BEFORE THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION

                                               OF THE STATE OF MONTANA

 

In the matter of the adoption of NEW RULES I through X, the amendment of ARM 10.53.101 and 10.54.2501, and the repeal of ARM 10.54.5010 through 10.54.5013, 10.54.5020 through 10.54.5023, 10.54.5030 through 10.54.5033, 10.54.5040 through 10.54.5043, 10.54.5050 through 10.54.5053, 10.54.5060 through 10.54.5063, and 10.54.5087 through 10.54.5098 pertaining to K-12 science content standards

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NOTICE OF ADOPTION, AMENDMENT, AND REPEAL

TO: All Concerned Persons

 

1. On August 5, 2016, the Board of Public Education published MAR Notice No. 10-53-277 pertaining to the public hearing on the proposed adoption, amendment, and repeal of the above-stated rules at page 1298 of the 2016 Montana Administrative Register, Issue Number 15.

 

2. The board has adopted the following new rules:

 

NEW RULE I             ARM 10.53.801        SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS

NEW RULE II            ARM 10.53.802        DEFINITIONS

NEW RULE III           ARM 10.53.803        SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS FOR

                                                                        KINDERGARTEN

NEW RULE IV          ARM 10.53.804        SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS FOR

                                                                        FIRST GRADE

NEW RULE V           ARM 10.53.805        SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS FOR

                                                                        SECOND GRADE

NEW RULE VI          ARM 10.53.806        SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS FOR

                                                                        THIRD GRADE

NEW RULE VII         ARM 10.53.807        SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS FOR

                                                                        FOURTH GRADE

NEW RULE VIII        ARM 10.53.808        SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS FOR

                                                                        FIFTH GRADE

NEW RULE IX          ARM 10.53.809        SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS FOR

                                                                        SIXTH THROUGH EIGHTH GRADES

NEW RULE X           ARM 10.53.910        SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS FOR

                                                                        NINTH THROUGH TWELFTH GRADES

 

            3. The board has amended ARM 10.53.101 and 10.54.2501 as proposed.

 

            4.  The board has repealed 10.54.5010 through 10.54.5013, 10.54.5020 through 10.54.5023, 10.54.5030 through 10.54.5033, 10.54.5040 through 10.54.5043, 10.54.5050 through 10.54.5053, 10.58.5060 through 10.54.5063, and 10.54.5087 through 10.54.5098 as proposed.

 

            5. The effective date of these rules is July 1, 2017.

 

 6. The following comments were received.

 

            COMMENT 1: Mr. Pat Audet, Associate Director, School Administrators of Montana (SAM), stated that SAM has reviewed and is in full support of the new standards. He stated that excellent minds in education were on the committee that wrote the standards. As a former science teacher he felt the standards would support successful learning.

 

            RESPONSE: The Board of Public Education thanks the commenter for his comments.

 

            COMMENT 2: Mr. Marco Ferro, Director of Public Policy and Professional Development for MEA-MFT, submitted written comments in support of the science standards. He stated MEA-MFT's appreciation for the board's and OPI's willingness to have educators involved as part of the revision process.

 

            RESPONSE: The Board of Public Education thanks the commenter for his comments.

 

            COMMENT 3: An educator from Bozeman, Montana stated her support for the new science standards. She stated the need for more students entering STEM fields and feels the new standards will help them get there.

 

            RESPONSE: The Board of Public Education thanks the commenter for her comments.

 

            COMMENT 4: Gerald F. Wheeler, PhD., President of Quality STEM Education, Inc. and William J. Tietz, DVM, PhD., Vice President of Quality STEM Education, Inc. submitted written comments in support of the proposed science standards. They feel improving STEM education is important for Montana's economic health and will help attract high-tech industries to Montana.

 

            RESPONSE: The Board of Public Education thanks the commenters for their comments.

 

            COMMENT 5: Judy Boyle, President-Elect of the Montana Science Teachers Association, has been teaching for 30 years and stated the new standards will allow science classes to feel like science and our students to feel like scientists.  She has been involved with teaching the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for over four years. The new standards were modeled after the NGSS. She stated that the financial impact on teaching to the new standards has been minimal. She stated that the new standards are supported by the Montana Science Teachers Association.

 

            RESPONSE: The Board of Public Education thanks the commenter for her comments.

 

            COMMENT 6: A high school science teacher commented that the new standards were geared toward having students actively do science and engineering rather than passively learning about it. The new standards have three parts: practices, cross-cutting concepts and disciplinary core ideas. The disciplinary core ideas are similar to the current standards. She felt that although implementing the practices and cross-cutting concepts was a challenging shift, there was a significant increase in student understanding, motivation, and engagement.

 

            RESPONSE: The Board of Public Education thanks the commenter for her comments.

 

            COMMENT 7: A commenter stated that a local science teacher who had been implementing the NGSS in her classroom has seen remarkable improvements in student achievement, depth of learning, and growth. She encouraged adoption of the new standards.

 

            RESPONSE: The Board of Public Education thanks the commenter for her comments.

 

            COMMENT 8: A commenter asked the board to not underestimate the ability of Montana's teachers and administrators to train for the new standards. She stated that STEM has become very important for science and math and that numerous state grants support the training of teachers in connection with the new standards.

 

            RESPONSE: The Board of Public Education thanks the commenter for her comments.

 

 

/s/ Peter Donovan                                        /s/ Sharon Carroll

Peter Donovan                                             Sharon Carroll, Chair

Rule Reviewer                                              Board of Public Education                  

 

Certified to the Secretary of State October 17, 2016.