NCLB: The Legal Requirements School Boards Need to Know- Part I

1. NCLB: The Legal Requirements School Boards Need to Know- Part I Brad Banasik MASB Legal Counsel 2003 MASB Mid-Winter Conference

2. What is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA? ESEA is the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was enacted in 1965 and is the principal law affecting K-12 education today. ESEA focuses on children from high-poverty communities and students at risk of educational failure. The Act authorizes several well-known federal educational programs including Title I, Safe and Drug Free Schools, Bilingual Education, and Impact Aid.

3. Title I The first section of the ESEA, Title I refers to programs aimed at America’s most disadvantaged students. Title I Part A provides assistance to improve the teaching and learning of children in high-poverty schools to enable those children to meet challenging state academic content and performance standards.

4. Accountability • Standards & Testing Requirements • Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) • Consequences • Public Reporting

5. Standards • States receiving Title I funds are required to develop challenging academic content and student achievement standards that will be used by the state and LEAs to carryout the goals of Title I. • These academic standards must apply to all public schools and public school students. • States submit standards to Federal Dept of Ed for approval.

6. Assessments Who must be assessed? • All schools (including non-title I schools) • All students (race/ethnicity, disability status, limited English proficiency, poverty status, gender, and migrant status) • At least 95% of all students must participate in the assessment (includes 95% of participation in each of the above subgroups) • Results must be disaggregated by each subgroup for reporting achievement.

7. LEP Students • State Board Education adopted a resolution that will permit local school districts to exempt LEP students who have been enrolled in school in the U.S. less than three years from taking state assessment tests. • LEP students excluded from MEAP testing will not be included in the calculation of students tested to meet the 95% tested requirement. • Alternative assessments may be created.

8. Assessments What subjects? When? • Prior to 2005-06, previous ESEA requirement of reading and math tests at least once in each of three grade spans (3-5, 6-9, 10-12) applies. • Starting in 2005-06, annual testing in at least math and reading for all students in grades 3-8, and at least once in grades 10-12 is required. • Starting in 2007-2008, required annual science assessment at least once in each grade span.

9. Adequate Yearly Progress • Each state is required to define the level of proficiency students must achieve on required assessments. • Within the next 11½ years, all students (100%) must attain this requisite level of proficiency, and each school is required to demonstrate that it is making “adequate yearly progress” toward achieving that goal.

10. Adequate Yearly Progress • Starting bar will be based on lowest achieving schools (20th percentile) or lowest achieving demographic subgroups. • Bar must be raised in equal increments to reach 100% by 2014. • First increase must occur within 2 years, and increase at least every 3 years thereafter.

11. Adequate Yearly Progress • In addition to state assessments, a state must chose one additional AYP indicator. • Graduation rates for secondary schools. • Another academic indicator set by the state for elementary (e.g., attendance rates). • A state, may use these indicators to identify a school for improvement, but they may not be used to prevent a school from being identified for improvement.

12. Graduation Rates • To prevent penalizing schools with children who have disabilities, LEP, or returning dropouts, who may not be able to graduate in the standard number of years, states can account for them in an alternative definition of graduation rate. • Students who drop out should not be counted as transferring to another school. • Graduation rates should be measured from the beginning of high school.

13. Adequate Yearly Progress Progress must be made for: • overall school, and • economically disadvantaged students, and • students from major racial and ethnic minority groups, and • students with disabilities, and • limited English proficient students. Note- Student must be enrolled all year.

14. Adequate Yearly Progress • State sets the minimum number of students needed to determine whether a group in a school is large enough for the assessment results to be statistically reliable and valid for AYP and reporting purposes. • In Michigan, the minimum number of students needed to be statistically valid is 30.

15. Adequate Yearly Progress • The Michigan Board of Education approved a baseline for AYP as the 20 percentile for MEAP scores in reading and math. • Schools with a fourth grade class would have to have 48.8% of students proficient in math and 38.5% proficient in reading. • For seventh grades, schools must have 32% proficient in reading and for eighth grades, they must have 32.8 % proficient in math. Based on 2001-02 data

16. Adequate Yearly Progress • Proficiency in reading and math in Michigan is defined as those students who score Level 1 (Exceeds Expectations) or Level 2 (Meets Expectations) on the MEAP. • The State Board still has to determine the specific cut scores.

