The Board of Ed meets Tuesday, September 29

 ...for their regular meeting, which is back in Malden, but adhering to limited capacity. You'll be able to find the livestream here. 

There is not a ton on this agenda.

The Commissioner is (of course) going to report on back to school. As this also includes another presentation from Quincy on how they did summer school in person, one can only assume that this will include yet another round of "I told the school committees that I would support their plans, but I didn't mean those plans. Or those either." As the Board was been on their summer break, and the Secretary had disappeared off the radar screen entirely until this past week, this is the first time for them to weigh in on any of this. Given what we saw back in June...I'm not particularly hopeful.

The Board is also voting to make permanent (since the time for the emergency authority is up) the change in regulations around time on learning. This was out for public comment. These are the regs that included the three plans for the fall that were due back in August; what they do not include, despite being cited in those letters the Department has been sending out to what they deem 'low risk' districts, is any mention of the Department 'auditing' district back to school plans. I wouldn't necessarily say this is overreach--I've heard it framed as 'of course we are taking an interest'--but it does use what certainly sounds threatening in questioning local judgment on safety, which is not under their purview, by using educational oversight, which is. It isn't, for example, as if they went through the plans and sent out letters to the districts that had what they thought were lousy plans, just the ones that were going not going to school in person and had town bounds not turning up red or yellow yet. 

There is also a vote on changes in regulation on collaboratives. 

And there will be an update on "budgetary matters."

Attached to the agenda is also the items the Commissioner dealt with under his summer delegated authority which are:

• grants
• 'charter school matters'
• amendment to educator licensure regulations

There's also the calendar for charter school actions this year, a fact sheet, and a tentative calendar

I have a 10 am meeting, so I'm going to be on and off, but I'll catch up over the course of the day as my blood pressure can take it.