A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Serving Private School Students With Federal Education Programs

Chapter 2.....U. S. Department of Education Programs Serving Private School Students

Title II--Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional
Development Program

Introduction

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program supports local, state, and federal efforts to stimulate and provide the sustained and intensive, high-quality professional development in the core academic subjects that is needed to help students meet challenging state content and student performance standards and thus achieve the National Education Goals.

At the option of the state and local education agencies, the Eisenhower Professional Development program can support professional development in all the core academic subjects. However, to ensure the continuity of professional development that was supported by the program's predecessor in math and science, the state and local shares of the first $250 million in appropriated funds must be devoted to professional development in these subjects.

State and local professional development activities must be guided by plans for a long-term strategy for providing sustained and intensive, high-quality professional development that is tied to challenging content standards and is needed to improve teaching and learning. Of the Title II funds going to the states, 84 percent must be allocated as grants to LEAs and 16 percent to the state agency for higher education, which administers grants to institutions of higher education and non-profit organizations. One-half of this grant money is allocated on the basis of the LEAs Title I allocation for the previous year; the remaining half is allocated on the basis of total number of students, including private school students who reside in each state. Subgrants to LEAs are based on similar criteria for each LEA in the state.

Participation of Private School Students

The participation of private school students under Title II is governed by the Uniform Provisions contained in Section 14503-14509 of Part E of Title XIV of IASA. The Uniform Provisions provide for equitable participation of private school students and timely and meaningful consultation between public and private school officials. (Specifics on the requirements of Title XIV).

The amount of funds per student that an LEA provides for the benefit of private school teachers and students must be equal to the amount of funds per student that benefit the LEA's public school teachers and students, taking into account the number and educational needs of those teachers and students. A program is designed, in consultation between public and private school officials, that meets the needs of the private school teachers and students. This program can be different from the public school program if the needs of the students are different. Timely and meaningful consultation requires that public and private school officials discuss the needs of the students and the subsequent professional development needs of the teachers before any decision is made that could adversely affect the ability of private school teachers to fully participate in the benefits of Title II. As for public school teachers, the professional development program designed for the teachers of private school children must be of high quality, sustained, and intensive.

Title III--Technology for Education

Introduction

Part A of Title III, Technology Education for All Students, provides for the equitable participation of private school students through a formula grant program. The specifics for the equitable participation of private school students are governed by Sections 14503-14509 of Part E of Title XIV of IASA. Technology Education for All Students represents a commitment on the part of Congress and the Department to promote the use of educational technology to support school reform and to assist schools in adopting educational uses of technology to enhance curricula, instruction, and administrative support to improve the delivery of educational services and to help achieve the National Education Goals.

Program Descriptions and Participation of Private School Students

Three programs are authorized under Part A of Title III:

National Programs for Technology in Education: Under this program, the Secretary is required to develop a long-range technology plan that sets out how the Department and other agencies will promote the use of technology to support education reform and provides broad authority for federal leadership in educational technology. Technology in Education conferences are held in which provisions are made for the participation of representatives of private school students.
State and Local Programs for School Technology Resources: This program authorizes grants to states by formula with competitive awards being made to school districts for technology resources, including hardware and software, ongoing professional development for teachers, connection to wide-area networks, and educational services for adults and families. Title XIV applies to the competitive awards received by school districts, including the provision for timely and meaningful consultation before any decision is made that would adversely affect the ability of private school students to benefit from the program.
When appropriations for State and Local Programs for School Technology Resources are less than $62 million, the law authorizes a discretionary grant program, National Challenge Grants for Technology in Education. This is a unique program designed to stimulate effective applications of new learning technologies in communities across the country. Applications are submitted by an LEA on behalf of a consortium of partners (one of which must be an LEA with a high percentage or number of children living below the poverty line) with appropriate resources to address the needs identified in the community. State education agencies, colleges and universities, telecommunications firms and entertainment producers, software developers and hardware manufacturers, libraries and museum, community centers and local businesses, and private schools and groups of private schools may all be consortium members using information technologies to create new learning communities.
Private schools can participate in two ways. First, private schools are eligible to participate in a consortium applying through an LEA for a Challenge Grant. In doing so, the private school (or group of private schools) assumes the role of partner in the consortium. Second, if private schools are not participants in the consortium, private school students and teachers must receive equitable benefits from the federal portion of the funds, as providing under Title XIV. Private school officials must be provided the opportunity, prior to the design of the program, to provide input regarding the needs of private school students to be served by the project. For further information on Challenge Grants for Technology in Education, contact the Office of Non-Public Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202-0122 or by phone at 202/401-1365.
Regional Technical Support and Professional Development: A listing of the regional technical support consortia is provided in the Appendix. The role of regional technical support consortia is to provide technical assistance and information, provide professional development, and disseminate information for educational technology.

A full description of the requirements under the Uniform Provisions for the participation of private school students under Title XIV.

