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Contents:
OSDE and the Oklahoma State Dept. of Health (OSDH) are partnering to conduct the 2019-20 statewide kindergarten immunization survey. Your participation in the 2019-20 Kindergarten Immunization Survey is essential to monitor trends in immunization coverage among children and to drive public health program activities to target vaccination efforts in the state.
It is preferable that your school nurse or other designated staff member familiar with the review and entry of vaccination records complete this survey. The survey must be completed by Jan. 31.
Read a joint letter from Supt. Hofmeister and OSDH Commissioner Gary Cox regarding the survey here.
Access the survey here.
Download survey instructions here.
If you need additional assistance, contact Immunization Services at the Oklahoma State Department of Health at ksurvey@health.ok.gov or (800) 234-6196.
The USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Distance Learning & Telemedicine (DLT) Grant provides up to $500,000 to fund distance learning and telemedicine initiatives targeted at rural communities. Often, the organizations most in need of grant funding are those with the fewest grant writing resources. As a result, RUS has seen a decline in applications since prohibiting vendors from providing grant writing services.
Learn Design Apply Inc., a grant consulting firm, is offering a free grant writing workshop for those interested in learning about what it takes to submit a winning DLT application. Participants are encouraged to bring their laptops or tablets and actively participate in the prequalification of sites and the development of an application outline.
Participants will also enjoy a continental breakfast and lunch. Seating is limited. Please register by Dec. 6.
USDA DLT Grant Workshop
Dec. 11, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
OPSRC Office, Oklahoma City
Register here
OSDE is excited to offer free professional development workshops for the 2019-20 school year. These workshops will be held in different regions of the state and are designed to support educators with effective instructional strategies aligned to the Oklahoma Academic Standards.
Upcoming Workshops: Social Studies, Personal Financial Literacy, World Languages
Dec. 6: Oklahoma City
Encourage your teachers to attend and register here: https://sde.ok.gov/regional-professional-learning-workshops
School district personnel are invited to Resilience Strategies for Educators: Techniques for Self-Care & Peer Support, a seven-hour learning opportunity to better understand resilience strategies following emergency events. This training will be conducted by Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance (REMS-TA) with the U.S. Dept. of Education Office of School Safety and Security.
This training will be held Feb. 4 in Oklahoma City and Feb. 5 in Tulsa. Trainings are limited to 50 participants each. Registration will be available soon.
For more information, contact Cindy Swearingen, Asst. Executive Director with the Office of School Safety and Security, at cindy.swearingen@sde.ok.gov or (405) 306-9724.
Do you know a classroom teacher or principal who demonstrates exceptional educational talent and whose exemplary accomplishments beyond the classroom model excellence for the profession? We are looking for early- to mid-career individuals whose contributions are largely unheralded, yet worthy of the spotlight for our State Educator Talent Pool.
From our talent pool, we pull engaging and inspiring educators to serve on special task forces and advisory groups and sometimes for special recognition. The deadline for recommendations is Dec. 15. This is a confidential process. For a recommendation form, click here.
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Three proposed OSDE administrative rule changes are now open for public comment. A copy of the proposed rule changes and Rule Impact Statements are available on the OSDE Administrative Rules web page.
The rule changes open for comment are:
210:10-1-4. Length of term [AMENDED]. The rule that addresses requirements for the length of a school year is being updated to reflect changes in law. 70 O.S. § 1-109 provides that beginning with the 2021-22 school year, public schools must be in session for not less than 1,080 hours with a minimum of 165 days of instruction each school year. A waiver of the 165-day minimum for school academic calendars is authorized provided a school district “meets the requirements established by the State Board of Education.” Pursuant to Senate Bill 441 (2019), the State Board of Education is directed to promulgate rules establishing the minimum guidelines for student performance and cost savings for school districts that wish to apply for a waiver of the 165-day minimum school year. The proposed rule amendment outlines these eligibility guidelines for an alternate length school year waiver, developed through a process involving stakeholder input and alignment with Oklahoma’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plan.
210:10-13-25. Determination of the chronic absenteeism indicator [NEW]. The Oklahoma school accountability system, which was developed in accordance with ESSA, is required to include an indicator on the school report card associated with chronic absenteeism in accordance with 70 O.S. § 1210.545. In school years 2017-18 and 2018-19, the accountability statute provided that, through administrative rules, the State Board of Education would oversee a process for considering schools’ requests for medical exemptions from chronic absenteeism for students with significant qualifying medical conditions. Pursuant to House Bill 1988 (2019), the rule mandate placing exemption authority at the state level was revoked; therefore, its accompanying rule is being revoked. This new proposed rule authorizes school districts to develop chronic absenteeism medical exemption policies at the local level, which are to be developed in accordance with guidelines laid out in the rule.
210:30-5-8. School bus driver certification [AMENDED]. The rule that establishes requirements for school bus driver certification is being amended to allow for Commercial Driver License (CDL) holders with current valid CDL licenses issued in other states to be eligible to apply for Oklahoma school bus driver certification. The proposed amendment will also allow for physicians licensed in other states to sign the annual health certificates required for school bus drivers and for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) physicians to sign health certificates for school bus drivers who are veterans of the United States Armed Forces.
Written comments on the proposed rule changes will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16, 2019. Comments may be submitted via email to rules@sde.ok.gov during the open public comment period. If you wish to submit an oral comment, you must attend the public hearing on these rules. The public hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16, 2019, at the Hodge Education Building, State Board Room (Room 120), 2500 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City.
If you would like to be added to the distribution list and receive a direct email when proposed OSDE rule changes open for public comment, please send a request to rules@sde.ok.gov.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) is seeking feedback on the revised Draft Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science (PreK-12), which are up for review and revision during the 2019-20 school year. The OSDE facilitates a revision of academic subject matter standards every six years in accordance with 70 O.S. § 11-103.6a.
Academic subject matter standards are concise, written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their education. Academic standards describe educational objectives (i.e., what students should have learned by the end of a course, grade level or grade span), but they do not describe a particular teaching practice, curriculum or assessment method.
OSDE asks that all interested stakeholders provide feedback on the standards by following the process below:
- Gather a team of stakeholders and set aside approximately one hour to complete a review for each grade band you choose.
- Download the Draft Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science.
- Submit feedback by Dec. 17 to publiccommentscience@sde.ok.gov.
All feedback received during the public comment period will be reviewed by the Oklahoma Academic Standards Review/Revision Executive and Writing Committee for consideration in the revision process.
To learn more about the review and revision process for the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science, click here.
If you have questions, contact Tiffany Neill, Executive Director of Curriculum & Instruction, at tiffany.neill@sde.ok.gov.
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 Join State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister as she welcomes Dr. Bruce Perry with the Child Trauma Academy to speak on Feb. 17 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.
For more information and to register, click here.
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