Wednesday, January 13
Committees: The State Board Budget Committee, Charter Committee, and Policy/Rules Committee each met to receive staff reports, discuss pending items of interest, and recommend items to the full Board for action at the Thursday meeting.
The Charter Committee received information that three recent decisions of the Charter Commission were being appealed (Coweta Co. appealing the approval of Coweta Charter Academy; appeals of denials of Alpha Academy and Lewis Academy). There was lengthy discussion as to how the appeals process might work.
Public Hearing: A public hearing was held on initiation of State Board Rule, Georgia Special Needs Scholarship. One person spoke favoring the rule.
Committee of the Whole: The Committee of the Whole met to hear recommendations for action on items from the committees that met earlier in the day. The Board developed a consent agenda, received a report on the work of the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement, and received the Charter School Annual Report.
Thursday, January 14
Following executive session to discuss personnel, litigation, and students' waiver requests, the Board met in its regularly scheduled monthly meeting in Atlanta. All board members were present. One vacancy exists on the Board.
Mr. Allen Rice, board member from the 12th Congressional District, gave the inspiration and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Board and State Superintendent recognized teachers and students for excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Agricultural Education.
Action Items
The Board approved the following:
Posting of Georgia requirements Standards for Eighth Grade Science Research and High School Epidemiology Courses.
November 4 and December 21 State Board meeting minutes.
Officers for 2010: Chair - Wanda Barrs; Vice Chair - Al Hodge; Vice Chair for Appeals - Brad Bryant
Acted upon student requests for waivers of high school graduation rules.
Contracts
The Board approved the following:
Covendis Technologies, contract amendment, $1,725,000, to fund temporary staffing to assist in Department of Education web-enabled applications.
Georgia Virtual School Desire 2 Learn, contract amendment, $56,268.74, to cover costs of hosting and support of virtual school courses.
College Board, $5,015,000, for administration and scoring of Advanced Placement exams.
Augusta State University, $88,492.50, for coordination and facilitation of the Science Olympiad.
Grants
The Board approved the following:
Title I Distinguished School Awards grant amendment, $1,974,362, to provide recognition to 13 Title I schools for academic achievement.
Georgia Virtual School, $98,562 total, to eligible school districts to reimburse costs for students enrolled in courses through Georgia Virtual School.
Education for Homeless Children and Youth, $266,500 total, to eligible school districts.
Title IA School Improvement, $629,594 total, allocations to five schools.
Rules
The Board:
Adopted rule, Georgia Special Needs Scholarship. The rule provides a process for dissemination of information to private schools and parents, establishes a mechanism for the State Board to consider applications from private schools, provides guidelines to private schools for use of state funds, provides a protocol for removal of non-compliant private schools.
Reinitiated rule, State Funded K-8 Subjects and 9-12 Courses for Students Entering Ninth Grade Prior to 2008. Revises the list of state-funded courses for school year 2010-2011.
Reinitiated rule, State Funded K-8 Subjects and 9-12 Courses for Students Entering Ninth Grade in 2008 and Subsequent Years. Revises the list of state-funded courses for school year 2010-2011.
Adopted rule, Dual Enrollment. Revises the credit conversion between college credits and high school course units.
Initiated amendments to the following Special Education Rules: Child Find Procedures, Evaluations and Reevaluations, Eligibility Determination and Categories of Eligibility, Least Restrictive Environment, Procedural Safeguards/Parent Rights, Dispute Resolution, Grants for Services, Services for Agency-Placed Students. For details on these amendments, go to http://www.gadoe.org/pea_board.aspx?PageReq=PEABoardProposed
Approved the 2010 version of the School Bus Specifications.
Waivers of Rules
The Board approved waivers of State Board Rules and state law as follows:
Class Size Requirements; 18 school districts
Contracted Transportation Services:Jefferson County
Direct Instruction Requirements (65% rule): 15 districts
Program Requirements of English Language Requirements: Dalton, Habersham, Long, McDuffie
Guidance Counselor Requirements: Cherokee, Habersham, Jefferson Co., McDuffie, Turner
Instructional Extension Requirements: Seven districts
Personnel Required: Bleckley, Dade, Jefferson Co., Turner
Professional Learning: Jefferson Co., Thomas, Whitfield
School Bus Drivers: Jefferson Co.
Standard Cost Development: Turner (bus replacement allowance)
Alternative Education Programs: Paulding, Trion
(Note; Justification for each of the above waiver requests is as follows - "The waiver requests for LEAs are due to the substantial financial hardship caused by the precipitous decline in state and local revenues."
Items for Information:
Report on Race to the Top by the Office of Student Achievement.
Report on activities of the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement.
Charter Schools Annual Report
Contracts of $50,000 and under approved by the State Superintendent during October and November.
Georgia Performance Standards for Fine Arts
Georgia Performance Standards for Health Education
Common Core Voluntary National Standards for Reading/English Language Arts and Math initiative.
Legislative Update.
Probable upcoming contracts and grants:
Contract, Reddy Law Firm, $20,000, for hearing officer services
Charter School Implementation Grants, $200,000 each, to Sandy Springs Middle (Fulton), Sardis Enrichment (Hall), Smoke Rise Elementary (DeKalb)
Advanced Teacher Placement Grants, $394,800 total, to eligible school districts for training teachers of Advanced Placement courses.
Contract amendment, NCS Pearson, $64,962, for an additional administration of the Science and Social Studies GHSGT as part of Project ExPreSS.
Contract, Construction Education Foundation of GA, $56,800, for industry certification and program support for Architecture, Construction, Communication and Transportation pathways.
Contract, Reader Contracts for Supplemental Educational Services and 21st Century Community Learning Centers, $175,000 total.
Contract, Vendor and Amount TBA, Procurement for Conference Facility for 2010 Title Programs.
There was a lengthy overview of the agreement between the Department of Education and the Department of Administrative Services which allows local school districts to utilize state bids for purchasing; purchase cards that have a rebate provision; and a process for sale of surplus property. For additional information, contract the Office of Finance and Budget, Georgia Department of Education.
For information on individual board items considered during this meeting, click on https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=1262&MID=13421
The next scheduled meeting of the State Board of Education is February 10-11.
This report is intended for information only and is not an official record of State Board actions. For official minutes of State Board meetings, contact the Georgia Department of Education.
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