The State Board of Education met last week on February 15th and 16th to do its Committee work, meet in a Committee of the Whole to create a consent agenda, and finally to hold its regular meeting.  Click on the links to see the agendas and any attachments.

The State Board has recently been on a kind of speed meeting schedule that is working well at keeping everybody focused and the meeting moving.  The four Committees finished in an hour and a half. Long may this efficiency last!

District Flexibility and Charter Committee 

This Committee had only two items and both were put on the consent agenda. The contract terms for the four local charters in Savannah-Chatham were extended to allow them time to generate performance data needed for charter contract renewal decisions.

The Committee also moved Governor Kemp's nominations for the State Charter Schools Commission to the consent agenda.  A little information in addition to that in the nomination letter for the new appointees:  Jim Cole was drafted as a pitcher by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1993 but an injury ended his short professional baseball career.  He served as a Floor Leader for Gov. Sony Perdue for several years before leaving the Legislature, where he served from 2005-2011, to return to Mercer, his alma mater.  Dr. Ben Scafidi worked with Gov. Roy Barnes' Education Reform Commission and served as Gov. Sonny Perdue's first education policy advisor. He was also the Chair of the 2009 State Charter Schools Commission and has authored a number of reports on school choice, school district expenditures, and student achievement.

There was a brief discussion on HB 87 which would establish a network of "completion schools" instead of having just Mountain education, Foothills, and Coastal Plains.

Budget Committee

All budget items were moved to the consent agenda with a few brief discussions.

Audit Committee 

The Audit Committee has been monitoring the work being done in districts labeled high and moderate risk by 2021's SB 68.  Since the last report, four districts have been removed from the list and another is about to come off.  The Department is still waiting for a few audits being done by CPAs.  The Department of Audits has completed all '21 audits but the reports are still being written. Three more districts will come off the list when those reports are released. 

There was discussion around the issues in a few of the districts, particularly Talbot. Chair of the Committee, Mike Royal, requested that the Talbot Superintendent and board chair at a minimum, be at the March meeting to answer questions.

Rules Committee 

Most of the items were put on the consent agenda.  The two rule adoptions were held out for a separate vote as always.

We now have standards posted for review on Living and Working with Artificial Intelligence (AI), a middle school exploratory course.  With all the news around AI, maybe we should all explore this course.

Three rules have been initiated for changes:  

• Child Find Procedures is being amended to remove required interventions before referral to special education for all suspected disabilities. It was previously posted in December but the Department has received additional feedback.
• Georgia Learning Resources System (GLRS) is being amended to remove obsolete language and to be more precise and consistent. Feedback has been sought since Fall 2022.
• Grants for Services is being amended to allow flexibility to maximize state funding.

David Nuckolls, Executive Director of the Georgia Center on Innovation which is a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, has been appointed to the Georgia Foundation for Public Education Board of Directors. 

Committee of the Whole 

The Inspiration was provided by Dr. Grant Rivera, superintendent of Marietta City Schools.  He thanked the Board members for their work and leadership.

The Board honored former Board members Mike Long and Scott Johnson for their service.  Long and Johnson expressed their appreciation and thanks for the friendships and the work done there.

A public hearing was offered for two rules up for adoption but no one wished to speak to them.

The consent agenda was compiled.

State Board Meeting 

The consent agenda was approved as were the two amended rules up for adoption. 

• The rule on the Statewide School Nutrition Program was amended to reflect last year's SB 397 which replaced "general educational development (GED)"  with "state approved high school equivalency (HSE)." It also reflects updates in food safety certification and aligns the rule with the Department's current training modules for manages.
• The Dual Enrollment rule was amended to change "Option A" and "Option B" to "Dual Enrollment Requirements for the Traditional High School Diploma" and "Dual Enrollment Requirements for the Accelerated Career Diploma."

State Superintendent Richard Woods passed on providing any presentations.  Chair Jason Downey reported on the NASBE Healthy School Facilities Network grant. Caroline Pakenham, Associate Director of Water Programs at Elevate and advisor to NASBE, spoke about health improvements through facility improvements.

Dr. Dana Rickman, President of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, discussed the CARES Impact Study: Year One Report which describes how pandemic relief funds have been used so far and the challenges districts are facing. This study will be done over a four year period.  The link will take you to all the information on the study.

State Board member Helen Rice announced tomorrow, February 21st, will be Dyslexia Day at the Capitol.

Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Dr. April Aldridge gave an update on the English Language Arts (ELA) standards revision.

New Board member Nick Ellis, who serves in law enforcement and is a former school board member in Wayne County and a former District Director of GSBA, was introduced.

The next meeting will be March 22-23.