Meeting Summary
Virginia Board of Education
November 29, 2007
Proposed Regulations Governing Jointly Owned and Operated Schools and
Jointly Operated Programs (8 VAC 20-280-10 et seq.)
The Board authorized the submission of proposed changes to the Regulations Governing Jointly Owned and Operated Schools and Jointly Operated Programs (8 VAC 20-280-10 et seq.) for public comment. Joint schools include academic-year Governor’s schools, alternative education centers, career and technical centers, and special education centers. The proposed changes include the addition of a definitions section for clarity; revision of the second section of the regulations which includes all of the organizing and operating procedures, including membership, organization, authority, authority of the division superintendent, annual budget and financing plan, and expenditures with headings/catchlines from the current regulations remaining, but with streamlined language; and the addition of new language passed by the 2007 General Assembly (HB 2371) regarding the appointment of a fiscal agent and the holding of title to property.
Proposed Amendments to the Regulations Governing the Virginia Teaching
Scholarship Loan Program Requirements and Selection Procedures (8 VAC 20-650-30)
The Board authorized submission of proposed changes to the existing Regulations Governing the Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program Requirements and Selection Procedures (8 VAC 20-650-30) for public comment under “fast track” procedures. Section 22.1-290.01 of the Code of Virginia establishes the Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program (VTSLP) and the Board of Education administers the program to support teacher candidates in the critical teaching shortage areas. The proposed amendments include (1) deletion of the requirement to include one Commonwealth Scholarship from each college or university, (2) alignment of revised parameters for eligibility, and (3) procedures for a selection panel when the teacher education program recommendations for scholarships exceed the appropriation. In the absence of adverse public comment, these proposed regulations would be automatically approved without Board action.
Alternative Accreditation Plan from Danville Public Schools for J. M. Langston Focus School
The Board approved an alternative accreditation plan from Danville City Schools for J. M. Langston Focus School, a newly created alternative school designed to foster a learning environment for middle school and secondary students who have experienced academic and behavior difficulties in a traditional education environment. An Alternative Accreditation Composite Index will be used to determine the accreditation rating for this school, and due to the time required to address the academic needs of students in the four core subject areas, foreign language and fine arts will not be offered to students in grades 6 through 12.
Proposed Process for Initiating a Governor’s Career and Technical Academy
The Board approved a process and administrative guidelines for initiating a Governor’s Career and Technical Academy, spurred by a $500,000 grant from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Governor’s Career and Technical Academies are intended to be partnerships of business and industry, public school divisions, and higher education institutions; and may also include local government, including workforce and economic development entities. These academies will have the primary focus of increasing the readiness of high school graduates for college level work and other postsecondary pathways in STEM areas.
Resolution to Reaffirm the Board of Education’s Prescribed Revisions to the
Standards of Quality
The Board approved a resolution to reaffirm the Board’s commitment to the seven staffing recommendations under the Standards of Quality that were proposed in 2003 and 2006 that have not yet been funded, and urge the Governor and the 2008 General Assembly to renew their consideration of these recommendations. These recommendations would:
• Require one full-time principal in every elementary school, middle school, and high school;
• Require one assistant principal for each 400 students in every elementary school, middle school, and high school;
• Require one full-time equivalent instructional position for each 1,000 students in average daily membership to serve as reading specialists for the school division;
• Require local school boards to employ speech-language pathologists in sufficient numbers to ensure that a caseload does not exceed 60 students per position;
• Require one full-time instructional position for each 1,000 students in grades kindergarten through eight to serve as the mathematics teacher specialist;
• Require one full-time position per 1,000 students in grades kindergarten through 12 to provide schools support in data management and the utilization and administration of state assessments. The data manager/test coordinator would hold a license issued by the Board of Education and would serve as a resource to principals and classroom teachers in analyzing and interpreting data for instructional purposes; and
• Require local school boards to employ instructional and paraprofessional staff to ensure the following maximum pupil-teacher ratios for students who are blind or vision impaired: Level I, resource teacher, 24 to one, Level II, self-contained with an aide, 10 to one; self contained without an aide, eight to one; or Level II, self-contained, student weight of 2.5.
The fiscal impact to the state of these recommendations is $184.4 million in FY 2009 and $186.3 million in FY 2010. The local impact of each recommendation would vary by locality based on current staffing standards and Local Composite Index.
Criteria for Making Distributions from the Public Charter School Fund (HB 2311)
The Board accepted for first review the Criteria for Making Distributions from the Public Charter School Fund pursuant to §22.1-212.5:1, Code of Virginia. Section 22.1-212.5:1 of the Code of Virginia, as amended on July 1, 2007, creates in the treasury a special non-reverting public charter school fund. The purpose of the Fund is to establish a mechanism whereby any gifts, grants, bequests, or donations from public or private sources can be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Moneys in the Fund are to be used solely for the purposes of establishing or supporting public charter schools in the Commonwealth that stimulate the development of alternative public education programs.
Proposed Schedule for the Adoption of Mathematics, English, Science, and
Foreign Languages Textbooks and Instructional Materials
The Board received on first review the proposed schedule for mathematics, English, science, and foreign language textbook and instructional materials review. The Department proposes that textbooks and instructional materials for mathematics be scheduled for adoption in 2010-2011, and that textbooks and instructional materials for
English and science be scheduled for adoption in 2011-2012. It is further proposed that textbooks and instructional materials for foreign languages be scheduled for adoption in 2014.
Reports and Publications
The Board received the Resource Guide for Crisis Management and Emergency Response in Virginia Schools, the 2007 Annual Report on the Condition and Needs of Public Schools in Virginia, the report of the activities of the Commonwealth Educational Roundtable, and the Report on Programming and Services Provided through the Instructional Telecommunications Services Contract.