FINAL MINUTES

State Board of Education

January 12, 2006

California Department of Education

1430 N Street, Room 1101

Sacramento, California

Members Present

Ruth E. Green, President

Glee Johnson, Vice President

Alan Bersin

Yvonne Chan

Paul Gardner III

Kenneth Noonan

Joe Nuñez

Bonnie Reiss

Johnathan Williams

Ruth Bloom

Members Absent

Don Fisher

Secretary and Executive Officer

Jack O’Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Call to Order at 9:00 a.m.

Salute to the Flag

Mr. Bersin led the Board and the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance

Approval of Minutes (November 9-10, 2005)

  • ACTION: Ms. Bloom moved to approve the meeting minutes for the November 9-10, 2005, meeting with minor technical corrections. Ms. Johnson seconded the motion. The motion was approved by a vote of 9-0.

Announcements

President Green presented Karen Steentofte with a certificate of appreciation for her support and service. She also reported that the Board had written a letter of appreciation to Dave Gordon, Superintendent of the Sacramento County Office of Education, for his unselfish support of the Board’s work. She reported that the letter stated that, “…without SCOE’s gracious assistance, the Board would not have been able to manage its important work.”

President Green introduced Mr. Seave, new Chief Counsel for the State Board of Education. Mr. Seave has a well-established and distinguished legal career having served as a special assistant attorney general for California and a United States attorney for the Eastern District of California.

President Green also announced the Paul Gardner III, the current student member of the Board, had received an early acceptance into Harvard. The Board applauded Paul’s accomplishment.

Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent O’Connell reported that the Governor’s January Budget Proposal was a good first start and that he looked forward to working with the Governor on education issues. He reported that the Governor had included a budget item to support remediation for students who had not yet passed both portions of the CAHSEE. Finally, he announced that Bill Padia, Director of the Policy and Evaluation Division, had just been appointed Deputy Superintendent of the Assessment and Accountability Branch.

ITEM 1 / STATE BOARD PROJECTS AND PRIORITIES.
Including, but not limited to, future meeting plans; agenda items; State Board office budget; staffing, appointments, and direction to staff; declaratory and commendatory resolutions; update on litigation; bylaw review and revision; review of the status of State Board-approved charter schools as necessary; Board Liaison Reports; and other matters of interest. / INFORMATION
ACTION

ACTION: Mr. Bersin nominated Ms. Johnson for President of the State Board of Education. The motion was seconded by Ms. Chan. The Board elected Ms. Johnson as President of the State Board of Education by acclamation.

ACTION: Ms. Reiss nominated Mr. Noonan for office of Vice President of the State Board of Education. The motion was seconded by Ms. Bloom. The Board elected Mr. Noonan as Vice President of the State Board of Education by acclamation.

President Johnson asked Ms. Green if she would preside over the day’s meeting. Ms. Green agreed to do so.

Ms. Green read a statement regarding the History/Social Science adoption and concerns that have been raised by different parties that were not satisfied with the Board’s actions on November 9, 2005. She reassured the publishers that the SBE would work with them regarding publication due dates and directed the CDE to assist in that endeavor. She further stated that on Friday January 6, 2006, she had hosted a meeting with scholars to better understand the outstanding issues. She recommended that the Board form a committee to study the issue more and identifiedherself, Ms. Johnson, Mr. Williams, Mr. Noonan, and Mr. Nuñez as members.

ACTION: Ms. Chan moved that the Board form a five-member committee consisting of Ms. Green, Mr. Noonan, Mr. Nuñez, Mr. Williams, and Ms. Johnson to evaluate whether the Board’s direction of November 9 pertaining to grades 6 through 8 was followed by the Curriculum Commission in its action of December 2, 2005; and concurrently that the Board Committee work with CDE staff to review all edits and corrections that the Committee deems appropriate and bring back a recommendation to the Board on how to proceed. Mr. Bersin seconded the motion. The motion was approved by a vote of 10-0.

Ms. Bloom reported on a Commission on Teacher Credentialing meeting held on December 1, 2005 that worked on streamlining the process for teaching credentials and for using in-house legal support as means for reducing costs. Ms. Bloom also reported on activities for the Summer School for the Arts and indicated that she attended a fund-raising activity that successfully raised $100,000.

