Committee Report | September 2011

Report of the


REGENTS P-12 EDUCATION COMMITTEE


to


The Board of Regents


September 13, 2011

Your P-12 Education Committee held its scheduled meeting on September 12, 2011.  All members were present, except for Regent Norwood who was excused.

ACTION ITEMS

Charter
 School
 Actions

Your Committee recommends that the  Board of Regents approves and issues the initial charters and provisional  charters for the following charter schools for a term ending on June 30th of the  fifth year after the date of opening of the charter school for instruction in  accordance with §2851(2)(p) of the Education Law.

• Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School
• Global Community Charter School
• Neighborhood Charter School of Harlem
• New Dawn Charter High School
• New Visions Charter High School for Advanced Math and Science II
• New Visions Charter High School for the Humanities II
• Rochester Career Mentoring Charter School
• Young Women’s College Prep Charter School of Rochester

Your Committee further recommends that the Board of Regents approves and issues the initial charter and provisional charter for the KIPP NYC Washington Heights Academy Charter School for a term ending on June 30th of the fifth year after the date of opening of the charter school for instruction in accordance with §2851(2)(p) of the Education Law.  Regent Betty Rosa abstained from this vote.  [P-12 (A) 1]

            Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents approves and issues the charters for the following charter schools as proposed by the Trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY) and issues  provisional charters for a term as prescribed by §2851(2)(p) of the Education Law. 

Beginning with Children Charter School II

Brooklyn Success Academy Charter School 2

Brooklyn Success Academy Charter School 3

Brooklyn Success  Academy Charter School 4

Central Queens Academy Charter School

Children’s Aid Society Community Charter School

Explore Exceed Charter School

Family Life Academy Charter School II

Icahn Charter School 6

Icahn  Charter School 7

Manhattan Charter School II

Tech International Charter School

Regent Betty Rosa and Regent Lester Young abstained from the vote for the Explore Exceed Charter School.  [P-12 (A) 2]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents approves and issues the first renewal charter of the Achievement First Bushwick Charter School as proposed by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including July 31, 2014.  [P-12 (A) 3]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents approves the charter revision of the Success Academy Charter School as proposed by the Trustees of the State University of New York and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.  [P-12 (A) 4]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents approves the charter revision of the Kings Collegiate Charter School as proposed by the Trustees of the State University of New York and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.  [P-12 (A) 5]

Your Committee recommends that the certificate of incorporation (also known as the provisional charter) of the East New York Preparatory Charter School (the Corporation”), located in the City New York, State of New York, which was issued by the Board of Regents on December 9, 2005, be revoked, and that the education corporation be dissolved, effective September 13, 2011, that notice to such effect be given to the board of trustees of the Corporation, that any student records be transferred to the City School District of the City of New York in accordance with the provisions of Education Law §2851(2)(t), that all other corporate books and records of the corporation be transferred to the New York State Education Department’s Office of School Innovation, and that the assets of the Corporation be distributed in accordance with the procedures set forth in Education Law Section 220.  [P-12 (A) 6]

January 2012 Regents Exams

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents accept $1.5 million from the Fund for Public Schools and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City to restore the January 2012 Regents Exams.  [P-12 (A) 7]

Testing Improvement Options

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents direct staff to take immediate action to secure an independent review of the Department’s procedures related to incident reporting and follow up of allegations of testing impropriety at schools.  Your Committee also directs staff to further develop specific proposals for consideration in October including centralized scanning and scoring of multiple choice assessments and distributed scoring for open response questions.  Additional actions underway include requiring grade 3-8 exams to be administered on the same day, as shown on the testing calendar released on August 26, 2011; and requiring a training certification for proctoring and scoring 3-8 assessments similar to what is required for the Regents exams.    [P-12 (A) 8]

MOTION FOR ACTION BY FULL BOARD

           

Your P-12 Education Committee recommends, and I move, that the Board of Regents act affirmatively upon each recommendation in the written report of the Committee's deliberations at its meeting on September 13, 2011, copies of which have been distributed to each Regent.

MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

CharterSchoolOffice Update – The Committee was updated on the activities of the Charter School Office and the progress being made in implementing the new approach to charter authorizing. Discussion focused on preliminary draft amendments to regulations relating to charter school lotteries; development of enrollment and retention targets; updates on the $113 million federal CSP grant; and the proposed parameters for the RFP to establish charter school authorized by the Board of Regents.  Committee members expressed concerns relating to charter school location issues and fair representation of certain student populations at charter schools.  Staff will continue to provide updates at future meetings on these and other areas relating to charter school authorizing.  [P-12 (D) 1]

Mathematics Requirements for Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation – The Committee discussed a proposed technical amendment to regulations to ensure that students who complete an appropriate series of Math assessments, regardless of cohort, will be determined to have met the Mathematics Assessment requirements for a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation.  If endorsed by the Regents, these proposed regulations will be brought back for final approval in December.  [P-12 (D) 2]

Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential for Students with Severe Disabilities – The Committee discussed proposed amendments to regulations to replace the current individualized education program (IEP) diploma with a Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential.  If approved, the new credential would be effective in the 2013-14 school year and would only be for students with disabilities who have been instructed and assessed on the alternate performance level for the State learning standards.  The Committee has requested to be kept updated on the comments received from the field on these proposed amendments.   [P-12 (D) 3]

Update on Network Team Summer Institute – Staff provided an overview of the activities and outcomes of the Network Team Institute held August 1-5, 2011.  Participants of the Institute were provided with training, tools, and resources including professional development seminars given by national presenters on such topics as the Common Core Standards, School-based Inquiry and Data Driven Instruction, and New Performance Evaluation for Teachers.  Participants were also given the opportunity to complete online surveys, results of which were shared with Committee members at the meeting.  The Committee was also provided a brief walk-through of the Department’s new implementation website - engageny.org.   [P-12 (D) 4]

Updates from the Office of Accountability and the Office of School Innovation – Staff provided information on the status of the 2011 School Improvement Grant Awards.  Currently, there are 72 schools in New York State that have been awarded SIG funds – this number includes 25 schools that began implementation in the 2010-11 school year and are now receiving a 2011-12 continuation grant.  Department staff will work closely with districts and schools to assess their progress and student academic achievement.  The Committee was also updated on the School Innovation Fund grant process. These grants provide an opportunity for districts to target low-performing schools before they become PLA.  Twenty-six applications were received and are currently under review.    The School Turnaround Office is currently planning a statewide professional development event for PLA principals and district administrators to be held in October.  Staff will inform the Regents with the details of this event as they become available.

Consent Agenda Items – Staff presented the following items scheduled for approval on the full Board consent agenda:

• Proposed Amendments to Regulations Relating to School Bus Driver Safety Training and Reporting of School Vehicle Idling on School Grounds
• Proposed Amendments to Regulations Relating to Vision Screenings for Hyperopia
• Proposed Amendments to Regulations Relating to School Facility Report Cards
• Registration of Public Schools

That concludes my report.

                                                                                    Anthony Bottar, Chair

                                                                                    P-12 Education Committee