State Board of Education OKs Key Measures
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana State Board of Education has approved several significant proposals. They include a new strategic plan, a resolution involving Indiana's No Child Left Behind waiver request and future guidance on testing. A heated exchange occurred between some members of the board and Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz during a vote on a resolution to adjust procedural powers of board chair. Ritz serves in the role and ruled the proposal “out of order.” Her motion was overruled by the board.
July 9, 2014
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – In an eight-hour marathon meeting, the State Board of Education pushed through a heavy agenda of key education policy items, including adopting a new strategic plan to guide clear goals and objectives and final recommendations to outline new 2015-16 student assessments.
After a months-long process with stakeholder input, the Board adopted its strategic plan to focus on specific goals for Indiana's K-12 educational policy. Dan Elsener, District 7 representative, led the committee work and thanked the Department of Education (DOE) and Center for Education and Career Innovation (CECI) staff who had also engaged in the work.
“This is a living document and I hope the Board will visit it regularly,” said Elsener. “This is a mammoth policy organization and I hope we'll continue forward with integrating the plan with others on the workforce and career council sides. The balanced scorecard that's been created should allow us to follow progress and adjust action plans accordingly.”
The Board also established guidance for graduation waivers, in accordance with HEA 1005, where Indiana high schools who have 10 percent of students seeking graduation waivers for three consecutive years will be required to establish a formal remediation plan. Steve Baker, principal at Bluffton High School and board member of the Indiana Association of School Principals, noted it was important to help students find a better route and emphasizing “assisting” students rather than “punishing” them.
In consideration of a petition for relief filed by Ed Power, which operates the turnaround academy at Arlington High School on the Indianapolis eastside, the Board also adopted a new hearing officer process for those who petition for additional funds. Dr. Brad Oliver noted because schools everywhere are dealing with less funding and making tough decisions, it was difficult to consider any funding modifications. While the Board ultimately denies the petition for funding, it did create a new task force to assist in planning a potential exit strategy for the turnaround academy after the coming school year.
Marcus Robinson, ED Power's CEO, noted the importance of the school to the local community and its rich history. He indicated initial discussions are underway with IPS and the Mayor's Office, which has current oversight for the school at the SBOE's direction.
“Arlington is not just a collection of bodies, it is a community,” said Robinson. “I know what Arlington means to those who live in that sector of the city.”
Other significant activities included the adoption of recommendations from the Education Roundtable for future assessments, which will contribute to the formation of the RFP to develop new tests, and approved an approach for calculating student growth for 2014-15 as recommended by national growth expert Dr. Damian Betebenner.
While the meeting spent the majority of its course in business-like demeanor, several members took time to denounce the politicization of portions of the session, emphasizing a return to focusing on students and the important tasks at hand. While Andrea Neal complained the discourse at times “made her stomach churn,” at-large member Gordon Hendry categorized multiple discussions as “much ado about nothing.”
The most intense debates focused on the state's recent submission of its No Child Left Behind flexibility waiver extension request on June 30. A proposed resolution seeking future updates from the Department of Education was ruled out of order by the Board chair, Superintendent Glenda Ritz, but an appeal of her decision was successful and the resolution was finally brought to a vote on the floor. After a 7-3 approval vote, the Superintendent expressed concern the resolution asked for too much oversight by the Board over the DOE.
“I don't disagree with you that DOE owns the waiver submission, and I'm grateful for work that’s gone into it,” said Gordon Hendry. “It is your responsibility to follow through and prepare. However, this board recognizes the importance of the waiver and is concerned about its success. We wanted to have input and help to guide the process. Now, since waiver has been submitted, what's happening when can we expect updates, who will we hear from, and when will we know so schools can plan accordingly?”
“We're the only state in the union with this many conditions placed on our waiver,” added Dan Elsener. “The Board is interested in policies being implemented and we've listened to you saying basically it's none of our business. But this is about advancing education, citizenship, and depending on our group to provide excellent leadership.”
FSSA staff also provided an update on the Pre-K pilot program, sharing that all 18 counties who were prequalified as finalists chose to submit proposals vying for the five pilot finalists slots. Selection of the pilot counties is expected to be announced later in July.
Source: The Center for Education & Career Innovation
July 9, 2014
Indiana State Teachers Association Statement
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The State Board of Education voted today to further strip Superintendent Ritz's authority and undermine the Department of Education with its approval of several highly controversial resolutions.
The board met after days of controversy leading up to the meeting. It began last week when ISTA pointed out a resolution on the board’s agenda that sought to dramatically change board operating procedures and rules. The changes further remove authority of the Superintendent's traditional role as Chair of the board. The state superintendent, by law, is the chairperson of the State Board of Education.
The fact that Glenda's authority can be diminished by non-elected bureaucrat appointees of the Governor is a disservice to the 1.3 million voters that elected Ritz in 2012.
Superintendent Ritz later told reporters that she would have attorneys review the legality of removing her authority to call board meetings and other new restrictions.
It was further revealed earlier this week that the board intended to also pass a politically motivated resolution that attempts to discredit the Department of Education's handling of Indiana's NCLB waiver. Superintendent Ritz issued a statement yesterday in response warning that the resolution’s passage could jeopardize Indiana's waiver status.
It was revealed by Ritz at the state board meeting that the Governor’s duplicate education agency, the CECI, actually issued its own report to the U.S. Department of Education, overnight, that was critical of the Department of Education’s handling of the waiver application. At the meeting, board members and the CECI staff levied an attack on Ritz and the DOE claiming that the board had no input on the waiver.
However, Superintendent Ritz produced a large pile of documents (appeared to be at least 6 inches worth of paperwork) containing emails and attachments which showed that the Department, board CECI staff and others had in fact been communicated with regularly throughout the waiver application preparation process.
ISTA gave public comment on both the ESEA waiver resolution and the board operating procedures resolution.
On the ESEA waiver resolution, ISTA reminded the board that Indiana’s DOE, under federal law, is the sole party to the waiver submission to the US DOE and that the state board’s il