Mr. Gardner, Board liaison for the Child Nutrition Advisory Council, reported on the goals and priorities of the CNAC. He provided a written summary of the CNAC goals to the Board members.

ITEM 2 / PUBLIC COMMENT.
Public Comment is invited on any matter not included on the printed agenda. Depending on the number of individuals wishing to address the State Board, the presiding officer may establish specific time limits on presentations. / INFORMATION

Individuals who addressed the Board (not in order of speaking):

Ellen Jensen, Decision Development Corporation

Anu Mandavilli, Friends of South Asia

Sanjeev Mahajan

Thillai Kumaran

M.N. Tamilan, Registered Civil and Structural Engineer, State ofCalifornia

Raju Rajagopal, Individual

Mark Muller, Principal, El Camino JuniorHigh

Ann Desmond, CaliforniaState Parent-Teacher Association

Keith Johannes, California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance

Eugene Hill, Olson Hagel Law Firm

Deborah Caplan, Olson Hagel Law Firm

Naresh Barsegade, AIM

Hansraj Kajla

Mohan Gill

Don Gernes

ITEM 5 / Petition by High Tech High to establish a StatewideBenefitCharterSchool under the oversight of the State Board of Education: Hold Public Hearing and Approve / Action
Information
Public Hearing

Mr. Bersin recused himself from the discussion and vote on this item.

Public Hearing: Opened 10:45 a.m.

Ms. Green opened the Public Hearing and asked for a staff report. Marta Reyes, Director, Charter Schools Division, provided background on the item.She reviewed the evaluation/review process completed by staff in her division and reported that the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools had recommended that the Board approve the High Tech High (HTH) petition. She reminded the Board that they had discussed the HTH petition to become a StatewideBenefitCharterSchool during previous Board meetings.

Ms. Reyes indicated that there were several conditions that had not yet been completed to the CDE’s satisfaction. Those areas are the identification of a fiscal agent for the charter school, identification of a SELPA, clarifying how teachers will satisfy the highly qualified teacher requirement of No Child Left Behind, and what the criteria would be for priority admission to the charter schools. Ms. Reyes stated that she believed approval of the HTH petition would allow the school to act as an accelerant to close the achievement gap between student subgroups.

Ms. Reyes introduced Larry Rosenstock, Chief Executive Officer of HTH, and Jed Wallace, Chief Financial Officer of HTH, who described the history of HTH and the petition before the Board.

Public Comments from Proponents:

Chris Nelson, Pisces Foundation

Caprice Young, CEO, CaliforniaCharterSchool Association

Public Comments from Opponents:

George Martinez, California Federation of Teachers

Stephanie Farland, California School Boards Association

Curtis Washington, California Teachers Association and former member of the State Board of Education

Ken Burt, California Teachers Association

Don Iglesias, Superintendent, San Jose Unified School District

Bill Erlendson, Assistant Superintendent, San Jose Unified School District

Linda Gubman, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services, East Side Unified School District

Laura Walker Jeffries, Association of CaliforniaSchool Administrators

Public Hearing: Closed at 11:30 a.m.

The Board had an in-depth discussion of the definition of statewide benefit and whether the High Tech High petition met the definition. The Board also considered whether it could approve a charter petition before all conditions had been met. Ms. Reyes reported that, since the September 2005, meeting, HTH had modified the petition in response to Board’s concerns and that the Board had previously approved petitions of charter schools before all conditions had been satisfied. Ms. Green commented that her understanding was that a charter school could not open before all conditions had been met, but that it could be authorized.

ACTION: Mr. Nuñez moved to postpone consideration of the Petition by High Tech High to establish a StatewideBenefitCharterSchool under the oversight of the State Board of Education. Mr. Noonan seconded the motion. The motion did not pass by a vote of 3-6. Members Bloom, Noonan, and Nuñez voted in support of the motion. Members Williams, Gardner, Chan, Green, Johnson, and Reiss voted in opposition to the motion. Mr. Bersin recused himself from the discussion and vote.

ACTION: Ms. Bloom moved:

  • First,that the Board make a finding regarding statewide benefit as described in the staff recommendation in the Last Minute Memorandum, and
  • Second, that the Board approve with conditions the HTH petition, as described in the staff recommendation in the Last Minute Memorandum,with the additional conditions that no more than two sites be opened each year, that the SBE establish a liaison to the charter program for oversight of SBE-authorized charter schools, and that the CDE report to the SBE how the state-wide benefit charter schools are meeting their conditions.

