February State Board News
Update on Restricted License Proposal
During his monthly report, Commissioner Bob Corkins explained that sending his Transition Team's licensure proposal to the special superintendents' committee was meant as a "prelude to the normal regulatory process that must be abided by."
He also stated that he supports using the "regular process," which includes the Professional Standards Board and the Regulations committee of the PSB, which is "lengthy and extensive" and which requires "opportunities for public input." [Editorial note: that process is also spelled out in Kansas statute.]
In a meeting last week with Peg Dunlap, KNEA Director of Instructional Advocacy, Dr. Steve Abrams, chair of the State Board, stated that the proposal was not on the Board's agenda for discussion in February and that he/Abrams supported using the normal process for considering changes to regulations.
Over 600 messages were sent by KNEA members to State Board members about the proposal. The KNEA alert was published following the meeting of the special superintendents' committee and prior to the release of the February State Board agenda.
No proposal was referred to either the Professional Standards Board or the Regulations Committee by the Board at the February SBOE meeting. Both PSB and Regulations meet within the next 2 weeks.
The State Board did authorize the special superintendents' committee to continue their work so that they could identify possible solutions to barriers they had identified during their first 2 meetings. They are also asked to identify groups responsible for implementing those solutions.
The Commissioner has presented the Restricted Licensure proposal to the special superintendents' group. When questioned about how the proposal should be considered by the superintendents, Dr. Abrams indicated it was up to the group whether to consider it or not.
KNEA will continue to monitor this issue.
Teacher of the Year Team Recognized
The eight Kansas teachers selected as the 2006 Kansas Teachers of the Year met with State Board members at the February meeting. Recognized were
- Ron Poplau, NEA Shawnee Mission, 2006 Kansas Teacher of the Year and one of 4 finalists for the national Teacher of the Year
Laurie Mercer, UTW
- Pam Olson, Haysville NEA
- Betty Peterson, Nemaha Valley TA
- Roxie Peterson, Wamego TA
- Letitia Petitjean, Buhler NEA
- Tana Priddy, DeSoto TA
- Betsy Wiens, Auburn/Washburn NEA
A Month of Updates
Many of the agenda items in February were updates on issues in progress. These included:
In other action, the State Board:
[Go to http://www.ksde.org/commiss/feb_2006_board_materials.pdf to see specific materials]
Approved a consolidation agreement between USD 427, Belleville, and USD 455, Hillcrest Rural (Cuba), both in Republic county [p. 159]
- Approved 57 requests for licensure waivers, 50 in special education endorsements [pp. 163-167]
- Approved continuation of audio-streaming of board meetings by KAN-ED
- Approved bond elections for
o USD 240, Twin Valley
o USD 408, Marion-Florence
Board Considering New Clipping Service
Concerned about the cost of their current service, now $27,500 per year, Board members in January asked staff to bring recommendations for ways to reduce the cost of receiving clippings from Kansas newspapers.
Staff offered three options:
- Rebid the service, with tighter specifications to reduce costs
- Use Google's advanced news search
- Add State Board members to KNEA UniServ Southeast Director Tony White's daily email.
The Board reviewed the three options, received samples of the 2nd and 3rd options, and agreed to defer a decision until next month.
The March meeting of the State Board will be Tuesday and Wednesday, March 14 and 15, in Topeka.
|
Archives
Printer friendly
E-mail
Subscibe