Call to Order and Roll Call
The 7th meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Education was held on Monday, December 8, 2014, at 1:00 PM, at Kentucky State University. Representative Derrick Graham, Co-Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Representative Derrick Graham, Co-Chair; Senators Joe Bowen, Jared Carpenter, David P. Givens, Jimmy Higdon, Alice Forgy Kerr, and Katie Stine; Representatives John Carney, Hubert Collins, Leslie Combs, Jeffery Donohue, C.B. Embry Jr., Kelly Flood, Richard Heath, Joni L. Jenkins, James Kay, Mary Lou Marzian, Donna Mayfield, Reginald Meeks, Rick G. Nelson, Ruth Ann Palumbo, Jody Richards, Tom Riner, Bart Rowland, Rita Smart, Wilson Stone, Addia Wuchner, and Jill York.
Guests: Jonathan Lowe, Jefferson County Public Schools; Michael Flory, REL Appalachia; Sue Cain, Council on Postsecondary Education; David Thomas, Legislative Research Commission (LRC), Senate Minority Staff; Chuck Truesdell, LRC; Joe Burks LRC; Felicia C. Smith, National Center on Education and Economy; Mike Quillen, Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS); Brenna Kelly, Kentucky Department of Education; Kim Merritt, Kentucky Association of Blacks in Higher Education (KABHE); Felisa Wilson, KABHE; Tyesha Jackson, KABHE; Phil Smith, KABHE; Gary Cox, Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities; Deveia Thomas, KABHE; Pat Higgins, Kentucky State University and KABHE; Clyde Caudill, Kentucky Association of School Administrators; Ashley Parrott, Education and Workforce Development Cabinet; Augusta Julia, Bluegrass Community and Technical College; Donna Reed, National College; Michaela Giles, Office of State Budget Director; Julian Tackett, Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA); Hannah Hodges, KCTCS.
LRC Staff: Jo Carole Ellis, Ben Boggs, and Daniel Clark.
Approval of the November 10, 2014, Minutes
Upon motion from Representative Leslie Combs, seconded by Representative Joni Jenkins, the minutes were approved by voice vote.
Welcome
Raymond Burse, President, Kentucky State University (KSU) and Karen W. Bearden, Chair, Board of Regents, KSU, welcomed and thanked the committee for allowing KSU to host the Interim Joint Committee on Education.
Dual Credit Work Group
Terry Holliday, Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), said there are four key reasons why the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), KDE, and the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) came together to address how dual credit was being offered across the Commonwealth. The first reason was to increase access to dual credit courses across the state. The second reason was to promote quality and rigor in the courses offered regardless of the postsecondary institution providing the course. The third reason was to ensure transferability of dual credit among postsecondary institutions. The fourth and final reason was to make sure dual credit remains affordable to all eligible Kentucky students and is cost effective for educational partners.
Dr. Holliday spoke about accessibility and said participating postsecondary institutions will provide to all eligible secondary students at least three courses in general education and three career and technical (CTE) courses. Also, K-12 and postsecondary institutions will increase outreach to all secondary students and their families in order to promote college and career readiness along with degree and career pathway information.
Bob King, President, CPE, spoke about quality and rigor and said participating postsecondary institutions will provide an orientation program for all new secondary and postsecondary faculty teaching dual credit coursework. Also, those same postsecondary institutions will create capacity for more secondary teachers to be credentialed to teach dual credit courses and will be encouraged to pursue accreditation of concurrent enrollment programs through the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships.
Mr. King spoke about transferability and said all general education courses offered for dual credit shall transfer to all participating postsecondary institutions in Kentucky according to the Kentucky CPE General Education Transfer Policy and Implementation Guidelines. All KCTCS technical courses offered for dual credit shall meet the requirements for a certificate, diploma, or associate degree within the related program of study. The use of dual credit rather than articulated credit is strongly encouraged by CPE and KDE in order for students to create a strong connection to colleges and universities and increase their ability to complete credentials and degree programs.
Carl Rollins, Executive Director, KHEAA, spoke about affordability and said the costs of delivering dual credit courses should be shared by a combination of state funding, postsecondary institutions, secondary districts, state-funded scholarships, and students and families so that no one entity is solely responsible for financing. Currently, dual credit tuition and implementation costs are primarily shouldered by postsecondary institutions. Some schools and school districts support costs for travel, books, and fees. Tuition and fees for dual credit courses will be provided in writing to each student and his/her parents.
Dr. Rollins said funding options for dual credit could include the expansion of the Mary Jo Young Scholarship Program which provides a limited number of scholarships to at-risk students enrolled in dual credit programs. Another option is a line-item appropriation that would provide students across the Commonwealth the opportunity to participate in dual credit offerings on high school campuses, postsecondary campuses, and virtually. The appropriation could be a pro-rata allocation based on the number of eligible students participating in the academic year. The last option would allow part of the SEEK per-pupil guarantee to be expended to support eligible students taking an approved dual credit course for the purpose of covering tuition and fees.
In response to Representative Wilson Stone’s question regarding the costs of dual credit courses, Dr. Rollins said it is appropriate for a student to know how much he/she is saving regarding dual credit courses.
In response to Senator David Givens’s questions regarding the cost range of dual credit and online delivery, Dr. Holliday said he does not have the different cost range data with him, but would provide the data to the committee at a future date. Also, some institutions like Morehead State University offer online delivery for students across the Commonwealth.
