Report of Regents P-12 Education Committee to The Board of Regents

Your P-12 Education Committee held its scheduled meeting on June 13, 2016.  All members were present, except for Regent Norwood who was excused.

ACTION ITEMS

Career Development Occupational Studies (CDOS) Pathway to Graduation [P-12 (A) 1]

Your Committee recommends that subdivision (a) and subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of section 100.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended; that a new paragraph (11) of subdivision (d) of section 100.5 be added; and that subdivision (b) of section 100.6 be amended, as submitted, effective June 29, 2016. 

Your Committee further recommends that subdivision (a) and subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of section 100.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended; that a new paragraph (11) of subdivision (d) of section 100.5 be added; and that subdivision (b) of section 100.6 be amended, as submitted, effective June 20, 2016, as an emergency action upon a finding by the Board of Regents that such action is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare to ensure that the emergency rule adopted at the March 2016 Regents meeting remains continuously in effect until the effective date of the permanent rule.

The motion was passed, with Regent Tallon in opposition.

Initial Applications and Charters Authorized by the Board of Regents [P-12 (A) 2]

Your Committee recommends that the Regents find that: (1) the proposed charter schools meet the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of Article 56 of the Education Law; and (4) granting the application will have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves and issues a charter and provisional charter to the REACH Academy Charter School, for a term of five years in accordance with §2851(2)(p) of the Education Law.  The motion was passed, with Regent Reyes in opposition, and Regents Finn, Cashin, Chin and Hakanson abstained.

Your Committee recommends that the Regents find that: (1) the proposed charter schools meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of Article 56 of the Education Law; and (4) granting the application will have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves and issues a charter and provisional charter to the Brooklyn Laboratory Charter High School, for a term of five years in accordance with §2851(2)(p) of the Education Law. The motion was passed, Regents Mead and Finn abstained.

Your Committee recommends that the Regents find that: (1) the proposed charter schools meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of Article 56 of the Education Law; and (4) granting the application will have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves and issues a charter and provisional charter to the WHIN Music Community Charter School for a term of five years in accordance with §2851(2)(p) of the Education Law.  The motion passed, with Regent Reyes in opposition and Regents Hakanson and Finn abstained.

School Safety Plans and Fire and Emergency Drills [P-12 (A) 3]

Your Committee recommends that section 155.17 of the Regulations of the Commissioner is amended, as submitted, effective July 1, 2016, as an emergency action upon a finding by the Board of Regents that such action is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare to immediately establish standards for the provision, maintenance and administration of school safety planning pursuant to Education Law section 2801-a and Education Law sections 807(1-a) and 807(b), as amended, by Part B of Chapter 54 of the Laws of 2016, and thus ensure the timely implementation of the statute on its effective date. 

Renewal of a Charter School Authorized by the Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Buffalo [P-12 (A) 4]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents finds that the proposed charter school: (1) meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) will operate in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of Article 56 of the Education Law; and (4) will have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school, and the Board of Regents therefore approves and issues the renewal charter of Westminster Community Charter School as proposed by the Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Buffalo, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including June 30, 2021.  A motion was made to send the application back to the Buffalo Public School District with a renewal recommendation of three years instead of five years.  The motion passed, Regent Reyes abstained.

Requirement of Superintendents to Make a Local Determination as to Academic Proficiency for Certain Students with Disabilities to Graduate with a Local Diploma [P-12 (A) 5-REVISED]

Your Committee recommends that a new paragraph (12) be added to subdivision (d) of section 100.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education and that clause (c) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (7) of subdivision (d) of section 100.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended, as submitted, effective June 20, 2016; as an emergency action upon a finding by the Board of Regents that such action is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare in order to ensure that certain students with disabilities who are graduating from high school in June 2016 and thereafter are aware that if they do not meet the graduation standards through the existing appeal and safety net options, that the superintendent will make a determination as to whether the student has met the academic standards and is eligible for a diploma; and to further ensure that superintendents are on notice that they must make a determination as to whether certain students with disabilities are eligible for local diploma if the student meets the requirements of the proposed amendment. 

Social Studies Regents Examination Requirements for a Diploma [P-12 (A) 6]

Your Committee recommends that paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of section 100.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective July 1, 2016, as an emergency action upon a finding by the Board of Regents that such action is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare in order to ensure that students who are entering grade nine on or after September 1, 2016 are on notice of the shift in implementation of the new Global History & Geography II Regents examination so that they can adequately prepare for this new examination.

