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Meeting Date:
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3/17/2020 - 6:30 PM
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Category:
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Reports and Communications from the Board Clerk/Chief Officer, Office of Board Governance
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Type:
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Info
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Subject:
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1. Monthly Report, with Possible Action, on Legislative Activities Affecting MPS
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Strategic Plan Compatibility Statement:
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Goal 1 Academic Achievement Goal 2 Student, Family and Community Engagement Goal 3 Effective and Efficient Operations
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Attachments
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Governor Ever's Update K-12 School-closure FAQ
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File Attachment:
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Background:
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This legislative update contains information taken directly from the Department of Public Instruction on COVID-19 regarding waivers, special education, virtual learning, and testing. This information was made available at 12:06 p.m., Monday, March 16.
Waivers
The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) will waive the hour requirement for any school district that requests the DPI to do so due to this ongoing public health emergency. DPI wants to ensure that it is eliminating barriers to districts’ ability to provide as much of a continuity of education as they can. Districts will still need to request this waiver per state law, but the DPI will expedite this process to make it as easy as possible. DPI has asked the Governor to suspend a portion of the Administrative Code in order to process and simplify the form to be used to request a waiver and to grant the waiver immediately. DPI will provide districts with this expedited process in the upcoming days.
Testing
It is increasingly clear that it will not be possible to complete testing this year due to the pandemic. The DPI will aggressively pursue a request to the United States Department of Education (USDE) for a waiver from this requirement and will work with the Legislature and the Governor’s office to suspend the state’s test requirements this spring. In addition, DPI will continue discussions among all parties around the impact on report cards. DPI will keep districts updated on this progress as it moves forward.
Governor Evers’ FAQ (Updated and Attached)
The major change to this FAQ applies to special education. The FAQ now clarifies that, if a school provides services through virtual learning, the school should make all reasonable efforts to provide students with disabilities equal access to the same opportunities, and, to the greatest extent possible, to special education and related services. Once school resumes, local educational agencies must make every effort to implement individualized education plans and should consider, on an individualized basis, whether and to what extent compensatory services are required due to the closure.
School Meals
The DPI has submitted a Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) waiver to USDA. This request is to waive the congregate feeding requirement for SFSP and SSO meals during unanticipated school closures at school and non-school sites during a public health emergency, such as COVID-19. The waiver is for all SFSP and SSO sponsors in good standing in the state. In addition the DPI will be pursuing exemptions to any regulations that prevent districts from providing meals for students. DPI will keep districts posted on waivers or exemptions granted.
Virtual Learning
The DPI is continuing to update its website with new curated resources to help districts to offer virtual-learning opportunities.
There are a number of developments due to action by the FCC related to residential broadband. Chairman Ajit Pai has asked broadband and telephone-service providers and trade associations to open Wi-Fi hotspots to any individual who needs them. It appears all major providers have pledged to do so. The DPI is curating broadband and digital-access resources that schools can leverage during this public health crisis.
In addition to the updates above, MPS is working closely with the Council of the Great City Schools and with our state level partners to help guide and support all needed federal-level legislation that will help to support students, families, schools, and school districts at this time.
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Fiscal Impact Statement:
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NA
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Implementation and Assessment Plan
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Recommendation:
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Approvals:
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Recommended By:
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Signed By:
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Jacqueline M. Mann, Ph.D. - Board Clerk/Chief Officer
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