CHEYENNE – The Wyoming State Board of Education (SBE) voted to approve Chapter 29 rules for leader and teacher evaluations during its meeting Friday. Leader and teacher evaluation submission forms will be distributed to school districts in March for completion by the end of April. The SBE will vote to approve district plans in June.

As the State Board of Vocational Education, the board received an updated version of the proposed Perkins V plan. Although the official public comment period closed on January 3, the board received several comments from school districts and industry partners about the proposed 100-hour externship experience, and whether exterships should be voluntary or mandated. The plan will go to Governor Mark Gordon’s office for a 30-day review. The board will take action to approve the plan in March, for submission to the U.S. Department of Education by April 15.

After reconvening as the Wyoming State Board of Education, board coordinator Dr. Tom Sachse presented a draft request for proposals (RFP) to conduct a study of the effectiveness of the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act and took suggestions from the board for revision. The revised RFP will be presented again for action at the SBE’s February meeting.

Sachse also presented recommendations for an action plan that addresses the Attorney General’s opinion and subsequent addendum using Computer Science as an example.The board also authorized Sachse to reconvene and repurpose the Stakeholder Engagement Task Force to develop common definitions for performance-level descriptors and other conventions to ensure uniformity in meaning, regardless of the content area, as the state adopts future standards for all subjects.

The SBE reviewed the selection process for the board coordinator position. The position will be posted on the state’s career website shortly. The board plans to have a contract with the successful candidate in place by
June 30.

The board also received guidance that requested changes to the Sweetwater School District #1 graduation requirements that did not conflict with rules as currently written. Districts requesting changes to graduation requirements must inform the SBE; the board then reviews the request using current graduation rules. Compliance conflicts, if any, are discussed with the district for eventual resolution. The board will work with the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to streamline the process for these types of requests.

The board also heard updates from the WDE on public and educator input received concerning Math Extended Standards and Science Performance-Level Descriptors (PLDs), and discussed per diem for board members.

The next board meeting is scheduled for February 27-28, 2020 in Cheyenne. For more information about the SBE and its mission, visit https://wyboardofeducation.org and follow the SBE on Twitter at @WYStateBoardEd.

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Media Contact:
Dr. Thomas Sachse
(307) 752-1900
tom.sachse@wyo.gov