Elementary and Secondary Education Act No Child Left Behind

1. Elementary and Secondary Education Act No Child Left Behind October – 2008 Rule Changes

2. April 1, 2009 - Policy Letter Summary The majority of the rules remain as written

3. April 1, 2009 - Policy Letter Proposed Changes: • Repeal Accountability Workbook Revision for Peer Review • 14-Public School Notice to Parents • December, 2002 SES Rule Prohibiting Schools/Districts in Improvement from Becoming an SES Provider Exceptions: • Peer Review of State’s Graduation Rate • On-year Waiver • Contingent Upon Waiver Approval

4. Accountability Workbook Review Further Rulemaking Requires each state to submit for peer review a revised Accountability Workbook that reflects requirements in rules regarding AYP definitions (e.g.,n-size, inclusion, graduation rate). [34 CFR 200.7(a)(2)(ii),(iii)]

5. Approval of SES Providers Further Rulemaking Prohibits a state from approving as an SES provider a school identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring, or a district identified for improvement or corrective action. [34 CFR 200.47(b)(1)(iv)(A) ]

6. Multiple Measures Clarifies the requirement that State assessments involve multiple measures of student achievement. [34CFR 200.2(b)(7) ]

7. AYP Definition Requires a State’s subgroup size to yield statistically reliable information while ensuring maximum inclusion o student subgroups. [CFR 34 200.7(a)(2)(i)]

8. NAEP Data – State and District Report Cards Requires each State and District to include on its respective report card the most recent NAEP reading and math results for the State (data must be disaggregated by student subgroup on the State report card). [34 CFR 200.11(c)]

9. Graduation Rate: Definition • Requires each State to report a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and use it for AYP purposes in the aggregate and disaggregate by subgroup. • Allows a State to establish an extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate. [CFR 200.19(b)(1)]

10. Graduation Rate: Goals and Targets Requires the State to set a single graduation rate goal that represents the rate the State expects all high schools in the State to meet and annual graduation rate targets that reflect continuous and substantial improvement from the prior year toward meeting or exceeding the graduation rate goal. [34CFR 200.19(b)(3)]

11. Peer Review of Graduation Rate Information Requires a State to submit its Accountability Workbook for peer review of certain information about its graduation rate. [34CFR 200.19(b)(6)]

12. Growth in AYP Permits a State to propose to ED the inclusion of measures of individual student growth in its definition of AYP. [34CFR 200(h)]

13. National Technical Advisory Committee Established the NTAC to advise the Secretary on technical issues related to State standards, assessment, accountability systems. [34CFR 200.22]

14. Same Subject Identification • Permits a district to identify a school or a State to identify a district for improvement if the school or district does not meet the annual measurable objective in the same subject for two consecutive years. • Prohibits a district or State from limiting identification for improvement to schools or districts that miss AYP in the same subject and the same subgroup for two consecutive years. [34CFR 200.32 and 200.50]

15. Public School Choice Notice to Parents Requires a district’s notice to parents of eligible students of the availability of public school choice to be provided at least 14 days before the start of the school year. [34CFR 200.37(b)(4)(iv)]

16. Supplemental Educational Services Notice to Parents • Requires a District to notify parents of eligible students of the availability of SES in a manner that is clear and concise, as well as clearly distinguishable from other school improvement information that parents receive. • Requires a District to notify parents of the benefits of receiving SES. • Requires a District to indicate those providers who are able to serve students with disabilities or limited English proficient students. [34CFR 200.37(b)(5)]

17. Posting Public School and SES Information Requires a district to post on its Website certain information on its implementation of public school choice and SES. • The amount of funds available for choice-related transportation and SES. • The per-pupil amount for SES. [34CFR 200.39(c)

18. Restructuring Clarifies the actions a District must take when schools are in restructuring. [34CFR 200.43]

19. Public School Choice Conforms when notice of public school choice is required with change in CFR 34.200.37(b)(4)(iv). [34CFR 200.44]

20. State Responsibilities for SES Requires a State to post on its website, for each District, the amount the District must spend for SES and choice-related transportation (20 percent obligation) and data on the District’s per-pupil allocation. [34CFR 200.47(a)(1)(ii)(B)]

21. State Responsibilities for SES Requires a State to indicate on its list of approval providers which providers are able to serve students with disabilities or limited English proficient students. [200.47(a)(3)(ii)]

22. State Responsibilities for SES Requires a State to develop, implement, and publicly report on standards and techniques for monitoring District’s implementation of the SES requirements. [34CFR 200.47(a)(4)(iii)]

23. State Responsibilities for SES Requires a State to approve and monitor SES providers using certain specified criteria. [34CFR 200.47(b),(c)]

