Grundy Reporter

Illinois State Board of Education Policy Planning Committee met Jan. 11.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

I. Roll Call

Chairperson Susie Morrison brought the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present with three members. Chairperson Morrison made the declaration, “An in-person meeting is not practical or prudent because of a disaster. Physical presence for the meeting is unfeasible due to the disaster.” All attendees joined via phone. She verified that each member could hear one another and follow the discussion, and that they were able to testify.

Committee Members Present

Chairperson Susie Morrison (virtual)

Dr. Donna Leak (virtual)

Jaime Guzman (virtual)

Other Board Members Present

Darren Reisberg

Staff Present

Dr. Carmen I. Ayala, State Superintendent

Kirsten Parr, Board Services Coordinator

Kim Clarke, Executive Assistant to the State Superintendent

Barbara Moore, Director of Special Education

Dr. Brenda Dixon, Research and Evaluation Officer

Carisa Hurley, Director of Early Childhood

Dr. Christine Paxson, Director of ESSA/IL-EMPOWER

Dr. Dana Kinley, Executive Director of Systems of Support

Dr. Erica Thieman, Director of Standards and Instruction

Dr. Ernesto Matias, Education Officer

Dr. Jason Helfer, Deputy Instructional Education Officer

Dr. Jennifer Kirmes, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning

Jennifer Saba, Executive Director of Regional Services

Krish Mohip, Deputy Operational Education Officer

Marci Johnson, Director of CTE and Innovation

Martin McGreal, Director of District/School Leadership

Oriana Wilson, Executive Director of Programs

Robert Wolfe, Financial Officer

Irma Snopek, Policy and Communications Officer

Mark Haller, Director of Nutrition

Cara Wiley, Director of Wellness

Jeremy Duffy, Legal Officer

Rae Clementz, Director of Accountability

Joanne Clyde, Director of Multilingual

Sergio Hernandez, Director of Family and Community Engagement

Barbara Hobrock, Principal Consultant of Legislative Affairs

II. Public Participation

There was no public participation.

III. Approval of the December 2, 2021, Meeting Minutes

Dr. Leak made the motion for the Education Policy Planning Committee to approve the December 2, 2021, meeting minutes. Mr. Guzman seconded the motion, and it passed by a unanimous roll call vote.

IV. Discussion Items

A. School Year 2020-2021 Report Card Initial Release

Dr. Ayala and Dr. Dixon presented on this item. They discussed the key takeaways and shared data on teachers and students.

Chair Morrison asked the research team to break down the data about individuals completing educator preparator programs and what areas they are finishing in. Dr. Dixon said her staff will make note of this suggestion. Dr. Leak was also interested in looking at the diversity of the teacher pipeline and how it connects to educators completing their programs.

Chair Morrison was surprised that one of the top three areas of demand is elementary education rather than high school education. Dr. Leak added that schools are trying to be accommodating due to the teacher shortage.

Chair Morrison asked if unfilled teacher positions is data that ISBE collects, and the answer was yes. Chair Morrison wondered if ISBE’s data is the same as the Regional Offices of Education (ROEs) and believes it could be interesting to compare.

Chair Morrison noted there are vast differences in teachers’ salaries throughout the state.

Chair Morrison asked if there were legislative changes regarding sick days for teachers. Dr. Ayala said that she would have to check if that legislation was signed. Dr. Leak noted there was an issue with the language with that proposed legislation since schools are having difficulties with shortages.

Mr. Reisberg asked if the team knows about enrollment for both public and private schools, and Dr. Dixon said that ISBE has information only on public schools.

Mr. Guzman was interested in where older students went if they left the Illinois public school system, and Dr. Dixon noted that that information may only be known at the district level.

Mr. Reisberg asked which policies helped improve dual credit enrollment. Dr. Dixon noted there was investment at the state level, but also policy changes at the local level that lessened some of the barriers. Mr. Guzman was also interested in local decision-making. Mr. Reisberg said that these successes could be a good case study to share.

Chair Morrison asked if ISBE had data on the number of children who passed Advanced Placement (AP) courses; Dr. Dixon said the team has that data.

Dr. Leak stated that sometimes students take AP courses because they can take an AP exam instead of taking a final exam. She was also interested in first-year students who take AP courses. Dr. Kirmes shared that she is happy to talk about AP courses and dual credit in more detail at another time.

Dr. Leak expressed her concerns about chronic absenteeism, especially since students now are allowed to take five mental health days. Dr. Ayala noted she is not sure if the definition of chronic absenteeism takes into account the mental health days.

Chair Morrison shared her worries about learning loss for K-2 students and asked which state initiatives focus on such students. Dr. Ayala said some of the initiatives include transitions from early childhood onward. High impact tutoring is available to all students, and there are funds to support social-emotional learning. She also mentioned that decisions on 90% of the funds are made by the district and are based on its particular needs.

Mr. Guzman noted that the English Learner data concerns him and is curious about how local districts use their funds to address that problem.

Mr. Guzman is interested in an update regarding AP courses and dual credit. Chair Morrison agreed, and she added that she is interested in the sizes of the successful districts and the sizes of their classes, along with what actual interventions these districts used. She is interested in sharing these success stories and their best practices.

Dr. Ayala noted that the full set of data will be available in April.

B. Accountability System Update

Ms. Clementz presented on this item. She shared that there have been 40 survey responses and one written comment. The team hosted six open forum webinars with 139 participants. She said that most participants support the proposed changes; the one area with opposing views is chronic absenteeism.

