March 2014 State Board Report

As the Board convened in March, Commissioner Blomstedt opened the work session by highlighting his goal of making meeting agendas a little more cohesive and logical in flow. He noted that changes would be small, but significant in making work of committees fit better with the work of the Department.

In Legislative issues, Assistant Commissioner Brian Halstead reminded the Board that the short session is more than half over, and to expect things to move quickly as the session rushes to a close. Several education-related bills are ones on which the Board has remained neutral. Of note, Board President Rachel Wise suggested that the Board should improve its communication on the existing flexibility for schools and parents in regard to school choice in Nebraska, which is potentially unclear in the debate on LB 972, which was introduced by Senator Lautenbaugh.

The Board subcommittee on Standards advanced a revised and final version of the Fine & Performing Arts Standards to the board for adoption. Based on public input provided during the extended comment period, minor changes were made to clairfy specifics in the content areas. Overall, Board members spoke to the broad swath of public support for these standards. The Board voted unanimously to approve the standards during their business meeting. 

Assessment Director Valorie Foy provided an update on NeSA Writing tests, much of it addressing issues with the online testing environment. There were multiple incidences of problems in districts across the state -- from losing connectivity during testing to students not being able to log in at all. The software engine is being migrated from Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) to Insight, which NDE hopes will help with issues. Both Foy and Commissioner Blomstedt emphasized the need for better project management, better network resource planning, and better coordination of systems in the future. President Wise added that the Board acknowledged its culpability as well in approving the contract that resulted in these unforseen issues.

The Board policy committee also proposed a move to shift meetings to Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the future. This will be a continued topic of discussion.