Montana Board of Public Education begins considering accreditation changes

HELENA — Montana’s Board of Public Training opened consideration Monday on proposed adjustments to the state’s faculty accreditation requirements – however there’s nonetheless a protracted method to go earlier than any closing resolution is made.

At a particular board assembly, representatives from the Montana Workplace of Public Instruction gave their rationale for long-discussed updates to the baseline requirements for accredited faculties within the state. A lot of the proposed adjustments have been hammered out over the previous few months by a negotiating committee of training leaders.

Julie Murgel, OPI’s chief operations officer, mentioned one of many central objectives is to alter the main target of accreditation to a mannequin based mostly on pupil outcomes.

“That is the place actually it involves coronary heart, the place we’re speaking about beginning to shift how we’re accrediting faculties and the way we’re holding them accountable to know what they’re doing – that it’s not only a guidelines, however it’s relatively saying based mostly on the wants of your district, how are you going to guarantee all of this stuff are occurring, driving towards what these pupil outcomes are,” she mentioned.

The proposed adjustments name on districts to implement “built-in motion plans,” as a means of aligning the varied strategic and different plans they’ve been required to finish.

A number of of the proposals take away necessities that districts make use of a selected variety of specialised employees based mostly on their variety of college students. All through the method, Montana Superintendent of Elsie Arntzen and OPI management have referred to as for giving native faculty districts extra flexibility in how they meet these necessities.

“It’s about assembly the wants of scholars via this system companies, relatively than simply saying you’ve staffed it at this stage,” mentioned Murgel.

That features the one proposed change that didn’t get consensus approval from the negotiating committee – eliminating a rule that requires one faculty counselor for each 400 elementary college students and highschool college students. Arntzen forwarded the language negotiators may agree on, which mentioned faculties should have counseling applications and that district superintendents should make suggestions on staffing them “based mostly on the capability of particular person counselors.” Nonetheless, the committee had deadlocked over whether or not to incorporate any particular ratio.

Throughout Monday’s assembly, a number of commenters expressed opposition to eradicating the ratio – with some even asking for it to be modified to 1 counselor per 300 college students. They mentioned counselors on this state are already strained having to function many college students as they do.

“On the finish of the day, it’s all about relationships, and relationships take time and dedication and focus to construct,” mentioned Renee’ Schoening, government director of the Montana Faculty Counselor Affiliation. “We merely can’t do our jobs successfully if we’re liable for too many college students.”

That is solely the start of the method, and the board took no quick motion Monday. They may seemingly put the proposals out for formal public remark this fall, with a public listening to to be scheduled throughout that point.

“It’s actually necessary that the general public submit their public remark at the moment, in order that it is part of the official rulemaking document,” mentioned McCall Flynn, the board’s government director. “That’s the data that the board will reply to on the subject of rulemaking.”

The board may give closing approval of the brand new requirements in early 2023. They wouldn’t go into impact till July.