Proposed early literacy regulations now open for public comment

My laptop ran out of battery power at last week's Board of Ed meeting, so there were two sections I didn't cover: the Commissioner's evaluation, which I do not think I can summarize, and the proposed early literacy regulations. 

Those regulations have now been released for public comment per the Board vote last week. As I noted way back when I wrote about this in February of 2024, how we teach reading has become a crusade: the old way must be entirely vanquished and no one who REALLY cares about children would think otherwise.

It is, of course, not that simple, as teaching humans usually is not the simple.

Massachusetts, unfortunately, rather than learning from the early adopters of this crusade--Mississippi, anyone?--has barreled ahead, and now we have a law that mandates that all early elementary students be taught from the curricula described in the law and no other. Waivers, while provided by the law, were, the Board was told last week, only rarely going to be granted.*

This now necessitates regulations. Note that the regulations are being put before the Board:

• despite the actual list of curricula that qualifies not yet being available (it appears to not yet fully exists)
• despite the free curricula that DESE is required to provide to the estimated 40% of districts that will have to switch curricula not yet being available

Thus we do not really know what it is we're responding to. There is not--no, really not--an anathema definition so clear we all can know without further information what is included. And keeping in mind that it is "three cuing" that is barred, something we includes, and I am not making this up, suggesting that children might look at the pictures in their books, we are in a realm of akin to "Alice in Wonderland." One feels a bit as if one is talking to the Caterpillar when one listens to this being described. 

the Tenniel illustration via Project Gutenberg**

In any case, now is the time to comment on the proposed regulation. 

*this led to a rare mention of school committees by the Board; there was a question as to if school committees would have to vote for a district to pursue a waiver. It appears some Board members wanted this to be required, as they were under the impression that having the district have to make pursuing a waiver public would be unpopular.
Those under this impression greatly are misled about the relative popularity of the Department versus most local school committees with their local communities. 
**yes, I am well aware of the subtext here. No, I am not implying anything additional here. 

There is a Board of Ed meeting on Tuesday

 And you can find the agenda here.

The out-of-the-ordinary part of the piece of this is that they are meeting in Williamsburg at the Anne T. Dunphy School. For those not familiar, Williamsburg is northwest of Northampton, and it is quite lovely! I recommend visiting sometime, 'though perhaps not for a Board of Ed meeting; don't miss the general store. 

The meeting will start at 9:30, presumably so those making their way west can find it (I will observe here that the heavy traffic actually goes east, and yet, somehow, those are the meetings that start at 9).

In any case...the State Student Advisory Council is sharing their goals for the year, one assumes via student member Sara Khan, who is president of the group. Also on the agenda is the Commissioner's evaluation, and the proposed regulations on literacy.

There is also "K–12 Statewide Graduation Standards: Foundational Coursework and Postsecondary Planning" as an item. I will be interested to see if that notes that the graduation report is a proposal that requires legislative action to move forward--more on that this weekend--and not a done deal, as it has been framed by the Commissioner to date.

None of the above has any backups (which is unusual at least for the regulations, such that I wonder if that is an oversight) as of Friday evening at 6 PM. 

These are Worcester trees,
but I imagine we'll get to enjoy some pretty trees on the drive to Williamsburg.

in search of Polaris: on last night's Board of Ed meeting

 I'd like to be able to give you some sort of meaningful summary of last night's Board of Ed meeting on the DESE strategic plan (liveblog here), but it wasn't that sort of meeting.

Polaris? This is as close as we're getting around here...

Let's walk through some main points:

Bonus Board of Ed for September

 The agenda (which doesn't tell us much) is here. 
The livestream is here.

Martinez: setting new benchmarks for proficiency, lower to zero doesn't meet (I think)
he is just saying this aloud; it isn't shown or written out as to what he's saying...this is really hard to follow

Board of Ed: literacy law implementation

 They're now adding a meeting to Monday night at 6 PM

there's a report here but there's also a PowerPoint which I wonder if we will get
anticipate bringing regulations in October as law "is quite prescriptive"
we're doing some retrospective stuff

curricular requirements:

The Board of Ed meets this week

 And it is MCAS and Accountability release week.

The agenda for the Board of Ed can be found here. The MCAS data will go up on the school and district profiles at 10 AM Tuesday. As a reminder, always check the accountability data, as it's much more complex than just the testing, which will inevitably grab the headlines. 

(Yes, that's why that whole section of the website will be offline starting at 3 tomorrow.)

In addition to the release of MCAS data and accountability status, the Board has some start-of-the-year housekeeping--election of the vice chair, introduction of the new student member, the appointment of subcommittees--plus something on the literacy law implementation, which expanded the Department's authorities on determining what curricula is used, a power that had belonged to school committees in Massachusetts until now. 

There's also an update on DESE's strategic plan. In one of the ongoingly places I find the relationship between the Commissioner and Board confusing, it appears the Commissioner is simply announcing it, not presenting it for approval, despite (I'd assume?) the Board being in charge of setting of goals and overall direction. 

I was going to write up something on the literacy bill

 ...but instead I am going to tell you to read this, from someone in Connecticut, because we could learn from their example!

