VBOE June Meetings June 17-18, 2020
Special Committee to Review the Standards of Accreditation

The Board convened a Special Committee to Review the Standards of Accreditation, with a particular focus on those changes which went into effect in 2017. The initial meetings set forth the scope of the Special Committee’s review and they received a presentation on the history of Virginia’s Accreditation model, available at:  http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/committees_standing/soa/2020/special-committee-accreditation-review-june.pptx

Dr. Keisha Pexton was named to head the Special Committee with Board President Dan Gecker and Board members Dr. Francisco Duran, Dr. Jamelle Wilson, and Pamela Davis-Vaught making up the remainder of the Committee’s membership. The stated objectives of the Special Committee are to:

1. Conduct a review of newly implemented accreditation system to assess anticipated positive, negative, and unintended outcomes of performance indicators.
2. Consider data available since implementation as well as current state affairs.
3. Validate efficient progress towards original intended outcomes and provide system change recommendations, if warranted.

The Special Committee will work with Department of Education staff to review the current Standards and determine what, if any, changes to the current Standards are needed at the present time.  

Regular Business Meeting

All meeting materials from the Board’s Regular Business Meeting are available at: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2020/06-jun/agenda-061820.shtml

Division-level Memorandum of Understanding for Danville City Public Schools and Prince Edward County Public Schools

The Board approved Division-level Memoranda of Understanding for Danville City and Prince Edward County Public Schools.

Revisions to the Suicide Prevention Guidelines

The Suicide Prevention Guidelines, last revised in 2003, are required under Code of Virginia § 22.1-272.1, which requires the Board of Education to develop guidelines for licensed school personnel to use in contacting parents or, if conditions warrant, the local or state service agency when they believe a student is in imminent risk for suicide.

The revised Guidelines incorporate the recommendations made by the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet Student Safety Workgroup, reflect current research, align with partner state agency efforts, and link to a variety of resources available to schools to support implementation.

The revised Guidelines address: suicide prevention and intervention; screening; risk factors; messaging to students, staff, and parents and caregivers about recognizing and reporting behaviors; how and where to report concerning behaviors; engaging students during key transitional periods when data indicate that suicide rates are higher; how to engage students who may be experiencing suicidal thoughts; how to support students returning to school after treatment; postvention; and how to engage with students after a member of their community has died by suicide.

The updated Guidelines are available at: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2020/06-jun/item-c-attachment-a.docx

Establishment of an Economics and Personal Finance (Add-on) Endorsement in the Licensure Regulations for School Personnel and the Regulations Governing the Review and Approval of Education Programs in Virginia

The Board approved the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure’s recommendations regarding the establishment of an Economics and Personal Finance Add-on Endorsement.  Currently, there is no specific endorsement to teach courses in economics and personal finance.  Teachers holding valid Virginia licenses with endorsements in specific areas of agricultural education, business and information technology, family and consumer sciences, history and social science, marketing, and mathematics may teach the courses.  The regulatory action establishes an add-on endorsement to teach economics and personal finance, which is intended to expand the number of teachers who may teach economics and personal finance.  The Board’s action also sets forth a timeline to allow teachers to be grandfathered to teach economics and personal finance under the current system as well as to meet new requirements.

Details on the Add-On Endorsement are available at: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2020/06-jun/item-e.docx

Emergency Guidelines for Locally Awarded Verified Credits due to COVID-19

The Board approved revised Emergency Guidelines for Locally Awarded Verified Credits for immediate implementation.  In response to the closure of schools for the 2019-2020 academic year to help control the spread of COVID-19, the Superintendent of Public Instruction waived the requirement that school divisions administer Standards of Learning (SOL) end-of-course assessments for the spring 2020 term and suspended the spring 2020 SOL administration window. Students who were enrolled in high school credit-bearing courses at the time of the closures were unable to earn the associated verified credit, if applicable, through a SOL end-of-course assessments. Students who had been previously enrolled in an eligible course and at the time, did not pass the associated SOL end-of-course assessment, were also unable to test for the second time before being eligible for a locally-awarded verified credit.

The revised guidelines extend the flexibility provided originally in the Emergency Guidelines for Locally Awarded Verified Credits to students who had earned a standard credit in a course prior to spring 2020 and intended to sit for an SOL end-of-course assessment for a verified credit during the 2020 spring test administration. Changes to the guidelines still promote student accountability but recognize that these unprecedented circumstances may have impeded a student’s ability to earn a verified credit or access the locally-awarded verified credit option.

By adopting the revised Emergency Guidelines: Locally-Awarded Verified Credits, the Board extends its earlier relief measures to certain students whose ability to earn a verified credit through existing pathways was hindered by interrupted instruction and delayed testing as a result of the extended closure. The revised guidelines also correct an oversight in the original Guidelines approved on April 2, 2020 and clarifies that locally-awarded verified credits can be applied towards either a Standard of Advanced Diploma.

Details on the emergency guidelines are available at: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2020/06-jun/item-f-attachment-a-b.docx

Approval of Undergraduate Education Endorsement Programs at Virginia Colleges and Universities

The Board waived first review and approved the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure’s (ABTEL) recommendations to approve undergraduate education preparation programs for 71 undergraduate teacher education programs in 15 colleges and universities that were reviewed by ABTEL and found to have met the Board of Education’s regulatory requirements.  This action is pursuant to HB 1125 and SB 76 and SB 349 (2018 General Assembly Session), which amended §22.1-298 of the Code of Virginia to allow institutions of education to offer four-year bachelor’s degree undergraduate degrees/majors in “education.”  Upon Board approval, institutions of higher education may begin admitting students into these undergraduate education preparation programs in the fall 2020 semester.

A full list of approved programs is available at: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2020/06-jun/item-g.docx

Presentations and Reports:

The Board received presentations and reports on the following:

• Update on Early Childhood Education (PPT): http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2020/06-jun/item-h.pptx
• View from Here: State-level Descriptive Analyses of the 2019 Virginia Working Conditions Surveys (PPT) http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2020/06-jun/item-i.pptx
• Written Report on Schools Recognized for Exemplar Performance as Required by Recognition and Rewards for School and Division Accountability (8VAC20-131-410) http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2020/06-jun/item-j.docx
• Written Report on State Regulatory and Statutory Waivers and Relief Measures Pursuant to Chapter 1283 of the 2020 Acts of Assembly http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2020/06-jun/item-k.docx