For Your Information
Vol. 21, No. 12
June 26, 2009
Click here for past issues of the For Your Information newsletter.
Board Previews New
Student Testing Proposal
A sneak peek of student testing in the future was previewed by the state Board of Education during its June work session Thursday. Assistant State Superintendent of Education Tommy Bice presented a draft of the state assessment program that would further eliminate the number of testing days, allow for testing later in the school year and provide a quicker return of testing results.
The far-reaching proposal would replace the Alabama High School Graduation Exam with end-of-course tests and would require all students to take the ACT. In addition, the plan calls for phasing out use of the SAT, ARMT, writing assessment and ASA with a new test called A-SMART, the Alabama Science, Math and Reading Test. National comparisons would be made using NAEP.
Because of the comprehensive nature of the proposal, the board will discuss it in depth at a later date.
“This is where we would like to go,” State Superintendent of Education Dr. Joe Morton said. “It is a big discussion.”
Regulations to implement the 2009-10 education budget also were reviewed by the board during the work session Thursday. The most significant change in the proposed regulations is that boards now must post their monthly check registers online in order to receive state funds. Previously, a committee formed by the state Department of Education suggested posting a report that can be exported easily from the financial software used in most systems. The report will show the amount of the check, who it was to, the source of funds and a brief reason for the expenditure.
Among the other changes to the regulations since last year was the elimination of the requirement for a school budget committee. The upcoming EFT budget appropriated no funds for classroom instructional supplies.
Another proposed change would result in additional funding for school boards that do not have an area vocational center (AVC), now called career and technical education center (CTE). Partial funds for a principal unit will now be allocated to some 50 boards to provide systemwide oversight for CTE programs, according to Craig Pouncey, assistant state superintendent for finance. The proposed apportionment of funds regulations also would eliminate the need for the state superintendent to approve use of Public School Funds for debt service.
The Alabama Educator Code of Ethics, approved by the board in July 2005, would become regulations under a proposal discussed by the board. By adopting the code as regulations, Morton said, “It gives it more permanency.” SDE General Counsel Larry Craven explained that once approved, the regulations could be helpful if local school boards were required to take disciplinary actions against teachers in the nine standard areas address by the code.
In other discussion, the board reviewed proposed changes to the administrative code regarding teacher education program standards. Because of the comprehensive nature of the changes, the entire chapter will be repealed and replaced with new standards, pending board approval in July.
The new standards incorporate input from educators, colleges and university representatives, and are aligned with the knowledge and abilities associated with the ARI, AMSTI and the Alabama Quality Teaching Standards. The proposed regulations would give the SDE authority to review teacher training programs if there is evidence the programs are experiencing problems in leadership, finance, and participation, among other areas.
An overview of the proposed changes to the regulations governing Career and Technical Education were presented for later discussion in August. The new regulations are intended to accomplish three goals, according to Sherry Key, CTE director for the SDE: aligning state regulations with new federal regulations; updating practices and updating language. The board will announce its intent to update the regulations in July but will not act on the proposals until the fall.
The board’s next meeting is its annual meeting, Tuesday, July 14.
July 17 Last Day for Discount Conference Registration
Register by July 17 and take advantage of the cheaper pre-registration rate for the July 26-28 Alabama Association of School Boards and July 26-27 Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys Summer Conference at the Perdido Hotel. “Navigating Rough Waters: Seeking Student Success” is constructed around the skills and information boards need in these economically troubling times.
What can you expect? Sessions led by experts Tim Cusack on Life is Short … Go Long for Education, Dr. Crystal KuyKendall on Steering a Course to Student Success and Michael Resnick on Stretching Your Stimulus Dollars/Federal Legislative Updates.
Choose to enjoy AASB’s first bonus sessions on education law and personnel issues and participate in a variety of breakout sessions, including Budgets that Drive Student Achievement, How to Decide What Matters Most and Consolidating and Closing Schools.
Visit www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org for accommodation and registration details, or call 800/562-0601. Hotel reservations should be made by calling 800/634-8001 (mention AASB). For details, contact dhendricks@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.
Leadership Course for New Board Members July 25-26
School board members and education leaders who have been on the job for two years or less are urged to take advantage of AASB’s leadership orientation program. This two-day training session provides a wealth of information on the fundamentals of school board leadership and includes such topics as boardmanship, school finance, personnel, law and ethics. Eligible Leadership I attendees earn 8 credit hours in the AASB School Board Member Academy.
Visit www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org for accommodation and registration details, or call 800/562-0601. Hotel reservations should be made by calling 800/634-8001 (mention AASB).
Looking everywhere for money in this tight economy?
Want to know how to regain funding you’ve already spent or how to bill for services you already offer to eligible students? In just 10 years, the Alabama Association of School Boards’ Medicaid Administrative Claiming and Direct Bill programs have returned more than $87 million to school boards that provide services to Medicaid-eligible students. We’ll even train your staff. How much do you stand to lose? Call us to find out at 800/562-0601 or e-mail kroberts@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.
Locker, parking fees may be used for classroom support
The state Department of Education has determined that high school student parking fees may be used for any public educational purpose, including classroom instructional support. That’s contrary to previous guidance from the department, which limited the parking fees to parking-related costs such as decals and parking lots.
The department also advises that schools with significant balances of unobligated, unspent locker fees as of June 30 may transfer those to public funds for classroom instructional support if those funds exceed allowable uses for locker rental fees. Allowable locker expenses include locker maintenance costs and amortizing the costs of locks and lockers that the school has purchased.
Locker rental fee rates per student, notes the SDE, should be adjusted to an amount that would accumulate only the funds needed to pay for allowable locker expenses. For more information, contact Dennis Heard at 334/242-9747 or Sonja Peaspanen at 334/353-9886.
— Denise L. Berkhalter,
publicrelations@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org
Alabama Association of School Boards:
Celebrating 60 years of helping local education leaders improve student achievement.
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