The State Board of Education held its regular monthly meetings this week.  Wednesday was its day of Committees; the Committee of the Whole met Thursday just prior to the State Board meeting.  The meetings are also available on the Georgia Department of Education's Youtube channel.

Rules

Dr. Stephen Pruitt of SREB presented the Committee the Final Report and Recommendations of the Dyslexia Rule Review Committee. Efforts to adopt a rule for the implementation of SB 48, passed in 2019, have been ongoing -- a testament to the often complex task of moving from legislation to rules.

All items were approved to go on the consent agenda for the full Board on Thursday.  There will be 23 approved trainers for local boards. More private schools want to participate in the special needs/504 voucher program. The 2020-2021 report on the program contains a list of schools previously approved.

Two sets of standards are set to be adopted. These courses will then be added to the State-Funded List of K-8 Subjects and 9-12 Courses. Six more sets of standards are set to be posted for comment. Amendments to the rule on Dual Enrollment are being initiated. The changes will clarify the requirement for "Option B" students to complete and pass the American Government course and the Personal Finance and Economics course.  It will also update the language related to the American Literature and Composition course approved by the State Board in March 2021.

Budget 

The Committee moved through the 21 items quickly with little discussion.  They were all approved to go on the consent agenda. The items include the 2023 state salary schedule, the Department's budget, and funding for focus areas such as increasing access to CTAE programming, Dyslexia Endorsement programs, Teacher and Teacher Leader Endorsement programs, and cyber security awareness and training. See the agenda for this Committee on the Committee of the Whole linked at the top of this page.

District Flexibility & Charter Schools  

All five items were approved for the consent agenda.  They include four charter system renewals and one charter school contract amendment.

Committee of the Whole 

Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Dillard provided the inspiration and led the Pledge of Allegiance.  He talked about the importance of government transparency and of educating people on government and judicial processes.  He noted school groups are beginning to tour the new Nathan Deal Judicial Center, the state's first building dedicated to the courts.

Committee chairs reported out to build the consent agenda.

State Board of Education 

The consent agenda was approved.  Almost forgotten were two legal appeals held for a separate vote.  One case was reversed and remanded to the Cobb County Board of Education with instructions to provide reasonable notice consistent with the decision and a new hearing.  The second case was reversed and remanded to the Gwinnett County Board of Education with instructions to review and consider the student's appeal including the supplemental letter. The full agenda with attachments is linked at the top of the page.

State Superintendent Richard Woods was with Governor Kemp for the signing of the 2023 budget, so Chief of Staff Matt Jones provided the Superintendent's Report. 

• The English Language Arts (ELA) standards are being reviewed by 250 classroom ELA teachers.  The same process is being followed as with the review of the Math standards.
• May is Teacher Appreciation Month. Supt. Woods issued a letter to teachers earlier this month to thank them for their hard work. Cherie Bonder Dennis, the 2022 Georgia Teacher of the Year and ex-officio member of the State Board, was recognized.  Her year will soon be up and Michael Kobito, an AP Music Theory teacher and band director at Woodland High School in Bartow County, will take the title and position.
• In keeping with the "Not Recovery but ReImagine" theme the State Supt. has had all year, there was a presentation on two priority areas: data privacy and security and getting more actionable data. Keith Osburn, the Department's Chief Information Officer and Deputy Superintendent for Technology Services, and his team did a presentation outlining cybersecurity training efforts and a district data dashboard.

Chairman Jason Downey led the Chair's Report.  Details for the fall retreat are being finalized.  It will be October 10-12.  Several State Board members have recently held their statutorily required annual public hearing, and a few have had a particularly good turnout. 

The next regularly scheduled meetings will be held June 15-16.