MINUTES
State Board of Education
April 15, 2004
The April meeting of the
State Board of Education was held in the State Board Room, Grimes State Office
Building, Des Moines. The following
Board members were present: Gene Vincent,
Jim Billings, Charles Edwards, Sister Jude Fitzpatrick, Greg McClain
(telephonically), Mary Jean Montgomery, Don Roby, Megan Srinivas and Kay
Wagner. Board member absent: Sally Frudden. Also present were Department Director Ted Stilwill and Department
staff members Gail Sullivan, Judy Jeffrey, Lee Tack, Carol Greta, Jan Friedel,
Kathi Slaughter, Jeff Berger, Lois Irwin, Laurie Phelan, Jeannette McGreevey,
Jim Reese, Linda Miller, Julia Thorius, Tom Anderson, Ray Morley and Beverlee
Adams. Also present were Stephen
Wooderson, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Education and Services, Bonnie Meier, Lee Meier, and Rick Roghair,
Sioux Central Community School District, Mike Jorgenson, Southeast Webster,
Carol Everson, Pearson Educational Measurement, Mary Lynn Jones, Des Moines
Public Schools, and Madelaine Jerousek, The Des Moines Register.
President Gene Vincent
called the Board’s business meeting to order at 12:45 p.m.
It was moved by Sister Jude
Fitzpatrick and seconded by Mary Jean Montgomery to approve the agenda as
written.
There was no public comment.
Charles Edwards – No report
Megan Srinivas – No report
Jim Billings reported on the Technology Advisory Committee
meeting he had attended and shared a handout from the meeting with the Board.
Mary Jean Montgomery indicated she was excited about the technology
report and its work. She reported she
had attended the IPTV Board meeting and gave an overview of the discussion of
goals and objectives being discussed.
Montgomery shared Senate
Resolution 138 recognizing John Blong for his 37 years of service in community
college work.
Greg McClain reviewed his attendance at the NASBE Study Group
meeting of the Commission on High School Athletics: An Era of Reform. He also indicated he and Laurie Phelan of
the department had arranged a special
I-JAG meeting with members of the Cedar Rapids Chamber of
Commerce, Cedar Rapids School District and representatives of Washington High
School to approve an I-JAG program for Washington High School. The meeting was held at George Washington
High School in Cedar Rapids.
Kay Wagner reported she had attended the legislative forum held
in eastern Iowa.
Don Roby said he had talked with the local rotary club about
the State Board’s role in education as well as the role of area education
agencies and community colleges. He
also discussed the budgetary concerns of these organizations.
Gene Vincent expressed his thanks to the State Board for their
support during his recent surgery and recovery.
President Gene Vincent
presented Kay Wagner and Don Roby with appreciation thoughts and gifts for the
expertise and hours of service they had given to the Board during their
tenure.
Director Stilwill reported
on the following topics:
Update--No Child Left
Behind
CCSSO--Legislative
Conference Review
Funding Conversations—State
and Federal
NCLB Letter to Congressional
Delegation—Department/State Board
Jeff Berger, Legislative
Liaison, presented an overview of current legislative activity. Director Stilwill and Jeff Berger outlined
discussions being debated on the teacher quality, infrastructure and allowable
growth bills.
The minutes of the March
11-12, 2004 State Board meeting were approved.
Stephen Wooderson,
Administrator, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services presented the
Vocational Rehabilitation Services Strategic Plan Progress Report.
He reported that vocational rehabilitation is a federal/state funded
program. When receiving a referral, an
applicant is evaluated for eligibility according to federal criteria outlined
in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, amended in 1998. When eligibility is determined, the client may access services
that are intended to lead to employment in the competitive marketplace. Wooderson said that services may include
evaluation, guidance and counseling, training, assistive technology, and direct
job placement. DVRS currently serves
all clients that are determined to be the most significantly disabled. Other new referrals are placed on a waiting
list.
Mr. Wooderson cited the
strategic plan goals as follows:
He said the VR program not
only benefits its participants but also helps to assure that the participants
can contribute to all of society.
Judy Jeffrey, Administrator, Division of Early Childhood,
Elementary and Secondary Education, introduced this agenda item and provided
some background information regarding the two applications applying for
approval. Laurie Phelan, Administrative
Consultant and Charter School Manager said that two application profiles had been
received.
Superintendent Mike
Jorgensen, Southeast Webster High School presented information on “Iowa Center Charter High School”. He indicated the charter would serve
approximately 114 students from 11th and 12th grades that
have specific vocational and academic needs and who want to be on a “fast
track” to post-secondary education.
