Texas Comprehensive Center Annual Forum

Marriott River Center San Antonio, TX

July 31, 2006

Anita Villarreal, DirectorTitle I School ImprovementTexas Education Agency

Division of NCLB Program Coordination

AYP reporting• 512-463-9704

Application for Supplementary

Title I SIP Funding

• Electronic application available through eGrants• Will need a UserName and Password• Application available September 1 for 2006-2007• Application deadline October 17, 2006, 5:00 P.M.

Application for Supplementary

Title I SIP Funding (continued)

• District application on behalf of the SIP campus, if a district has multiple campuses in need of improvement, a separate application per campus is required.

• Must be a Title I, Part A served campus• Campus based application/allocation

Application for Supplementary

Title I SIP Funding (continued

• Stage 1 campuses will receive an allocation of $25,000 and TEA will prepay the cost of the required Campus Administrators Mentoring Program.

Application for Supplementary

Title I SIP Funding (continued

• Stage 1 campus principals are required to participate in the Campus AdministratorMentoring Program provided by SIRC.

Application for Supplementary

Title I SIP Funding

Specific items are required to be addressedwithin the SIP application for funding:• Describe the Comprehensive Needs

Assessment that was conducted; • Describe Identified Needs;

Application for Supplementary

Title I SIP Funding (continued)

• Describe System of Reform; and• Submit the Parent Notification Letter.

Application for Supplementary Title I SIP Funding (continued)

SIP campus personnel are required to:• Attend SIRC’s SIP Orientation Session;

and• Attend a Best Practice Conference.

May 15, 2006Letter from U.S. Secretary of Education,

Margaret Spellings

Title I School Improvement • School Choice• Supplementary Educational Services

(SES)

• Addressed:– Implementation– Expectation– Enforcement– State Action and Assistance

ImplementationImplementation• Public School Choice and SES are critical to

students’ academic success, and yet for the past several years, participation has been unacceptably low in many LEAs around the country.

• In 2003-04, only 17% eligible students participated in SES, and only 1% participated in public school choice.

ImplementationImplementation• The majority of LEAs notified parents about the

public school choice option after the school year began;

• In some cases States did not provide LEAs with timely AYP data; and

• Several States did not ensure that LEAs included all required information in their notices to parents.

ImplementationImplementation

The Department’s Office of Inspector Generalconducted a series of six audits that revealedsignificant findings on State and LEAimplementation of the School Choice and SESprovisions.

ImplementationImplementation

The audits found that each of the six States failed to monitor adequately their LEAs for compliance. As a result, • Nearly all of the parent notification letters

reviewed failed to include the required elements of the law;

ImplementationImplementation

• Multiple LEAs did not offer eligible parents the options to transfer their children or participate in SES at all;

• Several LEAs allowed students to transfer to ineligible choice schools;

ImplementationImplementation• Issued late notification letters; • Failed to budget sufficient funding for the

services; and/or • Did not notify parents of all options

available to them.

ExpectationsExpectations

LEAs to notify all eligible parents of their publicschool choice and SES options in a way that is: • Timely (i.e., before the start of the school

year) for Texas, prior to August 25, 2006; • Clear; • Unbiased; and • Contains all required information.

ExpectationsExpectations

• LEAs to set aside an amount equal to 20 percent of their Title I, Part A, allocation for choice-related transportation and SES.

• To spend that amount, unless demand for services (allowing for a sufficient enrollment period) does not require full funding.

EnforcementEnforcement

The United States Department of Education (USDE) is prepared to take significant enforcement action. USDE will be using data collected through Title I monitoring, Inspector General reports, Consolidated State Performance Reports, and other sources to take enforcement action.

EnforcementEnforcementThese actions may include the following:• Placing conditions on Title I grants to an SEA

that will require corrective action and extra reporting until the LEA meets its responsibilities with regard to public school choice and SES, and if the conditions are not met, further enforcement actions will be taken;

EnforcementEnforcement

• Withholding all or a proportionate amount of program and administrative funds from an SEA; and/or

• Entering into a compliance agreement with an SEA or with an SEA and LEA to ensure adherence to the law.

