[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6584850,"mediaKeyId","5456424-a873a44638a31f4d9f7daf09ae77957e","parentId",5456424,"title","Board approves FY2024 operating budget, administrative‑code updates and honors Athens CFO; JAG program reaches national milestone","audioSeconds",3100,"startMs",176000,"endMs",3276000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5456424-a873a44638a31f4d9f7daf09ae77957e&start=176&end=3276","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5456424-a873a44638a31f4d9f7daf09ae77957e/thumbnail_176000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6584850/Alabama/Board-approves-FY2024-operating-budget-administrativecode-updates-and-honors-Athens-CFO-JAG-program-reaches-national-milestone","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6584850-29326858559a8a20faabaf212d5eae89/orig.mp4?Expires=1773668143&Signature=DfEGB66qx9G7t2LqSABAZfSfg-KYfrTTNSJX6lffgF-lOtLgyUMlZ05KVz38VuhGmLOU1TIdnVYmJmaAR~oxhRNP-sK8AtHf9CkLa-UnSEEkDqj9mjBWEMLMNymSlDrhMceTpp2~IuVfF-~aQJjnuHSxj9LwHhZj5UA6too-PVgjB38Hmp5bZlrmkoGGSbVKng7b3rLw1Q-PT8LPKtTh~p4xEd14-rWyQjwItEFxfz1ndz7VeB~gx4EHQDyHFP5K2x8lty0mT3anF1NAUADf6rh4fOrKoNuAAQ-xD1NdQwWVStKBUoLwuK~iHCbiJ1Q7Ur2g6XbrplBOCITS4O6jCg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Alabama State Department of Education","date","2025-07-23T13:08:56.687Z","article","The Alabama State Board of Education on Sept. 14 approved several administrative and recognition items, including the Department’s fiscal year 2024 operating budget, administrative‑code updates for alternative teacher preparation organizations and conversion charter operators, two month‑long proclamations, and an award recognizing a longtime school system chief financial officer.

Budget and code actions
- The board voted to adopt the Alabama State Department of Education’s FY2024 operating budget. The chair announced a unanimous vote. (The transcript does not list the budget total.)

- The board announced intent and voted to repeal and replace Alabama Administrative Code rule 290‑3‑3‑0.6 pertaining to alternative teacher preparation organizations and to adopt amended Chapter 290‑3‑6 pertaining to charter schools. Staff said the charter‑school change adds a definition clarifying who qualifies as a charter operator for conversion charter schools overseen by local school boards. Both measures were adopted after motions and were recorded as carrying unanimously.

Proclamations and recognitions
- The board adopted a resolution proclaiming September 2023 as Statewide Attendance Awareness Month. State officials highlighted that, by one recent analysis, Alabama’s chronic‑absenteeism slide since COVID has been smaller than most states.

- The board adopted a resolution proclaiming October 2023 as Statewide Parent Engagement Month.

- The board read and adopted a resolution commending Serena Owsley, chief school financial officer for the Athens City School System, as the recipient of the 2023 Robert L. Morton Award. The resolution—read at the meeting—recognized her 26 years in public education and cited professional service to peers and community. \"I greatly appreciate this,\" Serena Owsley said when invited to speak.

Jobs for Alabama Graduates (JAG) milestone
- Department staff said Alabama’s Jobs for Alabama Graduates (JAG) program met all national performance goals under revised metrics and achieved a new \"6 of 6\" standard after a national metric for connectivity (post‑graduation follow‑up) was added. Craig Collins, speaking at the meeting, said the state has expanded from 28 programs two years ago to 47 programs this year and that the additional metric measures specialist contact with graduates during the year after they finish high school.

Other housekeeping
- The board approved the meeting agenda and minutes from the Aug. 10, 2023 meeting by unanimous voice votes.

Next meeting
- The board announced the next Elementary and Secondary Education meeting will be held Oct. 12, 2023, at 10 a.m.; location given in the announcement as the Gordon Persons Building Auditorium.

