District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Proposed Amendments to 603 CMR 30, Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System and Standards For Competency Determination

At its September 10, 2008 meeting, the Board voted to promulgate emergency regulations to amend the MCAS performance appeals process to allow students in the class of 2010 and beyond who have not passed the high school Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) MCAS test to file a performance appeal in that subject area. The need for this change to the regulation was prompted by state regulation 603 CMR 30.03(3), which requires students beginning with the class of 2010 to meet or exceed the state standard in Science and Technology/Engineering in addition to English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics as a condition for high school graduation.

The changes to the appeals regulations will have no impact on the current appeals process for English Language Arts and Mathematics, other than to clarify that a student granted a performance appeal in ELA or Mathematics still needs to demonstrate proficiency or complete an Educational Proficiency Plan in order to meet the Competency Determination standard. The changes do establish the eligibility criteria that students must meet in order to file an appeal in STE. To be eligible to file an appeal in STE, a student must take at least one high school STE test, as well as meet the same 95 percent attendance requirement that applies to ELA and Mathematics and be enrolled in a science course during the year in which an appeal in STE is filed. For the 2008-09 school year only, superintendents may file appeals for students in STE who failed the test but who are not currently enrolled in a science course, since those students did not have notice of the additional course-taking requirement before scheduling their courses.

Emergency regulations are limited in duration to three months. In order to make the regulations permanent, the Administrative Procedures Act (M.G.L. c.30A), requires that we solicit public comment, and we have done so. The Department issued a Notice of Public Comment as required by law and sent notice to various professional education organizations, advocacy groups, key members of the Administration and the Legislature, and others.

We received only one comment on the regulations, from the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA). A copy of the October 30, 2008 letter from MAVA Executive Director David J. Ferreira is attached. MAVA requested that we revise the eligibility criterion that requires a student to be enrolled in a STE class in the year in which an appeal in STE is filed, so that it would read "they must be enrolled in a science course, a Chapter 74 related theory course, or a formal science remediation program during the year in which an appeal in STE is filed." MAVA's rationale is that students in Chapter 74 vocational technical programs could be enrolled in one of several different types of science-related courses other than a standard full-year science course in grade 11 or 12.

Deputy Commissioner Jeff Nellhaus has discussed this with David Ferreira of MAVA, and explained that the intent of the eligibility requirement is to ensure that students who have not yet passed the STE MCAS test are enrolled in a science course that will enable them to meet the state standards in biology, chemistry, introductory physics, or technology/engineering. Further, the commissioner has authority under the existing regulation to waive, for good cause, any one or more of the eligibility requirements, upon the written request of the superintendent. (603 CMR 30.05 (4) states: "Upon the written request of the superintendent, the Commissioner of Education may for good cause waive one or more of the eligibility requirements listed in 603 CMR 30.05 (3).") Superintendents may submit an eligibility waiver request that includes evidence such as a course syllabus to demonstrate how a "Chapter 74 related theory course," for example, incorporates applied science.

Mr. Ferreira was reassured that the waiver provision would provide appropriate flexibility to deal with these individual cases. Therefore, it is my recommendation that the Board vote to make these regulations permanent without any further changes.

Attached are the comments from MAVA, the proposed amendments to the regulations, and a motion for their approval. Deputy Commissioner Jeff Nellhaus and General Counsel Rhoda Schneider will be available at the meeting to answer any questions.

Comment from Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators