Confirm meeting recording.

Do we have a quorum? Welcome to the Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy Board Meeting.

Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy provides a differentiated, challenging, and equitable learning environment that supports the distinctive intellectual, social, and emotional needs of highly gifted children from diverse backgrounds and enables them to form meaningful relationships with their intellectual peers.

Zoom Webinar Etiquette/Rules:

Meetings will be broadcast to the public via the Zoom Webinar Platform. This medium is more secure as it requires attendees to register, limits interactivity, removes the ability to communicate without permission and does not permit anonymous participation, comment, or annotation.  Registration will require the submission of a first and last name and an email.

• Official approval of draft minutes

Are there any Amendments to the Agenda?

The public is welcome to speak; limited to three minutes per speaker.
Topics should not cover private, confidential or personal information.
The board will not respond or enter into a dialogue on topics discussed.

At this time you may indicate your desire to participate in Community Comments by raising your hand.

1. If you would like to raise a hand, click “Participants” in the lower or upper section of your Zoom chat.
2. In the “Participants” window select “Raise Hand” {Windows: Alt+Y} or {Mac: Option+Y} keyboard shortcuts to raise or lower your hand.
3. When it is your turn, a moderator will identify you by name and then grant you access to speak.

• Director's Report
• The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 & The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 - Require the North Carolina Prayer Certification and Single Set of Assurances (20 USC 7904 & 20 USC 7846) be noted Board minutes

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1sviNyupZ-VsztnKG3nP6Yr3IOvVB98yfpK0Fbb5Wwn8/edit?usp=sharing

PAID PARENTAL LEAVE

• A board of directors of a charter school may (but is not required to) provide paid parental leave. If the charter school provides parental leave, it is eligible to receive funds allocated for schools that provide this benefit. • G.S. 115C-218.90(a)
• The opt-in deadline for Paid Parental Leave is December 1, 2023.  A decision should be made by the November Board meeting.
• Although any employee of the IPS is eligible to take paid parental leave, the IPS will only be eligible to be reimbursed for a daily rate of a substitute. The charter school is responsible for paying the employee’s salary while they are out on paid parental leave.  This rate for 2023-24 is $115 + 7.65% social security.
• Yes. No. No, but.

• REVIEWING RECOMMENDED POLICY

Policy content evaluation: 

• Identify the problem/conduct/actionable goal or change that the policy targets or influences. 

• What are the core components and implementation requirements of the policy? 

• Does the policy articulate the mechanism for monitoring implementation? 

• Does the policy identify indicators for assessing program success/problem resolution? 

• How is the content of the policy similar to or different from that of other policies?

Improving policy implementation and future policy development: 

• What is the context of the policy’s development and passage? 

• Is there a basis of evidence in support of the policy's strategy? 

• Is there an unexpected impact of the policy?

• Upcoming Policy: 

Parents' Bill of Rights (December Policy Compliance Goal):

• New policy for compliance with North Carolina's Act to Enumerate the Rights of Parents to Direct the Upbringing, Education, Health Care and Mental Health of their Minor Children.  (SB 49)

• The recent budget passage extends the implementation of new legislation, commonly known as the Parents’ Bill of Rights, to Jan. 1, 2024 from Septemer 15, 2023.

• The State Board of Education discussed the attached policy for how it will hear appeals from family members who believe their local school district violated the law.

• If a parent believes their school violates any part of the law, they can file a formal complaint to their local school board. If the issue is not resolved to the family's satisfaction within 30 days, they can appeal only certain violations to the State Board of Education.

• The State Board Vice Chair Alan Duncan, noted "that there's no enforcement section,” of the law. The Board's attorney, Allison Schafer, confirmed that the State Board can identify a violation, but the law does not provide consequences for a violation beyond a hearing. She said her staff “did raise that with the General Assembly,” but that legislators did not put an enforcement provision in the law.