ESEA FLEXIBILITY: Questions and Answers

1. ESEA FLEXIBILITY: Questions and Answers February 2, 2012

3. Consultation Q. Who must be included in the Committee of Practitioners with whom the SEA consults? • In its request for flexibility, an SEA must assure that: “It has consulted with its Committee of Practitioners regarding the information set forth in its request.” (See Assurance 10.) • Under ESEA section 1903, an SEA’s Committee must include: • As a majority of its members, representatives from local educational agencies; • administrators; • teachers, including vocational educators; • parents; • members of local school boards; • representatives of private school children; and • pupil services personnel.

4. Title I, Part A Provisions Not Waived Q. What are some examples of provisions under Title I, Part A that an SEA or its LEAs will need to continue to implement? • An SEA that is approved for ESEA Flexibility must continue to implement, and ensure that its LEAs continue to implement, all provisions of Title I, Part A that are not waived (as listed in the document titled ESEA Flexibility Request) • Some examples of provisions that are not waived include: • Parent Involvement • Using Title I funds only in Title I schools • Requirements for schoolwide plans

5. Equitable Services under ESEA Flexibility Q. Are the Title I, Part A funds that an LEA would otherwise spend for choice-related transportation and supplemental educational services (SES) or for professional development in LEAs identified for improvement subject to the requirements to provide equitable services to eligible private school children, their teachers, and their families? (Addendum #1 FAQ B-10a) • Yes, to the same extent and under the same conditions as regular Title I, Part A funds

6. Equitable Services under ESEA Flexibility, Cont’d • Equitable Services applies to: • Title I, Part A funds, including those funds freed up from not needing to meet the 20 percent obligation or the set aside for professional development under ESEA flexibility, that an LEA allocates to its Title I schools under ESEA section 1113(c) • Off-the-top reservations from Title I, Part A funds, including those funds freed up from not needing to meet the 20 percent obligation or the set aside for professional development under ESEA flexibility, that an LEA uses to provide district-wide services to Title I schools (e.g., summer school or professional development to all Title I schools or all Title I schools at a particular grade level)

7. Equitable Services under ESEA Flexibility, Cont’d • Equitable services would not apply to off-the-top reservations from Title I, Part A funds, including those funds freed up from not needing to meet the 20 percent obligation or the set aside for professional development under ESEA flexibility, if those funds are used by the LEA: • to provide services to a statutorily mandated group of students (e.g., homeless students, neglected and delinquent students), or • on a specific subset of low-performing schools (e.g., priority schools, or focus schools)

8. Lists of Schools Q. How may an SEA meet the requirements to submit its lists of reward, priority, and focus schools as part of its request? (Addendum #2 FAQ C-25a) • To meet this requirement, an SEA may submit lists of reward, priority, and focus schools in one of the following formats: • Final lists with the LEA name, school name, NCES number, and reason for identification; • Preliminary lists with the LEA name, school name, NCES number, and reason for identification; or • Preliminary lists with the LEA name, school name, and NCES number redacted, but that include the reason for identification. • For option 2 or 3, an SEA must explain why it is submitting such lists and the date it will submit the final lists

9. Identifying Reward, Priority, and focus Schools Q. May an SEA identify its reward, priority, or focus schools based on the school grades or ratings from the SEA’s proposed overall differentiated recognition, accountability, and support system? • Yes, under certain conditions • An SEA may identify reward, priority, or focus schools based on the SEA’s proposed system if it demonstrates in its request that it has identified the requisite number of schools in each category that meet the ESEA flexibility definitions of reward, priority, and focus schools • See “Demonstrating that an SEA’s Lists of Reward, Priority, and Focus Schools Meet ESEA Flexibility Definitions” available at http://www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility/support-for-states

10. ESEA Flexibility and ESEA section 1113 Q. If an SEA identifies as a priority school a Title I-eligible high school that has a graduation rate less than 60 percent over a number of years, may Title I funds be used in that school? (Addendum #2 FAQ C-23d) • Yes, under certain conditions. • The SEA may request a waiver of ESEA section 1113(a)(3)-(4) and (c)(1) to enable the LEA to serve the Title I-eligible high school with a graduation rate less than 60 percent that is identified as a priority school with Title I, Part A funds out of rank order. The school would become a Title-I participating school and be subject to all Title I requirements.

11. ESEA Flexibility and ESEA Section 1113: EXAMPLE *Priority school – graduation rate below 60 percent If the SEA has been granted a waiver of ESEA section 1113, the LEA may serve these priority schools out of rank order of poverty and use Title I, Part A funds to provide interventions in these priority schools.

12. Personally Identifiable Information Q. The ESEA Flexibility Request indicates that requests should not include personally identifiable information (PII). What are examples of PII? • Examples of PII may include: • Names of people included in their private capacity (i.e., as parents or students, not as experts relied upon, etc.) • Personal email , phone contact information, or home addresses • Salary information of named employees • Photographs of individuals

13. Personally Identifiable Information, cont’d • Examples of PII, continued: • Signatures of private individuals (e.g., heads of private organizations that are not in the public eye, etc.) or State/school employees at a lower level (e.g., individual teachers acting in their own capacity, etc.) • An SEA should redact any personally identifiable information included in its request, attachments, or appendices that it submits to ED

14. Request v. review guidance Q. In completing the SEA’s ESEA Flexibility Request, does the SEA need to respond directly to the prompts in the Review Guidance? • An SEA should respond comprehensively and coherently to all the elements contained in the document titled ESEA Flexibility Request in a way that allows reviewers to gain a complete and thorough picture of the SEA’s plans or systems • The SEA is not required to respond directly to the prompts in the Review Guidance • However, since peer reviewers will use the specific questions in the ESEA Flexibility Review Guidance to determine whether an SEA’s request meets the principles of ESEA flexibility, an SEA should use these questions in the Review Guidance as a check to see that it has addressed all the areas that reviewers will consider

15. ESEA Flexibility:additional Questions • You may ask questions over the phone or through the webinar’s chat function.

16. Closing State Questions and Office Hours To submit questions or schedule a time for SEA teams to speak with Department staff, contact your ED ESEA flexibility contact or email ESEAflexibility@ed.gov