The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education today sent a letter to all chief state school officers providing guidance on how states can use their federal formula funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to both expand education choice and turn around failing schools.
This guidance focuses on schools identified for support and improvement due to low performance, including comprehensive support and improvement (CSI), targeted support and improvement due to consistently underperforming subgroups (TSI), and additional targeted support and improvement (ATSI).
“It’s a top priority for the Trump Department of Education to help turn around underperforming schools and improve student outcomes, while also giving students in those underperforming schools better options,” said Hayley Sanon, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. “Every year that a child spends in school is precious and cannot be wasted. Students deserve a choice that best meets their unique needs while leaders undertake the important work of turning schools around. We hope that every state will lean on the guidance issued today to support school improvement activities and help more students reach their full potential.”
“Louisiana’s historic education progress is no accident – it’s the result of strategic actions such as expanding school choice. This welcomed step by the Trump Administration will place more students in quality schools and further return critical decision-making to the states,” said Dr. Cade Brumley, Louisiana Superintendent of Education.
“In Indiana we have implemented a competitive grant process for federal school improvement funds that allows us to take a learner-centered and data-driven approach to school transformation,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “This includes strategically focusing on what we know moves the needle for students, including an emphasis on literacy, STEM, and rethinking high school. The additional guidance shared today by the U.S. Department of Education further empowers us to double down on investments in the knowledge, skills, and experiences that Hoosier students and parents value most, and ultimately, ensure more Indiana families have access to high-quality educational options for their child.”
Background:
- Under ESEA section 1003(a), a State generally must reserve seven percent of its Title I, Part A allocation to award funds to LEAs on behalf of schools to support school improvement activities in schools identified for CSI, TSI, and ATSI.
- These funds can be sent out through a competitive grant process which empowers states to prioritize or incentivize activities and strategies for improving schools that make the most sense for their students and communities.
- Upon receiving notification from the State regarding a school’s identification status as CSI, TSI, or ATSI, a local education agency (LEA) or school must develop and implement a support and improvement plan, in partnership with stakeholders (including principals and other school leaders, teachers, and parents) to improve student outcomes.
- Though students in these underperforming schools are not required to be given a school choice option, states may prioritize sending out 1003(a) school improvement dollars to districts that will both turnaround underperforming schools and given students a school choice option.
- In accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families, this letter follows previous guidance letters on improving parental choice that focused on direct student services and the unsafe school choice option provision.
Read the full letter here.