The motion was seconded by Mr. Williams. The motion was approved by a vote of 8-1. Ms. Green, Ms. Johnson, Ms. Chan, Ms. Bloom, Ms. Reiss, Mr. Noonan, Mr. Williams, and Mr. Gardner voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Nuñez opposed the motion. Mr. Bersin recused himself from the discussion and vote.

Item 7

/ 2006 United States Senate Youth Program Presentation / Information

President Johnson and Superintendent O’Connell presented certificates to acknowledge the accomplishments of two Senate Youth Delegates and of the two alternate delegates. The delegates are:

Nora Claire Barr, RedwoodHigh School, TamalpaisUnionHighSchool District, MarinCounty

Vanessa Lugo, CarpinteriaHigh School, Carpinteria Unified School District, Santa BarbaraCounty

First Alternate: Vishaal Naishadh Buch, CabrilloHigh School, Lompoc Unified School District, Santa BarbaraCounty.

Second Alternate:Andrew Hwa Mok, MontaVistaHigh School, FremontUnionHighSchool District, Santa ClaraCounty.

Ms. Green recessed the Board so that it could convene in Closed Session

Ms. Green reconvened the meeting at 1:45 p.m.

Closed Session Report

Mr. Seave reported that the Board acted on the recommendation of the Screening Committee to offer the position of Executive Director to Roger Magyar. Mr. Magyar had accepted the offer would begin February 1, 2006. Mr. Seave also reported that the Board had taken action on a possible settlement for the Chapman case.

Proposed Consent Items (Items 9,20,21,22,23,24,25,30,31,35, and 41)

Ms. Green asked whether the Board members wanted any items removed from the consent item.

Mr. Williams, Mr. Bersin, and Mr. Noonan recused themselves.

Item 9

/ 2007 Mathematics Primary Adoption: Approval of Timeline / ACTION
INFORMATION

Item 20

/ No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: Approve Local Educational Agency Plans, Title 1, Section 1112 / Action
information

Item 21

/ Consolidated Applications 2005-06: Approval / Action information

Item 22

/ The Principal Training Program, Assembly Bill 75 (Chapter 697, Statutes of 2001): Approval of Training Providers / Action information

Item 23

/ The Principal Training Program, Assembly Bill 75 (Chapter 697, Statutes of 2001): Approval of Applications for Funding from Local Educational Agencies and Consortia / Action information

Item 24

/ Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program, Assembly Bill 466 (Chapter 737, Statutes of 2001): Approval of Training Providers and Training Curricula / Action information

Item 25

/ Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program, Assembly Bill 466 (Chapter 737, Statutes of 2001): Approve Reimbursement Requests from Local Educational Agencies / Action information

Item 30

/ Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP) and High Priority Schools Grant Program (HPSGP): Proposed Interventions for One Cohort 2 II/USP School and Four Cohort 1 HPSGPSchools Without Valid Academic Performance Index Data that Failed to Meet the Alternative Criteria for Significant Growth / Action
information

Item 31

/ Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and High Priority Schools Grant Program: School Assistance and Intervention Team (SAIT): Approval of Expenditure Plan to Support SAIT Activities and Corrective Actions in State-Monitored Schools / action
Information

Item 35

/ Standardized Testing and Reporting Program: Approval of 2006 District Apportionment Amounts / Action
information

Item 41

/ Assignment of Numbers for CharterSchool Petitions / Action
information

Mr. Williams, Mr. Bersin, and Mr. Noonan recused themselves from the vote on the consent items.

ACTION: Ms. Reiss moved that the Board:

Item 9: approve the staff recommendation for approving the 2007 Mathematics Primary Adoption Timeline.

Item 20: approve staff recommendations to approve the local education agency (LEA) Plans for LEAs listed on Attachment 1.

Item 21: approve staff recommendations to approve the 2005-06 Consolidated Applications (ConApps) submitted by local educational agencies (LEAs) in Attachment 1.

Item 22: approve staff recommendation to approve the list of Recommended Training Providers for Principal Training Program (PTP).

Item 23: approve staff recommendation to approve the attached lists of five local educational agencies (LEAs) that have submitted applications for funding under the Principal Training Program (PTP), Assembly Bill (AB) 75.

