The General Assembly has completed its 2016 short session, and the budget bill is on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature. Once he signs the budget or it passes into law without signature, our Financial and Business Services’ staff will distribute allotments to local school districts for the new fiscal year. Information about the conference budget bill and a summary of special provisions and the money report are online under What’s New.

Some of the most noteworthy news from the session is in what did not pass. Legislation that would have required an alternative high school mathematics sequence (Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II) did not make it through. So, North Carolina high schools will continue with the mathematics standards that were revised for Math 1, 2 and 3 earlier this year.

State Board of Education Meeting Highlights

At yesterday’s abbreviated State Board of Education meeting, members approved the continuation of NCDPI’s Proof of Concept Study, 11 charter schools set to open next month, policies on general licensure requirements, a policy amendment on issuance of special high school diplomas for World War II, Korean Conflict or Vietnam Era vets, and a resolution on the Board’s position regarding calendar flexibility.

The complete list of this month’s Board actions is available on the State Board’s website. The Board’s July agenda, as well as supporting executive summaries, are available online by clicking on the SBE Meetings tab.

Every Student Succeeds Act:
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

On May 31, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) posted the proposed rules to amend the regulations implementing programs under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to implement changes to the ESEA by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

The proposed rules include updates to the current ESEA general regulations to include requirements for the submission of state plans under ESEA programs, including optional consolidated state plans, and requirements for accountability systems and state and LEA report cards.

The comment period ends on Aug. 1. To review the proposed rules, click HERE. Please note that particular issues identified for comment may be found in the Executive Summary section. If you read some proposed rules that you do not support, you should submit your comments to the USED. It’s also a good idea to mention the proposed regulations that you do support.

If you have any questions, please contact NCDPI Data, Research and Federal Policy Director Lou Fabrizio or Federal Program Monitoring and Support Director Donna Brown.

Literacy Leaders Conference

NCDPI K-3 Literacy Division staff will be providing Literacy Leaders Conferences across the state in September.

The conferences will include information for school leaders, principals and assistant principals who would like to develop a deeper understanding of literacy and how to support teachers with best practices in literacy instruction. The sessions will focus on Read to Achieve legislation and assisting school leaders in understanding basic early literacy skills.

Mark your calendars now for the Literacy Leaders Conference in your region.

·      Northeast: Sept. 20

·      Southeast: Sept. 15 and 27

·      North Central: Sept. 28

·      Sandhills: Sept. 22

·      Piedmont-Triad: Sept. 14

·      Southwest: Sept. 23

·      Northwest: Sept. 12

·      Western: Sept. 30

Registration information will be sent in August. If you have any questions, please contact NCDPI K-3 Literacy Director Carolyn Guthrie.

NC Online Testing for 2015-16

Thanks to the local testing and technology teams statewide, NCTest, the North Carolina Online Assessment platform, completed a record-setting online assessment year.

During the 2015-16 school year, local school districts were given the option of taking nearly all state end-of-course and end-of-grade assessments and North Carolina Final Exams through NCTest. As of June 16, North Carolina students took more than 1,271,000 EOG, EOC and NCFE assessments through NCTest. Students also completed more than 293,000 Career Technical Education assessments in the system. This record-setting year included a record-setting day on June 3 when 170,595 EOG, EOC, NCFE and CTE online assessments were completed.

This is good news as we continue to move toward better integration of digital learning technology in our schools.

Multi-Tiered System of Support:
Communication and Collaboration that Support Implementation

Districts and schools implementing a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) are currently utilizing the Self Assessment of MTSS (SAM) to measure implementation at the school level. This data is conveniently aggregated to the district level for a larger scope lens of implementation.

SAM provides schools an opportunity to reflect on all aspects of MTSS implementation such as:

-  Does the staff have consensus and engage in MTSS implementation?

-  How does the school actively engage families throughout all layers of support?

-  What infrastructure exists to support the goals of family and community engagement?

-  What opportunities are available to collaborate around both implementation and outcome data?

The state’s MTSS strategic plan addresses communication and visibility, professional development, coaching and technical assistance. Research and evaluation support effective installation in districts, charters and state-operated program.

For a recent example of communication support, please see this update sent out to the 350-member email list. If you have additional questions, please contact Amy Jablonski.

Global Education Updates

Global-Ready Applications and Guidance Online

The 2016-17 Global-Ready School and Global-Ready District Applications and Guidance are available on the DPI website. District applications are due by Dec. 2, and the school applications are due by April 4, 2017.

If interested in applying for the designations, please complete the “Intent to Apply.” This ensures that interested applicants receive resources and updates to assist them through the application process. Both forms are available on the NC Global Education website.

Global Educator Digital Badge Reminders

Please note that if you have teachers and administrators pursuing their Global Educator Digital Badge (GEDB) their Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) must be turned in to NCDPI. Once the MOA is received, the GEDB candidate will have access to the online management platform where they may access resources and any additional forms or information to assist them through the process.

The MOA, Implementation Guide, April 2016 Webinar and other resources can be found on the NC Global Education website.