The State Board of Education (SBOE) met for its February committee meetings and full board meeting on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18. Board Chair Scott Sweeney recognized Lee Anne Cowart and Trey Allen, whose terms have expired, for their time served on the board. Cowart and Allen each delivered comments. The SBOE’S full agenda is available HERE.
GaDOE Resubmits Testing Waiver to the United States Education Department
State Superintendent Richard Woods announced that the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) resubmitted a request to waive federally required state assessments for the 2020-2021 school year to the United States Education Department (USED). A waiver submitted to the previous leadership at USED was denied. There has been no indication that the current USED leadership will approve testing waivers.
CLICK HERE for a statement from Superintendent Woods on the waiver request.
Board Approves Posting Health Standards for Public Comment and Other Rule Initiations
The SBOE approved the following rule changes:
Revised K-12 Health Standards of Excellence, which have previously been posted for public comment but needed significant revision, were approved for posting for public comment a second time. The proposed standards can be reviewed HERE.
Approval to initiate the rule-making process for an amendment to State Board of Education Rule 160-3-1-.07 related to student assessments to address changes made by SB 367 during the 2020 legislative session. CLICK HERE for PAGE’s comprehensive analysis of SB 367 as it progressed through the General Assembly.
Approval to initiate the rule-making process for an amendment to State Board of Education Rule 160-4-2-.34 related to dual enrollment to address changes made by SB 367 and HB 444 during the 2020 legislative session. CLICK HERE for a list of changes included in the amendments.
Approval to initiate the rule-making process for an amendment to State Board of Education Rule 160-4-2-.32 to comply with SB 48, which passed the General Assembly in 2019. The amendment requires student support teams to develop policies for referring students in grades K-3 for screening who have been identified through the response-to-intervention process as having characteristics of dyslexia or similar disorders.
Georgia Home Classroom Project
As part of the Superintendent’s Report, Justin Hill, associate superintendent of curriculum, instruction, and climate at GaDOE, share information about the Georgia Home Classroom project, which is a partnership between Georgia Public Broadcasting and GaDOE. Teachers and parents have access to a wealth of resources and remote learning plans as part of this project, all of which have been aligned to state standards. Hill said that these resources can be used digitally or printed by schools and districts for distribution in areas of the state with low broadband connectivity.