Hardship Waiver for Independent Evaluators for Annual Professional Performance Reviews for Classroom Teachers and Building Principals Commencing in the 2016-2017 School Year [P-12 (A) 7]

Your Committee recommends that sections 30-3.4 and 30-3.5 of the Rules of the Board of Regents shall be amended, effective June 20, 2016, as an emergency action upon a finding by the Board of Regents that such action is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare in order to immediately adopt revisions to the proposed amendment to provide districts with notice of the ability to obtain a hardship waiver for independent evaluators in an effort to provide additional flexibility to school districts when negotiating their annual professional performance review plans for the 2016-2017 school year.

MOTION FOR ACTION BY FULL BOARD

Madam Chancellor and Colleagues: Your P-12 Education Committee recommends, and we move, that the Board of Regents act affirmatively upon each recommendation in the written report of the Committee's deliberations at its meeting on June 14, 2016, copies of which have been distributed to each Regent. 

MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

Update on Regents Exam Workgroup [P-12 (D) 1] – The Board of Regents was provided with an update on the Regents Exam Workgroup which was convened to advise on technical and policy aspects of the Common Core Regents Exams.  The Workgroup has met several times since its creation and has engaged in thoughtful discussions covering many different aspects of the Regents Exams. Recent discussions have focused on the role of Regents Exams in graduation and interpretations of scores of Regents Exams.  The Workgroup will continue to meet over the next several months and will draft recommendations to the Commissioner. Additional updates will be provided to the Board of Regents as the Workgroup continues their discussions.

Disproportionality by Race/Ethnicity in Special Education [P-12 (D) 2] – The Committee was presented with information on the Department’s initiatives to address findings of disproportionality by race/ethnicity in the identification, classification, placement and disciplinary actions for students with disabilities in New York State school districts.  A panel of experts discussed how the Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality (TAC-D) engages school districts in the work of addressing disproportionality.  TAC-D’s work includes building the capacity of regions and districts in understanding the root cause and systemically addressing the disproportionate assignment of various subgroups in special education. This entails providing professional development trainings, coaching, training follow-ups, materials, and resources.

Panel members included:

• Dr. David Kirkland, Executive Director of Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of schools at NYU
• Dr. Patrick Jean-Pierre, Director of the Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality at NYU
• Superintendent Clarence Ellis, Superintendent of Community District 17 in Brooklyn
• Principal Padmore-Gateau Carlen, Coordinator for District 17 Guardians of Equity Supports

New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards [P-12 (D) 3] – The Committee was presented with revised New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards for consideration.  Discussion focused on the revisions made to the draft set of NYS P-12 Science Learning Standards based on stakeholder feedback and suggestions from the field related to local school district implementation of the new standards.  The Committee was provided with a proposed transition strategy beginning this summer and going through the 2021-22 school year.  The new standards will be brought back to the Board in fall 2016 for final adoption, and at that time the Department will provide an update on the implementation of curriculum across the state and the status of new assessment development activities.

State Level Review of Impartial Hearing Officer Determinations for Students With Disabilities [P-12 (D) 4] – The Committee discussed proposed amendments to regulations relating to the procedures concerning appeals of impartial hearing officer decisions to a State Review Officer.  The proposed amendment is needed to correct citations and references, provide clarification of and update the procedures concerning appeals of impartial hearing officer decisions to a State Review Officer, and to expedite and otherwise facilitate the processing of petitions for review to State Review Officers.  It is anticipated that the proposed amendment will be presented for adoption at the September 2016 Regents meeting.

Regents Research Work Group – Regent Judith Johnson led a discussion in preparation for the first meeting of the Regents Research Work Group to be held on Tuesday, June 14.  The work group was established at the April 2016 Board of Regents meeting in part to provide the Board with a review of promising research findings aligned to policy proposals and to provide evidence that a policy initiative has the potential to improve the chances of transforming systems.  Also discussed was the development of a survey to be completed by Board members that seeks ranking of policy priorities.  The results of the survey will be discussed at the July Regents Retreat.  Next steps include building a research agenda, analyzing the feedback from the survey, identifying and interviewing potential strategic partners, launching a pilot, and identifying guest presenters for upcoming Regents meetings.

Consent Agenda

The Board of Regents will take action on the following consent agenda items at their June 14, 2016 meeting.

• Regulations relating to Expand the Eligible Score Band for the Appeal Process on Regents Examinations Passing Scores
• Petition to Exceed the Constitutional Debt Limit for Dunkirk CSD
• Petition to Exceed the Constitutional Debt Limit for Geneva CSD
• Petition to Exceed the Constitutional Debt Limit for Hornell CSD
• Petition to Exceed the Constitutional Debt Limit for Johnstown CSD
• Registration of Public Schools
• Regulations relating to Recommendations for One-to-One Aides for Preschool and School-Age Students with Disabilities and Preschool Special Education Programs and Services