24. Costs for Parent Outreach for Choice and SES Allows a District to count costs for parent outreach and assistance toward meeting its 20% obligation for public school choice related transportation and SES funding (up to an amount equal to 0.2 percent of its Title I, Part A allocation. [34CFR 200.48(a)]

25. 20 Percent Obligation • Requires an District that does not meet its 20% obligation for choice-relate transportation and SES to spend the unexpended amount in the following school year unless it meets certain criteria. • Allows a District that meets these criteria to use funds it would otherwise use to meet its 20% obligation on other allowable Title I costs. • Requires a State to review certain Districts and to complete each such review by the beginning of the next school year. [continued on next slide]

26. 20 Percent Obligation • Requires a District that the State determines has failed to meet these criteria to: • Spend an amount equal to its unspent funds in the subsequent school year, in addition to the 20% obligation for the subsequent year; or • Meet the criteria and obtain permission from the State before spending less in the subsequent year than it is required to spend. [34CFR 200.48(d)

27. Fall 2008 - Title I Rules 27 The U.S. Department of Education has new regulations for Title I of the ESEA with the intent of building on the advancements of state assessment and accountability systems, as well as strengthening the public school choice and supplemental educational services (SES) provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

28. Fall 2008 - Title I Rules Read through the rule given to you. What impact will instituting this rule have on our schools? Districts? Share your rule and conclusions with those sitting near you. Pick one rule from your group to share with the workshop participants.

29. Fall 2008 - Title I Rules • Final regulation 200.11 requires that States and districts include on its report card the most recent available academic achievement results in grades four and eight of the State’s National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) in reading and mathematics. Districts will have to report the aggregate results and the States will have to report disaggregated data, including the participation rates for students with disabilities and limited English proficient students. How LEAs and SEAs convey the State assessment results with the State’s NAEP to parents without causing confusion will be a challenge, especially since policy insiders have a hard time with this. Yet, ED intends to provide guidance to States on how to best convey this information to parents and the public in “clear and simple terms.”

30. Fall 2008 - Title I Rules • Final regulation 200.19 establishes the new uniform high school graduation rate requirements. The regulation provides a detailed discussion on how to remove students from the cohort of the new required four-year graduation rate and the optional extended-year graduation rate. For each cohort (the four and extended-year) a student may only be removed from the denominator if that student falls into one of three categories: transfer out, emigrate, or die during one of the four or more years calculated for the particular cohort. Official documentation is required for students to transfer out. Official documentation is not required for students who are deceased or who have emigrated to another country. LEAs must confirm this fact in writing, but it need not be official documentation. What qualifies for official and non-official documentation, however, is a gray area. • Accordingly, ED plans to provide non-regulatory guidance to States on how to obtain official written documentation of a student’s transfer and what will qualify for non-official documents. (Hint: it needs to be verifiable during an audit). ED also states that it will provide guidance to States on ways to count students who enter or exit a subgroup during high school.

31. Fall 2008 - Title I Rules • The new 200.19 graduation rate requirements also affect how States will calculate their adequate yearly progress (AYP). All states will have to use a four-year adjusted cohort analysis. In order to provide flexibility for students that, for whatever reason, are unable to graduate within four years, the State may use an extended-year rate. This begs the question: how will a State determine AYP if it is calculating a four-year rate and an extended-year(s) rate? ED plans to issue non-regulatory guidance providing more specific examples of how a State might use its four-year rate and extended-year rate in AYP calculations. Regardless of the methodology, the regulations make it clear that a State must report its four-year rate separately from any extended-year rate.

32. Fall 2008 - Title I Rules • Final regulation 200.37(b)(5) creates new LEA requirements regarding annual supplemental educational services (SES) notice. The new regulation requires that the district's annual notice to parents of the availability of SES include an explanation of the benefits of receiving SES and require that the notice be “clear and concise” and “clearly distinguishable” from other school improvement information sent to parents. The manner of compliance is subject to interpretation. Will it be multiple mailings? (ED has clarified that multiple mailings are not required). Will the "clearly distinguishable" notice draw attention away from other information? And must the LEA describe the benefits of SES if those benefits are uncertain or only potential benefits? To help clarify the matter, ED stated that it will provide non-regulatory guidance containing one or more sample notification letters that include the elements required in the regulations.

33. Fall 2008 - Title I Rules • Final regulation 200.22 creates a National Technical Advisory Council (NTAC) and establishes the purposes of the NTAC. The NTAC will consider and advise ED on complex technical assessment and accountability issues that affect all States. The NTAC will consist of experts in the field of educational standards, assessments, accountability, statistics, and psychometrics. According to the regulations, ED intends to use the advice from the NTAC to inform the peer review process and provide non-regulatory guidance to States. As such, it is likely that the broad advisory role of the NTAC will make its way into the non-regulatory guidance that ED issues on the assessment and accountability issues.