The Alabama State Board of Education adopted administrative code rule changes Thursday related to the Alabama Literacy Act and the Alabama School Leadership and Mentorship Act. 

The new code rule 290-3-3-.61 updates standards requiring educator prep programs to align courses to the science of reading in early childhood and elementary education. The rule also prohibits educator prep programs and public K-12 schools from using three-cueing, a teaching technique that encourages students to use semantic and grammatical cues first when attempting read an unknown word. Colleges of education must implement the new standards in pre-service teacher coursework by August 2024. 

The board also voted to adopt new administrative code rule 290-4-3-.04, which updates standards for principal leadership development for the first time since 2006. The change is necessitated by the Alabama School Principal Leadership and Mentorship Act passed in 2023, which is part of a strategy to bolster the state’s principal pipeline. Principals and assistant principals are required to meet the new standards for professional learning for eligibility to receive monetary stipends set forth in the legislation. The board also repealed and replaced administrative code rule 290-4-3.01 to update required standards for all educator professional learning. 

Other action items of note from the meeting included approval of resolutions:

• appointing the 2024-2025 State Textbook Committee for Science grades K-12; and
• appointing the 2024-2025 State Textbook Committee for Career and Technical Education Clusters (Arts, AV Technology and Communications, Health Science, and Human Services).

The highlight of Thursday’s meeting included recognition of Alabama’s 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year, Deborah Stringfellow (Elmore County Schools); Teacher of the Year Alternate, Kira Ledbetter Aaron (Vestavia Hills City Schools); and district finalists. 

Work Session Updates

The SBOE received updates during Thursday’s work session on educator prep programs at the University of West Alabama, The University of Alabama and Alabama State University. Officials from the three institutions described the strategies being implemented to ensure teacher candidates are equipped to teach the science of reading and to meet new standards required by the Alabama Numeracy Act. 

Board discussion included intent to adopt four new administrative code changes as emergency and permanent rules related to improving math achievement through implementation of the Alabama Numeracy Act. 

ALSDE Office of Math Improvement Director Karen Anderson updated the board on the four courses being developed for the K-5 math coaching endorsement: K-2 content and pedagogy; grades 3-5 content coaching and pedagogy; coaching principles; and literacy in math education. While the Numeracy Act names these courses, the SDE is responsible for developing the content and must adopt a new administrative code rule outlining the coursework. Institutions seeking to offer the math coaching endorsement will need to present their programs to the SBOE for approval. 

The SBOE also must adopt a new code rule outlining standards for the development of a foundations of mathematics test to serve as the teacher certification assessment required by the Alabama Numeracy Act. 

Grade Level Reading Results
State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey said grade-level reading results will be presented to the board during a video conference call Thursday, May 16. Mackey explained the video conference call is not a public meeting, as no deliberation will take place. Results will be available for districts the next day, allowing schools a few days to verify the data and notify students who must attend summer reading camp. This academic year marks full implementation of the Literacy Act’s third-grade retention component, which requires all third-grade students to demonstrate sufficient reading skills for promotion to fourth grade.  

Other work session discussion included:

• Intent to adopt an amended code rule requiring completion of a computer science course as a graduation requirement;
• The Legislature’s joint resolution to study rewriting and modernizing Alabama’s school funding formula; and 
• Problems with the new FAFSA form which have significantly reduced the state’s FAFSA participation rate. Mackey said principals are authorized to waive FAFSA completion as a requirement of graduation this year, as the fed works to resolve issues with the form. 

Next SBOE Meeting & Work Session

The board’s next meeting will take place Thursday, June 13 at 10 a.m. in Montgomery with a work session immediately following.

• Gordon Persons Building Auditorium
• Livestream viewing: https://www.youtube.com/user/aldeptofed/live
• Archived meeting and work session recordings: https://www.alabamaachieves.org/state-board-of-education/meeting-videos/