Item 24: approve staff recommendation to approve the providers and training curricula listed on Attachment 1 for the professional development under the provisions of the Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program, Assembly Bill (AB) 466.

Item 25: Approve staff recommendation to approve reimbursement requests on Attachments 1 and 2 of local educational agencies (LEAs) that have complied with required assurances for the Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program, Assembly Bill (AB) 466.

Item 30:

  • Determine that one Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP) school listed on Attachment 2 and four High Priority Schools Grant Program (HPSGP) schools listed on Attachment 3 are state-monitored,
  • Assign a School Assistance and Intervention Team (SAIT) to each of these state-monitored schools and allow the local governing board to retain its legal rights, duties, and responsibilities with respect to each school, and
  • With regard to the HPSGP schools, provide that other interventions may be imposed after two data points have demonstrated that the schools are not making progress in exiting the HPSGP program.

Item 31: approve the expenditure plans as described in Attachments 1 and 2.

Item 35: approve the following district apportionment amounts for Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) testing during the 2005-06 school year:

  • $0.32 for completing demographic information for each student not tested with the California Standards Tests (CSTs) and the California Achievement Tests, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6 Survey) or the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA).
  • $2.52 per student for completing demographic information and administering the CST-CAT/6 Survey.
  • $5.00 per student for completing demographic information and administering the CAPA.
  • $2.44 per student for administering the designated primary language test, Aprenda, La prueba de logros en español, Tercera edición (Aprenda 3).

Item 41: Assign charter numbers to the charter schools identified on the attached list.

Mr. Nuñez seconded the motion. The motion passed with a vote of 7-0. Mr. Williams, Mr. Bersin, and Mr. Noonan recused themselves.

Item 8

/ California Teachers of the Year 2006 Presentation / Information

President Johnson and Superintendent O’Connell acknowledged the accomplishments of individuals who had been named Teacher of the Year and applauded their effectiveness in providing high quality instruction to students in California.

Awardees were:

  • Diana Barnhart , LosOsosMiddle School, San Luis Coastal Unified School District
  • Denis J. Cruz, KatherineEdwardsMiddle School,WhittierCitySchool District
  • Kenneth Dyar, CecilAvenueMiddle School,DelanoUnionSchool District
  • Kelly Jean Hanock, JamesMonroeHigh School,Los Angeles Unified School District
  • Shelbi J. Wilson, AbrahamLincolnHigh School, Riverside Unified School District

Item 10

/ 2006 Science Primary Adoption of Instructional Materials: Appointment of Instructional Materials Advisory Panel Members and Content Review Panel Experts / Action
Information

Tom Adams, Director of the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Materials Division, gave the staff report.

Individuals who addressed the Board:

Bob Lucas, Delta Education

  • ACTION:Ms. Johnson moved to approve staff recommendations as shown in the Last Minute Memorandum and without candidate number 118 who has withdrawn or candidate number 47 who did not pass legal review. Ms. Chan seconded the motion. The motion was approved by a vote of 9-0. Ms. Reiss was not in the room at the time of the vote.

Item 11

/ 2006 Visual and Performing Arts Primary Adoption of Instructional Materials: Appointment of Instructional Materials Advisory Panel Members and Content Review Panel Experts /

Action

Information

Tom Adams, Director of the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Materials Division, gave the staff report.

ACTION: Ms. Johnson moved to approve the staff recommendations as shown in the Last Minute Memorandum. Mr. Williams seconded the motion. The motion was approved by a vote of 9-0. Ms. Reiss was not in the room at the time of the vote.

Item 17

/ Reading First: Proposed Rulemaking for Reading First Achievement Index/Definition of Significant Progress / Action
Information

Don Kairott, Director of the Professional Development and Curriculum Support Division, gave the staff report.

Speakers:

Martha Zaragoza-Diaz, Californians Together and California Association of Bilingual Education

  • ACTION:Ms. Johnson moved staff recommendation to approve the commencement of the rulemaking process for the proposed Reading First Achievement Index (RFAI) regulations, including the Initial Statement of Reasons and the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and to direct staff to conduct a public hearing on the proposed regulations. Ms. Chan seconded the motion. The motion was approved by a vote of 8-0. Ms. Reiss and Ms. Bloom were not in the room at the time of the vote.

Item 18