Post on 23-Dec-2015
ESEA FLEXIBILITY: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
October 5, 2011
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
2
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
3
ESEA FLEXIBILITY AND AYP
Q. Is an SEA that receives ESEA flexibility still required to make AYP determinations as it does under NCLB?
Yes (see FAQ B-11) All rules for AYP determinations remain
the same except:1. New flexibility for setting AMOs2. Use of AYP determinations
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
4
ESEA FLEXIBILITY AND AYP, CONT’D.Q. What is different about how an SEA that receives
ESEA flexibility uses AYP determinations?
Reporting as primary use AYP determinations to inform, but not dictate,
accountability Other factors that might inform accountability
include:o Change in school or subgroup performance over timeo Other indicators of student achievement, such as
enrollment in AP or IB courses or student portfolioso Indicators of school climateo Other factors that are part of an existing State system
See FAQ C-18
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
5
ESEA FLEXIBILITY AND AYP, CONT’D.All flexibility for making AYP determinations remains the same, including:Counting proficient scores on alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (up to 1% limit)Including scores of former English Learners and former students with disabilities in those subgroups for up to two yearsExcluding scores of recently arrived English Learners
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
6
ESEA FLEXIBILITY AND AYP, CONT’D.All requirements for making AYP determinations remain the same, including:Disaggregated results in at least reading/language arts and mathematicsOther academic indicatorGraduation rate regulations not waivedParticipation rateAYP determinations included on State and district report cards
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
7
PRIORITY AND FOCUS SCHOOLSQ. How must an SEA identify its priority and focus
schools?
An SEA must identify a number of schools equal to at least 5 percent of its Title I schools as priority schools, and at least an additional 10 percent of Title I schools as focus schools
An SEA must include its lists of priority and focus schools in its request and include them on report cards
An SEA may update its lists of priority and focus schools based on more recent data, but must ensure implementation of interventions in accordance with the SEA’s approved timeline
See FAQs C-22 through C-30
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
8
PRIORITY AND FOCUS SCHOOLS, CONT’D.Q. How may an SEA identify high schools with
graduation rate less than 60 percent over a number of years as priority and focus schools?
Title I-participating high schools with graduation rates less than 60 percent over a number of years must be identified as either priority or focus schools
In addition, Title I-eligible high schools with graduation rates less than 60 percent over a number of years may be identified as priority schools, but not as focus schools
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
9
ESEA FLEXIBILITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS Q. How does implementation of ESEA
flexibility interact with an SEA's or LEA's implementation of the SIG program?
Under the ESEA flexibility, an SEA may:o Count a PLA school receiving SIG funds to
implement one of the four SIG models as a priority school
o Competitively award new subgrants to LEAs implementing a SIG model in a PLA school or a priority school
SIG funds must be used in accordance with the requirements of the SIG program
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
10
SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICES (SES) AND SCHOOL CHOICE
Q. What are an LEA’s requirements related to SES and school choice under ESEA flexibility?
An LEA would no longer be required provide SES or school choice or reserve the funds to do so
An LEA could still use the funds on SES or choice-related transportation if it chooses to do so
See FAQs B-9 and B-10
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
11
SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICES (SES) AND SCHOOL CHOICE, CONT’DQ. Does an SEA that requests ESEA flexibility
need to conduct a process for selecting SES providers?
Until an SEA is approved to implement the flexibility, it must comply with the current requirements related to approving SES providers
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
12
ESEA FLEXIBILITY AND SECTION 1117 OF THE ESEA Q. Is ESEA flexibility waiving the provision
that States have a statewide system of support?
SEAs will still be required to implement a statewide system of support
How this statewide system of support operates may change from past practices based on the proposed differentiated accountability system plan presented in the SEA’s request
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
13
ESEA FLEXIBILITY AND HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER REQUIREMENTS Q. Do LEAs that did not previously meet the
State’s HQT targets still have to develop improvement plans?
Under ESEA flexibility, an LEA is not required to develop an improvement plan, regardless of the years for which it did not meet HQT targets
These waivers will be in effect once the SEA’s request for flexibility has been approved
Until the date that the request is approved, SEAs and LEAs must comply with all current laws
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
14
ESEA FLEXIBILITY AND AN SEA’S ACCOUNTABILITY WORKBOOKQ. Does an SEA that receives ESEA flexibility
need to update its accountability workbook? Yes
The Department will work with SEAs to enable them to expeditiously update their accountability workbooks prior to the 2012-2013 school year
An SEA with an approved request may begin implementing the flexibility before its accountability workbook amendments are approved
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
15
ESEA FLEXIBILITY: INTENT TO REQUEST FLEXIBILITY Q. What should be included in an SEA’s intent
to request ESEA flexibility on October 12? The SEA should note whether it expects to
submit a request in November or February The “intent to request” e-mail is not binding,
but is an important tool to help ED plan for the review
An SEA is always free select another window at a later point
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
16
ESEA FLEXIBILITY: SUBMITTING ON NOVEMBER 14, 2011 Q. Is there a time certain by which an SEA
must submit its request on November 14?
An SEA may submit a request any time on November 14 in order to be considered in the first review window
Requests are to be submitted to our designated mailbox ESEAflexibility@ed.gov
If you have any technical problems with your submission, please e-mail Sharon Hall at Sharon.Hall@ed.gov
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
17
ESEA FLEXIBILITY:ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
You may ask questions over the phone or through the webinar’s chat function
ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education
18
CLOSING
State Questions and Office HoursTo submit questions or schedule a time
for SEA teams to speak with Department staff, contact ESEAflexibility@ed.gov