Title IV--Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities

Introduction

Title IV of ESEA authorizes the U.S. Department of Education to continue the support of school- and community-based drug education and prevention programming and expands the scope of the program to authorize activities designed to prevent youth violence. Funds are awarded to both the Governor (20 percent of the state's total allocation) and the SEA (80 percent of the state's total allocation). The program targets resources by allocating 50 percent of funds to states on the basis of the Title I formula and 50 percent on the basis of school-age population.

The Governor's funds can be used for grants or contracts to parents groups, community- based organizations, and job training agencies for programs such as disseminating information about drug and violence prevention; training parents, law enforcement officials, social service providers, and community leaders about drug and violence prevention; developing and implementing comprehensive community-based drug and violence prevention programs that link community resources with schools; before and after-school activities; and developing and implementing strategies to prevent gang violence and violence associated with intolerance and hatred.

The SEA allocates at least 91 percent of funds allocated to the SEA to the LEAs. Seventy percent of the SEA funds are allocated to the LEAs based upon the relative enrollments in public and private nonprofit schools, the remaining 30 percent are allocated to the LEAs determined to have the greatest need. The SEA establishes criteria for greatest need, and must limit distribution to not more than 10 percent of the LEAs in the state, or five such agencies, whichever is greater.

Title IV adds violence prevention as a key element of the program and broadens the types of prevention programs that LEAs can support. Examples of programs that can be supported by the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program include mentoring, comprehensive health education, community service and service learning projects, conflict resolution, peer mediation, and character education.

Participation of Private School Students

The uniform provisions of Sections 14503-14509 of Part E of Title XIV govern the participation of private school students in the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program. Funds are allocated on an equitable basis, timely and meaningful consultation is conducted between public and private school officials, and the needs of private school students are considered in the design and development of the program. A full description of the requirements under Title XIV.

Title VI--Innovative Education Program Strategies

Introduction

Innovative Education Program Strategies retains the flexibility of its predecessor, Chapter 2, while supporting activities that encourage school reform and educational innovation. Title VI supports a broad range of local activities in eight primary areas: technology related to implementing reform; acquisition and use of instructional and educational materials, including library materials and computer software; promising education reform projects such as magnet schools; programs for disadvantaged and at-risk children; literacy programs for students and their parents; programs for gifted and talented children; school reform efforts linked to Goals 2000; and school improvement programs or activities authorized under Title I.

Federal funds are allocated, by formula, to states, which then distribute at least 85 percent of the funds to LEAs with a priority on LEAs serving children from low-income families and children from sparsely populated areas.

Participation of Private School Students

Title VI contains language for the equitable participation of private school students. Section 6402(a)(1) of Part D of Title VI requires that LEAs provide, for the benefit of students within the LEA who are enrolled in private, nonprofit elementary and secondary schools, secular, neutral, and nonideological services, materials, and equipment. These services may include training of teachers of these students and repair, minor remodeling or construction of public facilities that may be necessary to provide services. If the LEA or school district does not carry out a Title VI project, the state shall make arrangements, such as through a contract, to ensure that private school students are provided with services to the extent that would have occurred if the LEA were participating in the program. In determining what Title VI services to provide for the benefit of private school students, an LEA must consult with appropriate private school officials. Finally, expenditures for Title VI services for private school students must be equal to expenditures for Title VI services for public school children within the LEA, taking into account the needs of children and other factors.

Title VII--Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs

Introduction

Title VII establishes four functional discretionary grant categories aligned with the Department's comprehensive educational reform efforts. The restructured programs are (1) three-year program development and implementation grants to initiate new programs; (2) two-year enhancement grants to improve existing programs; (3) five-year comprehensive school grants to develop projects integrated with the overall school program; and (4) five- year system-wide improvement grants for district-wide projects that serve a significant number of the limited English proficient students in a school district.

Section 7501 of Part E of Title VII defines "limited English proficient" as an individual not born in the United States or whose native language is not English or who comes from an environment where a language other than English is dominant and who has sufficient difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language and whose difficulties may deny that person the opportunity to learn successfully in classrooms where the language of instruction is English or to participate fully in society.

In addition, Title VII authorizes the Foreign Language Assistance Program as a discretionary grant program to help SEAs and LEAs establish and improve foreign language instruction in elementary and secondary schools. As with other federal education programs, there is a requirement, unless waived, that federal program dollars be matched with funds from non-federal sources.

Title VII also authorizes the Emergency Immigrant Education Act. Under this program, funds are awarded, on a formula basis, to SEAs that have individual LEAs in which the number of immigrant public and non-public elementary and secondary students is at least 500 or at least 3 percent of the total number of students enrolled in the LEA's public or non-public schools during the fiscal year. The term immigrant children and youth is defined in section 7501 of Part E of Title VII as an individual aged 3 through 21, not born in any state, and have not been attending or more schools in any one or more states for more than three full academic years.

Participation of Private School Students

The participation of private school students is governed by the Uniforms Provisions of Title XIV. A full explanation of the provisions of Title XIV is contained below. While the provision of services under Title VII may pose challenges to the provision of equitable services, the consultation procedures outlined in Title XIV provide a forum for discussion and resolution of logistical challenges.

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[ Chapter 2.....Part A of Title I... ] [ Chapter 2....Continued...]