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
850.245.0752