December 31, 2007
Dear County and District Superintendents, Directors of State and Federal Categorical Programs, and Administrators of Direct-Funded Charter Schools:
Timely Notification and Implementation of Supplemental Educational Services and other related Issues
As a result of a recent monitoring visit by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the California Department of Education (CDE) has an obligation to remind local educational agencies (LEAs) about the timely implementation of supplemental educational services (SES) and other related issues.
The SES provide additional academic instruction designed to increase the academic achievement of students in Program Improvement (PI) schools in Years 2-5. These services may include academic assistance such as tutoring, remediation, and other educational interventions, provided that such approaches are consistent with the content and instruction used by the LEA and are aligned with the State’s academic content standards. The SES must be provided outside of the regular school day by State Board of Education approved SES providers. SES must be high quality, research-based, and specifically designed to increase student academic achievement [No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Section 1116(e)(12)(C)].
Timely Parental Notification of SES
In general, an LEA should work to ensure that parents have comprehensive, easy-to-understand information about supplemental educational services [NCLB, Section 1116(e)(2)]. At least annually, an LEA must provide notice to the parents of each eligible student regarding the availability of SES. Refer to templates for parent communications about PI schools on the Program Improvement Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ti/programimprov.asp. The information about state approved SES providers is available on the Supplemental Educational Services Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ti/supplemental.asp.
This notice to parents must:
- Identify each approved SES provider within the LEA or in its general geographic location [NCLB, Section 1116(e)(2)(A)(ii)]. The notice should also identify providers that are accessible through technology, such as distance learning.
- Describe the services, qualifications, and evidence of effectiveness for each provider [NCLB, Section 1116(e)(2)(A)(iii)].
- Describe the procedures and timelines that parents must follow in selecting a provider to serve their child (see E-4 of the federal SES guidance).
- Be easily understandable and in a uniform format, including alternate formats upon request, and to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand [NCLB, Section 1116(e)(2)(A)]. California Education Code (EC) Section 48985 requires that parental notifications are translated for any group of students who speak a primary language other than English and constitute 15 percent or more of a school’s total enrollment.
Timely Provision of Services
Specific information about the timing of services should be provided directly to the parents of eligible students so that there is sufficient time to allow them to select a provider. Neither the NCLB Act nor the SES Non-Regulatory Guidance specifies a start date for SES; however, CDE recommends that the services be started by mid-November of each school year, or earlier, depending on the LEA’s schedule for the start of the school year. At the beginning of the school year, parents should be informed of the availability of services and given at least three weeks to make a selection. The services should start within 30 days after the parent selection has been made.
LEAs should also consider an early notification in the spring of the previous year for both SES and public school choice (Choice) during the LEA’s open enrollment period for Choice available under state law. Notification about SES and Choice could be provided to parents of students attending PI schools that LEAs know will remain in PI for the following year. Such an early enrollment process would allow eligible students to begin receiving services at the beginning of the school year, thereby optimizing the educational benefit to students, and allow LEAs more time to efficiently manage the contract process.
SES Funding
The law establishes a joint funding mechanism for Choice-related transportation and SES. Unless a lesser amount is needed to meet demand for Choice-related transportation and to satisfy all requests for SES, an LEA must reserve and spend an amount equal to 20percent of its TitleI, Part A allocation, before calculating any other reservations, as follows:
(1) Five percent for Choice-related transportation
(2) Five percent for SES, and
(3) The remaining ten percent for a combination of (1) and (2) or both
This means that the amount of funding that an LEA must devote to SES depends in part on how much it spends on Choice-related transportation. When an LEA has met the demand for SES and Choice it may reallocate any unspent portion of the 20 percent reservation to Title I schools if the source of funding was Title I, Part A, or to the funding source from which it was taken. However, any time the LEA reserves and/or expends less than 20 percent of its Title I, Part A allocation for Choice and SES, the LEA should document that the demand for SES and transportation has been met. If documentation indicates that demand is not met, the unspent amount of the reservation must be carried over to the next fiscal year.
Additionally, if the 20 percent is insufficient to serve all eligible children whose parents request school Choice transfers and SES, the LEA shall give priority for school Choice transportation and/or SES to the lowest-achieving children from low-income families.
Student Learning Plans
The student learning plan is a description of how the student’s progress will be measured and how the student’s parents and teachers will be regularly informed of that progress [NCLB, Section 1116(e)(3)(A) and (B)]. It is the responsibility of the LEA to ensure that a student learning plan is developed for each eligible student in consultation with the SES provider that contains all of the following:
- A statement of specific achievement goals for the student;
- A statement of how the student’s progress will be measured;
- A timetable for improving achievement that, in the case of a student with disabilities, is consistent with the student’s individualized education program;
- A description of how the student, parents, and teacher(s) will be regularly informed of the student’s progress.
Future Actions by CDE to Strengthen Implementation of SES/Choice in California
The CDE is currently considering additional processes for strengthening oversight of SES and Choice implementation throughout the state. The January 2008 response to the Federal Monitoring Review Report will include more specifics, but plans are already underway for the following:
- Establish an SES and Choice Task Force to provide input to the CDE on Choice and SES implementation issues, with assistance of the California Comprehensive Center (CA CC) at WestEd.
- Collaborate with the CA CC to establish a comprehensive SES Web site that includes implementation tools.
- Collaborate with the CA CC to develop a SES provider evaluation which provides sufficient data to assist in making state decisions on provider effectiveness and continued approval.
- Conduct a mid-year survey of the 35 largest districts for the 2007-08 school year regarding the numbers of the students requesting and receiving SES/Choice and whether the demand for SES/Choice was met.
- Continue to work closely with the 35 largest LEAs in SES/Choice implementation, which serve approximately 46 percent of all Title I students in the state.
- Add an error check to the 2007-08 Consolidated application requiring LEAs to document the reason when less then 20 percent is set aside for SES/Choice.
Resources
More information about SES is available on the Supplemental Educational Services Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ti/supplemental.asp; federal SES guidance is available at http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/suppsvcsguid.doc (Outside Source).
If you have questions regarding the SES program, please contact Jerry Cummings, Consultant, Title I Policy and Accountability Unit, at 916-319-0381 or by e-mail at jcumming@cde.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
William L. Padia, Deputy Superintendent
Assessment and Accountability Branch
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1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814