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The July meeting of the Georgia State Board of Education was held utilizing a shorter one and a half day format again this month with a relatively short agenda. While their agenda was not lengthy, it included many important rules and several significant reports. Superintendent Kathy Cox opened the meeting with an inspirational report on the GADOE's summer high school remediation "Project Express." In her words, "the results are in and we hit a homerun!" She went on to report significant improvements in the overall pass rates for the second time test takers on the Georgia High School Graduation Test Science and Social Studies tests. Superintendent Cox closed her invocation by leading the state board in the Pledge of Allegiance.
During the 2008-2009 legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation (HB 280 and HB 455) which allows local boards of education to define the school year in terms of 180 full length days or in terms of instructional hour's equivalent to a 180 day school year. The state board initiated significant changes to both the School Day and School Year rule in order to appropriately implement these statutory changes.
During its Wednesday work Session, the SBOE received a report and a recommendation from the Executive Director of The Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) regarding their recent investigation into teasing irregularities in four metro elementary Schools. GOSA discovered data irregularities in the 2008 CRCT 5th grade retest. From data analysis, which included on-site interviews of school personnel by GOSA and erasure analysis by the Georgia Center for Assessment (GCA), it is evident that the testing environment for administering a highly secure state assessment was compromised at four schools. State Board Rule 160-7-1-.03 (3)(b) states that each school's Accountability Profile shall include an AYP determination, as required by No Child Left Behind, which is based primarily on the administration of state assessments. The policies and procedures set forth by the Georgia Department of Education to ensure high test security were not followed. During their investigation, GOSA staff learned from erasure analysis and related follow-up work that individuals at these schools intentionally changed students' 5th grade CRCT answer documents on the 2008 retest and consequently made the following recommendations for State Board of Education to approve.
With respect to Atherton Elementary (DeKalb), Burroughs-Molette Elementary (Glynn), Deerwood Academy (Atlanta), and Parklane Elementary (Fulton):
A) Invalidate the 2008 CRCT 5th grade retest scores;
B) Reinstate the Spring 2008 AYP determinations;
C) Require that formal accountability consequences follow from July 2008 determinations to July 2009 determinations;
D) Require the school systems to send a notification letter to parents of affected students;
E) Request that the receiving middle schools in the systems design and follow an individual support plan for affected students who continue to struggle with mathematics.
The Georgia State Board of Education voted to approve these recommendations on their consent agenda on Thursday. In their discussion, it was determined that these incidents would be reported to the Professional Standards Commission for their investigation and action
As a result of the 2009 legislative session, the state board also took action to initiated revisions to several state rules this month. The proposed revisions to the School Year Rule reflect legislation passed during the 2008-2009 legislative session as well as clarify requirements related to the minimum instructional time per full length day. Illustrative changes to the Rule include:
- 160-5-1-.01(1) School Year (a), (b) & (c) Definitions: The proposed language in this subsection defines Local Board of Education, Local Education Agency and Georgia Department of Education. The proposed amendments to this rule permits an "hourly equivalent" to the 180 days previously required in state law.
- 160-5-1-.01(2)(b) School Day Requirements: The proposed language in this subsection allows Local Boards of Education to specify the school year as 180 full-length days or its equivalent provided each day meets the minimum instructional time. Minimum day: Grades K - 3 = 4.5 hours; Grades 4 - 5 = 5 hours; Grades 6 - 12 = 5.5 hours.
These changes will allow local systems to depart form the traditional 180 day year now previously required in state law to an "equivalent" year. Hopefully, this will give local districts the flexibility to better address the downturn in the revenues that most are experiencing.
In other actions, the board repealed the Scheduling for Instruction Rule (160-4-2-.16) because it was subsumed into the aforementioned rules. The department took this step to allow local districts greater flexibility in scheduling students in grades 9-12. The board continued their rule initiation process, by putting Rule 160-5-1-.34 The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program on the table for adoption at their August meeting. Since the program was signed into law in 2007, the GaDOE has administered the program solely based on state law and internally developed guidance. The goal was to collect and analyze data in an effort to gather more insight into how well the program was achieving its intended goals. The state board rule and guidance will strengthen and clarify state procedures and practices for parents, participating private schools, and school districts.
After these significant rule adoptions, the board received a report from Deputy State Superintendent Scott Austensen gave the board an update on the current budget situation at the DOE. As of this date the department has 25% fewer employees than on this date last year, with an overall 19% vacancy rate. The entire QBE budget was reduced by $143 million in 2008 and $338 million in 2009. In 2010, the reductions actually are reduced by 97 million to nearly 241 million dollars. Austensen reported that Georgia had received 927 million dollars in ARRA Stabilization funds had expended 158 million in 09, 413 million dollars in 2010 leaving some 356 million dollars for the remainder of 2010 and 2011. We will have to watch the 2011 budget projections to determine if these funds will offset future reductions or if more austerity cuts are on the way as he fully expects additional cuts to be mandated. He went on to brief the board on the process for developing the 2011 budget and how the department will link their budget and Strategic plan so that they can better prioritize their spending.
The board, after a lengthy budget discussion, praised Deputy Austensen and his staff for their hard work and adjourned.
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