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Truancy in ALE Webinar
Join the Alternative Learning Department (ALD) and Attendance Program Supervisor on May 30, 2019 from 2:00 - 3:00 for an update on OSPI’s work defining truancy in ALE and Online settings.
An overview of the following topics will be covered:
- Background and intent of defining truancy in ALE settings
- Stakeholder feedback to date
- Upcoming rule revision process timeline
- Guidance development planning
Register here for the webinar.
GATE Equity Webinar - Graduation & Alternative Learning Experience
The ALD will be joining the GATE webinar team for the afternoon session of their June 12, 2019 webinar series on graduation. Join us at 1:00 for a discussion around supporting what is next for students who are not on track to graduate.
Additional information and registration here.
Given the passage of House Bill 1599, students in the Class of 2019 may now be eligible to have their assessment graduation requirements waived via the Expedited Assessment Appeal.
See Bulletin 025-19 here.
District Data Security Managers and Building Administrators will be receiving data quality comparison reports to identify whether ALE reporting disparities exist in their district. These reports will be emailed directly from the Alternative Learning Department to district and program contacts on file between May 28 and June 7 along with directions on next steps.
We continue to await the opening of the SAFS ALE application in EDS for ALE Year End Reporting purposes. As soon as this report is available we will send a notification through our newsletter listserv.
Reminder: If you need to add or delete schools in your SAFS ALE application, contact Becky McLean, OSPI Enrollment Reporting Supervisor.
Review the recent press release from Superintendent Reykdal on House Bill 1599, Multiple Pathways to Graduation for Students.
OLAC convened on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. Members and attendees discussed:
- Legislative Outcomes
- New CEDARS Codes for Online Courses
- Upcoming Online Learning Projects
Visit the OLAC webpage for more information about the committee, meeting schedule, and membership.
Each school district providing Alternative Learning Experiences is required to have a school board policy in place for naming and authorizing each program and/or program provider, per WAC 392-121-182(5). This policy must also designate by title one or more school official(s) responsible for overseeing the ALE courses or programs.
That same district official is responsible for annually reporting to the school board about the program. Information to be included in this report are:
- ALE headcount and FTE enrollment
- Ratio of certificated teachers to student FTE
- Description of how the program supports the district’s overall goals and objectives
- Results of any self-evaluations
For sample school board policies and procedures, your school board and superintendent receive monthly updates from WSDDA, which have guidance for all school board policies. The most recent WSDDA update for ALE policy #2255 was May 2018. Check your board policy for its most recent update!
The ALD is exploring potential rule changes to WAC 392-121-182 for implementation in the 2020-2021 school year. We will be filing a CR 101 in the coming weeks. The goal of rule changes would be:
- Evaluate whether rule changes are needed and if so, include them as part of the WAC revision around truancy in ALE settings planned during the 2019-20 school year, as this would allow for one comprehensive WAC revision.
- Move the existing ALE rules from the finance WAC and into its own WAC chapter.
- Reorganize the current language into a more simplified and accessible version.
- Review current language around substantially similar to determine whether edits can be made to improve clarity of requirements.
The ALE community is invited to participate in this discussion and participation can happen in multiple ways including:
- Monitor the newsletter and/or website communications for updates.
- Attend informational webinars during the fall and winter of the 2019-20 school year (dates TBD).
- Connect with the ALD directly to discuss status updates or request information.
- Participate in a variety of in-person events scheduled across the state beginning in the late fall of 2019-20 (dates and locations TBD).
- Volunteer to join a workgroup to inform potential rule changes and make recommendations to OSPI on next steps. The ALD will be accepting workgroup volunteers until June 14, 2019. Depending on the volume of interest in workgroup participation, the ALD may use a selection process to ensure representation of the full ALE community and will formally notify selected members by June 30, 2019. In order to prepare recommendations to share with the ALE community during the fall of 2019, workgroup time commitments would include:
- Minimum of 5-8 hours availability in June/July to connect via Zoom meeting(s).
- Availability to electronically review and vet any draft rule changes in August/September.
- Potential availability to join an in-person rule change discussion in the fall of 2019.
- Interest in participating in webinars and/or in-person events to answer questions and communicate changes to the ALE community during the fall of 2019.
Bulletin 024-19 was recently published by OSPI to inform districts of the process to notify OSPI of school changes to directory information contained within the Education Data System for the 2019–20 school year. All requests are due to OSPI no later than June 3 to take effect in the system by July 15. Review Bulletin 024-19 here.
ALE enrollment is funded at the running start non-vocational rate. This rate will increase to $8,486.40 for the 2019-20 school year.
The Department of Health (DOH) has been rolling-out a free, online tool for immunization management called the Immunization Information System (IIS) School Module. The School Module is pre-populated with immunization dates entered by healthcare providers across the state, minimizing the need for duplicate entry into a separate student information system. Schools utilizing the School Module will also be granted the ability to contribute to the integrity of the data by entering medically verified immunization dates that may be missing. In addition, the system provides a forecast for upcoming vaccines that may be needed, allows schools to quickly identify students that may be under-vaccinated, print parent letters for follow up of missing vaccine doses, and run an at-risk report to quickly identify vulnerable students during a disease outbreak. Using this system also removes the necessity for schools to manually submit the annual Immunization Status Report to DOH, as DOH can pull the data directly from the School Module.
Districts are encouraged to take advantage of this free resource which can streamline the process of immunization compliance review. For more information about the School Module, please visit their website or email the School Module Team. For additional information regarding immunization requirements, contact Ann Song, OSPI School Immunization Program Supervisor.
Truancy in ALE Webinar
May 30, 2019
2:00 - 3:00
Register here.
GATE Equity Webinars
June 12, 2019
Graduation & Alternative Learning Experience
Additional information here.
AWSP/WASA Summer Conference
June 30 - July 2, 2019
Spokane, WA
Additional information here.
2019 Becca Conference
November 6-9, 2019
Ellensburg, WA
Additional information here.
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