The Basics of Title IFlorida Public School Choice Consortium's Annual Conference (FPSCC)

Anke Toth

November 18, 2009

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Overview of Title IEmphasizing Public School Choice and Parental Involvement

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How Funds are Allocated US Department of Education (USED) grants

funds to states LEA allocations are based on statutory

formulas School allocations after set-asides are based

on total number of low-income students residing in an eligible school attendance area

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Eligible School Attendance Area LEA may only use Title I, Part A funds for

students residing in “eligible school attendance areas”

Eligible area = school attendance area in which the percentage of children from low-income families is at least as high as the percentage of children from low-income families in the LEA

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Program Design

Two models of Title I, Part A program:

1. Schoolwide (SW)

2. Targeted Assistance (TA)

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Schoolwide Program (SWP)

Upgrade the entire educational program Ensure all children meet standards,

particularly those most at risk

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Targeted Assistance Schools (TAS) Must identify eligible students:

Students failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet the state’s challenging academic achievement standards

Migrant Neglected and delinquent Homeless Head Start, Even Start, Early Reading First

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Allocating Title I, Part A Funds

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LEA Reservations of Title I Funds 20% Choice with Transportation & SES 1% Parental Involvement (PI) 10% LEA and School Improvement (SI) 5% Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) Homeless Neglected and delinquent LEA-wide activities

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Public School Choice & Supplemental Educational Services (SES)

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Use of 20% Choice Set-Aside If no SES, then:

20% on choice If no choice, then:

20% on SES If both, then:

Minimum of 5% for choice Minimum of 5% for SES 10% on either

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General Points 20% cannot include:

Administration for choice or SES SES transportation

Choice – prioritize low achieving students from low income families, but choice must be offered to all

SES – prioritize lowest achieving students

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Public School Choice Parents of all children enrolled in a school identified

as in need of improvement for two or more years, have the choice to transfer their children to a higher performing school

LEA must offer at least one choice Must be a school NOT in need of improvement No exception for lack of capacity

Transportation to the new school of choice is provided by the district at no cost to the family

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Supplemental Educational Services (SES)

Florida offers SES in Title I schools that do not make AYP for two and more consecutive years

Free tutoring beyond normal school day provided by state-approved SES providers

Offer services that focus on evidence-based programs and strategies

Students eligible to receive free or reduced priced meals are eligible for SES

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Supplemental Educational Services (cont.)

Information is mailed and is also available in school offices

If needed, staff are available to help parents to select an SES provider that best meets the needs of their child

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Waivers Approving LEAs and schools in need of improvement,

corrective action, or restructuring as SES providers Excluding American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

(ARRA) funds in the calculation of 20% choice set-aside Excluding ARRA funds in the calculation of the Per Pupil

Allocation (PPA) for SES Excluding ARRA funds from the 10% SI set-asides for high-

quality professional development in LEAs and schools in improvement

Ability to grant LEAs a waiver of the carryover limitation of 15% more than once every three years

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Parental Involvement (PI)

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Use of 1% PI Set-Aside 1% must be set aside unless LEA allocation is

less than $500,000 LEAs must still meet all parent involvement

requirements 95% of 1% set-aside must be allocated to

schools

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Who decides how funds are used?

Parents must be involved in decision Every school has a School Advisory Council

(SAC) composed of:

Parents, teachers, other staff that work at the school, principal and students (at middle and high school)

In most cases, the SAC determines how to use Title I funds

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Parent’s Rights Be involved and request regular meetings to express

opinions and concerns Be provided information on their child’s level of

achievement on assessments like FCAT in reading/language arts, mathematics, and science

Request and receive information on the qualifications of their child’s teacher

Be informed if their child is taught by a non-highly qualified teacher for four or more consecutive weeks

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Parent Involvement Requirements Annual meeting Parental Involvement Policies

LEA Level Parental Involvement Policy School Level Parental Involvement Policy Title I Plan - School Improvement Plan Parent-School Compact

Specific parental notifications

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Convene an annual meeting to inform parents of Title I students about Title I requirements and their rights to be involved in the Title I program

Offer meetings at flexible times to maximize participation

Annual Meeting

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LEA Parental Involvement Policies Describe how the LEA will:

Jointly develop the LEA’s plans Coordinate and provide support to schools Build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for

strong parental involvement

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LEA Parental Involvement Policies (cont.) Describe how the LEA will:

Coordinate and integrate with other programs such as Head Start, Even Start, Parents as Teachers, Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), etc.

Involve parents in the activities of its Title I schools

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LEA Parental Involvement Policies (cont.)

Evaluate annually: Identify barriers to participation Use the findings to design strategies for more

effective parental involvement Revise, if necessary, the LEA’s parental

involvement policies

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Involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the policy

Involve parents in the joint development of school plans and provide opportunity to comment

Hold an annual meeting to inform parents of and explain requirements for Title I Convenient time

Offer a number of meetings with flexible times

School Parental Involvement Policy

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Provide to parents information on the curriculum and assessments

Upon request, provide regular meetings for parents to participate in decisions about their children’s education

School Parental Involvement Policy (cont.)

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School-Parent Compact Describe the school’s responsibility to

provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment

Identify ways in which parents will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning

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School-Parent Compact (cont.) Describe the importance of communication between

teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum:

Parent-teacher conferences at least annually where the compact will be discussed in relation to an individual child’s achievement (elementary only)

Frequent reports to parents on their child’s progress Reasonable access to staff, opportunities to

volunteer and participate in their child’s class, and observation of classroom activities

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Building Capacity Schools and LEAs must help parents

understand: The Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and

Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Local academic assessments, including alternative

assessments The parental involvement requirements How to monitor their child’s progress and work

with educators to improve their child’s achievement

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Building Capacity Examples:

Literacy programs Reading and math nights to help parents support

their child’s learning Training parents in the use of the Internet to

access their children’s homework, communicate with teachers, and review information about the school and LEA

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Parental Notifications Annual LEA report cards Parents’ Right To Know about teacher qualifications Highly qualified teacher status Achievement levels on state academic assessments School improvement status Supplemental educational services as a result of

school improvement status Schoolwide/targeted assistance plans, school

improvement plans, parent involvement plans, school-parent compacts

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Parent Notification Timelines More available at

http://www.sedl.org/connections/toolkit/toolkit-titleI-parent-inv.pdf

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LEA and School Improvement (SI)

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Use of 10 % SI Set-Aside 10% for LEAs and schools in need of

improvement Does not apply when in corrective action

High-quality professional development specifically designed to improve classroom teaching

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Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) and Paraprofessionals

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Use of 5% HQT Set-Aside Use funds to ensure teachers meet federal

qualifications Amount of set-aside

At least 5% Unless a lesser amount is needed

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Professional Qualifications

Teachers: Full state certification At least a bachelor’s degree Subject matter competency

Paraprofessionals: At least 2 years of higher education; Associate’s degree or higher; or Subject matter competency

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Professional Qualifications

Core courses for NCLB – Highly-Qualified Teacher (HQT) requirement can be found at:

http://www.fldoe.org/eias/dataweb/database_0910/appendr.pdf

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Contact

Florida Department of Education

Bureau of Federal Educational Programs

Anke Toth

Anke.Toth@fldoe.org

850.245.0752