Highlights of the charter school include:
Bonnie Meier, Superintendent
and Rick Roghair, Charter School Principal, Sioux Central Community School
District were present to provide information on the proposed application
for “Buffalo Ridge Elementary Charter
School”. Superintendent Meier said the
school would serve approximately 60 students in grades 1-6. The charter would utilize scientifically
based research and best practices such as inquiry learning and decision-making
as pathways to learning through science, math, and fine arts. Mr. Roghair indicated that technology would
be integrated into the learning strategies.
Highlights include:
Phelan said the proposed
charter school applicants were seeking State Board approval for official
start-up in the fall of 2004.
Don Roby commented he was
pleased with the heavy parental partnership in both charter school discussions.
Motion: It was moved by Jim Billings and seconded by
Mary Jean Montgomery to approve the applications for Buffalo Ridge Elementary
Charter School and Iowa Central Charter School for official start-up in the
fall of 2004.
Vote: The
motion carried unanimously.
Administrator Judy Jeffrey,
Division of Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education updated the
Board on efforts taken by the Department to address the needs of diverse
learners. She also introduced members
of the Department team that would also be presenting on this agenda item. They were as follows: Jim Reese, Chief, Bureau of Instructional
Services, Jeanette McGreevy, Chief, Administration and School Improvement
Services, and Linda Miller, Consultant, Bureau of Children, Family and
Community Services.
Jeffrey cited and discussed
the three components that were guiding school efforts to enhance student outcomes. She outlined them as follows:
The strategic goals for
State Action for Education Leadership Project II were 1) Embed the Iowa
Leadership Standards, 2) Create new governance models, and 3) Close the
achievement gap. Ms. Jeffrey discussed
the process and actions to be taken to accomplish these goals.
Jeanette McGreevey, Chief,
Bureau of Administration and School Improvement Services outlined the work
being done with school districts in submitting a new comprehensive school
improvement plan that is realistic and that will serve the district well over a
long period of time. She pointed that
out that schools are in the business of doing many things and the thrust of
this work was to provide them technical assistance with regard to this
leadership document. The document was
intended to be the framework by which the schools were going to improve student
achievement.
Jim Reese, Chief, Bureau of
Instructional Services, presented an overview of the academic instruction
component. He said this component
focused on teaching and learning with the goal being acceleration of student
achievement through the implementation of evidence-based instruction. Reese listed the three segments of
instruction to be addressed 1) classroom, 2) supplemental, and 3)
intensive. He said that decisions in
deciding at which level of instruction a student is engaged with is done
individually and based on student performance data. Reese also discussed the Every Child Reads, Every Child Counts
and Every Student Counts work that was currently being done. He acknowledged several programs that were
ongoing in this area.
Linda Miller, Consultant,
Bureau of Children, Family and Community Services, addressed the Success4
program and its focus on the culture climate of schools, issues around social,
emotional, intellectual, and behavioral development. The redesign of Success4 was being rethought as a system of
learning supports. Miller said the focus
was being directed to the results we want for kids. The system change would include integrated family, school and
community efforts; a full, multifaceted and cohesive continuum of programs and
services; aligned and supportive policies and resources; coordinated systems of
data management and evaluation; and inclusive policies, programs, and services
responsive to human diversity. Miller
said the agencies collaborating in the development of this project are Education,
Health, Child Welfare/Juvenile Justice, Substance Abuse, Economic Development,
and Workforce Development. One of the
key elements was getting from a fragmented system with multiple goals to a
system of learning supports oriented toward student achievement.
Judy Jeffrey said the Department
had completed a review of literature on instructional strategies to assist in
decreasing the gap. The efforts
undertaken throughout the Department have integrated these needs into the
strategies that are proposed to local school districts.
Director Ted Stilwill
reported that Iowa’s Department of Education Food and Nutrition Bureau under
the leadership of Julia Thorius is well-respected nationally and has received
national awards. Judy Jeffrey, Administrator,
Division of Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, talked about
the success of the programs monitored by the Food and Nutrition Bureau.
Julia Thorius, Chief, Bureau
of Food and Nutrition, presented an overview of how the USDA Child Nutrition
Programs are administered on behalf of the State of Iowa. She said the Child Nutrition Programs
include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program,
Afterschool Care Snack Program, Special Milk Program, Commodity Food
Distribution Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program for Independent
Sponsors, Center Sponsors, Sponsors of Day Care Homes, Adult Day Care
(Breakfast, Lunch, Supplements, and the At Risk Snack Program), the Summer Food
Service Program and the Pilot Fruit and Vegetable Program. Thorius indicated that Team Nutrition was
an educational initiative to support the meal programs. The overall goal for this program was to
have children make healthier eating and physical activity choices at school, home
and in the community to foster healthy lifestyle habits for a lifetime.
