THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	Full Board
FROM:	James A. Kadamus
SUBJECT:	Proposed Amendment to Commissioner’s Regulations Relating to the Use of Superintendents’ Conference Days
DATE:	July 13, 2005
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Discussion

 

Has the Board reached consensus on the intent of the proposed amendment to Commissioner’s Regulations relating to the use of superintendents’ conference days?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

Review of Policy.

Proposed Handling

 

This question will come before the EMSC-VESID Committee on July 21, 2005.

 

Procedural History

 

The proposed amendment of section 175.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner relating to the use of superintendents’ conference days was first discussed by the EMSC-VESID Committee in June.  No consensus was reached on the intent of the proposed amendment.  After additional consultation with the field, Department staff has proposed a revision to the draft regulatory language discussed in June.  Should the Regents reach consensus on the revised language, the proposed amendment will be submitted for approval in September.

 

Background Information

 

Section 175.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner specifies the appropriate use of staff development activities by school districts to advance implementation of the new high learning standards and assessments and to satisfy deficiencies in the length of public school sessions for the instruction of pupils.  The purpose of the proposed amendment to Section 175.5 is to permit a school district to use up to two of the allowed four superintendents' conference days provided for in Education Law section 3604(8) for teacher training and rating of State assessments, including grades 3-8 assessments required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.  These assessments are new to all schools and teachers.  They will contain unique test designs and item formats that will be exclusive to the New York State testing program.  Teachers will require training for rating these tests for the first two school years (2005-06 and 2006-07) of implementation to ensure that test reliability and validity are achieved on a statewide basis.  Such training enables teachers to better understand the new learning standards and assessments, as authorized by Education Law section 3604(8).  The State Education Department will evaluate the progress on training of teachers and the scoring by teachers for the new 3-8 assessments during the first two school years and report to the Board of Regents on whether this amendment to the regulations should be extended.

 

The difference between the June and July versions of the proposed amendment is the provision to sunset the proposed amendment on June 30, 2007.

 

Recommendation

 

We recommend that the EMSC-VESID Committee reach consensus on the intent of the proposed amendment prior to taking action at its September meeting.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

The proposed amendment would become effective on September 29, 2005 and sunset on June 30, 2007.