The U.S. Department of Education had previously provided flexibilities to support the administration of tests for the 2020-21 school year. This included shortened versions of statewide assessments. SBE supported this flexibility with the approval of the adjusted blueprints for the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment in ELA and math, which reduced the computer adaptive test portions by about 50 percent compared to the prior year.

During its September meeting, the SBE approved the California Department of Education’s recommendation to approve the same adjusted blueprints for the SBAC to be used for the 2021-22 test administration. No other assessments have been modified.

Other highlights from the September meeting are listed below.

Per AB 130, no state indicator data will be published for the 2021 Dashboard. CDE will share (through the Dashboard, DataQuest, and other reporting sites), valid and reliable data collected in the 2020-21 school year. For the 2022 Dashboard, the state indicators will display status only based on data from 2021-22 school year. Schools and LEAs will be identified for support using 2021-22 data. The 2023 Dashboard will resume as normal using status, change, and Performance Colors for State Indicators based on data from 2022-23 and 2021-22 school years.

SB 98 (2020) and AB 130 (2021) require additional revisions to the LCAP and the Annual Update Template and instructions.

AB 130 requires a one-time supplement template to the Annual Update to the 2021-22 LCAP on or before Nov. 30, 2021. LEAs must present the Supplement/Annual Update to the 2021-22 LCAP and Budget Overview for Parents on or before Feb. 28, 2022 at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board or body of the LEA.

SB 98 required revisions to the instructions for the LCAP template focusing on the goals for the identification of differentiated assistance. Further revisions from AB 130 include: a requirement to calculate carryover supplemental and concentration dollars, and a requirement to use concentration grant add-on for increased staffing. Lastly, to increase community participation, CDE has proposed to replace the term “stakeholder” throughout the LCAP template and instructions. The proposed revisions to the LCAP template and instructions will be in effect beginning with the 2022-23 LCAP year. No action was taken at the board meeting, but the state is aiming to finalize the templates at the November SBE meeting.

In February 2020, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services announced that it would be revising the calculation methodologies for State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report indicators, effective beginning with the 2020–21 program year. While several states provided input to OSERS encouraging a shift in the calculation methodologies for several indicators to better align with state accountability systems, OSERS ultimately published a final indicator measurement table in October 2020 that results in greater differences between how California measures assessment and graduation rate indicators on the Dashboard, and how California will now be required to report on these two indicators on the APR for purposes of IDEA. The CDE has begun to develop recommended targets for the new six-year cycle of the revised SPP. No action was taken at the board meeting.

Board President Linda Darling-Hammond did indicate concern for the target for indicator 5a, which measures the percent of students with IEPs served inside the regular class 80 percent or more of the day. She stated that teachers and students will need to be fully supported in the general education classroom to prevent unintentional consequences, such as suspensions and expulsions.

To accomplish this, CDE and the CTC should work together to provide training to teachers.

Federal Funding Flexibility Waiver: The SBE approved a waiver of the 15 percent cap to carry over 2020 Title I funds. This means that an LEA who has received a waiver for FY 2018 or FY 2019 can still apply to carry over more than 15 percent of the FY 2020 Title I funds. In addition, the federal funding flexibility waiver will also extend the deadline for most of the federal funds used, such as, CSI and Title IV, for another year (Sept. 30, 2022).