Goals

• To increase the numbers of students receiving supplemental educational services (SES) under NCLB.

• To evaluate the effectiveness of SES provided by districts and external organizations to raise reading and math scores on state tests and to identify best practices.

Principles

• Parent Notification

  • Participating districts will provide parents with an early notification of opportunities for SES under NCLB, contingent upon receiving timely state assessment results for making AYP and school improvement determinations.

  • Participating districts will notify parents of the availability of SES in correspondence that is written in simple and accurate language that parents can understand.

  • Participating districts will notify parents of the availability of SES by letter to the student’s home and by at least two other means, such as community flyers, newspaper postings, or other methods.

  • Participating districts will broadly circulate information in the community about the availability of SES.

• Extended Windows

  • Participating districts will provide either a rolling or expanded enrollment process or more than one opportunity or window during the school year in which parents can enroll in SES.

  • Participating districts will provide additional notification to parents whenever they are provided further opportunities or windows to choose services.

  • Parents in participating districts will be provided a reasonable length of time to make their choices of SES.

• Use of School District Facilities

  • Participating districts will make a good-faith effort to allow external providers to provide their services on school sites, contingent on available space or other logistical concerns.

  • Participating districts will agree to charge fees for the use of facilities that are reasonable and similar in nature and amount to the fees charged to other similarly classified external organizations that seek to use school facilities.

• Funding

  • Participating districts will obligate, contingent upon demand for SES, an amount equal to 20 percent of their Title I allocation for SES and transportation for public school choice. A participating district may reallocate excess amounts for use in its regular Title I program after its enrollment windows have closed, provided it has met the demand for SES.

• Reporting

  • Participating districts will report on program participation rates, attendance, notification procedures, and use of facilities to the Department at the end of the first semester of the school year and at the end of the second semester.

• Program Evaluation

• Participating districts will agree to participate in an independent, third-party evaluation of the effects of their own services and those of external providers on state reading and math tests, including an analysis of the characteristics of children served by district and external providers, and gains in student achievement controlling for student background characteristics and prior achievement.

Flexibility Agreements 2006