17. “Safe Harbor” & AYP • A “safe harbor” is allowed if students in the subgroups make a 10% reduction in the number of students not proficient. • If students in a particular subgroup are 30% proficient and achieve a 7% increase in the number of proficient students (which is a 10% reduction in the percentage (70%) of students not proficient, then they would be deemed to have made AYP and would not be identified as failing.

18. Failing to Meet AYP • All public schools and charter schools will receive an annual adequate yearly progress report. • AYP must be included in each school’s and district’s report to the community and the state. • The requirements associated with failure to make AYP such as school improvement status, corrective action, and restructuring apply only to Title I schools in the district.

19. Failing to Meet AYP School Improvement (2 consecutive years) • “Promptly” notify parents. • Creates school transfer option. • Mandates development and implementation of school improvement plan. • Requires provision of supplemental services in second year of school improvement designation.

20. Failing to Meet AYP Corrective Action (4 consecutive years) • Continues supplemental services and school transfer options. • Requires district to take corrective action. Restructuring (5 consecutive years) • Develop a plan and make the necessary arrangements to implement significant “alternative governance” actions.

21. Notification to Parents • Explain “identification” (include reasons) and describe how the district will address the problem. • Comparison with schools in district and state. • Explanation of the parents’ option to transfer their child to another school (2 years) or to obtain supplemental educational services (3 years). • Description of how parents can become involved. If subject to restructuring, provide opportunity to comment and participate in restructuring plan.

22. School Choice • Option to transfer to another public school served by the LEA. • A choice of more than one school must be offered. • Priority to lowest-achieving students. • Lacking viable choices- LEA must try to establish a cooperative agreement with other LEAs. • Must provide (or pay for) transportation • Transferring students considered “residents.”

23. School Choice • The lack of seating capacity cannot be a basis for denying choice. • If a student exercises the option to transfer, a LEA must permit the student to remain in that school until he or she has completed the highest grade in the school. • If no longer identified for school improvement, no longer obligated to provide transportation.

24. School Improvement Plan • Implement following year; cover a 2-year period. • Consult with parents, school staff, district, and outside experts. • Incorporate strategies based on scientifically based research to address weaknesses • Adopt policies and practices concerning the school’s core academic subjects that have the greatest likelihood of raising student achievement to meet the state proficient level

25. School Improvement Plan • Assure that the school will spend not less than 10% of its Title I funds on professional development annually (technical assistance). • Establish annual measurable objectives to ensure that each subgroup will reach 100% proficiency. • Provide effective parent involvement. • Incorporate, as appropriate, extended hours. • Incorporate a teacher-mentoring program. • Reviewed by LEA within 45 days.

26. Supplemental Services • Limited to students from low income families. • Includes tutoring, remediation, and academic intervention services, which take place outside the regular school day. • May include public or private schools, post-secondary institution, non-profit or for-profit organization, or faith-based organization. • States must create criteria and approved list. • If no increase after two years- removed from list.

27. Supplemental Services: LEAs must… • Notify parents about the availability of services. • Help parents choose a provider (if requested). • Determine which students should receive services when all students cannot be served. • Enter into an agreement with a selected provider. • Assist in identifying potential providers in LEA. • Assist in monitoring effectiveness of provider. • Protect the privacy rights of participating students.

28. Funding for Supplemental Service and School Choice • LEAs are required to spend an amount equal to 20% of it Title I, Part A allocation on choice-related transportation and supplemental services, unless a lesser amount is needed to meet demand. • Within this 20% amount, an LEA has discretion to determine the allocation provided that it spends at least one quarter of the total on each activity (or an amount equal to 5% of its Part A allocation unless all requests are satisfied with a lesser amount).

29. Corrective Action LEA must take at least one the following actions: • Replace school staff relevant to the failure. • Institute and implement a new curriculum. • Significantly decrease management authority in the school. • Appoint outside experts to advise the school. • Extend school year or school day. • Restructure internal organization of the school.

30. Restructuring LEA must implement “alternative governance”: • Reopen the school as a charter school. • Replace all or most of school staff relevant to failure to make AYP. • Contract with outside entity to operate school. • State takeover (if state agrees). • Any other major restructuring of school’s governance arrangement.

31. Exiting School Improvement • If a school identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring makes AYP for two consecutive years, the school is no longer subject to improvement.

32. Annual State Report Card: Includes… • Disaggregated student achievement results by performance level. • Comparison between annual objectives and actual performance for each student group. • Percent of students not tested, disaggregated. • 2-year trend data by subject, by grade tested. • Data on other indicators used to determine AYP • Graduation rates.