EnforcementEnforcement

• In most cases, when LEAs are out of compliance with public School Choice and SES, conditions will be placed on State grants and consideration will be given to withholding Federal funds or entering into a compliance agreement.

State Action and AssistanceState Action and Assistance

USDE directed States to: • Begin working with their LEAs now to

ensure that in the 2006-07 school year, to ensure significant improvements in the implementation of these provisions;

• Closely monitor LEA actions, including their spending on public school choice and SES and their parent notifications;

State Action and AssistanceState Action and Assistance

• Provide LEAs with significant resources and technical assistance;

• Provide responses complete and accurate responses when reporting to USDE; and

• Continue implementing high-quality evaluations of SES providers.

SchoolSchool Choice

School districts receiving federal funds under Title I, Part A are required to make School Choice available to all students who are enrolled in Title I campuses if their campus has been identified as a Title I campus in need of improvement.

SchoolSchool Choice

Public School Choice is not applicable to open-enrollment charter schools that are identified in school improvement or other types of campuses that are, by design, already schools of choice.

SchoolSchool Choice

Which students are eligible to change campusesunder the Title I public school choice provisions?

All students enrolled in Title I campuses identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring are eligible to transfer to another public school campus within the district (which may be a charter school) that is not in school improvement.

SchoolSchool ChoiceIs there any priority for students to be allowedto transfer under the Title I public school choiceoption?

The school district must give all students in a campus identified for improvement the opportunity to transfer to another public school.

–There may be circumstances in which the school district needs to give priority to the lowest-achieving children from low-income families.

SchoolSchool Choice

How long must a school district continue tooffer students in eligible Title I campuses theoption to attend another public school?

The school district must offer choice to all students in an eligible Title I campus until the campus is no longer identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring.

SchoolSchool Choice

How long must students who change campusesbe allowed to attend the campus of their choice?

If an eligible student exercises the option to transfer to another public school campus, the school district must permit the student to remain in that campus until he or she has completed the highest grade in the campus.

SchoolSchool ChoiceWhat if providing the option to transfer to another campus within the district is not possible?

The school district must, to the extent practical, enter into cooperative agreements with other school districts in the area (or with open-enrollment charter schools in the State) that can accept its students as transfers.

SchoolSchool Choice

If the school district is not able to enter into an agreement then the campus must offer other types of supplemental educational activities or other campus reform strategies to students attending that campus.

SchoolSchool Choice

Parent Notification Letter• Parents must be notified by August 25,

2006.

Parent Notification letters must include thefollowing information:

Date of notification;LEA name;Campus name;Contact information;Authorized signature;An explanation of what the AYP status

means;

How the campus compares in terms of academic achievement to other elementary campuses or secondary campuses served by the LEA;

The reasons for the AYP status;An explanation of what the campus is doing to

address the problem of low achievement;An explanation of what the LEA is doing to help the

campus address the achievement problem;

An explanation of how the parents can become involved in addressing the academic issues that cause the campus to be identified for improvement;

An explanation of the parents’ option to transfer their child to another public school;

Contact information, if different for School Choice;

Timeline regarding School Choice;

Provide a 30 day window for transfer response from parents (30 calendar days);

Provide campus names for School Choice, if applicable;

Supplementary education activities if unable to provide School Choice; and

Supplementary Educational Services (SES) information, if applicable.

SESSES

Under No Child Left Behind, any Title I, Part A campus that has not met AYP for three consecutive years (Stages 2-5) are required to offer Supplementary Educational Services (SES).

Purpose:• To offer the parents of students attending

Title I schools in need of improvement additional sources of academic instruction for their children outside normal school hours in:

• Math • Reading• Language Arts

SES must be:• Consistent with the content and instruction

used by the LEA.• Provided outside the regular school day.• High quality and research-based.• Specifically designed to increase student

academic achievement.

Eligible Students• Low-income students attending

Title I schools in need of improvement.

• Eligible students prioritized by greatest academic need if resources are limited.

• Students are identified by the local public school.