Votes at a glance
- Agenda approval: unanimous
- Minutes (Aug. 10, 2023): unanimous
- Resolution: Robert L. Morton Award for Serena Owsley: unanimous
- Resolution: Statewide Attendance Awareness Month (September 2023): unanimous
- Resolution: Statewide Parent Engagement Month (October 2023): unanimous
- FY2024 operating budget: unanimous
- Administrative Code repeal/adoption for alternative teacher preparation organizations: unanimous
- Amended Chapter 290‑3‑6 (charter schools): unanimous","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Alabama Board of Education Board Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The Alabama State Board of Education on Sept. 14 approved the Department’s FY2024 operating budget, adopted administrative‑code updates for teacher preparation and charter conversion operators, proclaimed two engagement months, and recognized a long‑serving school CFO.","taxTitle","Alabama State Department of Education, State Agencies, Executive, Alabama","taxId",80275,"location","Alabama","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6584855,"State board adopts 435 cut score for new third‑grade reading test after contentious debate",1844,453000,2297000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5456424-a873a44638a31f4d9f7daf09ae77957e&start=453&end=2297","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5456424-a873a44638a31f4d9f7daf09ae77957e/thumbnail_453000.jpg","/articles/6584855/Alabama/State-board-adopts-435-cut-score-for-new-thirdgrade-reading-test-after-contentious-debate","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6584855-2a48769c758e286118ff6bde2686f69f/orig.mp4?Expires=1773668143&Signature=GUyCit6zrvaGL0A~BNG0uNcHo-3zcnjBoz6gtE3DhhcLR-1vHQ7EqtcyeR28qsgVjnd3EjbjWPnozdzTukwzbr7m-H2981JmQ-FjSDsW9i2IqWvNhCOZnpTL7lDTkaQrn~TQPomVm~8YPyNXkIA~N4OtlpTDzR1WvgIWpDntcPt3giK0sBGGSzNizZ~5EH-PLkcu9jA0JRZppeF2CVmnxNBPIE~igv1HQzRKDPBQpZJwHZW6O2i~5cidEMU-5xyfJbaQneJ~7w9sRrLCfjku7NPx0QR-mnpjoIaze4qZilcZ6P94xqCCvFL0fh0cJFbXc54BvIsEvRq0l1EIjgOb6w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Alabama State Board of Education on Sept. 14 voted to adopt a cut score of 435 for the lowest performance level on the reading subtest of the new Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program to be used in spring 2024.

State Superintendent Dr. Mackey told the board the recommendation came from the test vendor, Data Recognition Corporation, and was reviewed by the state’s technical advisory committee. \"They are recommending that we adopt a cut score of 435,\" he said, emphasizing the change stems from a new test aligned to updated English language arts standards.

Board members split sharply over the recommendation. Opponents said the chosen threshold is too low and risks promoting students who are not proficient readers. \"I am opposed to voting for the cut score that has been determined of minus 2 SEMs... I truly believe that this cut score does not represent grade level proficiency for our students,\" said Ms. Ziegler, a member of the Alabama State Board of Education. She added that parents and communities deserve an honest standard for what constitutes reading proficiency.

Supporters said the recommendation followed standard statistical practice and outside expertise. \"If indeed, we bring people in who are to be experts... I am going to vote yes, based upon the TAC committee, people that we depend upon to give us recommendations, based upon their expertise,\" said Dr. Chestnut.

Why the change: the board and staff said the state is implementing a new test aligned to updated standards after recent standards revisions and earlier disruptions from the pandemic. Dr. Mackey said the state is setting a new baseline because the old cut scores were tied to an older exam that no longer aligns with current standards. He described the technical process, saying the vendor used two verification processes—statistical and with teachers—and the recommendation was verified by the technical advisory committee.

Projected impact and safeguards: Dr. Mackey said estimating retained students is complex but gave a projected baseline: \"Probably around 10 to 11, 12,000 students in the first round,\" he said, and immediately added that many of those students would have other options such as summer retesting, good-cause exemptions through individualized education programs or portfolio assessments. He told the board staff will return next year with impact data after summer programs and retesting to allow reconsideration of the cut score.

Board directions and timeline: Dr. Mackey said the technical advisory committee will reconvene after the spring administration to review results and that staff will present impact and summer-program data to the board at next year’s work session. He asked the board to revisit the cut score after one year of implementation and additional data collection.

Outcome: The motion to adopt the resolution setting the cut score at 435 passed. The transcript record does not include a recorded roll-call tally for the vote.

Details from the discussion:
- The cut score recommendation reflected a decision to use a threshold near minus-two standard errors of measurement (SEM) to increase the probability of identifying students below grade level, according to Dr. Mackey’s explanation of the statistical approach.
- Several board members urged caution about moving students forward who are not reading at grade level and about ensuring supports continue beyond third grade; Dr. Mackey and others said they plan to seek legislative changes to allow Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) staff to work with older students who remain in the lowest band.

The board adopted the cut score for use in spring 2024 and directed staff to provide follow-up data and a reassessment of the threshold after one year of implementation.","The Alabama State Board of Education on Sept. 14 voted to adopt a cut score of 435 for the lowest performance level on the reading subtest of the new Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program to be used in spring 2024.","actionData","errors"]

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Board approves FY2024 operating budget, administrative‑code updates and honors Athens CFO; JAG program reaches national milestone

State board adopts 435 cut score for new third‑grade reading test after contentious debate