracts,
including how monitoring compliance with the Contracts for Excellence
will be incorporated into the Department’s proposed new coordinated
monitoring plan.
- Timetable
and Proposed Action Plan for Reviewing and Updating New York State
Learning Standards: The Regents endorsed in October a proposed
plan and timetable for the review and revision of the New York State
learning standards consistent with the Regents P-16 Action Plan and
Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007. Review of the English Language
Arts (ELA) learning standards is scheduled to begin in the 2007-08
school year. The proposed plan recommends
that the review of a new learning standards area be initiated annually
thereafter with the entire review and revision process extending over
several years. This will provide the time needed to engage
experts from the field and feedback from educators, parents, students,
and others in the review process; prepare new curriculum materials;
development new assessments based on the revised standards; facilitate
professional development for teachers and administrators; and ensure
that teacher education programs and certification requirements are
aligned with the new standards.
- Universal
Pre-Kindergarten: The 2007-2008 State Budget provides a significant
opportunity to substantially expand the statewide universal pre-kindergarten
program and to provide more children with high quality early childhood
education. Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007 (State budget) also
authorizes the Commissioner of Education to establish regulations specifying
uniform quality standards for programs and requires the Commissioner
to prescribe a format by which each participating school district shall
apply for universal pre-kindergarten program grant funds.
In September,
in response to feedback regarding challenges districts face meeting
the requirement that all Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) classes be
up and running so early in the school year, the Board of Regents adopted changes
to the UPK emergency regulations that provide districts with increased
flexibility to begin or expand UPK programs. Subpart 151-1.4 (a) of
Commissioner’s Regulations
was revised to provide relief from the 180 day requirement for districts
implementing programs for the first time or expanding programs with
new funds. Therefore, districts that have not yet applied for additional
funding to start or expand UPK programs in 2007-08 still have an opportunity
to do so as long as the programs begin in time to provide children
with at least 90 days of classes – for most districts, this means
beginning before January 2008. An announcement regarding this
additional flexibility was sent to School Superintendents in September. Additional
information can be found on our Web site at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/nyc/upk.html. The
Regents also approved a revision to Section 151-1.3(a)(2) of the regulations,
replacing "early literacy and emergent reading program" with "early
literacy and emergent reading instruction” to clarify the
intent of the provision.
Also in September, to be consistent with
the amendments of Part 151, the Board of Regents adopted a proposed
amendment of section 100.3 of
the Regulations of the Commissioner to align program requirements for
Pre-Kindergarten programs and Kindergarten programs operated by school
districts and voluntarily registered nonpublic schools with those established
for State funded UPK programs.
In October, the Board of Regents
adopted by emergency action (fourth emergency adoption) the proposed
amendment of Subpart 151-1 to implement the provisions
of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007 by establishing uniform quality standards
and other requirements for Universal Pr-Kindergarten programs. The
proposed amendment included two revisions to provide additional
flexibility with respect to staffing to eligible agencies providing
UPK services:
- The Board of Regents approved a change to Section 151-1.3(e)(1)(iii)
to allow teachers certified in the childhood education grades (1-6)
to also teach UPK classes, provided that they have a written plan
in place to earn certification in the early childhood grades within
five years.
- Section 151-1.3(e)(2) was also revised to allow an on-site
director at an eligible agency site to have a valid teaching license
or certificate in either early childhood or childhood
grades.
The Regents emergency action will keep the regulations in effect
until they can be permanently adopted.
- Excelsior
Scholars Program and Summer Institutes for Math and Science: :
In October, the Board of Regents adopted, by emergency action, Sections
100.14 and 100.15 of the Regulations of the Commissioner to implement provisions of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007 which establish:
- Summer Institutes
for Math and Science – To help mathematics and science
teachers strengthen their content knowledge and teaching skills,
this program will offer competitive grants to colleges and universities
with teacher education programs, in partnership with school districts,
to conduct summer institutes for grades 5-8 science and mathematics
teachers. The
grants will target, where possible, teachers in schools identified
as in need of improvement or in corrective action or restructuring
status, schools under registration review or schools requiring
academic progress.
- Excelsior
Scholars Program – This program will offer competitive
grants to colleges and universities to conduct summer programs
to provide advanced coursework in mathematics and science to students
in grade seven math and science students designated as Excelsior
Scholars.
The Regents emergency action will help to ensure that criteria for the
programs can be established, Requests for Proposals (RFPs) can be developed,
and programs can begin to be put in place in the summer of 2008. It
is anticipated that the regulations will come before the Regents for
permanent adoption in December.
- Education
of Students with Limited English Proficiency: Chapter 57 of
the Laws of 2007 (State budget) requires all school districts receiving
total foundation aid to develop comprehensive plans to meet the
educational needs of students with limited English proficiency. The
statute also gives the Commissioner of Education the authority to establish
the criteria for the development of the plans. In September,
the Board Regents approved an amendment
to Section 154 of Commissioner’s Regulations as a permanent rule. The amendment establishes:
- uniform requirements
for all districts for the development of the plans;
- specific criteria
for the submission of required reports;
- standards for the distribution
of school-related information to parents of students with
limited English proficiency; and
- standards for the
referral of students with limited English proficiency suspected
of having a disability.
