Report of Regents P-12 Education Committee to The Board of Regents
Regents Committee on P-12 Education
Vice Chancellor Chin, Chair, Regent Tilles, Regent Cea, Regent Norwood, Regent Cottrell, Regent Wills, Regent Ferrer, Regent Tanikawa, Regent Catania, and Regent Hale.
The P-12 Education Committee held its scheduled meeting on April 15, 2024. All members were present except for Regent Wade S. Norwood and Regent James E. Cottrell who were excused. Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr., Regent Luis O. Reyes, Regent Hasoni L. Pratts, Regent Patrick A. Mannion, and Regent Seema Rivera also attended the meeting but did not vote on the action items.
ACTION ITEMS
Renewal Recommendations for Charter Schools Authorized by the Buffalo Public Schools Board of Education [P12 (A) 1] - Department and Buffalo Public Schools staff presented recommendations for charter renewals from Buffalo Public Schools.
The Committee recommends that the Board of Regents return the proposed charter renewal recommendation for the Enterprise Charter School to the Buffalo Public Schools Board of Education for reconsideration with the following comment and recommendation: A shorter charter term should be considered based on the insufficient evidence of academic success by the applicant, the school’s failure to serve comparable numbers of students with disabilities (SWDs) and English language learners/multi-lingual learners (ELLs/MLLs) when compared to the district of location; and failure to meet or exceed other Performance Framework benchmarks, as set forth in the renewal report. Specifically, based on the most recent data available, Enterprise Charter School students perform an average of 16 percentage points below the district in math, and 45 percentage points below the State in math. In ELA, students perform 15 percentage points below the district and 36 percentage points below the State. The school also serves 16 percentage points fewer SWDs and 21 percentage points fewer ELLs/MLLs when compared to the district of location. It is recommended that the Buffalo Public Schools Board place Enterprise Charter School on a corrective action plan and transmit a copy of the corrective action plan to the Board of Regents no later than 6 months after the effective date of a potential charter renewal. The corrective action plan, collaboratively developed between Buffalo Public Schools and the school, should contain observable, measurable, and time-bound interim progress and outcome measures and address the academic deficiencies noted above as well as other academic, operational, financial, and legal areas of concern, if any. Furthermore, it is recommended that such corrective action plan have interim benchmarks towards compliance with Performance Framework standards for which Enterprise Charter School will report progress, in writing, to the Buffalo Public Schools Board regularly throughout the next charter term at intervals no greater than once every three months.
The Committee recommends that the Board of Regents return the proposed charter renewal recommendation for the Westminster Community Charter School to the Buffalo Public Schools Board of Education for reconsideration with the following comment and recommendation: A shorter charter term should be considered based on the insufficient evidence of academic success by the applicant, the school’s failure to serve comparable numbers of students with disabilities (SWDs) and English language learners/multi-lingual learners (ELLs/MLLs) when compared to the district of location; and failure to meet or exceed other Performance Framework benchmarks, as set forth in the renewal report. Specifically, Westminster Community Charter School students perform an average of 6 percentage points above the district in math, and 23 percentage points below the State in math. In ELA, students perform 1 percentage point below the district and are 22 percentage points below the State. The school also serves 16 percentage points fewer SWDs and 13 percentage points fewer ELLs/MLLs when compared to the district of location. It is recommended that the Buffalo Public Schools Board place Westminster Community Charter School on a corrective action plan and transmit a copy of the corrective action plan to the Board of Regents no later than 6 months after the effective date of a potential charter renewal. The corrective action plan, collaboratively developed between Buffalo Public Schools and the school, should contain observable, measurable, and time-bound interim progress and outcome measures and address the academic deficiencies noted above as well as other academic, operational, financial, and legal areas of concern, if any. Furthermore, it is recommended that such corrective action plans have interim benchmarks towards compliance with Performance Framework standards for which Westminster Community Charter School will report progress, in writing, to the Buffalo Public Schools Board regularly throughout the next charter term at intervals no greater than once every three months.
The motion passed unanimously.
MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION
Proposed Amendment of Section 155.17 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to School Safety Plan Requirements [P12 (D) 1] - Department staff presented proposed amendments to the Commissioner’s regulations to update requirements for district-wide school safety plans, building-level emergency response plans, and drills, to require that drills be conducted in a trauma-informed manner.
Proposed Amendment of Section 155.17 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Emergency Response Definitions for School Safety Plans [P12 (D) 2] - Department staff presented proposed amendments to the Commissioner’s regulations to amend emergency response terminology for school safety plans.
Proposed Amendment of Section 119.1 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Calculation of Aid Attributable to Students with Disabilities Served in Charter Schools [P12 (D) 3] - Department staff presented revisions to the proposed amendments to the Commissioner’s Regulations relating to the calculation of aid attributable to students with disabilities served in charter schools.
Graduation Rate Data - Department staff presented the four-year New York State graduation rate data.
Deputy Commissioner Angelique Johnson-Dingle reviewed the items on the Consent Agenda.