CDE Accountability Institute

CDE Accountability Institute Providing and Funding Adequate and Appropriate Support for English Learners Presented by: Jannelle Kubinec

English Learners:Providing Adequate and Appropriate Support • By law, local educational agencies must ensure that English Learners are provided with “adequate and appropriate” support • How do we know what’s “adequate and appropriate?” • There’s many possible ways to judge what’s adequate and appropriate, but probably the best is academic and language proficiency • It’s about the data and the process we use to demonstrate: • Availability of supplemental support to address language acquisition and development = adequate • Instruction is informed by data and research = appropriate • Progress is made = adequate and appropriate

Where’s the Money? • The current accountability structure had drawn more attention to the fact that many districts and schools need to act differently to address the needs of English Learners • Acting differently often requires spending money differently • But, is there money to spend given the cuts made to funding? • We may have less, but there are still resources • Title I, IIA, III • Economic Impact Aid (EIA) • Effectively using such resources is necessary and essential to adequately and appropriately supporting English Learners

Changing Practice • Change in practice, and even the recognition of the need to change, can be difficult • For virtually all districts and schools identified for improvement, it’s no surprise that they have unaddressed needs, but sometimes they are surprised that they need to change to get a different result • Levels of improvement challenge • Level 1 – Convince stakeholders a need exists • Level 2 – Convince stakeholder that action, sometimes dramatic, is necessary by everyone • Level 3 – Find the money to pay for action plan

The Landscape for Funding Has Changed What does this mean for school and district improvement?

Educational Improvement and Money • California has cut funding for schools by approximately 15% during the past three years • With less money, it is true there’s less to spend if that which was in place before continues unchanged • With less money, there can be more to spend if that which was in place before evolves into something different • The Essential Program Components (EPC) provide a framework for what’s necessary to support school and district improvement • This includes effective fiscal operations • The challenges to address fiscal operations needs are numerous: • Getting and using fiscal data • Drawing connections between money and priorities/needs • Dealing with organizational issues that restrict the use of funds

Essential Program Components and Money • Many of the “go to” funding sources to support EPCs no longer exist due to flexibility – these include: • Supplemental Hourly • Professional Development Block Grant • Instructional Materials Funds • SB 472/AB 430 • And policy changes have added some twists: • Shorten school year by five days • Furloughs that include inservice days • Instructional material adoption delays • On top of this, there are some targeted short-term resources to add to the mix • School Improvement Grants (SIG) – “old” (2009-10) and “new” (2010-11)

Key Tips to Support What’s Needed • Funding is always an issue – even during good years • Doing our very best with what’s provided can be summed up as follows: • Spend the right dollar, on the right thing, at the right time • Accomplishing the above requires: • Allocating resources to align funding with needs • Being realistic about what can be accomplished • Spending the most restrictive funding first • Teamwork

Programs Requiring Allocation Plans • State categorical flexibility has eliminated some programs thatformerly required allocation planning, but two big programs remain • Title I • EIA • The cuts and potential elimination of other site allocations make it more important than ever to revisit allocation methods and decisions • Work to maximize how Title I funds are distributed and used • Meet all EIA and Title I compliance requirements • Potentially refocus funds based on survival needs

Programs Requiring Allocation Plans • There are several options when constructing allocation plans • Formulas based on equal amount per student • Formulas that provide differential allocations based on: • Types of school • Performance and/or characteristic of students (low performing, low income, English Learner, etc.) • Centralized services • A hybrid of the above

The World of Rules • There are several rules and standards to be aware of when constructing an allocation plan • It’s helpful to separate rules into two categories: • Rules that govern how allocations are made • Rankings • Equity/parity/comparability • Rules that govern how money is spent once it’s allocated • Supplement, not supplant • 85/15 • Even within the world of rules, discretion abounds 10

Allocating Title I Funds • Districts rank their schools based on level of poverty – most common metric is free-and reduced-price meal eligibility • Any school above 35% poverty eligibility or the district’s average poverty rate is Title I eligible • Any school above 40% poverty eligibility may elect to be “schoolwide” to broaden spending flexibility • Flexibility options: • Rankings by type of school • Skipping schools • Providing more funding to higher poverty schools or types of schools • Providing Title I funds to a school subjects them to federal accountability requirements 11

Utilizing Title I Set Asides • There are both mandatory and optional set asides that can be used to direct funding to priority activities • Mandatory: • Parent involvement • Homeless • If Program Improvement (PI): • 10% for professional development • Up to 20% for Supplemental Education Services and School Choice • Optional: • Centralized services • Targeted for PI • Teacher incentives, up to 5%

