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. Public Schools of North Carolina . . State Board of Education . . Department Of Public Instruction .

SBE HIGHLIGHTS

MARCH 3-4, 2010

Special Note: To review background materials on each item, please go to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/stateboard/meetings/2010/03. Click on the appropriate agenda category: Globally Competitive Students (GCS); Twenty-First Century Professionals (TCP); Leadership for Innovation (LFI); Twenty-First Century Systems (TCS); or Healthy Responsible Students (HRS).

Consent Agenda

  • Recommendations for Compliance with HB 88, the Healthy Youth Act - Teacher Education Specialty Area Standards for Health Education Teacher Candidates (TCP 1) - Recommendations were approved for compliance with HB 88, the Healthy Youth Act - teacher education specialty area standards for health education teacher candidates - to add "reproductive health and safety education" as a content area.

  • Appointment of Individuals to the State Evaluation Committee on Teacher Education (TCS 7) - This item was moved to the Consent Agenda. The recommendation to reappoint three members and to appoint two new members to the State Evaluation Committee on Teacher Education was approved.

Action Agenda

  • Changes to Policy Delineating the Components of the ABCs Accountability Program for the 2010-11 School Year (GCS 2) - Board members approved removing the Geometry end-of-course assessment from the statewide testing program beginning in the 2010-11 school year to facilitate school and student transition to the new mathematics curriculum. New assessments anticipated in 2012-13 to support this new curriculum will be the Mathematics A assessment given at the end of Algebra I or Integrated Mathematics I, and the Mathematics BC assessment at the end of the Geometry/Algebra II or Integrated Mathematics II/III sequence.

  • Revisions to the HRS-A-000: Acts of School Violence Reported to Law Enforcement and to the State Board of Education (HRS1) - Revisions to State Board Policy HRS-A-000 (Acts of School Violence Reported Annually to the State Board of Education) were approved to require principals to report all criminal offenses occurring on school property to law enforcement beginning with the 2010-11 school year.

  • School-Based Calendar Waivers for Educational Purposes (LFI 4) - This item was moved to Action on First Reading. School-based calendar waiver requests were approved for the City of Medicine Academy (Durham Public Schools), CS Brown Student Development Center High School (Hertford County Schools) and Wayne School of Engineering at Goldsboro High (Wayne County Schools).

  • Program Approval Requests Under the Innovative Education Initiatives Act (LFI 5) - This item was moved to Action on First Reading. Program approval requests under the Innovative Education Initiatives Act were approved for Avery High School (Avery County Schools), Fair Bluff Academy (Columbus County Schools), Bessemer City Early College High School (Gaston County Schools), Andrews Aviation Academy (Guilford County Schools), and eLearning Academy and Hawthorne High School (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools).

  • Science Safety Standards (TCS 1) - Board members approved the Science Safety Standards policy and authorized the department's School Planning Section to review and approve middle and high school science facilities for safety. The new safety requirements will need to be met by any local board of education applying for a certificate of occupancy after the renovation or new construction of middle or high school science laboratories and related rooms.

Board members also approved:

  • recommendations for compliance with HB 88 - the Healthy Youth Act, that would modify language in the 2006 Healthful Living Standard Course of Study to change references in the policy from "abstinence until marriage education" to "reproductive health and safety education," and provide local school districts increased flexibility to expand what is taught in this subject area as required by the Healthy Youth Act of 2009 (GCS 1).

  • non-renewal of the Academy of Moore County's charter and Cape Lookout Marine Science High School's charter (LFI 1).

  • Henderson Collegiate, Lake Lure Classical Academy and Mountain Island Charter School for opening in the 2010-11 school year now that they have successfully completed their year-long planning/training period (LFI 2).

Discussion Agenda

  • Tuition Fee for Non-public School Students in North Carolina Virtual Public School (TCS 8) - Five tuition fee options for non-public school students taking NCVPS courses were discussed. The average administration cost per student based on a projected enrollment of 37,000 students in 2009-10 is $73. Under the various fee options, fees above this cost would be split between the NCVPS and the enrolling school to offset the cost of registering the student.

Board members also discussed:

  • enrollment issues at Grandfather Academy. The school currently has an exemption from the required 65 students charters must serve to a minimum of 50 students. The school is averaging serving fewer than 50 students (LFI 3).

  • current vacancies on the Council on Educational Services for Exceptional Children representing local school districts, parents of children with disabilities, Exceptional Children teachers and the vocational/community/business sectors (TCS 3).

  • requiring local school districts to maintain policies that require a pre-approved list of contract motor coach transportation operators (TCS 4).

  • requiring school bus certification for activity bus drivers. The policy change impacts new drivers of activity buses beginning July 1, 2010. By July 1, 2013, any activity bus driver, upon renewal of his/her license, shall also maintain a school bus driver's certification. Local districts would decide whether to apply the policy retroactively (TCS 5).

  • requiring training for school and activity bus inspectors to ensure that those individuals have completed a training regimen to educate them on the proper school bus and activity bus inspection criteria and procedures (TCS 6).

Information Agenda

  • Consolidated Data Report: Crime and Violence, Suspension and Expulsion, and Dropout Rates and Count (HRS 2) - "The Consolidated Data Report 2008-09" containing the annual crime and violence, suspension and expulsion, and dropout rates and counts was presented to Board members. The report found that crime and violence, high school dropouts, and short- and long-term suspensions decreased overall in North Carolina public schools in 2008-09. The State Board is required to report annually to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the number of students who have dropped out of school, been suspended, been expelled, placed in an alternative program and committed acts of violence. The report is available online at www.ncpublicschools.org/research/discipline/reports/.

Special Report on Halifax County Schools

Halifax County Schools' Superintendent Dr. Elease Frederick addressed Board members on the progress the district has been making over the past several months. She highlighted the activities of the district and school transformation team and Halifax staff from May 2009 to present. She acknowledged that, while progress has been made, Halifax has a long way to go to be at the performance levels they hope to see. State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison complimented Frederick for her staff's dedication to moving Halifax County schools forward and the Halifax County School Board for its collaborative spirit.

 

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