Committee Report | April 2012

Report of

Regents P-12 Education/Adult Career and Continuing

Education Services (ACCES) Joint Committee

to

The Board of Regents

April 23, 2012

Your P-12 Education/ACCES Joint Committee held its scheduled meeting on April 23, 2012.  All members were present, with the exception of Chancellor Emeritus Bennett, who were excused.

MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

Developing a Framework for Effective Transition from School to Work: A Follow-Up to December 2011 Presentation to the Regents – The Committee was provided an update of the on-going progress being made in the transition from secondary education to employment for youth with disabilities.  The Office of Special Education and ACCES-VR are jointly exploring evidence-informed strategies to drive more effective transition outcomes in New York State.  A panel presentation was conducted by members of the Freeport Union  Free School District and a Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor from the ACCES-VR Garden City District Office.  They presented to the Committee their approach on transition practice and the positive outcome that it has.

Update on Multiple Pathways to a High School Equivalency Diploma – The Committee was updated on the progress made to draft a Request for Information (RFI) needed to consider multiple pathway options to the New York State High School equivalency diploma.  The RFI will help us identify products that are either currently available or may become available which many provide alternative pathways to a High School equivalency diploma.  SED has worked closely with both Missouri and Massachusetts to develop a draft RFI which is currently being reviewed internally.  SED has involved key researchers and assessment experts in this effort.  Consistent with the development of the RFI and Board action in February, we have solidified efforts to engage SUNY and CUNY to determine if their college placement instrument(s) could be used to lead to a High School equivalency diploma.  A number of states have expressed concern with the changes to the GED® test and are also planning on issuing Requests for Information and/or Requests for Proposals to explore alternative products or programs.  The information contained in New York’s draft RFI will be shared across states and used to inform multi-state processes.

April 24, 2012