The State Board of Education wants Idaho to fund all-day kindergartens.
On Wednesday, the board unanimously supported the idea, the first step in a process that could extend to the 2022 legislative period.
The State Board plans to release state funds for full-time kindergarten programs. At the moment, the state is only funding half a day of kindergarten – with the districts and statutes making up the difference through a “piecemeal” funding approach, state board member Linda Clark said at the meeting on Wednesday.
Some districts use voter-approved additional property taxes to cover full-time kindergarten costs, other schools use Title I US dollars, and others charge student fees. Despite the patchwork of funding, the vast majority of districts and charters offer some form of all-day kindergartens. According to research by Idaho Education News in April, more than 95 percent of Idaho’s 21,140 kindergarten teachers had kindergarten teachers Access to all-day programs.
“The state is catching up based on parents’ expectations of what the counties have done,” said Debbie Critchfield, a member of the state board.
The state board is also catching up with the legislature. Earlier this year, two Republican lawmakers – Senator Carl Crabtree of Grangeville and Rep. Judy Boyle of Midvale – brought in a $ 42.1 million bill to move all-day kindergarten costs from property tax to the state coffers. The proposal did not get a full committee hearing, but Crabtree has vowed to pursue the issue again in 2022.
The State Board vote on Wednesday was merely a recommendation. The board of directors would like Governor Brad Little to support the funding concept for the all-day kindergarten. If he signs up, the board would work on a more specific proposal at its August meeting.
The State Board consists of seven governor’s officers and an elected official, State Inspector Sherri Ybarra.
The board also recommended six other pieces of legislation, including a student loan waiver plan for teachers working in rural schools or groups of students at risk. Lending would increase annually if teachers stayed in the job for five years. The proposal would cost taxpayers nearly $ 11.9 million over five years.
The Democratic Legislature has proposed several teacher loan bills in previous sessions. The Senate Education Committee rejected such a proposal in 2021.
The board’s other legislative recommendations include changing the way the state allocates K-12 dollars. The board recommended using a formula based on the enrollment of full-time students rather than the average daily attendance of the students. The state allowed schools to use a similar enrollment-based formula during the pandemic.
“This one seemed to work during COVID,” said Clark. “I think we’re ready for something.”
Board of Directors is canceling college entrance exam admission requirements
A college entrance exam is on the way – maybe.
The state board lifted the requirement on Wednesday. However, the four-year institutions of the state could still decide that applicants take a test and submit their results. The decision now rests with the four schools.
The state board had waived the college entrance exam during the pandemic. The board vote on Wednesday – which permanently removes statewide testing – comes as colleges and universities across the country drop their testing requirements.
Idaho high school students still need to take a college entrance exam to earn their diploma. However, the state board will be discussing a rule change in August that would drop this requirement for high school graduation.
Board approves COVID relief spending plan
The state board also approved a state spending plan for $ 440 million in federal COVID school aid called the American Rescue Plan ESSER Funds.
ARP ESSER’s spending plan illustrates an earlier draft released by the State Department of Education and sets three core priorities for schools in Idaho:
- Improving broadband access for students across the state.
- Addressing incomplete learning for students, with an emphasis on literacy from kindergarten through fourth grade, maths fourth through ninth grade, and credit completion and course recovery in high school.
- Address student social and emotional issues.
The state spending plan is a guide to local school districts who must make their own plans for using the federal funds.
“I’m not saying that this is the easy part, but the real work will actually be in the LEAs with, ‘Okay, what programs are we using these resources to help children who have experienced learning disruptions? ? ‘”Said State Council President Kurt Liebich.
The federal government is calling on the state and local counties to seek input from “various stakeholders” to underpin this plan, including students, families, tribes and demographics, English learners, homeless children and others. The SDE met with various national groups to discuss the plan and posted the draft online for public comment.
The state received only 15 public comments: two were from the same woman, one commentator called the American bailout plan “garbage stealing Americans” and another called on the state to ban mask mandates for students.
Idaho was originally due to submit a spending plan to federal agencies on June 7, but the state board delayed submitting it earlier this month, saying it needed more time to evaluate and work on the proposal. The federal government extended the Idaho deadline to June 18.
State Board Approves U of I Cybersecurity Degree
Also on Wednesday, the state board approved a master’s degree in cybersecurity from the University of Idaho as the state’s colleges and universities continue to develop niches in this growing academic field.
The state has approved a cybersecurity masters degree from Boise State University starting this fall. In autumn 2020, the U of I started a bachelor’s degree. The U of I master’s course in Moscow, which will also start in autumn, will be more research-oriented.
“Every day we hear about cybersecurity breaches on the news. Recently, problems have shifted from stealing customer data from global companies to shutting down large industrial infrastructures and demanding ransom, ”said Larry Stauffer, dean of the U of I College of Engineering, in a press release on Wednesday. “There are hundreds of low-profile attacks every day. We owe it to our businesses and communities to provide the highly skilled cybersecurity professionals needed in Idaho and our nation. “
At Little’s behest, the state’s eight public colleges and universities have been working on a joint cybersecurity course since 2020.
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/state-board-endorses-full-day-kindergarten/
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