C. Assessment System Update

Dr. Dixon presented on this item. She said that ISBE and the Center for Assessment have met with 14 groups of external stakeholders, and they have another meeting scheduled with the Student Advisory Council. She added that the team plans to have final survey results to share with focus groups during the last two weeks of February. She hopes to present the results to the Board by the March or April Board meeting and is grateful for the 4,373 English responses and 10 Spanish responses to the survey.

Mr. Guzman said he appreciates the team’s work with stakeholders.

D. Strategic Plan Update

Dr. Ayala and Dr. Matias presented on this item. They discussed the objectives and updates on the Equity Journey Continuum and student learning strategies.

Mr. Reisberg said that he is interested in having a visual that demonstrates where across the state there are vacancies and retention issues. He is also interested in which districts ISBE is targeting, and if there are ROEs that ISBE will need to partner with.

V. Review of January Board Action Items

A. Approval of the Accountability 2022 Amendment

There were no questions for this item.

B. Rules for Initial Review- Part 1 (Public Schools Evaluation, Recognition and Supervision) There were no questions for this item.

C. Rules for Adoption - Part 1 (Public Schools Evaluation, Recognition and Supervision) Time Out/Physical Restraint

There were no questions for this item.

D. Contracts & Grants over $1 Million – Approval of FY23 Invitation for Bid Procurement to identify vendors for the Illinois Virtual Course Catalog

There were no questions for this item.

E. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five - Year 3 There were no questions for this item.

F. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five - Illinois Board of Higher Education

There were no questions for this item.

G. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million -- Approval of Preschool Development Grant - Northern Illinois University - Longitudinal Data System

There were no questions for this item.

VI. Review of February Board Action Items

A. Rules for Initial Review - Part 1 (Public Schools Evaluation, Recognition and Supervision) Comprehensive Sexual Health Education

Ms. Wiley provided information on this item.

Chair Morrison asked if the group that met to discuss the rules supports the proposed rules. Ms. Wiley noted that a few members left because of their disagreements with national standards, but a majority were in favor.

Dr. Leak asked if it is still a local district’s decision to have a comprehensive sexual health education curriculum, and the answer was yes.

B. Rules for Initial Review - Part 228 (Transitional Bilingual Education)

Ms. Clyde provided information on this item.

There were no questions for this item.

C. Contracts & Grants over $1 Million – Approval of FY23 Intergovernmental Agreement with Regional Office of Education #35 to support Capacity Builder Learning Series for Priority Learning Standards and Curriculum Evaluation Tool

Dr. Thieman provided information on this item.

Chair Morrison asked how the team will evaluate the effectiveness of the investment. Dr. Thieman noted that this is a part of the Strategic Plan and the team has been collecting data. She added that it collects data on who the ROEs are doing the professional development with. Team members look at student outcomes and changes in beliefs. She shared that the preliminary data has shown that the priority learning standards increased knowledge level. Chair Morrison hopes that the team looks at student outcomes to see how districts are doing versus districts that are not using priority learning standards.

Dr. Leak is interested in the return on their investment and who is being targeted, and she wants to make sure that the information is being shared. Dr. Thieman said there is a funding formula, and each ROE is given an allocation to do this work. They must show evidence of the professional development they have offered before receiving reimbursement.

Chair Morrison asked if this initiative is primarily for retired people. Dr. Thieman said it varies, as some ROEs use contractors and staff. It fluctuates depending on the capacity of the ROE.

D. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million -- Approval to award grant to Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) for the Parent Mentoring Program from federal Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency Funds Mr. Hernandez provided information on this item.

Chair Morrison encouraged the team to think about and identify the evaluation points immediately.

Mr. Guzman asked about the funding for this initiative. Mr. Hernandez noted that it is federal funding and ISBE is a fiscal agent, and Mr. Wolfe provided more information about the funding.

E. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million -- Approval to release RFSP to procure qualified vendor to conduct IL EMPOWER program evaluation

Ms. Paxson provided information on this item.

There were no questions for this item.

F. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million -- Approval of Illinois Resource Center Professional Development and Technical Assistance Sole Source FY23-24

Ms. Clyde provided information on this item.

Chair Morrison asked if it is legislated that the Illinois Resource Center (IRC) is the sole source for this initiative. The answer was no. Ms. Clyde explained that the vendor must have a certain amount of experience with districts of certain sizes, and IRC is the only vendor in Illinois that meets that requirement.

G. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of 21st Century Community Learning Centers – IFB - Professional Development and Technical Assistance

Ms. Wiley provided information on this item.

There were no questions for this item.

H. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of 21st Century Community Learning Centers-IFB Monitoring Ms. Wiley provided information on this item.

Mr. Guzman asked if there are multiple vendors, and it was confirmed that there will only be one vendor.

I. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of 21st Century Community Learning Centers – Request for Proposals

Ms. Wiley provided information on this item.

There were no questions for this item.

J. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of McKinney Vento Homeless Education – Request for Proposals

Ms. Wiley provided information on this item.

There were no questions for this item.

K. Approval of the Spring 2022 Waiver Report

Ms. Hobrock provided information on this item.

There were no questions for this item.

VII. New Business: Items for the Next Agenda

The committee would like an update on high-impact tutoring, a discussion on alternative licensures and pathways for administration, an update on the data fellow, and a discussion about AP courses and dual credit at future meetings.

VIII. Next Meeting: February 1, 2022

IX. Adjourn

Mr. Guzman made a motion to adjourn. Dr. Leak seconded the motion, and it passed by a unanimous roll call vote. Chairperson Morrison adjourned the committee at 2:33 p.m.

https://www.isbe.net/Documents_Board_Meetings/011122-EDPP-Minutes.pdf