State of Indiana

This document presents four locally created pathway recommendations for the 2024-25 school year, designed to augment existing postsecondary-ready competencies. These pathways focus on collaboration with businesses and institutions, competency development, and continuous improvement. The pathways include: Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG), Foundations of Construction, Increasing Access to Sterile Processing Surgical Technician Careers, and Open Doors. Each pathway details its collaborative partners, competency-based curriculum, and continuous improvement strategies, aiming to prepare students for postsecondary education or employment and track key metrics such as graduation rates, post-secondary attainment, and employment.

This work session focused on Indiana's accountability system for schools. Discussions centered on the challenges of creating an effective and consistent instructional curriculum across the state, while also allowing for innovation and recognizing differences in schools and student demographics. Key themes included identifying valuable metrics beyond test scores, aligning systems to incentivize desired behaviors, and ensuring students develop transferable skills for post-secondary success. The session generated ideas for a differentiated accountability system, including using priority points, adapting the federal ESSA strategy, and offering local options for data points. Potential outcomes discussed included post-secondary readiness, competencies, entrepreneurship, and various measures of student success.

The meeting focused on the approval of funding levels for School Year 20-21 Career and Technical Education categories. Public comment was received from several individuals before a presentation by the executive director of the Governor's Workforce Cabinet, following which the funding levels were approved.

The meeting addressed various topics, including assessment updates, the Indiana Growth Model, adjudications on state tuition support withholding, and the approval of ECA testing dates. Discussions also covered the Education Roundtable Resolution on Assessments, the CASA exam scores, lead partner recommendations, petitions for relief, rulemaking on accountability, high school graduation waiver rates, a resolution regarding the Committee on Turnaround, a strategic plan, a resolution regarding ESEA waivers, revisions to Board Operating Procedures, and updates on pre-kindergarten initiatives and compensation models. Significant debate surrounded the assessment system, growth models, and the ESEA waiver, with differing opinions expressed regarding the Board's authority and the Department's compliance.

The meeting included public comments on various topics such as formative assessment vendor selection, the West Clark reorganization plan, and the Gary Community School Corporation. Key actions included votes on the West Clark Reorganization Plan, a resolution supporting an Indiana General Assembly letter, and the selection of formative grant vendors. Discussions covered reading comprehension accommodations, the growth table, teacher career ladders grants, an accountability panel, an education dispute resolution working group, and the Theodore Roosevelt College and Career Academy.