We appreciate the extensive input and recommendations we have received
from the field. Your feedback helped to inform the development
of the proposed regulatory language. Guidelines are now under development
to provide you with additional guidance on this important new initiative
to strengthen the educational preparation of students with limited English
proficiency and to address issues not included in the regulation. We
will share this information widely as it is finalized.
- Maintenance
of Effort in Certain Cities: In October, the Board of Regents
adopted as a permanent rule the proposed addition of Section
170.13 to the Regulations of the Commissioner requiring schools
districts in cities with populations of between 125,000 and 1 million
people to maintain their fiscal effort in support of education.
- Charter
School Public Hearings: Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007 (the
State budget) requires school districts in which charter schools are
located to hold public hearings to solicit comments from the community
when the charter for a charter school is being issued, revised, or
renewed. In October, the Board of Regents adopted a proposed amendment
to Section
119.4 of the Regulations of the Commissioner to establish procedures
for school districts to use when conducting these public hearings and
soliciting comments from the community. In
the event that the school district does not conduct these public hearing,
the law requires that the hearing be conducted by the Board of Regents. Also
in October, the Board Regents adopted an amendment to Section
3.16 of the Rules of the Board of Regents delegating Regents authority
to conduct the hearings to the Commissioner of Education so the hearings
can be conducted expeditiously.
- Instructional
Computer Hardware: Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007
(State Budget) provides for an apportionment of approved school
district expenses for computer hardware or technology equipment, for
repair of the equipment or for staff development for instruction. According
to Chapter 57, the aid is to be provided according to a plan developed
by the district that demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner,
that the instructional computer hardware needs of the district's public
and nonpublic school students will be adequately met. In September,
the Board of Regents adopted, as a permanent rule, Section
100.12 of the Regulations of the Commissioner specifying the requirements
for school districts’ technology plans. Chapter 57 also
requires school authorities to loan instructional computer hardware
to individuals legally attending nonpublic schools located in the district. Section
21.3 of the Rules of the Board of Regents, which was also adopted
as a permanent rule by the Regents in September, details loan procedures
for computer hardware and software.
Other Key Regents Actions
- Diagnostic
Screening of Students: In September, the Board of
Regents approved an amendment
to Part 117 of the Regulations of the Commissioner to clarify definitions and diagnostic
screening requirements for new students entering schools and for students
with low test scores on certain statewide assessments so that they
are consistent with other provisions of the regulations. Specifically,
the amendment:
- conforms the definition of a pupil with a possible “handicapping
condition” to the definitions of a “preschool student with
a disability” and a “student with a disability;”
- clarifies the definition of pupils who must receive diagnostic
screening based on their performance on the statewide tests to
reflect current statute;
- clarifies that Pre-Kindergarten students are included in the
definition of “new entrants” consistent with regulations
pertaining to school health services; and
- incorporates the existing health screening requirements into
the Part 117 diagnostic screening regulation.
- Regulations
to Conform to the New Requirements in the Federal Regulations Implementing
IDEA: The Board of Regents approved, for permanent adoption,
the proposed
amendment to the Regulations of the Commissioner to conform State
regulations to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
as amended by Public Law 108-446, and Part 300 of Title 34 of the Code
of Federal Regulations. The amendment reflects the significant
input we received from the field, including feedback from three public
hearings conducted this Spring.
KEY DISCUSSION ITEMS
- Study
of the Evaluation of Teacher Preparation Programs: Consistent
with the Board of Regents leadership to strengthen the quality of teaching
in New York State, education law (as amended by Chapter 57 of the Laws
of 2007) requires that the Department evaluate the effectiveness of
teacher preparation programs in consultation with institutions of higher
education, and make recommendations to the Board of Regents, including
recommendations for developing or modifying data systems. Consistent
with statutory requirements, a
comprehensive report on the findings and recommendations resulting
from the Department’s recent study of teacher education in New
York was shared with the Board of Regents Higher Education and
Professional Practice Committee in October. The recommendations
form a five-year plan for enhancing data systems and organizational
capacity to improve teacher preparation, teaching practice and student
achievement.
- Education
programs and services for students with autism, including Aspergers
Syndrome – The Board of Regents received a report
in October on the work underway and new initiatives that have been
planned to improve education services and results for children with
autism. The
initiatives exemplify the Department’s commitment to establish
policy and provide technical assistance to ensure school personnel
have the knowledge and skills to establish quality programs to meet
the needs of students with autism.
For more information on all of the agenda items discussed by the Board
of Regents in September and October, please visit the Regents Web site
at http://www.regents.nysed.gov/.
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