Commissioner's Weekly Update 3 16 20 - Coronavirus Update, Open Meeting Law Modification, DESE Event Cancellations

A message from the
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education

March 16, 2020

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News from Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

1. COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Update:

Given the evolving data regarding cases of COVID-19, and out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of children and school staff, the Governor has ordered a three-week suspension of school operations for educational purposes at all public and private elementary and secondary (K-12) schools in the Commonwealth (not including residential and day schools for special needs students), beginning Tuesday, March 17. Under the governor’s order, “schools shall not re-open for normal operations before Monday, April 6”. The suspension of educational programming will not necessarily affect the availability of school buildings for the provision of food or other essential non-educational services. As we approach April 6, we will provide additional guidance.

During this period, it is critical that students and their families, as well as school staff, stay home as much as possible. If you leave your home, it is essential to strictly follow social distancing guidelines by avoiding crowds, canceling social gatherings, and maintaining a safe separation of at least 6 feet from others. Restricting access to school buildings will have little impact on public health if these best practices are not followed in good faith.

Although schools must suspend in-person educational operations, staff should be planning for how best to equitably provide alternative access to student learning opportunities during this period and potentially beyond. Equally important, school personnel should develop plans for ensuring to the greatest extent possible that families have access to essential non-academic services for their children -- especially involving special education and food services for students who are most vulnerable.

The Department will work in partnership with schools and districts to develop strategies and resources to sustain learning and vital services throughout this closure period. Already, DESE has received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture providing greater flexibility regarding food service in certain districts with higher concentrations of low-income students and is actively pursuing additional waivers for the remaining schools and districts.

Given the guidance around the coronavirus known as COVID-19, DESE has canceled most of its upcoming events. Cancelations for a few specific events are listed farther down in this newsletter. Anyone who is unsure whether a particular event will take place should check with the organizer.

The Department encourages school and district leaders to continue checking coronavirus web pages on both the DESE and Department of Public Health websites.

2. Modification to Open Meeting Law:

On March 12, the Baker-Polito Administration announced an emergency order temporarily modifying the state’s open meeting law. The emergency order suspends the requirement for public access to the physical location where a public meeting is taking place so long as there are other means of access available. This includes the use of a phone conference line for members of the public, social media or other internet streaming services, on-line meeting services, or methods of access.

3. Early Learning Networking Canceled:

The regional early learning networking event that was scheduled for March 18 has been canceled due to the coronavirus. The Department of Early Education and Care and DESE do not currently have a plan in place to reschedule but are looking into finding ways to share the information that was going to be provided at the conference. Anyone with questions can email achievement@doe.mass.edu or call 781-338-3010.

4. AAAC Meeting Canceled:

The Department has canceled the March 18 meeting of the Accountability and Assistance Advisory Council due to the coronavirus.

5. English Learner Dropout Prevention Convening Postponed:

The English Learner Dropout Prevention Convening that was scheduled for March 25 has been rescheduled for Tuesday, June 9 due to the coronavirus.

6. Student Government Day Canceled:

The Department regrets to announce that the 73^rd annual Student Government Day has been canceled due to restrictions on gatherings related to the coronavirus. The event was scheduled for Friday, April 3. More information was sent directly to faculty advisors and is posted online.

7. DESE Resource Corner

Policy brief on special education data: The Department recently released a policy brief on Massachusetts special education data (download). The brief makes use of new data in the recently released tool RADAR Special Education. The policy brief assesses the state of special education services and practices in Massachusetts and examines longer term trends.

Some key findings:

Students with and without disabilities in Massachusetts outperform the nation on the Nation Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) math and reading assessments. However, both Massachusetts and the nation experienced large achievement gaps between students with and without disabilities. These gaps continued to grow over time.
The percentage of students with disabilities in Massachusetts increased gradually between 2012 and 2019. Percentages varied significantly across the state’s districts.
Between 2012 and 2018, total district expenditures per pupil increased by 21.0 percent, while special education expenditures per student with disabilities increased by 25.7 percent.

8. For your info:

Boston Public Schools district review and new support for improvement model: Last week, DESE announced the release of its district review of Boston Public Schools (download) and the start of a new support for improvement model with the district.
Burn awareness video winners: State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey recently announced the winners of the 12^th annual statewide YouTube Burn Awareness Video Contest. First place went to a team from Nauset Regional High School in Eastham for their video “Little Red”, second place to a team from Masconomet Regional High School in Boxford for “Ghostly Fire”, and third place to a team from Melrose High School for “One Morning”. The winning videos can be seen on the Department of Fire Services’ YouTube channel.

WebEx access: Because of the coronavirus outbreak, Cisco is providing free access to WebEx to all education customers. The free WebEx Meetings plans give educators meetings with 100 participants, high definition video, and screen sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, All rights reserved.

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