SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES REGARDING STATEWIDE STUDENT ASSESSMENT AND SCHOOL AND DISTRICT ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE REGULATIONS OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The proposed amendments would update requirements and deadlines in the statewide student assessment and school and district accountability regulations.
This is a SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE adding to the NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES issued on December 18, 2019, concerning these proposed regulation revisions. The public notice of December 18, 2019, stated that oral comments could be submitted at a meeting of the State Board of Education and Early Development of March 26, 2020. The March 26, 2020 State Board meeting was postponed and not rescheduled, because of concerns related to the COVID-19 public health disaster emergency. This SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE is being issued to provide notice of an opportunity for the public to provide oral comments regarding these regulation revisions at the next meeting of the State Board of Education and Early Development on June 10, 2020.
The Department of Education and Early Development proposes to adopt regulation changes in Title 4 of the Alaska Administrative Code by changing Article 4 Statewide Student Assessment regulations (4 AAC 06.700 – 4 AAC 06.790) and Article 5 School and District Accountability (4 AAC 06.800 – 4 AAC 06.899).
The proposed regulation changes update the names of the required statewide assessments and include language regarding the alternate assessment used for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. The proposed regulation changes update assessment procedures and the district reporting deadline and clarify when districts need to inform educators and parents about assessment results. The proposed changes also update the Participation Guidelines for Inclusion of Alaska Students in State Assessments, 2020 Edition, proposed to be adopted by reference. Conforming changes are proposed in the Participation Guidelines to update, clarify, and better organize the standards for the inclusion of students in state assessments.
Proposed changes in the accountability regulations will address state and district deadlines for reporting. The new deadlines reflect the current accountability system calculations and associated data collections used to create school designations and calculations for long term goals and measures of interim progress. The proposed changes include the use of the prior year’s graduation rates so that school designations may be released earlier in the school year.
The opportunity for written comment ended on January 22, 2020, but you may submit oral comments to the State Board of Education and Early Development at a hearing to be held by the board on June 10, 2020, starting at 8:45 a.m. by teleconference at the Department of Education and Early Development Board Room, 801 West Tenth Street, Juneau, AK 99801
You may submit oral comments at this hearing, during this time only, via the Legislative Information Office (LIO) streaming by calling 1-844-586-9085 if you are outside of Juneau or Anchorage. For participation from Juneau, call 586-9085. For participation from Anchorage, call 563-9085. To help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the offices and Board Room of the Department of Education and Early Development and the LIOs have been closed to public in-person traffic. In-person testimony may not be provided. For more information about LIOs, call 907-465-4648.
This meeting will be live-streamed through the Legislative Information Office (LIO) over http://www.akl.tv (audio only) beginning at 8:45 a.m. Click on the meeting name to listen to the proceedings. When public comment is over, the meeting will continue to be broadcast at the above website.
If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Linda Mattson at 907-465-2802 or linda.mattson@alaska.gov not later than June 1, 2020, to ensure that any necessary accommodation can be provided.
A copy of the proposed regulation changes and the material proposed for adoption by reference is available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System, on the website of the Department of Education and Early Development at https://education.alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm, and by contacting Linda Mattson at linda.mattson@alaska.gov or 907-465-2802. A copy of the material proposed for adoption by reference may also be viewed at the offices of the Department of Education and Early Development, 801 West 10th Street, Juneau, Alaska 9980l.
After the public comment period ends, the Department of Education and Early Development will either adopt the proposed regulation changes or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action. The language of the final regulation may be different from that of the proposed regulation. You should comment during the time allowed if your interests could be affected.
Statutory authority: AS 14.07.020, AS 14.07.060, AS 14.50.080
Statutes being implemented, interpreted, or made specific: AS 14.03.075, AS 14.03.120, AS 14.03.123, AS 14.07.030, AS 14.07.170
Fiscal information: The proposed regulation changes are not expected to require an increased appropriation.
Date: 05/15/20