The Basics of Title I

1. The Basics of Title I Florida Public School Choice Consortium's Annual Conference (FPSCC) Anke Toth November 18, 2009

2. Overview of Title IEmphasizing Public School Choice and Parental Involvement

3. How Funds are Allocated • US Department of Education (USED) grants funds to states • LEA allocations are based on statutory formulas • School allocations after set-asides are based on total number of low-income students residing in an eligible school attendance area

4. Eligible School Attendance Area • LEA may only use Title I, Part A funds for students residing in “eligible school attendance areas” • Eligible area = school attendance area in which the percentage of children from low-income families is at least as high as the percentage of children from low-income families in the LEA

5. Program Design • Two models of Title I, Part A program: • Schoolwide (SW) • Targeted Assistance (TA)

6. Schoolwide Program (SWP) • Upgrade the entire educational program • Ensure all children meet standards, particularly those most at risk

7. Targeted Assistance Schools (TAS) • Must identify eligible students: • Students failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet the state’s challenging academic achievement standards • Migrant • Neglected and delinquent • Homeless • Head Start, Even Start, Early Reading First

8. Allocating Title I, Part A Funds

9. LEA Reservations of Title I Funds • 20% Choice with Transportation & SES • 1% Parental Involvement (PI) • 10% LEA and School Improvement (SI) • 5% Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) • Homeless • Neglected and delinquent • LEA-wide activities

10. Public School Choice & Supplemental Educational Services (SES)

11. Use of 20% Choice Set-Aside • If no SES, then: • 20% on choice • If no choice, then: • 20% on SES • If both, then: • Minimum of 5% for choice • Minimum of 5% for SES • 10% on either

12. General Points • 20% cannot include: • Administration for choice or SES • SES transportation • Choice – prioritize low achieving students from low income families, but choice must be offered to all • SES – prioritize lowest achieving students

13. Public School Choice • Parents of all children enrolled in a school identified as in need of improvement for two or more years, have the choice to transfer their children to a higher performing school • LEA must offer at least one choice • Must be a school NOT in need of improvement • No exception for lack of capacity • Transportation to the new school of choice is provided by the district at no cost to the family

14. Supplemental Educational Services (SES) • Florida offers SES in Title I schools that do not make AYP for two and more consecutive years • Free tutoring beyond normal school day provided by state-approved SES providers • Offer services that focus on evidence-based programs and strategies • Students eligible to receive free or reduced priced meals are eligible for SES

15. Supplemental Educational Services (cont.) • Information is mailed and is also available in school offices • If needed, staff are available to help parents to select an SES provider that best meets the needs of their child

16. Waivers • Approving LEAs and schools in need of improvement, corrective action, or restructuring as SES providers • Excluding American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds in the calculation of 20% choice set-aside • Excluding ARRA funds in the calculation of the Per Pupil Allocation (PPA) for SES • Excluding ARRA funds from the 10% SI set-asides for high-quality professional development in LEAs and schools in improvement • Ability to grant LEAs a waiver of the carryover limitation of 15% more than once every three years

17. Parental Involvement (PI)

18. Use of 1% PI Set-Aside • 1% must be set aside unless LEA allocation is less than $500,000 • LEAs must still meet all parent involvement requirements • 95% of 1% set-aside must be allocated to schools

19. Who decides how funds are used? • Parents must be involved in decision • Every school has a School Advisory Council (SAC) composed of: Parents, teachers, other staff that work at the school, principal and students (at middle and high school) • In most cases, the SAC determines how to use Title I funds

20. Parent’s Rights • Be involved and request regular meetings to express opinions and concerns • Be provided information on their child’s level of achievement on assessments like FCAT in reading/language arts, mathematics, and science • Request and receive information on the qualifications of their child’s teacher • Be informed if their child is taught by a non-highly qualified teacher for four or more consecutive weeks

21. Parent Involvement Requirements • Annual meeting • Parental Involvement Policies • LEA Level Parental Involvement Policy • School Level Parental Involvement Policy • Title I Plan - School Improvement Plan • Parent-School Compact • Specific parental notifications

22. Convene an annual meeting to inform parents of Title I students about Title I requirements and their rights to be involved in the Title I program Offer meetings at flexible times to maximize participation Annual Meeting

23. LEA Parental Involvement Policies • Describe how the LEA will: • Jointly develop the LEA’s plans • Coordinate and provide support to schools • Build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement

24. LEA Parental Involvement Policies (cont.) • Describe how the LEA will: • Coordinate and integrate with other programs such as Head Start, Even Start, Parents as Teachers, Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), etc. • Involve parents in the activities of its Title I schools

25. LEA Parental Involvement Policies (cont.) • Evaluate annually: • Identify barriers to participation • Use the findings to design strategies for more effective parental involvement • Revise, if necessary, the LEA’s parental involvement policies

26. Involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the policy Involve parents in the joint development of school plans and provide opportunity to comment Hold an annual meeting to inform parents of and explain requirements for Title I Convenient time Offer a number of meetings with flexible times School Parental Involvement Policy

27. Provide to parents information on the curriculum and assessments Upon request, provide regular meetings for parents to participate in decisions about their children’s education School Parental Involvement Policy (cont.)

28. School-Parent Compact • Describe the school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment • Identify ways in which parents will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning

29. School-Parent Compact (cont.) • Describe the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum: • Parent-teacher conferences at least annually where the compact will be discussed in relation to an individual child’s achievement (elementary only) • Frequent reports to parents on their child’s progress • Reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class, and observation of classroom activities

30. Building Capacity • Schools and LEAs must help parents understand: • The Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test • Local academic assessments, including alternative assessments • The parental involvement requirements • How to monitor their child’s progress and work with educators to improve their child’s achievement

31. Building Capacity • Examples: • Literacy programs • Reading and math nights to help parents support their child’s learning • Training parents in the use of the Internet to access their children’s homework, communicate with teachers, and review information about the school and LEA

32. Parental Notifications • Annual LEA report cards • Parents’ Right To Know about teacher qualifications • Highly qualified teacher status • Achievement levels on state academic assessments • School improvement status • Supplemental educational services as a result of school improvement status • Schoolwide/targeted assistance plans, school improvement plans, parent involvement plans, school-parent compacts

33. Parent Notification Timelines • More available at http://www.sedl.org/connections/toolkit/toolkit-titleI-parent-inv.pdf

34. LEA and School Improvement (SI)

35. Use of 10 % SI Set-Aside • 10% for LEAs and schools in need of improvement • Does not apply when in corrective action • High-quality professional development specifically designed to improve classroom teaching

36. Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) and Paraprofessionals

37. Use of 5% HQT Set-Aside • Use funds to ensure teachers meet federal qualifications • Amount of set-aside • At least 5% • Unless a lesser amount is needed

38. Professional Qualifications • Teachers: • Full state certification • At least a bachelor’s degree • Subject matter competency • Paraprofessionals: • At least 2 years of higher education; • Associate’s degree or higher; or • Subject matter competency

39. Professional Qualifications • Core courses for NCLB – Highly-Qualified Teacher (HQT) requirement can be found at: http://www.fldoe.org/eias/dataweb/database_0910/appendr.pdf

40. Contact Florida Department of Education Bureau of Federal Educational Programs Anke Toth Anke.Toth@fldoe.org 850.245.0752