In response to Senator David Givens’s question regarding KEES money being used for dual credit, Dr. Rollins said KEES would be unable to recover money used for dual credit because actual usage is only 40 percent of KEES money earned by high school students, and KEES appropriations are based on the actual projected use, not the amounts earned while in high school. Dr. Rollins said that because of the importance of dual credit, it should have its own line-item funding and source.
In response to Senator David Givens’s question regarding articulated credit, Mr. King said the model for articulated credit was developed for career and technical education, and CPE discourages the use of articulated credits.
In response to Representative Reginald Meeks’s question regarding high school counselors encouragement of dual credit use for students, Dr. Holliday said the ideal time for counselors and students to discuss dual credit is tenth grade.
Representative Reginald Meeks said the Dual Credit Work Group should put more emphasis on transferability issues.
In response to Chairman Derrick Graham’s question regarding Rank 1 requirements for teachers, Mr. King said Rank 1 requirements are not always content specific and a teacher’s coursework does not always meet dual credit content accreditation requirements.
In response to Representative John Carney’s question regarding private postsecondary institutions dual enrollment programs, Dr. Rollins and Mr. King said private postsecondary institutions are an important provider of dual credit, especially for high schools close to their campuses.
In response to Chairman Derrick Graham’s question regarding line-item funding for dual credit, Dr. Holliday said the funding would need to start at $4 million.
Fast Pitch Softball Safety Proposal
Representative Jeff Greer said fast pitch softball safety has become a major concern in the Commonwealth, especially for the pitchers, third basemen, and first basemen. He plans to introduce legislation in the 2015 General Assembly that requires pitchers, third basemen, and first basemen to wear a protective facemask while playing fast pitch softball.
Mike Harreld, Head Softball Coach, Meade County High School, said he has a growing concern for the safety of pitchers, third basemen, and first basemen that play fast pitch softball. He believes there should be legislation that requires these position players to wear a protective facemask while competing on the playing field.
In response to Senator Jimmy Higdon’s question regarding current rules and regulations for the protective facemask, Julian Tackett, Commissioner, KHSAA, said there are no current regulations regarding players wearing protective facemasks. KHSAA regulations go through a lengthy rulemaking process, and legislation would help speed the process up.
In response to Representative Hubert Collins’s question regarding statistics of pitchers being hit in the face by a softball, Mr. Tackett said he would provide those statistics to the committee at a later date.
Representative Hubert Collins said the KHSAA board should make the decisions and rules regarding players wearing a protective facemask while playing fast pitch softball. There should not be legislation on this issue because statutory requirements are more difficult to reverse.
In response to Senator Jared Carpenter’s question regarding current fast pitch softball players not wearing a protective facemask, Mr. Harreld said that for most players that have never worn a protective facemask, it takes time to become accustomed to it. Most players have played their entire careers without using a protective facemask.
In response to Representative Jody Richard’s question regarding what this particular legislation would do, Representative Greer said it would require all pitchers, third basemen, and first basemen to wear a protective facemask while competing in fast pitch softball games.
Unbridled Learning Assessments and Accountability Results
Dr. Holliday said the percent of students in Kentucky that are college and career ready increased from 38 percent in 2011 to 62.3 percent in 2014. Also, Kentucky’s high school graduation rate increased from 86.1 percent in 2013 to 87.4 percent in 2014. Proficiency rates in grades three through eight increased from 44 percent in 2012 to 50.5 percent in 2014. In 2013, kindergarten readiness was at 49 percent and only increased to 50 percent in 2014. Also, third grade reading and math proficiency in Kentucky was at 46.1 percent in 2012 and increased to 50 percent in 2014.
Ken Draut, Associate Commissioner, Office of Assessment and Accountability, KDE, said the combined reading and math achievement gap improved from 33 percent in 2012 to 38.1 percent in 2014. Dr. Draught also reported on disaggregated reading and mathematics data among gap groups by ethnicity, gender, and poverty. That specific data is located in the meeting folder at the LRC Library.
In response to Chairman Derrick Graham’s question regarding gap groups and end-of-course exam and ACT data, Dr. Holliday said KDE could provide the end-of-course exam and ACT data broken down by gap groups.
Representative Reginald Meeks spoke about the different gap groups and said KDE should provide more data regarding each gap group.
In response to Representative Wilson Stone’s question regarding the percent of students in Kentucky who have reached college and career readiness, Dr. Holliday said in some high schools across the Commonwealth, only 30 percent of students are college and career ready while at other high schools, 100 percent are college and career ready.
Senator David Givens said he would like for KDE to come before the Interim Joint Committee on Education in the spring and present more information regarding the program review process and recent significant improvements in the program review results.
In response to Representative Addia Wuchner’s question regarding the decline in math scores, Dr. Holliday said many factors are at play including teacher preparation, content knowledge, and increased student standards.
Representative John Carney said it is important for Kentucky to improve on kindergarten through grade three education.
Chairman Derrick Graham said best practices for teachers should be more rigorous to help close the achievement gaps with minorities.
In response to Representative Rita Smart’s question regarding how the kindergarten readiness assessment tracks if a child was in an organized child care facility, Dr. Holliday said the child’s parent completes a questionnaire that asks about the child’s pre-school provider.
Chairman Derrick Graham said it is important for the General Assembly to prioritize money for early childhood education.
Representative James Kay thanked KSU for hosting the Interim Joint Committee on Education and commended President Raymond Burse for the great things he is doing for the university.
With no further business before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:06 p.m.