You can do whatever you want creating (blue) hills of paperwork for teacher prep programs to prove to you that they’re doing what you already require them to do. But when it comes to fascism masquerading as curriculum reform, that’s a Yeah-No. Friends don’t let friends.

You’re like: all schools need to have high quality curriculum. I’ve BEEN SAYING there is no such thing, but it’s like you guys are stuck at a rotary and can’t find the damn exit. You’re Charlie on the MTA never getting off. You’re like trying to find ya clickah and coming up with bupkis.

There's Matt Damon, there's Dunkin', you should read it.  

March Board of Elementary and Secondary Education: opening comments

 The Board of Ed meets today at nine. Their agenda is here; the livestream is here. 

I'm joining this one remotely, as I spent yesterday at the Fordham Education Law Symposium, which was great, and maybe I will write about that here at some point. 

Three takeaways from this week's Board of Ed meeting

 Three things that stuck with me from this meeting: 

1. Both the Commissioner and CFO Bell gave a "yikes*" when it comes to federal grants during the budget update. While the federal entitlement grants were level funded by Congress, they're reallocated by state and then by district each year by demographic information. The state and districts may see less money this year.
   
   
2. Depending on what language the conference committee on the literacy bills comes out with**, the Department may end up in the awkward position of enforcing something that doesn't exist. In the literacy discussion, they were careful to note that their standard for "high-quality instructional materials" isn't "evidence-based" because "very few materials on the market have evidence of efficacy." This is, of course, more evidence (hmph) that the Legislature shouldn't be involved in this, but should be leaving this to the level of authorities who are doing the actual reading on this.
   
   
3. Speaking of not doing the reading, it was alarming to hear, in response to a question posed during the interpretation and translation regulation discussion, that the only guidance or recommendation coming from the Department on the use of AI in translation was that translations be checked by a person. So we're okay with teachers and others just dumping, say, an IEP into a chatbot where it then becomes part of the universe on which everything draws?
   FERPA, people.***
   Let's please do more reading about how this stuff works before turning our core responsibilities over in such ways.

__________________________

*not actually; my interpretation 
**assuming it comes out at all? Is it possible this terrible idea will just die there?
***when it comes out for public comment--it hasn't yet--this would be a very good comment to offer

This is not really related to the above but I thought it was funny.
source

Board of Ed for February: budget!

 "real challenge" per Martinez at federal level on funding, related to enrollment decline and other things
pay attention when things like this are said

Bill Bell on the Governor's budget

SOA implemented in full as of FY27

concern of how chapter 70 is working; increasing number of districts receiving minimum aid
Department, Commissioner, Executive Office, A&F "aren't tone deaf to the issue"
commitment to see through implementation of Student Opportunity Act; what leaders want to do after that "remains to be seen"

circuit breaker growing by $100M into next budget year

haven't received word on what the education funding levels would be for federal grants in entitlement grants
baseline is funded nationally, but allocations remain to be seen

Legislators have begun their process of budget hearings: education and local aid is March 23 in Lawrence

Hills asks if they have the resources needed to implement the goals
Martinez, in essence, says it is a start

Smidy: the capacity is very limited in the field
even with allocations and grants, a lot of schools are not going to be in a position to move forward with these initiatives if they don't have the resources to move forward

Craven: need a sense about what costs are being piled onto districts
Martinez: not only the need, but also where districts are in 
"when we use the word 'advocacy' we're using it too loosely"
nah, that's still advocacy; you just want specific advocacy
"how do we become strategic about our resources..."
this is what people say when they aren't going to give you more funding to do more things
report on local contribution coming in June 

Bell: another attempt to meet the needs of local districts and communities that exist within a capped revenue environment 

And adjourned

Board of Ed for February: early literacy

 Kershaw opens (which is interesting, because of course she's early ed!)
PRISM grants, Literacy Launch, high dosage tutoring
"struggling to see improvement statewide"
grade 3 "dropped during the pandemic years and has not yet bounced back"
"there's been lots of legislative interest"

Board of Ed meets Tuesday

 ...and because it is school vacation week, you might miss it, but the agenda is here.

I suspect they'll be spending much of their time on the update on early literacy (the free space the bingo board for this meeting is for "high quality instructional materials"), and the regulations bear review, but I'm looking forward to the only Board of Elementary and Secondary Education appearance of current Acting Secretary Amy Kershaw, who is the Early Education and Care Commissioner. 

Board of Ed for January: on educator prep

 There is a memo here.

Erin Hashimoto-Martell
Claire Abbott who is really soft and hard to hear
there are over 1200 preparation programs; 62 sponsoring organizations; 4300 completers on average each year
periodic formal review done by DESE (itself; not outsourced); approval generally is for seven years

Board of Ed for January: opening comments (and a bit on Lawrence from me)

Today's Board of Ed meeting has been moved to fully remote--you can catch the livestream here--which I presume means that they're actually allowing remote public comment (which they should do all the time, not that anyone asked me). In addition to two rounds of regulations coming back for votes (on the seal of biliteracy and on student records), the main presentations are on educator preparation and "accelerated early literacy program" and the Commissioner's goals. 

