Vermont Department of Education
Education Challenges Design Team
Monday, March 22, 2010
Minutes
Present: Armando Vilaseca (via phone), John Hollar, Rob Levine, Marilyn Frederick, Ellie McGarry, Carl Mock, Stephan Morse, Tom O’Brien, John Tague, Bill Talbott
Not available: Laurie Hodgden
DOE Staff: Vaughn Altemus, Brad James, Cindy Lee, Susan Marks, Karin Edwards
Other: Richard Bland (Stowe School Board), Joel Cook (VTNEA), Jeff Francis (VSA), Rep. Frank Geier, John Nelson (VSBA), Nicole Mace (Voices for VT’s Children)
Agenda:
- Review sections 6 & 10 of Challenges for Change
- Discuss special ed proposal with Susan Marks and Karin Edwards
- Direct instruction spending vs. administrative spending – Vaughn Altemus
- Where we are, next steps
Bill Talbott reviewed sections 6, 9 and 10 of Act 68.
SPECIAL EDUCATION
The special education challenge target savings may be putting our state at risk due to the federal maintenance of effort requirement. If savings were found outside of special education, could we argue that that be accepted?
Special Education Funding
1. Institute block grant for special ed based on ADM with a weighted system regarding individual student services to determine required allocation.
If supports aren’t there (2-5 below), it will not work.
Past efforts to cap spending have failed. The block grant could slow the growth while 2-5 are implemented.
Item 1d. could realize short-term savings [Create a state wide limit on what schools can pay for an hourly rate for related service providers and daily rates for outside placements in day school programs. (The remainder cannot fall to the local budget)].
Could this possibly equalize spending over the state?
Variation within categories, is hard to manage in small districts. This proposal was based on the assumption that districts would be consolidated to the SU level.
This group thinks it’s a great plan but won’t save what’s required.
2. Require a specific team process to determine the need for paraeducator services.
Comments:
The Special Ed Rules revision process in place and much of the funding proposal can be addressed in the new rules. Salaries – 51M for paras, 58M for profs.
3. Increase implementation of co-teaching. (Rutland City)
4. Require all schools to implement PBIS, DI and RTI. DOE would facilitate training required for all administrators and educators.
3 & 4 go together – these are all approaches that strengthen the system and build support. They work to bring special and general ed together. Rutland City has seen a decrease in the number of referrals and in Child Count since implementing 3 & 4.
5. Require a specific process/protocol for all service decisions at an IEP meeting with required training annually of all individuals serving in the role of the LEA at team meetings.
- Be careful about not making IEPs individualized. Come up with training so folks know the fed/state law.
- If special education services were administered at the SU level, it would alleviate this gap of knowledge.
It would take at least a few years before you see a critical mass.
1/3 of Vermont schools currently participate in PBI. Can we compare those districts’ costs, # of referrals and paras with others?
Fewer SDs will make this more successful. Build this into the proposal.
What can this group do to accelerate the process? Human resources are needed. School staff need to buy into these changes for it to be successful.
DIRECT INSTRUCTION SPENDING VS. ADMINISTRATIVE SPENDING
Vaughn Altemus – there is a positive relationship on admin spending and direct instruction. Caveat – correlations don’t imply anything about causality.
DESIGN TEAM CURRENT STATUS
Governance change
There is the assumption that there will be a loss of local control, but people still have input. That needs to be communicated more effectively. Best practices, benchmarks, rigor need to be implemented. (95% of ANWSU time was spent with community to listen, inform.)
Provide some incentives - put something on the table. Reinvestment money suggestions.
20M is a real number. Everything else is a probability.
Lamoille North, Franklin, Windsor Central, Wash Central, Chittenden South – all are considering some form of merger.
What is the political situation? Not strong political support to draw lines.
Business of education – it’s complicated. Common systems are essential to avoid some of the chaos.
Armando will(?) use the following to describe each of his final recommendations:
1. There was consensus with the team
2. There was not consensus
3. There was majority agreement
Bill Talbott’s list of focus areas:
- Governance/redistricting and the spec ed funding that goes with it
- Reduce # of people – establish criteria that limits number of staff. Fewer people = less spending
- Allocate to districts a reduction target and have them figure it out.
Next agenda:
Poll members on whether they agree each item below should be included in the final recommendations and fine-tune each suggestion.
- Assume admin savings from FY11
- Non-voluntary redistricting SUs to a limited number of SDs
- How would school choice work with SD model? Statewide high school choice?
- Reduce the number of small schools
- This may not be necessary. It may happen naturally depending on other recommendations (Class size, ratios, etc.).
- Currently there are 16 schools with enrollment below 50; 43 schools with more than 50 but less than 100 students.
- Increase Staff/Student ratio
- General administrative savings through centralizing non-educational functions
- Adopt VCSEA special education funding proposal.
BOXES
1. Spec ed funding proposal makes more sense if SDs are consolidated at the SU level (or at least on some much higher model than the current system.
2. 20M is a real number
3. Explain the special education MOE dilemma. Do we forfeit the federal dollars in order to fulfill the Challenges target?
Next meeting: Tuesday, March 23 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Commissioner’s office (Open to the public)
Upcoming meeting schedule
Thursday, March 25 – this meeting may not be necessary.
- Meeting Minutes prepared by Cindy Lee
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Education Challenges Design Team Meeting 3/22/10 Minutes