July State Board of Education Report

The State Board of Education held the monthly Committee, Committee of the Whole, and regular State Board meetings on July 19. The Audit, District Flexibility & Charter Schools, and State Schools Committees did not meet this month. To view the complete agendas, click the highlighted links above.

Rules Committee

Deputy Superintendent of Policy, Flexibility, and External Affairs Tiffany Taylor presented the 12 items on the Rules Committee agenda. Ten items were placed on the consent agenda, and two concerning State Board Rule 160-4-2-.13 and universal reading screeners were pulled for a separate vote.

Discussion centered on three agenda items:

=         Adoption of the changes to State Board Rule 160-4-2-.13: Statewide Passing Score

o   Tiffany Taylor said 13 or 14 public comments were received, and some Board members said they received dozens of comments sent directly to them.

o   Helen Odom Rice shared concerns that members of the public may have been on vacation so they did not look at the comment page and may have found it difficult to enter their comments.

o   Martha Zoller said she heard overwhelmingly positive comments from her district and that people appreciate the flexibility.

o   Frank Griffin said educational leaders in rural districts told him they appreciate the flexibility as well.

o   Mike Royal said most comments sent to him were in opposition, and he referenced a speech from Coach John Scolinos because he worries the state is “widening the plate” when the going gets tough.

=         Initiation of public comment for amending State Board Rule 160-3-1-.07: Student Assessment

o   The purpose provided is “to adopt the mathematics and English Language Arts courses that will be assessed with the Georgia Milestones EOCs and Georgia Alternate Assessment 2.0 in alignment with Georgia’s new mathematics and English language arts standards, adopt dyslexia and universal reading screening requirements as specified in state law, provide exemption from the GKIDS ELA portion for kindergarten students being administered dyslexia and universal reading screeners, and adopt general rule clean-up.”

o   The public comment page about the rule change is posted here and will be open for 30 days.

=         Universal reading screeners

o   Helen Odom Rice wants to know more about challenges and highlights for the reading screeners because she believes the process and information is a bit incomplete right now.

The Board also heard brief highlights about positive public and industry comments concerning new CTAE standards and course revisions for biotechnology, healthcare science, light duty/hybrid electric vehicle technology, and marketing principles. These updates improve course alignment with industry standards and exams. Additionally, the new standards for the Business of Entertainment, Sports, and Event Management and Event Planning Applications will be posted for public review and comment.

The committee did not discuss the last agenda item, but eight more private schools applied to be on the 2023-2024 school list for the Special Needs Scholarship Voucher Program. The program began with 117 private schools participating and now has 302 participating with the new additions.

Budget Committee

Chief Financial Officer Rusk Roam presented the 16 items on the agenda. All items were placed on the consent agenda.

Budget highlights:

=         $1,666,106 in federal funds to the Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education Resource Network (CTAERN) to facilitate professional learning opportunities to support local CTAE programs

=         $4,525,928 in federal funds to 48 local education agencies (LEAs) for activities under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth grant

=         $1,171,279,188 in federal funds to LEAs for Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

=         $5,000,000 in federal funds for a contract with Coastal Plains and Southwest Georgia Regional Education Service Agencies (RESA) to plan and establish a Completion Special School in Zone 7 per HB 87

=         $1,450,000 in state funds to LEAs to provide feminine hygiene products to low-income students

=         $800,000 in state funds to the 16 Regional Education Service Agencies (RESAs) to assist with mental health awareness activities to support student mental health and well-being

Committee of the Whole/State Board Meeting

In lieu of an inspiration, Chair Jason Downey shared inspirational quotes from educators and authors. My favorite quote was one from Barbara Coloroso that says “If kids come to us from strong, healthy, functioning families, it makes our job easier. If they don’t come to us from strong, healthy, functioning families, it makes our job more important.”

2024 Teacher of the Year (TOTY)

Christy Todd, a music technology teacher from Fayette County, attended her first State Board meeting as the 2024 Teacher of the Year. Ms. Todd shared that she is grateful for the opportunity and excited to serve as part of the Board.

Public Hearing

No one signed up to speak about the changes to State Board Rule 160-4-2-.13: Statewide Passing Score.

Actions Taken

Ten items from the Rules Committee and all 16 items from the Budget Committee were placed on the consent agenda. The June Board minutes, personnel report, and legal appeals were also added to the consent agenda. The consent agenda was quickly approved by the Board.

Two items were pulled for a separate vote:

=         Adoption of State Board Rule 160-4-2-.13: Statewide Passing Score

o   Helen Odom Rice said she is concerned that dropping the minimum percentage to 10 percent decreases the merit of the test and does not properly value the work of teachers.

o   Mike Royal said he believes the state already has many areas of flexibility.

o   Stan DeJarnett emphasized that students must still pass the Georgia Milestones EOC exam, but the school district will have more flexibility to determine whether the exam should count as ten percent or a higher percentage of a student’s grade.

o   Helen Odom Rice, Lisa Kinnemore, and Mike Royal voted “no” while all other members who were present voted “yes.” Two members were absent. The final vote was 9 to 3.

=         Universal reading screeners

o   Helen Odom Rice wants clarification because several of the reading screeners submitted are the same as those submitted for dyslexia screeners.

o   The Dyslexia Taskforce did not analyze the list because the taskforce wrapped up their work at the end of April right before the list was released.

o   Matt Jones agreed to share more information about the reading screeners with the Board.

o   All twelve members who were present voted “yes.”

Superintendent’s Report

Chief of Staff Matt Jones attended on behalf of Superintendent Woods and waived presenting the superintendent’s report.

Chair’s Report

Chair Downey waived presenting the chair’s report and moved to announcements.

Announcements

=         Stan DeJarnett shared the meeting information about the Georgia Council on Literacy, which held a virtual organizational meeting on July 19 at 2 PM. The first official council meeting will be held on August 7 at 10 AM at Georgia Southern University.

=         Dr. Keith Osborn, Associate Superintendent of Georgia Virtual Learning, recently received the Jim Puckett Award for his leadership skills.

=         GaDOE was recently awarded the State Leadership Award at the 2023 SREB Making Schools Work Conference for School Improvement and CTAE.

=         Helen Odom Rice attended a Science of Reading and literacy conference put on by ExcelinEd and 95 Percent Group. She would like to share information about that with Matt Jones and the Board.

=         The next State Board of Education meeting will be held on August 23 and 24 at the Georgia Academy of the Blind in Macon.