Ms. Thorius said that
nutrition education was available in pre-K through grade 12 and is integrated
into the core curriculum for school districts. The marketing of the nutrition program promotes healthy eating
and physical activity, students receiving positive motivating messages and
schools that encourage healthy food choices.
Carol Greta, Legal Consultant, presented this agenda item. Judy Jeffrey, Division Administrator and Tom
Andersen, Consultant were also available.
Ms. Greta said that Iowa Code Subsection 256.7 provided authority for
the State Board to promulgate rules from Department guidelines and decisions to
implement statutory language. The
proposed amendments would implement Chapter 180, section 35, 2003 Acts of the
80th General Assembly. These
amendments would also implement guidelines for past precedent set in State
Board of Education decisions. Greta
recommended approval for filing the notice of intended action to amend Chapter
17.
Motion: Sister Jude Fitzpatrick moved that the
Chapter 17, “Open Enrollment” rule amendments be approved for Notice of
Intended Action. Mary Jean Montgomery
seconded.
Vote: The
motion carried unanimously.
Carol Greta, Legal
Consultant, and Ray Morley, Consultant, Bureau of Instructional Services
presented the amendments to Chapter 33 rules.
Carol Greta indicated that Iowa Code Subsection 256.7 provided authority
for the State Board to promulgate rules to implement statutory language. The proposed amendments would implement the
provisions of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. sections
11431, et seq., which would meet requirements of the federal No Child Left
Behind Act. This rule would allow
homeless children and youth to have immediate access to school, increased
potential to stabilize their education with minimal interruptions in service,
and support assistance necessary to succeed in school.
Motion: Don Roby
moved and Kay Wagner seconded that the State Board approve filing the Chapter
33 rule amendments for notice of intended action.
Vote: The
motion carried unanimously.
In re Andrew Ulrich v. East Greene Community School District, 22, Do.E.
App. Dec. 194. Carol Greta, Legal
Consultant, indicated the Appellants were seeking reversal of the decision of
the local Board of Directors made on October 21, 2003 to uphold the football
coaches’ punishment for an admitted violation of the good conduct policy. She said that both parties had agreed that
local boards may punish students who run afoul of good conduct rules. Greta said the District proposed that
coaches and other sponsors of extracurricular activities may impose their own
rules and punishments that impact the eligibility of students for those
activities. The school district had
also argued that its Board delegated part of its rulemaking authority to the
coaches and ratified the coaches’ decision.
Greta indicated that neither of the District’s arguments is consistent
with Iowa case law.
Carol Greta said the
District had appealed the proposed decision, denying that the team rules affect
eligibility. The word “eligibility”
was not used by either football coach, however, when the coaches advised their
players to ignore the local Board’s eligibility policies in favor of the team
rules, those rules did affect eligibility.
Several Board members shared
concerns on the explanation of the term “ineligible” v. “kicked-off.”
Motion: It was moved by Kay Wagner and seconded by
Jim Billings to approve the proposed decision In re Andrew Ulrich, that
the decision of the Board of Directors of the East Greene Community School
District made on October 21, 2003 upholding the imposition of a good conduct
penalty against Andrew Ulrich, be reversed.
Vote: The motion
carried unanimously.
Carol Greta, Legal
Consultant reviewed the decision In re Kassie Quick. She indicated the Appellants were seeking
reversal of the decision of the Alden Community School District Board of
Directors made on February 9, 2004, denying their requests that their children
be transferred out to a contiguous district following the Board’s decision to
wholegrade share with Iowa Falls. Greta
said that the provisions of Iowa Code section 282.11 (2003) allowed the parent
or guardian of an affected pupil the discretion to transfer the pupil to a
district other than the district of residence during the term of the agreement,
within the 30-day period prior to the signing of the agreement. She noted that the Appellants had received
erroneous information on the time allowed by law to transfer out from both the
Alden and Iowa Falls districts’ administrations and from the Alden Board of
Directors.
The Alden Board disallowed
the transfer requests and did not consider any of the merits behind the
requests. Concluding that the Alden
Board was wrong to not consider the transfer requests, the decision remands all
of the requests back to the Board for consideration of the merits.
Motion: It was moved by Mary Jean Montgomery and
seconded by Sister Jude Fitzpatrick that the decision of the Alden Community
School District Board of Directors’ decision made on February 9, 2004, to deny
the transfer requests be reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
Vote: The
motion carried unanimously.
Director Stilwill handed out
the proposed topics for the May State Board meeting.
President Gene Vincent
adjourned the April State Board meeting at 5:47 p.m.
_____________________ ________________________
Gene Vincent Ted Stilwill, Director and
President Executive Officer