33. Annual State Report Card (cont.) • Performance of districts making AYP, including the number and names of schools identified for school improvement. • Professional qualifications of teachers, percent with provisional credentials, percent of classes not taught by highly qualified teachers including comparison between high- and low-poverty schools. • Optional information provided by state.

34. LEA Report Cards (in addition to state information applied to LEA) • Whether the district’s schools are making AYP. • The number and percentage of schools identified for school improvement and how long identified. • Information on how students achieved on MEAP tests compared to students in the state as a whole. • For each school in the district, whether the school has been identified for school improvement and how the achievement of the school’s students on MEAP tests compare to those in the district and the state.

35. Publishing LEA Report Cards • Publicly disseminate the information to all schools in the school district served by the LEA and to all parents of students attending those schools (include on traditional annual report). • Understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provide in a language that the parents can understand. • Widely available through public means- posting on the Internet, distributing to media, etc.

36. Questions? • (517) 327-5900. ext 232 • bbanasik@masb.org

37. NCLB: The Legal Requirements School Boards Need to Know- Part II Brad Banasik MASB Legal Counsel 2003 MASB Mid-Winter Conference

38. Parental Involvement • School districts receiving Title I funds must develop and communicate a policy for promoting parental involvement in program implementation, school review, development of improvement plans. • Parents also must be notified of and involved in the development and ongoing review of the local parental involvement program and governing policies.

39. Parental Involvement • Hold at least one annual meeting for Title I parents. • Offer a flexible number of meetings. • Provide Title I parents with information about the programs, a description and explanation of the curriculum, forms of academic assessment and, if requested, opportunities for regular meetings to discuss the education of their child. • Develop a school-parent compact that outlines the responsibilities of each party for improved student academic achievement.

40. School-Parent Compact: Describes… • the school’s responsibility to meet the state’s student academic achievement standards. • the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning, such as monitoring attendance, homework completion, and television watching; volunteering in their child’s classroom; and participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children and positive use of extracurricular time.

41. School-Parent Compact Addresses the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through: • Parent teacher conferences (discuss compact); • Frequent reports to parents on child’s progress; • Reasonable access to staff; • Opportunities to volunteer/participate in child’s class; and • Observational classroom activities.

42. Parental Notifications: Teacher Qualifications Districts receiving Title I funds are required to notify parents at the beginning of each school year that they may request and obtain information from the district about qualifications of staff instructing their child.

43. Information must include: • Whether the teacher has met state qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas taught. • Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status. • The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification. • Whether their child is provided services by a paraprofessional and, if so, their qualifications.

44. Parental Notification:Not “Highly Qualified” A school must give timely notice to parents that their child has been assigned or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified.

45. Parental Notification:Individual Achievement on MEAP Title I schools must provide each parent with information on the achievement level of their child on each of the state academic assessments (MEAP tests) as soon as is practicably possible after the test is taken.

46. Parental Notification: Limited English Proficiency Programs • School is using federal funds to provide a language instruction education program for children with limited English Proficiency (LEP). • Must provide special notification to parents of each child identified for placement in such a program no later than 30 days after the beginning of each school year or after the date of identification.

47. LEP Notice must include: • Why the child is placed in the program. • The child’s level of English proficiency. • How that level was determined and the status of the child’s academic achievement. • Methods of instruction in the child’s program as well as other programs. • How the program will meet the child’s educational needs and help him/her learn English and meet grade promotion and graduation requirements. • Right to remove the child from the program.

48. Parental Notification: Safe and Drug-Free Schools Programs • A district receiving safe and drug-free school program funds must inform and involve parents in violence and drug prevention efforts. • A district must make reasonable efforts to inform parents of the content of safe and drug-free school programs and activities other than classroom instruction. • If a parent objects in writing, the district must withdraw the student from the program/activity.

49. Parental Notification: National Assessment of Educational Progress • Parents of students selected to participate in any NAEP assessment must be informed before the assessment is administered that their child (1) may be excused from participation for any reason, (2) is not required to finish any assessment and (3) is not required to answer any test question. • Make reasonable efforts to inform parents and the public about their right to access all assessment data (except personally identifiable information), questions and current assessment instruments.

50. Parental Notification:Military Recruiter Access • Districts must notify parents of secondary school students that they have a right to request that their child’s name, address and telephone number not be released to a military recruiter without their prior consent (FERPA notice). • NCLB and the Patriot Act require schools to provide military recruiters with this information unless advised otherwise by a student’s parents.