COMPARABILITY

1. COMPARABILITY Monday, November 18, 2013 Webinar Session Jackie Godbout Maine Department of Education 624-6705 This webinar will be recorded. Enter your name in the chat box at the lower right hand corner so we can have a participant list. Thank you, Jackie.

2. DUE DATE • Use October 2013 student enrollment and teacher data. • The report is due December 18, 2013. NCLB Clearinghouse Maine Department of Education 23 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333

3. REQUIREMENTS • Section 1120A(c) of NCLB Act • Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement for Single Audit—Auditors do ask to see the district’s Comparability Report

4. requires that a SAU uses its state and local resources in an equitable way to provide educational services in a Title IA school that is comparable to non-Title IA schools. If all schools are Title IA, then educational resources must be comparable among the Title IA schools. SECTION 1120A(c)…

5. SECTION 1120A(c)… • Comparability must be met in order to receive Title I funds. • If comparability is not met when calculations are performed, redistribution of resources must occur in order to continue to receive Title I funds.

6. COMPARABILITY REPORT Located at: • http://www.maine.gov/education/nclb/tia/comparability/index.htm • RTF/Word format • EXCEL document which does the calculations and comparability determination for Part II-IV Worksheets

7. DEFINITIONS • Comparable Grade Span • Group Size—Smaller, Larger, Exempt • Apply definitions to Part I Worksheet • Full Time Equivalent (FTE) • Instructional Staff • Apply definitions to Part II & III Worksheets • Review Source Documentation Requirements

8. GRADE SPAN Part I Worksheet – Section A • Refers to actual Grade Span of the school Part I Worksheet – Section B • Looks to create comparable Grade Span groupings based on the grade span of the schools from Section A. • Ex. K-3, K-5, K-2, 3-5, K-2, 6-8, 6-8, 9-12 • Grade Span Groups = K-2 (3 schs), 3-5 (1 sch), K-5 (1 sch), 6-8 (2 schs), 9-12 (1 sch)

9. GROUP SIZE: SMALLER-LARGER-EXEMPT GROUPS • A school is Exempt in this process if it has less than 100 students. • A single school in a grade span is always classified as Smaller. • Look at a specific grade span with multiple schools after eliminating exempt schools. If the highest enrollment at one of the schools is twice the amount of the lowest enrollment, then you may designate one school as a Larger school and the other school as a Smaller school. • If other schools exist in that grade span, you place them in the most appropriate group size. • If the highest enrollment is not twice the lowest enrollment of the schools in a specific grade span, then the schools are classified as Smaller.

10. PART 1 WORKSHEET SECTION AList All Schools in the SAU

11. PART 1 WORKSHEET SECTION BTwo Title IA schools in same Size Group and Grade Span -- Part IV Worksheet

12. PART 1 WORKSHEET SECTION AList All Schools in the SAU

13. PART 1 WORKSHEET SECTION BPart IV Worksheet for K-2 GSPart II and III Worksheets for 6-8 GS

14. Full Time Equivalent • Determine the number of full-time instructional staff paid with state/local resources for each school.Prorate each part-time staff person for each school to the nearest tenth and add to full-time staff to determine the total FTE for all instructional staff for that school. You must use the same standard and definition of instructional staff and FTE across all schools. Time for stipend activities is not included in this FTE count.

15. INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF • STAFF TO BE INCLUDED: Staff members who render direct and personal services that are in the nature of the teaching or the improvement of the teaching/learning situation in a school. The term includes principals, librarians, guidance, teachers including art, music, physical education, foreign language, etc. for a school. The term also includes educational technicians or other paraprofessional personnel including clerical personnel employed to assist instructional staff members in providing these services.

16. INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF • STAFF EXCLUDED:DO NOT INCLUDE staff positions paid from federal funds such as Title IA or Class Size Reduction. Special education and ESL staff regardless of funding are not included. In addition, any staff person paid with local funding who is providing Title IA supplemental services to Title I identified students is not included in the instructional staff count.

17. PART 1 WORKSHEET SECTION BPart IV Worksheet for K-2 GSPart II and III Worksheets for 6-8 GS

18. Part II Worksheet—Non-Title I School

19. Part III Worksheet – Title IA School

20. SOURCE DOCUMENTATION STUDENT ENROLLMENT DOCUMENTION: • Needed for all schools in Part I Worksheet • Student enrollment summary count from a day in October 2012 from a school information system (SIS) would be sufficient; or • Copy of district listing from the Oct. 30, 2012 EF-U-534 Free & Reduce Lunch Report; or • Copy of other student enrollment report/data from an official website.

21. SOURCE DOCUMENTATION STAFF LISTING DOCUMENTATION • Needed only for those schools requiring calculations on a Part II-IV Worksheet • If the staff listing shows all staff, cross out those allowable EXCLUDED staff, but identify them as Title I, Special Ed, ESL, etc. • Ensure that counts and pertinent information are clearly identifiable. • Each staff should be considered 1 FTE if not coded with a different FTE count. • Don’t forget allowable Ed Tech and other instructional support staff.

22. FREQUENT ERRORS • It is important to remember that the calculated result in block 6(B) on the Part II Worksheet needs to be carried forward to block 6(B) on the Part III Worksheet. Each Title I school’s staff/student ratio in column 6 on the Part III Worksheet is then compared to the number in block 6(B) to determine if comparability is met. • Salaries in column(5) are necessary only if a school does not meet Comparability using Student/Staff Ratios. • Missing Source Documentation from those SAUs with an * on the FY13 Comparability List.

23. Questions???? • Opening for questions. • Type question in the chat area or ask a verbal question by pressing #6 to unmute your line. • If questions arise later, contact Jackie Godbout at 624-6712.