Allocating EIA Funds • Allocating EIA is similar to Title I, but there are some differences • There are two parts to EIA, which each district determines how to support • State Compensatory Education (EIA-SCE, 7090) • Like Title I in the way funds may be used • Eligible schools have at least 25% poverty or 50% using composite factors • Allocated based on low-income pupils

Allocating EIA Funds • There are two parts to EIA, which each district determines how to support (cont.) • Limited English Proficient (EIA-LEP, 7091) • Like Title III in the ways funds may be used – restricted to supplemental support for English Learner language acquisition and development • All schools with English Learners eligible • Allocated based on English Learner population 14

Allocating EIA Funds • District’s determine how to allocate funding between EIA-SCE and EIA-LEP • District’s must demonstrate that they provide “adequate and appropriate support” for English Learners • Possible evidence includes: • Maintaining level of effort • Achievement gains • It is possible to meet this requirement by putting 100% of EIA into SCE, but only if there are specific plans to meet the needs of English Learners • Among the factors that affect what will work best for your district: • Level of focus on English Learners without designation • Distribution of need and eligibility among schools • Use of resource by schools

Tips for EIA and Title I • Ensure sites understand the rules • 85/15 • Allowed used • Supplement, not supplant • Districts have discretion to allocate carryover • Should return to direct services • Opportunity to fund centralized services and/or phase in ongoing change in allocations • Ensure alignment between allocation plan, school plans, and budget 16

Specific Resources to Consider • There are fewer resources, but those focused on compensatory support are alive and mostly well • Most restricted • Title III, English Language Acquisition Program (ELAP), EIA-Limited English Proficient – use to supplement all other resources to address language proficiency and acquisition • Title IID – use for technology, there are some districts that received American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Title IIID competitive grants • Somewhat restricted • Title I set aside for professional development – required set aside of 10% for districts in PI • Title IIA – can be used for professional development and possiblyclass-size reduction • SIGs – must follow the plan for an individual site

Budget Based on Actions, Not Intentions • The best plans are ones that get done • Persistent carryover from year to year is often a sign that responsibility for a program/resource area lacks definition or plans are made, but not fully completed • Budget for what will get done, not just what should • Know what’s needed • Know who can do it • Know how much it costs • Manage for implementation

Specific Resources to Consider • Less Restricted • Title I (regular and ARRA) and EIA-State Compensatory Education – use for supplemental support for low performing students • Unrestricted • Tier III Programs – including California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) Intervention, Instructional Materials, Secondary Counselors, School and Library Improvement Block Grant, SB 472/AB 430 • Federal Jobs Fund – expected for 2010-11 to provide one-time boost to use to support saving jobs involved with site operations • State Fiscal Stabilization Funding – a small portion was provided in 2010-11

Teamwork and Money Management • Addressing the needs of English Learners is a team effort • Effective planning for any subgroup of students, including English Learners, requires broad stakeholder understanding and support • Superintendent • School Board • Educational Services • Business • Human Resources • School Site Administrators • Ultimately, it is difficult to do something different with funding unless the business office is involved

Things to Do When Engagingthe Business Office • Do: • Engage the whole cabinet, including person responsible for the fiscal area, early in the process • Ask fiscal staff if they have ideas for areas of spending/practice that are less effective for students • Find out who is responsible for site allocations and how decisions are made to divvy up resources • Find out what the fiscal condition is of the district • Still cutting • Made big cuts • Stable for now

Things to Avoid When Engagingthe Business Office • Avoid: • Ignoring any of the “do’s” • Assuming that there’s no money available • Assuming that the business person doesn’t understand the educational program • Assuming that money is exclusively managed by the business office • Sites may play a significant role • Some districts have in place a separate accounting function within educational services – this should raise a red flag

Tips to Manage Resources • Maximize revenues, especially those generated based on student participation • Spend the most restricted dollar first • Even with fewer dollars, this still applies • Focus on priorities and support them with funding • Avoid spending out of habit • Be compliant • And once compliance needs are met, consider what is effective • Support cost-effective programs, not just low-cost programs • Turn over every rock and then pound them into sand

Is Improvement Possible Duringa Fiscal Crisis? • It can be hard to judge what constitutes improvement when surrounded by fiscal crisis and emergency • Planning for school and district improvement is a lot like Maslow’s hierarchy of need • Without the basics assured, it’s hard to think about much of anything else • But the difference between what’s necessary and what’s sufficient lies in how resources are used and not their mere presence • How do we find the space to focus on improvement? • It starts by thinking about what’s present above what’s absent

Thank you!

CDE Accountability Institute