Federal Programs Overview at South Carolina Public Charter School District

1. South Carolina Public Charter School District Federal Programs Overview Robert Compton, Director of Student Services Vamshi Rudrapati, Coordinator of Student Services Tasha Robinson, Director of Finance

2. Federal Programs Overview • IDEA • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act • Title II • Title I • Title III • Title IX • McKinney Vento Homeless Project

3. IDEA • The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the nation’s federal special education law that ensures public schools serve the educational needs of students with disabilities. IDEA requires that schools provide special education services to eligible students as outlined in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). IDEA also provides very specific requirements to guarantee a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE). FAPE and LRE are the protected rights of every eligible child. • Every school names one person as the special education coordinator. • The district has a standard policy, forms, and minimal procedures.

4. IDEA • Funding: • IDEA funds are always a year behind and reimbursed. • Historically, IDEA only covers 14% of the cost associated to educate a child with an IEP. • All schools will receive an allocation after the State sends the allocation to the District (usually in September). • We use a weighted per-pupil formula based on the school’s last official child count (December 1 for current schools and 5th day report for new schools). • After allocated, the school has about 10 days to return a budget request. • Once approved, the District puts all of the schools’ budget request into it’s IDEA application and sends it to the State for approval. • Once the State approves the District’s application (usually November/December), school’s will be notified and reimbursement claims can be submitted. • The district does ONE IDEA amendment (late March). • Funds left on June 30th are returned to the “district” and redistributed district-wide next school year.

5. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act • It is the policy of the South Carolina Public Charter School District to provide a free and appropriate public education to each student with a disability within its jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability. • It is the intent of the district to ensure that students who are disabled within the definition of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are identified, assessed, and provided with appropriate educational services. • There are no additional funds associated with Section 504. • Each school must name a coordinator and their name and or title must be provided in the school’s non-discriminatory notice. The district’s notice is provided as a sample on the next slide. The notice includes both 504 and Title IX. • School must develop a grievance procedure for Section 504 grievances. • The District has standard policies and forms. Training will be provided in the late Summer.

6. Section 504 and Title IX Sample Notification • The South Carolina Public Charter School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, or immigrant status in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following persons have been designated to handle the nondiscrimination policies. For questions pertaining to Section 504 contact the Director of Student Services, questions pertaining to Title IX contact the Director of School Development at 3710 Landmark Drive, Suite 201, Columbia, SC 29204, 803/734-8322.

7. Title II • The purpose of ESEA Title II, Part A is to help states and school districts ensure that all students have effective teachers; that is, teachers with the subject-matter knowledge and teaching skills necessary to help all children achieve to high academic standards, regardless of individual learning styles or needs. In this regard, the program provides substantial funding to help states and districts recruit, train, reward, and retain effective teachers.  • For this school year, only non-Title I schools were able to submit a Title II professional development request. • Like other federal programs, once approved, the school accesses these funds through reimbursements.

8. What is Title I? The purpose of Title I, Part A is to provide Federal Funding to enable schools to provide opportunities for children served to acquire the knowledge and skills contained in the challenging state content standards and to meet the challenging state performance standards developed for all children.

9. How does the SCPCSD allocate Title I funds to schools? To determine poverty counts for eligibility, South Carolina Public Charter School District (SCPCSD) uses the number of students who receive free and reduced-priced lunches in each school.

10. How do we collect Lunch Data? • Schools collect the lunch data using lunch forms and code them in PowerSchool. • EVERY parent should complete a Lunch Form for the students enrolling in your school. • Even if you choose not to provide lunch at your school, you still require parents to complete a lunch form. • Yes, Virtual schools also collect lunch data.

11. District of Residence As it is very important component schools need to pay more attention when entering the District of Residence information. The schools need to use the student educational records, transcripts received from the transferring school/district to determine the DOR. The SCPCSD will verify the DOR information provided in PowerSchool at the beginning of the school year.

12. When do we know that we qualify for Title I Funds? The South Carolina Public Charter school District official Title I allocations are based upon the schools official 5th day count obtained by PowerSchool. This report is run by the SCPCSD Director of Technology Services. Schools at or above the poverty rate of 45% are eligible for assistance and to operate as a school wide program Pages 4 -5: SCPCSD Title I Policies and Procedures

13. Title I Plan • Every school names one person as the Title I coordinator. • Once you are eligible to operate a school wide Title I Program, your school’s Title I Coordinator will receive log in instructions to develop your school Title I Plan. • Once the Plan is approved by the district it will be submitted to the State. • You can submit for reimbursements after the plan is approved by the State. Page 8 & 12: SCPCSD Title I Policies and Procedures

15. Title I Resources SCPCSD Title I Policies and Procedures http://sccharter-web.sharepoint.com/Pages/Title1Resources.aspx District of Residence http://southcarolina.hometownlocator.com/schools/index.cfm http://www.schooldistrictfinder.com/

16. Title III The purpose of this federal grant program is to provide funds to improve the education of limited English proficient students, including immigrant children and youth, by assisting the children and youth to learn English and meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards. ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Language ELL: English Language Learners

17. How do we identify an ELL Student? A home language survey is completed at the time of enrollment for every student who enters your school to determine if there is an influence of a language other than English. The District will provide LAS Screening rights to the school assigned Title III Coordinator. LAS Screening is used to screen new ELL students and in cases where you did not receive ELDA scores from child's previous school.

18. A Home Language Survey MUST given to every student that enrolls at your school and the Home Language Survey is a part of each students file. Resources available on SharePoint

19. Title IX No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. • Each school must name a Title IX coordinator whose name or position is listed in the public non- discrimination clause (see previous slide after 504 for a sample). • School must develop a grievance procedure for Title IX.

20. McKinney Vento Homeless Project • The McKinney-Vento program is designed to address the problems that homeless children and youth have faced in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. Under this program, schools must ensure that each homeless child and youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youth. Homeless children and youth should have access to the educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging State student academic achievement standards to which all students are held.