My driveway yesterday,
for some perspective on why the meeting is remote

While we wait, I'm going to write a little about Lawrence, which I've been meaning to write about...

The big news, of course, remains that the Commissioner has appointed Deputy Commissioner Lauren Woo as the receiver of Lawrence, meaning that the strange appointed board that didn't seem accountable to anyone at all is out. I suspect, and it was explicitly stated in the letter to Lawrence, that this is designed to move them closer to being out of receivership: 

In the letter, Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez said an individual as receiver, rather than an organization, could better prepare the Lawrence School Committee to take over leadership of the school district when it’s ready.

“This change is designed to support a thoughtful and phased-in transition while also allowing the work to move efficiently,” Martinez said in the letter.

Also of note, the Department actually responded to the letter sent by Lawrence School Committee member Jonathan Guzman about current Superintendent Ralph Carrero: 

“Since the appointment of the current leadership, Lawrence Public Schools has descended into a culture of fear, intimidation, and retaliation,” Guzman said in the letter.

The letter claims that “promotions and hiring decisions” were made based on “personal and political connections” and that 23 people were hired who “are known to have personal and political ties to leadership.”

The current leadership was also accused of “belittling staff in front of peers, employing intimidation tactics, and engaging in retaliatory actions,” Guzman wrote.

“The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has seen Mr. Guzman’s letter and appreciate him bringing his concerns to us,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement sent to the Globe on Friday.

“We take these allegations seriously and will work with the receiver to take appropriate next steps. The Department also continues to work closely with Lawrence Public Schools to support its students and staff.”

Deigning to answer--something I don't think we previously saw a lot of--acknowledges that the Lawrence School Committee has legitimacy in representing the city and its students, which is also something we haven't seen much of previously. 

Board of Ed for November: budget priorities

 There is a printed memo here which is NOT ONLINE which is annoying. 

Commissioner describe the budget process
"highly structured timeline"
he should have a nice little flowchart like some of us do when we explain this

May Board of Ed: budget

 Bill Bell: quick update on federal and state financial resources
Senate today is debating its version of the FY26 budget proposal
$8.6B K-12 funding; bulk is the same as House 1 and House budgets
year 2 of further supports for Literacy Launch $20M
$25M for high dosage tutoring
affirms commitment to student nutrition; some differences in appropriation levels
"but that will get itself worked out"
"that's all based on claims; do our best to work that out"
social-emotional supports for students

Federal side: federal budget for this coming fiscal year (which is FY25 for fed)
have received major entitlement awards
still awaiting for adult education and Titles II, III, and IV
think it is about OMB working out final details; expect to see in next month or so
watching next federal fiscal year budget FY26, which would impact next fiscal year for state (FY27)

And ADJOURNED
Next meeting June 24 back in Everett

Interviews for the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education

 

Coming to you live from Mass Bay Community College in Wellesley

My rundown of the finalists can be found here. My initial perspective on them can be found here.

There is a livestream of this, which will be going up here. UPDATED: video is here.

Posting as we go. 

Jack Elsey, Lily Laux, Pedro Martinez to be interviewed

and Craven just said a whole bunch of things including the schedule which I missed because I was trying to find the livestream...sigh...it also isn't written down, as best as I can tell

The Board is soliciting feedback on the finalists here. 

January Board of Ed: vision

 high dosage tutoring in early literacy
this was much more lengthy but we also were getting updated information on federal funding, so I tuned out for parts of it

5 providers in 46 districts
16,958 student seats (which may have been more than one student)

statistically significant gains in 2023-24

MBAE now testifying about the Ignite (they're a vendor) online tutoring through the One8 grant

and there was a video of that tutoring

There is a lot of data being shared here on slides with teeny text

attendance matters; closes literacy gaps more effectively
I also just want to note that the text in all of these slides is way too small

Chelsea and Walpole testifying about their experiences

One8 person: "we were skeptical...the last thing we want to do is put more kids in front of a computer"
"if schools are on green rated science of reading curriculum because you're wasting your money if schools aren't on green rated science of reading curriculum"
"the results are astounding"

Hills asks about scaling up; staffing 
put aside money to "continue the data runs"

Moriarty argues "there is a model here" for the long haul
"this is expensive"
"this expenditure represents a percentage point or two" but seems to represent
encourage school committees "to adopt this cost on a long term"
"it should be as much embedded in a school district's budget as a football team"
districts having the slightest idea of what local school districts are actually struggling with for budgets for starters might be useful 

and now on literacy launch

November Board of Ed: Commissioner search and budget and virtual schools funding

 holding Felix Virtual School item for future meeting
updating as we go

The Board of Ed is back

 ...and they meet both Monday night (entirely remotely) and Tuesday morning.

Monday evening is an accountability system review. We're into MCAS and accountability release, it appears from the agenda. 

Tuesday, in addition to that, the Board will elect a vice chair for the year; update on the Commissioner search; have an update on pandemic recovery and literacy, as well as literacy launch; and receive back the charter (voluntarily surrendered) of the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy Charter Public School.

The agenda for all of that is here. 

Liveblog from me is going to be remote and possibly a little choppy, as I have a meeting Monday and an appointment Tuesday morning.