The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education holds their regular monthly meeting today in Everett. The agenda can be found here. There will be a livestream here.
We're awaiting a quorum in a Board meeting room that is overcapacity (they just started sending DESE folks to their desks to watch), and the press thinks the news today is cell phones. It is enough to make one despair.
Updating as we go
Call to order at 9:04; Moriarty is on zoom
Public comment
Vice-chair of Minuteman Tech speaking as an individual
complexity of what students study in CTE programs
would like to state problem plainly: not enough seats, can only be solved by adding more seats in wall-to-wall chapter 74 programs
critical student interest: students interested in their chosen field
marketing to families
Lisa Guisbond on next steps after Question 2
urge to avoid trap of new one-size-fits-all solution
speaking of New York state Portrait of a Graduate
Kahris McLaughlin: "we do need one standard, so we are clear on where students sit when they're leaving school"
"deep fear for the way I see it [federal government?] unfolding"
Emily Howland on time out practices
impacts a great number of children and families in the Commonwealth
when her son was 10, he started to be restrained and put in time out in school
"he was constantly afraid"
in therapy, he'd lock himself in the dog crate, because he was "a bad boy"
trauma response; so overwhelmed until they shut down
worry that this shutdown is what the regulations see as 'calm'
"as many families can attest, the trauma is everlasting"
frameworks that respect a child's autonomy and their neurodiversity
Disability Law Center: have monitored time-out rooms across the state
"many schools are using" empty small padded room to manage students' behavior, used for children as young as three years old
harming children with disabilities and also exacerbates the behaviors that schools are trying to end
not in alignment with regulations for adult services
are effective alternatives, DESE has listed
shifts in practices in some schools that have seen in monitoring across the state
critical to eliminate time out rooms in regulations
Salem mayor, superintendent, teachers' union president
president: based on criteria set forth by DESE Salem Academy does not meet proven provider status as required for expansion
teachers' union president speaking of work of the district and successes there
enrollment has risen; more and more families are choosing to stay in Salem or opt into Salem
confident that educator retention will continue to rise
collective effort: together we are proving what is possible
Zrike: proven provider, exceeding 9% of foundation requires that Salem Academy be a proven provider
has trailed state averages in math
proficiency levels have declined in all areas
charter outcomes are "trending downwards"
Mayor: believe strongly that work of education requires us to be collaborative
"public engagement did not happen"
all minutes of board meetings were not posted publicly until after decision to apply for charter amendment was made
potential interest in filling future seats based exclusively on their waitlist
applications have declined by 17%
urge to reject application
KIPP Academy (applying to expand in Lynn) director
"designed to give families options"
Mary Bourque, MASS Co-Executive Director opposing additional charter school seats
notes financial pressures on school districts
out of district tuition is not something charter schools are responsible for
circuit breaker is help, but not as budgeted and is shorted
structural inequities
"urge you to carefully consider the longterm effects"
protect traditional public school system which serves the vast majority of children
Tutwiler: is not going to be brief today
FY26 proposed budget; pleased on what is proposed
I am not going to type all of his summary; they have this memo
Johnston: offering an end of January welcome
says "our students are really able to hit their stride" in January
thanks educators across the state for "helping our students find their voice and hit their stride"
AG's office toolkit on cell phone use
and I'm not repeating the same stuff here
local decision making "that really needs to be a local discussion"
"really important that we think about the exceptions that have to be made"
supporting immigrant students and families in our schools: AG's office providing information
rights of all students to access a free public education regardless of immigration or citizenship status
how to respond to request for information
providing a way for people to get their questions answers; follow-up webinars
superintendents, to school teams, to school committee members, to school attorneys
West: are we aware of any changes in attendance patterns?
Johnston: only anecdotal data only so far; March 1 will be update
Asikis: school safety and discussions in the classrooms
Craven: tracking of AG's guidance in districts
Johnston: attendance, discipline infractions in schools
Craven: I don't know how this is going to be enforced (the answer is that this is not actually your job)
Johnston: very strong educational component in this
"in a developmental and positive way"
Rocha: "particularly in this moment, if immigrant children want to keep their phone with them"
"school to deportation pipeline"
Johnston: "asking for local decision making, really understanding the local context"
Fisher: worry about privacy
"now you have a phone so you must have a medical issue"
Hills: may be all sorts of anxiety that is dealt with throughout the day that may be contact between parent and student
"there may be all sorts of reasons that people may need them"
Craven: are we going to offer "best practice guidance"
"peer group administrators"
there's actually a whole organization that does this...
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