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NCSBA Legislative Update – October 7, 2022

NCSBA Legislative Update – October 7, 2022

October 7, 2022 Ramona Powers

 

The State Board of Education (SBE) met on Wednesday, October 5, and Thursday, October 6, for the monthly meeting. Board members were presented with the following:

School performance grade redesign update: State Superintendent Catherine Truitt provided the Board with an update on DPI’s advisory group that is creating recommendations to redesign the school performance grade model. Currently, school grades are calculated as 80% achievement and 20% growth. The redesigning work is being led by DPI’s Office of Innovation, and the advisory group held its first meeting on September 12 (click here for an article on the meeting). On September 22, the advisory group launched a public survey to gain critical stakeholder feedback. So far, over 15,000 people have completed the survey. About 43% of respondents are K-12 teachers, and so far, 91% of respondents agree that school quality needs to be measured in addition to testing and growth. Click here to access the survey, which closes on October 10.

Recommended changes to principal preparation requirements: Board members spent hours discussing proposed changes to principal preparation/licensure requirements. Over the past several months, DPI has gathered recommendations from various stakeholder groups based on the current principal licensure requirements, asking what should stay the same and what should change. During the meeting, DPI staff presented recommendations based on that stakeholder feedback, and Board members voted to approve a modified version of those recommendations. The Board approved the following motions to be submitted as requests for legislative action in the 2023 long session:

  1. Amend the statute requiring the passage of a licensure exam to allow the option of submitting an evidenced-based portfolio, as defined by SBE
  2. Remove “year-long” from the statute that requires a school administrator internship and allow SBE and DPI to adopt a framework to guide the development of the internship
  3. Amend the statute that requires classroom teaching experience to allow other licensed support personnel, such as social workers, media specialists, and counselors to be eligible for a school administrator license
  4. Amend the statute requiring a master’s degree in education administration to allow the option of an add-on licensure program if a candidate is holding a master’s in an education-related field

Although all four motions were approved, there was disagreement on whether to recommend keeping the licensure exam in statute and whether to recommend expanding the experience requirement to include other licensed support personnel. All stakeholder groups recommended removing the exam requirement, but some Board members pushed back, saying the exam is a baseline measurement of professionalism. The motion that was approved recommends allowing individuals to either take the exam or submit a portfolio. To read more about the Board’s discussion, click here.

Read to Achieve data report: The Board was presented with 2021-22 Read to Achieve accountability data, which shows NC’s K-2 students outperformed students in other states on literacy skills. Overall, the State’s first through third grade students saw literacy improvements from the 2020-21 school year, but proficiency is still below the pre-pandemic numbers of the 2018-19 school year. DPI staff stated that while there have been some great gains, there are also some large gaps in proficiency, and efforts need to continue to be proactive. Click here to access the state level summary report.

Virtual charter school pilot program report: The Board was presented with 2021-22 school year data on the State’s virtual charter school pilot program, which includes enrollment numbers, student performance and accountability data, graduation rates, and demographics. Both virtual charter schools continue to be low performing – receiving D performance grades and “Not Met” growth designations. The presentation also included comparative data to the State’s full-time virtual public schools, which shows the virtual charter schools are behind the virtual public schools in grade level proficiency and college and career readiness. The Board was also presented with a final report on virtual charter school enrollment, which follows the SBE’s approval of a waiver allowing these schools to enroll hundreds more students for the 2022-23 school year than is allowed under current law. (For more on the enrollment waiver, click here to access our August 5, 2022, Legislative Update.)

Click here to access all meeting materials. Click here for an article on the meeting.

 

Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee

The Committee met on Wednesday, October 5, and heard a presentation from Dr. Sherry Thomas, Senior Director of the Office of Exceptional Children at DPI. Dr. Thomas presented recommendations from a report on special education funding that was previously presented by RTI to the State Board of Education.

The report found that other states are moving towards special education funding models based on service level, rather than the model used in North Carolina based on disability category. RTI recommends that DPI continue the development of a funding model based on service level, using Every Child Accountability Tracking System (ECATS) data to monitor implementation, and ensure students are not over-identified or placed in service-intensive, high-cost funding tiers. RTI also explained that a service level model provides more accurate and direct accounting of costs.

House Select Committee on An Education System for North Carolina’s Future

The Committee met on October 3 at the North Carolina Center for Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) in Cullowhee. Committee members were given a presentation on teacher trends in the State, which included data on teacher preparation programs, and a presentation on NCCAT, which is a State organization that provides residential professional development for NC public school teachers. Click here to watch a recording of the meeting.

The Committee also met on September 12 at Harding University High School in Charlotte. Committee members were given a presentation on career pathways provided by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, including partnerships with Road to Hire, The ROC (Rebuilding Opportunities in Construction), and Central Piedmont Community College. Click here to watch a recording of the meeting.

 

The following are the Consortium of State School Boards Association’s (COSSBA) most recent federal education reports.

September 6, 2022, Weekly Report

September 12, 2022, Weekly Report

  • Headlines for this edition include:
    • Secretary of Education Cardona Comes to NC: Recently, Secretary Cardona was in the Triad, along with First Lady Jill Biden as part of a Road to Success School Bus Tour. They visited North Carolina A&T State University, as well as Guilford Technical Community College.

September 19, 2022, Weekly Report

  • Headlines for this edition include:
    • Four NC Universities Win $4.5 Million In Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) Grants: The TQP program from the USED funds teacher preparation programs in high-need communities at colleges and universities for the undergraduate, “fifth-year” level, and for teaching residency programs for individuals new to teaching with strong academic and professional backgrounds. Four North Carolina Universities have won the grants: High Point University, Winston-Salem State, East Carolina University, and UNC-Charlotte.
    • Five NC Schools Among 297 Nationwide Awarded as National Blue Ribbon School by USED: Founded in 1983, the Blue Ribbon School award is specifically meant to recognize schools that close achievement gaps in subgroups. North Carolina’s 2022 recipients are:
      • East Robeson Primary School, Robeson County
      • Southeastern Academy, Robeson County
      • 71st Classical Middle School, Cumberland County
      • A. Bess Elementary School, Gaston County
      • Weatherstone Elementary School, Wake County

September 26, 2022, Weekly Report

  • Headlines for this edition include:
    • Educators Release Joint Statement on Solution to Teacher Shortage: A number of professional organizations for teachers released a statement detailing solutions for the national teacher shortage crisis, arguing that short-term solutions will not correct the systemic issues that existed prior to the pandemic; that “filling classrooms with under qualified individuals” is not the answer.

October 3, 2022, Weekly Report

 

The NCSBA Governmental Relations team is now fully staffed after adding two new lobbyists in September. Please welcome Madison Skeens and Rob Black. Madison earned her law degree from Campbell University and worked at the General Assembly for the House majority before joining NCSBA. Rob Black earned his master’s degree from George Washington University. He was involved in DC politics for more than a decade before returning home to North Carolina where he ran his own public relations/lobbying firm for fifteen years. One thing to know about Rob – his favorite color is red and to say he’s extremely proud of that is putting it lightly.

 

 

 

Bruce Mildwurf
Director of Governmental Relations
NC School Boards Association
bmildwurf@ncsba.org

Rebekah Howard
Governmental Relations Research Specialist
NC School Boards Association
rhoward@ncsba.org

Madison Skeens
Assistant Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
mskeens@ncsba.org

Rob Black
Assistant Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
rblack@ncsba.org

Ramona PowersNCSBA Legislative Update – October 7, 2022