October 2014 State Council Meeting Minutes

Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children
California State Council General Business Meeting

October 29, 2014

Silver Strand Elementary School
Coronado, CA 92118

Minutes

State Council Members

• Member Present: Kate Wren Gavlak, Commissioner; Kelli May, Department of Defense (DOD) Liaison Representative; Jacie Ragland, State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) Designee; Jerry Dannenberg, State Council Member, Kelly Frisch, DOD Liaison Representative; Roberto Alcantar, Senator Marty Block Designee
• Members Absent: John Burns, Task Force Chairperson; Patricia Rucker, State Board of Education; AlMuratsuchi, Assembly Member or Designee
• Invited Participants: Annie Arthur; Sylvia Crowder

Welcome and Introductions

• Jacie Ragland, SSPI Designee: Opened the meeting of the California State Council for the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (State Council) at 1:30 p.m. at Silver Strand Elementary School in Coronado, California. She introduced Captain Christopher Sund, Commanding Officer, Naval Base Coronado. Members and invited guests introduced themselves.

Opening Remarks

• Captain Christopher Sund, Commanding Officer, Naval Base Coronado: Welcomed the group and provided a brief introduction of the Silver Strand Elementary School site.

Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

• Kelly May, DOD Liaison Representative: Made a motion to approve minutes from the July 22, 2014, State Council meeting; the motion was seconded by JerryDannenberg, State Council Member. The State Council voted unanimously to approve the minutes from the July 22, 2014, meeting.

Commissioner’s Update

• Kate Wren Gavlak, Commissioner: Provided information regarding issues that have come to her as Commissioner. Most cases have been resolved fairly easily and concern enrollment, transferring of units, and testing. She asked for input from the group as to what types of issues they are seeing, as not all issues rise to her level.
• Issues brought up by the group included: Timelines of testing; other states, particularly Texas, not accepting credits (primarily math); difficulties going from block to traditional schedules; missing Gifted and Talented Education testing window; grade suppression policies; and special education courses leading to diplomas.
• Although some of the issues raised are based on board policies, she reminded the group that the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (Compact) has no jurisdiction. She thanked the group for the information and will seek discussions with the appropriate Commissioners during the upcoming Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3) meeting in mid-November.
• The MIC3 is working to begin conversations with national athletic organizations regarding a Memorandum of Understanding or agreement to follow the intent of the Compact. The hope is that this will encourage resolutions at the state level, such as with the California Interscholastic Federation around issues raised regarding sports participation.

Discussion Items

Training

• Jerry Dannenberg, State Council Member: Provided a presentation on the Compact at the California League of Schools Conference on October 25, 2014.

Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission Annual Meeting

• Kate Wren Gavlak, Commissioner: Will attend the MIC3 Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee November 13–15, 2014. She will discuss issues brought up by the group earlier in the meeting with the appropriate Commissioners at that time. She provided information regarding an issue between North Carolina and California, which a student left prior to taking exit exams and credit is not being granted.

California Department of Education

Dispute Resolution Update

• Peter Stubbs, Deputy General Counsel, California Department of Education (CDE): Was not able to attend the meeting; thus there was no update available.
• Jacie Ragland, SSPI Designee: Discussed a recommendation made by the State Council during the July 22, 2014, meeting that Peter Stubbs, CDE Legal Counsel, be appointed to the State Council. CDE’s position is that he not be appointed to the State Council due to a possible conflict of interest, but instead act in an advisory capacity.

Military Children Listserv

• Jacie Ragland, SSPI Designee: Is working on developing an e-mail listserv for topics relevant to military children.

Military Children’s Month

• Jacie Ragland, SSPI Designee: Is seeking approval to place a display recognizing April as Military Children’s Month in the CDE lobby area.

Formation of Teams/Committees

• Jacie Ragland, SSPI Designee: Suggested that committees be formed to address requests that the Council focus on communication, training, updating the Web site, and developing a dispute resolution process. She gave a brief description of each of the committees and passed around a Committee sign-up sheet asking for volunteers, both members and nonmembers, for each committee. It is preferred that a State Council member be a lead for each of the committees.

Public Comments

• There were no public comments.

State Council Member Comments

• Roberto Alcantar, Senator Marty Block Designee: Announced that Senate Bill850 has been enrolled and authorizes community colleges to offer four-year degrees as a pilot program. This will allow Government Issue bill funding to be used in a more cost-effective manner.
• Kelly May, DOD Liaison Representative: Stated that the need for the military identifier continues. Jacie Ragland, SSPI Designee, will be attending the Governor’s Interagency Council for Veterans meeting on November 14, 2014, where this topic will be discussed.
• Kelly Frisch, DOD Liaison Representative: Thanked district personnel for attending the meeting.
• Kate Wren Gavlak, Commissioner: Distributed a current Technical Assistance Summary.

Next Meeting Scheduled for January 27, 2015

Adjournment

• Kate Wren Gavlak, Commissioner: Adjourned the meeting at 2:21 p.m.