Title I, Part A: Services to Private Schools

1. Title I, Part A: Services to Private Schools

2. Private School Toolkit Objectives: • Understand ESEA and the purpose of Title I, Part A Programs and Services • Understand how to communicate and plan with private schools • Understand eligibility and services to private schools

3. Topics for Discussion: • Services to private schools within Title I, Part A • Task timelines and consultation • Allocations and utilization of Title I, Part A funds • Allocations to private schools • Equitable Services: Instructional Program, Professional Development, and Parental Involvement • Eligible students to be served • Delivery of services

4. Title I, Part A Overview: • Supplemental educational services to both public and private school students • High academic standards • Available to pre-school through 12th grade.

5. Private School Requirements: • Timely and meaningful consultation • Flexible practices in counting low income private school children • Equitable services to teachers, parents, and students • Signed affirmations (PI-9550-AC)

6. Timeline for Consultations:

7. Spring- Planning for Next School Year: • Collect data on student enrollment and poverty count (prior to spring meeting) • Evaluate current program effectiveness - Review parent information and feedback - Review student progress to assist with next year’s planning • Spring meeting - Determine programming for next year

8. Topics for Spring Meeting: • Per-Pupil allocation/Private school allocation • Equitable participation of: - Teachers of participating Title I students - Parents/families of participating Title I students • LEA and private school rights and responsibilities • Public School Attendance Areas

9. Topics for Spring Consultation, cont’d: • Determining equitable services • Delivery of services • Academic assessment of services • Evaluation and improvement of Title I services

10. Fall Activities: • Begin services at the same time for both public and private school students. • Review potential services to new private school students who might be eligible. • Review allocations.

11. Ongoing Activities: • Consultation with private school leaders/teachers • Assessment of student progress • Professional development • Connecting with parents/families

12. Allocations: Multiply the number of low income students by the per pupil amount

13. Determining Poverty in Private Schools: • Free and reduced • Proportionality • Comparable data • Number of students receiving reduced tuition

14. Scenario 1 One of the private schools in your district does not collect free/reduced lunch information - all students bring sack lunches.  How do you determine their eligibility for Title I services? 

15. Use of Funds – Equitable Services in regard to: • Instructional Program • Professional Development • Parental Involvement

16. Reservations: Reservations are funds not allocated per school but taken off the top to support service delivery. They include: • Professional Development • Parent Involvement • Non-Instructional Costs

17. Equitable Services: • Instructional Program • Professional Development • Parent Involvement

18. Equitable Instructional Programming: • Specific needs of private school students – how to assess and address • Equal expenditure requirements • Programs do not have to be identical • Equal opportunity to achieve high academic levels

19. Scenario 2 I am a Title I Coordinator in the Sunny Days School District. I have been working with the private school that resides in our district to determine how to best meet the needs of their Title I students. After looking at their student data, my staff and I have determined that they have no students that are failing, or at risk of failing, to meet high academic achievement standards. The school still wants to be open to receiving services, should any students that need services pop up or enroll late. How do I deal with this situation?

20. Equitable Instructional Program…continued: • Funds must be used only for instructional services. • Simply providing instructional materials and supplies to assist eligible private school students is NOT an option. • Any materials purchased with Title I funds remain the property of the public school district.

21. Scenario 3 I am a Title I Coordinator at Stony Mountain School district. I have been working with our local private school to determine what kind of Title I services they need in their school. Unfortunately, none of my highly qualified teachers have any time to get over to the private school to provide Title I services. May I hire a: • Private school teacher to provide Title I services? • 3rd party contractor to provide Title I services? • Paraprofessional to provide Title I services?

22. Scenario 4 As the Title I Coordinator for the Logan Area School District, I have consulted with our local private school, but the number of students that generate their Title I dollars is very low. Therefore, there really is not enough money being generated for the district to send over a teacher to provide instructional services. May we provide other services to the school instead?

23. Professional Development: • Monies reserved for professional development need to be shared proportionately. • It must be designed to meet the needs of the private school teachers working with Title I students.

24. Scenario 5 As the Title I Coordinator at Stone Lake School District, I have been working with the private schools in our area to determine what professional development would best help their teachers meet the needs of their Title I students. They would like to use these professional development dollars to attend the Catholic Association Conference. They said there would be some sectionals on teaching reading and serving “at risk” youth. In addition, they would need substitutes for the staff and administration that would be attending. Is this an allowable use of Title I funds?

25. Parental Involvement: • Consultation with private school teachers/parents • Parent Compact • Annual assessment of parental involvement activities

26. Identifying Eligible Students: • Private school student resides in Title I funded attendance area • Academically at-risk students • Students in the same grade span groupings as their public school • Student ranking and selection based on multiple assessments • Poverty is NOT a criterion

27. Scenario 6 All of our Title I receiving schools are schoolwide programs and are elementary schools (K – 5). Based on our district and school data, we have focused our Title I funds towards early intervention services for grades pre-K – 2. I am currently consulting with my local private schools to develop a service plan for their Title I eligible students. They want to provide Title I services to all of their Title I eligible students in all grades (K – 8). I’ve explained that these are not the grades that we serve with Title I, yet they still want Title I services for all of their grade levels. Which eligible students are we required to serve?

28. What about eligible students who attend a private school in another school district? It is important for districts to be aware of any of their students who may be attending private schools in neighboring districts. It is also important for districts with private schools in their attendance areas to inform the resident district of any students attending the private school(s).

29. What about eligible students who attend a private school in another school district? The district in which the eligible student resides is responsible for providing services to the student, but may arrange to have services provided by another school district and reimburse that district based on resident district’s per pupil allocation.

30. Scenario 7 I work in the Mountain Area School District where we are very proud of our Title I program and our relationship with local private schools. I just received a bill in the mail from the River School District for providing Title I services to a student that attends a private school in their district boundaries. The student in question lives in my school district. I had no idea that this student was attending this school. What should I do? More importantly, do I have to pay this bill? 

31. Delivery of Services: • Schedule options: - Pull-out during day - Extended day - Summer school • Service providers: - LEA employees - LEA contract with third-party providers • Space: - On site; void of religious symbols - Off site; neutral site or public school Supplement, NOT Supplant!

32. Helpful Web Resources: Non-Regulatory Guidance – Title I Service to Eligible Private School Children http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/psguidance.doc Statutory requirements: Section 1120 – Participation of Children Enrolled in Private Schools http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg2.html#sec1120 WI Title I Guidelines http://www.dpi.wi.gov.title1/ti1b.html Monitoring of ESEA Consolidated Programs 2010-11 (pages 3 & 4) http://dpi.wi.gov/esea/pdf/monitoring-guidance.pdf

33. Questions on Title I, Part A Services to Private Schools…Contact your Statewide Title I Network Consultant or your DPI Education Consultant