Committee Report | February 2012
Report of the
REGENTS ACCES COMMITTEE
to
The Board of Regents
February 14, 2012
Your ACCES Committee held its scheduled meeting on February 13, 2012. All members were present, with the exception of Regent Chapey and Regent Norwood, who were excused. Additional members of the Board attending where: Chancellor Tisch, Regent Bendit, Regent Bottar, Regent Cashin, Regent Jackson, Regent Phillips, and Regent Tallon.
MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION
Supported Employment Information Directory (SEID) and UCS Vendor Performance Standards – The Committee was provided an update of the on-going progress being made in the development of a data driven system that evaluates and informs ACCES-VR staff and consumers on the performance of supported employment and UCS providers. (ACCES (D) 1)
Amendment of Section 100.8 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Local High School Equivalency Diplomas based upon Experimental Programs – The Committee discussed the proposed amendment that would extend for an additional year, through June 30, 2013, the existing regulations that allows boards of education to award a local high school equivalency diploma based upon experimental programs. The one year extension is recommended to ensure that all current NEDP students in the approximately 18 program sites across the state are provided with an opportunity to complete their programs and earn a local high school equivalency diploma. (ACCES (D) 4)
Amendment of Section 100.5(b)(7) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Award of Local Diplomas to Certain Veterans – The Committee was informed about the Operation Recognition program for veterans and discussed how the Commissioner’s Regulations section 100.5(b)(7) was amended to eliminate the local high school diploma beginning in 2008. Although the amendment provided exceptions to allow for certain groups of students in limited circumstances to receive a local high school diploma, no exception is currently provided for veterans receiving a high school diploma pursuant to Education Law section 305(29), (29-a) and (29-b). The proposed amendment is necessary to resolve this discrepancy and provide for issuance of a local high school diploma to such veterans, consistent with the statute, and to add a new subparagraph (xi) to codify in the Regulations the process for the issuance of such diplomas. (ACCES (D) 2)
Alternative Pathways to the High School Equivalency Diploma – The Committee discussed how the GED® test is the primary method to achieve a New York State High School Equivalency diploma but with the changes in the administration and content of the GED® test and the increased fee that has been announced, new alternative pathways need to be considered. The Committee agreed to pursue other alternative pathways by issuing a Request for Information (RFI). (ACCES (D) 3)
This concludes our report.
February 14, 2012