CHEYENNE – The Wyoming State Board of Education (SBE) approved State Accountability Exception Requests based on Chapter 3 Emergency Rules for all 48 school districts at its January meeting. As a result, School Performance Ratings will not be calculated for the 2020-21 school year.

The board voted to promulgate the Chapter 6 Rules on School Accreditation and agreed on a potential 10% reduction in the SBE’s School Foundation budget. The board also adopted the of Chapter 10 Rules for Computer Science Performance Standards and Math Extended Standards and moved forward with educator and public comment on Science and Math Performance Standards after a discussion about the structure of the performance standard and blueprints for tested standards. Information on standards and the updates can be found here.

Information regarding teacher/student instructional time addressed in statute and Chapter 22 School Day and Chapter 21 Alternative Calendars was provided to the board. The board also approved the alternative calendar applications for Sublette County School District #1 and Fremont County School District #14 based on emergency Chapter 21 Rules.

Jody Rakness, President of the Wyoming Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and Wanda Maloney, the Wyoming Department of Education’s Director of Accountability presented the results of a statewide survey on standards-based grading. Respondents, including 42 of 48 Wyoming school districts, indicate various stages of implementation of standards-based grading in schools. More elementary grade levels reported having standards-based grading fully implemented than secondary. Presentation materials can be found here.

The board also received a presentation on the Wyoming 2030 project from Michelle Sullivan and Becca Steinhoff. The project is engaging Wyoming residents in a conversation around what children and families need today for communities to flourish tomorrow. Town halls meetings have touched on topics  around early childhood, learning, and conversations with Wyoming youth. For more information, visit the Wyoming 2030 website.

The next board meeting will be held virtually starting at 9 a.m. MST on February 25, 2021. For more information about the SBE, visit the SBE website and follow the SBE on Facebook and Twitter.

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Media Contact:
Diana Clapp
(307) 851-3478
diana.clapp@wyo.gov