A meeting of the New York State Board of Regents was held today, via videoconference and available to the public via live stream.  During the meeting, an overview of SED’s reopening guidelines was presented to the Board of Regents by SED’s Reopening Task Force. A recording of this meeting will be made available on our Authorizer Update page later today. Note that what was shared today is a summary of the full guidance, which will be released in its entirety on Wednesday.

Reopening Guidance: 

All schools including charters must submit plans that incorporate the mandatory elements of the Guidance Document. Schools must post plans to their websites so parents and the public can access the plans. These plans must be submitted to the state by 7/31/2020.

The slides reviewed by the Regents outlining the guidance are available here and here. To read our summary of these guidelines, click here. 

Charter Actions: 

  • Bronx Lighthouse Charter School: Granted approval to dissolve its relationship with the Charter Management Organization Lighthouse Academies, Inc., and change the school name to Pharos Academy Charter School. Read the full resolution here.
    • This motion carried unanimously with one Regent absent and Regent Collins and Regent Reyes abstaining. 
  • Stradford Preparatory Charter School for Boys: Replaced the School Empowerment Network (SEN) with BRICK Education Network, Inc. as its institutional partner. The school is currently located in NYC CSD 9 (Bronx) and was approved to relocate to NYC CSD 11 (Bronx). Read the full resolution here.
    • This motion carried unanimously with one Regent absent and Regent Collins abstaining. The discussion around this revision addressed the school’s vision for community engagement and input. 
  • ESSA reporting: Charter schools are now required to submit school-level expenditure data to the Department, pursuant to Commissioner’s Regulation Section 170.14, through the ESSA Fiscal Transparency Portal commencing on November 1, 2020 (using 2019-2020 school year data) and each November 1 thereafter (using the preceding school year’s data). Read the full item here. 
    • This motion carried unanimously with two Regents absent. 

Regulatory changes in light of COVID-19 

The regents unanimously approved, with one absent member, the following amendments to provide additional flexibilities and clarifications to schools for both the Commissioner’s regulations and instructional hour requirements for state aid purposes in response to the COVID-19 crisis. You can view the presentation that was given on these emergency regulatory amendments by clicking here. 

  • Proposed Amendments to Sections 52.3, 52.21, 57-4.5, 70.4, 74.6, 75.2, 75.5, 76.2, 79-9.3, 79-10.3, 79-11.3, 79-12.3, 80-1.13, 80-1.5, 80-3.15, 80-4.3, 83.5, 87.2, 87.5, 100.2, 100.4, 100.5, 100.6, 100.10, 100.21, 119.1, 119.5, 125.1, 151-1.4, 154-2.3, 175.5, 200.4, 200.5, 200.7, 200.20 and 275.8 and addition of Section 279.5 to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Addressing the COVID-19 Crisis. Read the full resolution here. 
  • Proposed Amendments to Sections 52.21, 60.6, 61.19, 80-1.2, 80-3.7, 100.1, 100.2, 100.4, 100.5, 100.6, 100.7, 100.19 and 151-1.3 and addition of Section 80-5.27 to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Addressing the COVID-19 Crisis. Read the full resolution here. 

These items passed without discussion. 

Additional Amendments: 

The Regents unanimously approved the below amendments without discussion.  

  • Proposed Addition of Section 80-5.28 to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Creating a Transitional J Certificate for Spouses of Individuals on Full-Time Active Duty with the Armed Forces Whose Permanent Duty Station is in New York State. To read the full resolution, click here. 
  • Proposed Amendment to Section 80-1.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Creating a Safety Net for the School Building Leader Assessment. To read the full resolution, click here. 
  • Proposed Amendment to Section 80-1.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Creating Safety Nets for the Arts Content Specialty Tests (CSTs). To read the full resolution, click here. 

Items for Review: 

  • The Regents reviewed and discussed the proposed amendments to Sections 200.1 and 200.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Special Education Impartial Hearing Officers and the Special Education Due Process System Procedures. This item is currently open to public comment and will be brought back before the Regents for vote after gathering these comments. Regent Cea raised concerns with non-attorney IHOs’ abilities to represent and advocate for students and families. To read the full proposal, click here.  

Consent Agenda: 

The Regents discussed and unanimously approved the below consent agenda items.  

P-12 Committee 

To read the consent agenda items relevant to the P-12 Committee click here. 

Higher Education 

To read the consent agenda items relevant to Higher Education, click here.

Cultural Education 

To read the consent agenda items relevant to Cultural Education, click here. 

Professional Practice  

To read the consent agenda items relevant to Professional Practice, click here. 

 

We will continue to bring you summaries of meetings of the Board of Regents in the months ahead.