Meeting Summary
Virginia Board of Education
September 26, 2007
Proposed Revisions to the Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia (8 VAC 20-81-10 et seq)
The Board approved proposed Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia and authorized staff to proceed with the requirements of Virginia’s Administrative Process Act. These requirements include public hearings and a public comment period. It is anticipated that the entire process will take about twelve months, putting final approval of the new regulations in approximately September 2008. The revisions are required to ensure state compliance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004).
Revisions to the Standards for Interdepartmental Regulation of Residential Facilities for Children
The Board approved revisions to the Standards for Interdepartmental Regulation of Children’s Residential Facilities, standards which are designed to provide protection and treatment/programming to vulnerable children in out-of-home care. The Standards must be approved by four state Boards: Education; Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services; Juvenile Justice; and Social Services before they can go into effect.
Request for Increased Graduation Requirements from Russell County Public Schools
The Board approved the request of the Russell County Public Schools to require students to complete two additional courses to earn a Standard or an Advanced Studies Diploma. It increases the number of required electives from six to eight for the Standard, and from two to four for the Advanced Studies Diploma. The change will be in effect for students entering the ninth grade in 2008-2009.
Alternative Accreditation Plan from the Danville Public Schools
The Board accepted for first review an alternative accreditation plan from the Danville City Public Schools for J.M. Langston Focus School. The school is designed to foster a learning environment for middle school and secondary students who have experienced academic and behavior difficulties in a traditional education environment for students in grades 6-12.
Requests from School Divisions for Ratings of Conditionally Accredited
The Board approved the rating of “Conditionally Accredited” for twenty-eight schools (in nineteen school divisions) which have failed to meet the requirements to be rated Fully Accredited in three consecutive years. In addition, the Board accepted for first review the continued request for a Conditionally Accredited rating for two schools in the Sussex County Public Schools.
Adoption of an English Proficiency Assessment to be Administered in 2008-09
The Board approved the recommendation of two state-wide focus groups to adopt the Access for English Language Learners assessment (referred to interchangeably as both the “Access” assessment and as the “WIDA” assessment) as the state-approved English Language Proficiency assessment to be used by all school divisions in 2008-2009.
Reports Received
The Board received reports on its Comprehensive Plan for 2007-2012, Regional Alternative Education Programs, Postsecondary Readiness, and the status of NCLB waiver requests made by the Board. In addition, the State Special Education Advisory Committee presented their annual report and recommendations.