Eligible Providers• Private or public schools (including

charter schools) or school districts • Institutions of Higher Education• Education Service Centers• For-profit entities• Non-profits

Faith-basedCommunity-based

LEA Responsibilities

• Notify parents of school improvement status and their opportunity for school choice or SES;

• Provide parents with information about SES and the SES providers in their area;

• If requested, assist parents with selection of SES provider;

• If funds are insufficient to provide SES to each child whose parents request the services, prioritize so that the lowest achieving children receive services;

• Avoid disclosing to the public the identity of any student eligible for or receiving SES without written permission from the parents;.

• Contract for SES with state-approved provider that parents of eligible children have selected;

• Work with selected providers to ensure quality and appropriate services; and

• Provide necessary information to the TEA to monitor the quality and effectiveness of provider services.

LEA/PROVIDER AGREEMENTLEA/PROVIDER AGREEMENT

Lea/Provider agreements should:• Include individualized, specific

achievement goals required for each student that are, in the case of students with disabilities, consistent with the students individualized education plan (IEP) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);

• Describe how parents and teachers will be regularly informed of student progress;

• Detail number of sessions, hours, cost, attendance policy, etc.;

• Provide for termination if provider is unable to meet certain goals or timetables;

• Clarify how the LEA will pay the provider for its services;

• For faith-based organizations, assure that SES funds are in a separate account, not commingled with other operating funds;

• Include any other provisions relating to liability and accountability as deemed necessary by the LEA; and

• Prohibit the provider from disclosing to the public identification of any student eligible for or receiving SES (without written parental consent).

PRIVACY ISSUESPRIVACY ISSUES

•Student records must be securely maintained.•Staff should refrain from discussing students’ performance with others.•Remove student indicators from public ads.

PAYMENT$ TO PROVIDER$PAYMENT$ TO PROVIDER$

• Providers are paid by the LEA.• LEAs are not required to pay for

transportation in order to provide SES.• Providers should clearly detail costs in the

application.

SES PROVIDER RESPONSIBILITIESSES PROVIDER RESPONSIBILITIES

• With the LEA & parents, develop an individual Student Learning Plan that:Includes Specific achievement goals for

each child;Measures for student progress; Contains a timetable for improving

student achievement;

• Provides the LEA and parents of children receiving SES information on the child’s progress; and

• Ensures that instruction provided and content used are:Aligned with state student academic

achievement standardsConsistent with the instruction provided

and content used by the LEA.

• Meet applicable federal, state, and local health, safety, & civil rights laws.

• Ensure that all instruction & content are secular, neutral, and non-ideological.

• Comply with all provisions of the agreement with the LEA.

SES PITFALLS: BEWARE!SES PITFALLS: BEWARE!

•Thinking SES is homework help.•Failure to link to state academic standards and local curriculum.•Failure to deliver services according to approved application.

SES PITFALLS: BEWARE!SES PITFALLS: BEWARE!

•Insufficient or inappropriate communication with schools and parents.•Misunderstanding of SES process.•Lack of concern for health & safety issues.

Resources Resources • Staff contacts

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/nclb/contacts.html• NCLB Monday Email

http://miller.tea.state.tx.us/list

ResourcesResources• NCLB Website

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/nclb/

• Title I School Improvement Policy Guidance

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/nclb/titleia/sip/2006-07/SchoolImprovementGuidance2006-2007.doc

ResourcesResources • Series of “innovation guides” http://www.ed.

gov/about/pubs/intro/innovations.html• Toolkit

http://www.buildingchoice.org

Texas School Improvement Resource Center5701 Springdale Road

Austin, Texas 78723-3675www.esc13.net/statewide/sirc

Sally Partridge, Coordinator

512-919-5220Sally.Partridge@esc13.txed.net

School Improvement Unit School Improvement Unit Division of NCLB Program CoordinationDivision of NCLB Program Coordination

Anita Villarreal, DirectorTitle I School Improvement

512-463-9402anita.villarreal@tea.state.tx.us

Jan Irvin Foster, Leticia Govea, Program Specialist Program Specialist512-463-2333 512-463-3212Jan.Irvin.Foster@tea.state.tx.us Leticia.Govea@tea.state.tx.us

Division Fax 512-305-9447