State Board Meeting Report, April 2010
3410 on 4/8/2010

The Georgia State Board of Education met for its monthly meeting in Atlanta.  In a departure from the usual two day schedule, the Board completed all of its work on Wednesday.  Committee meetings and the Committee of the Whole meeting were held as usual, with the official meeting of the Board coming at the close of the day.

Wednesday, April 7

The Budget Committee considered contracts and grants for submission to the full board for action.  The Committee also discussed legislative progress on the FY 10 Continuation and the FY 11 Budgets for education.

The Charter Committee heard reports from staff on charter funding, charter petitions, and on activities of the Charter Advisory Committee and Charter Commission.  The Committee also recommended positive action to the full Board on two charter petitions.

As has become the norm, much of the time of the Rules Committee was taken in review of a plethora of requests from local districts for waivers of State Board rules as a result of the decline in revenues for education.  The Committee also reviewed replacement of the Alternative Educational Programs rule.

There were no rules scheduled for a public hearing this month.

Board member Brad Bryant gave an inspiration and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Action Items
The Board:

  • Approved local facilities plans for Ben Hill, Bremen, Butts, Clay, Harris, Lumpkin, Quitman, Schley, Turner, Wilkinson, Worth.
  • Authorized the State Superintendent to approve members of the 2010 Learning Resources Advisory Committee.
  • Set standards cut scores for Criterion Referenced Competency Tests in grades 7 and 8 social studies.
  • Set standards cut scores for Georgia High School Graduation Tests in social studies.
  • Approved posting of the Georgia Performance Standards for high school English Language Arts Advanced Composition. 
  • Authorized removal of four Supplemental Education Service providers from the 2009-10 state approved list.
  • Adopted the minutes of the March 11, 2010 meeting.

Contracts and Grants
The Board approved the following:

  • Contract amendment, IBM/Cognos, $TBA, to continue work on ARRA Federal and State reporting requirements.
  • Contract amendment, Covendis Technologies, $1,200,000, to provide temporary staffing to support DOE web-enabled applications.
  • Contract, University of West Georgia, $124,735, for a validity study of the Leader Keys Leadership Performance Appraisal System.
  • Contract, Office of State Administrative Hearings, ($250,000, for due process hearing for special education.
  • Contract, individuals, $90,000 total, to serve as mediators in special education disputes.
  • Contract, Valdosta State University, $517,349, to host the Governor's Honors Program.
  • Grant amendment, Title IID/Engaging AP Students Through Mobile Handheld Computing, $645,828 total, to 10 schools in six local districts (Atlanta, Clarke, DeKalb, Madison, Union, Walker.)
  • Grant, Residential and Reintegration Services for Special Education, $1,492,973 total, to support students in private facilities placed by local school districts.
  • Grant, Reading First carry-over funds, $3,677,129,43 total, to 28 local districts for Reading First programs.
  • Grant, TitleIA section 1003(g), $1,020,000 total, to 14 school districts.

Charter Schools
The Board:

  • Approved system charter status for Putnam County, pending addition of contract language related to operational performance measures.
  • Approved renewal of the charter for Drew Charter School (Atlanta)

Rules
The Board:

  • Initiated repeal of rule Alternative Education Programs and initiated approval of a new rule Alternative Education Programs.
  • Approved waivers of State Board rules as follows:
    • Scheduling for Instruction:  Chatham, Hall
    • Dual Enrollment: Clarke
    • Class Size: Appling, Bibb, Candler, Rabun, Randolph Wheeler
    • Direct Instruction: Burke, Jones, Randolph, Treutlen, Wheeler. Wilkes
    • Early Intervention Program: Randolph, Wheeler
    • Program for English Language Learners Requirements: Rabun
    • Georgia High School Graduation Test Remedial Program: Clayton
    • Guidance Counselor Requirements: Wheeler
    • Instructional Extension Requirements: Burke, Clayton, Jones
    • Middle School Program: Randolph, Treutlen, Wheeler
    • Personnel Required: Randolph
    • Professional Learning: Jones, Upson
    • Standard Cost Development: Johnson, Putnam
    • Summer Opportunity Program Grades 4-8: Clayton
    • Student requests for waivers of high school graduation requirements.

Items for Information
The Board received verbal or written reports on the following:

  • Recent contracts approved by the State Superintendent of $50,000 or less.
  • Upcoming contracts and grants.
  • Upcoming charter school petitions.
  • Appropriate use of bus replacement/renovation funds.
  • Update on the Longitudinal Data System.
  • Update on the CRCT erasure investigation.
  • Legislative update.
  • Update on the FY 10 continuation and FY 11 budget work in the General Assembly
  • Race to the Top update.
  • Update on the Federal School Improvement Grants program.

The next regular meeting of the State Board is scheduled for May 12-13.

This report is for information only and is not intended as an official record of State Board actions or activities.  For official records, contact the Georgia Department of Education.