NCLB- Title IA ARRA Update Webinar May 7, 2009

1. NCLB- Title IA ARRA Update Webinar May 7, 2009

2. NCLB- Title IA ARRA UpdateWebinarMay 7, 2009 Welcome Introductions Today’s session Questions and answers

3. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: SAVING AND CREATING JOBS AND REFORMING EDUCATION U.S. Department of Education April 3, 2009

4. Saving and Creating Jobs and Reforming Education “In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity - it is a pre-requisite. The countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow.” - President Barack Obama, 2/24/09

5. Historic, One-time Investment • Over $100 billion education investment • Historic opportunity to stimulate economy and improve education • Success depends on leadership, judgment, coordination, and communication

6. Guiding Principles

7. Advance Core Reforms: Assurances

8. $44 Billion Available in April • State Stabilization - $32.5 billion (67% based on approvable application) • Available April 1 • IDEA, Parts B & C - $6.1 billion (50%) • Title I, Part A - $5 billion (50%) • Vocational Rehabilitation - $270 million (50%) • Independent Living - $52.5 million (100% of formula monies; $87.5 million in competitive grants to follow) • Available April 10 • Homeless Youth - $70 million (100%) • Impact Aid - $40 million (100% of formula monies; $60 million in competitive grants to follow)

9. Additional $49 Billion Becomes Available Later in 2009 • Pell & Work Study - $17.3 billion (100%) • State Stabilization - $16.1 billion (33%) • IDEA , Parts B & C - $6.1 billion (50%)  • Title I, Part A - $5 billion (50%) • Title I School Improvement - $3 billion (100%) • Enhancing Education through Technology - $650 million (100%) • Vocational Rehabilitation - $270 million (50%) • Statewide Data Systems - $250 million (100%) • Teacher Incentive Fund - $200 million (100%) • Teacher Quality Enhancement - $100 million (100%)

10. Balance Speed and Effectiveness • Balance speed and stimulus with careful planning and effective reforms • States should award funds to LEAs as quickly as is prudent and LEAs should use funds expeditiously but sensibly • LEA obligation timelines: • State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF): must be obligated by September 30, 2011 • Title I, Part A: in absence of a waiver, 85% by Sept 30, 2010; any remaining by Sept 30, 2011 • IDEA, Part B: majority during school years 2008/09 and 2009/10 and remainder by September 30, 2011

11. Short-term Investments that Produce Lasting Results; Avoid “The Cliff” • Maximize short-term investments with lasting results for: • students • teacher, school, and district capacity for improvement • Minimize unsustainable ongoing commitments • Integrate coherent improvement strategies that are aligned with the core reform goals

12. Formula Competitive

13. State Fiscal Stabilization Fund for Education: Uses of Funds • Education funds for elementary and secondary must run through State’s primary funding formulae; SFSF funds will become part of the EPS formula in FY09, FY10, & FY11 • LEAs may use SFSF funds for any activity authorized under ESEA, IDEA, Adult Ed, or Perkins, including modernization of school facilities and salaries to avoid teacher layoffs • LEAs are encouraged to use funds for activities that advance progress on the assurances and drive lasting results without unsustainable recurring costs

14. State Fiscal Stabilization Fund: Maintenance of Effort Issues • Each Governor must assure the State will maintain same level of support for education in FY2009-11 at least at FY2006 level • ED may waive under certain conditions so long as state does not reduce proportional amount of state revenues for education • With prior approval, State or LEA may count ARRA funds as non-federal funds for maintenance of effort (MOE) – More to come on MOE

15. Data Metrics: Show How Schools Perform, Help Schools Improve (1) • Specific data metrics on the four assurances • Transparency on state progress toward reforms will drive conversations and action • Metrics available for public comment in the Federal Register (comment period ended May 1, 2009) • In application for phase two stabilization funds, states provide plan for collecting and reporting these data

16. Data Metrics: Show How Schools Perform, Help Schools Improve (2) • Teacher effectiveness and ensuring that all schools have highly qualified teachers • Number and % of teachers in the highest-poverty and lowest-poverty schools in the state who are highly qualified • Number and % of teachers and principals rated at each performance level in each LEA’s teacher evaluation system • Number and % of LEA teacher and principal evaluation systems that require evidence of student achievement outcomes

17. Data Metrics: Show How Schools Perform, Help Schools Improve (3) • Higher standards and rigorous assessments that will improve both teaching and learning • Most recent math and reading NAEP scores • Steps to improve assessments • Valid reliable measures for ELLs and students with disabilities test in math and English Language Arts (ELA) • % of ELLs and students with disabilities tested in math and ELA • Number and % of students who graduate and complete one year of college

18. Data Metrics: Show How Schools Perform, Help Schools Improve (4) • Intensive support, effective interventions, and improved achievement in schools that need it the most • Number of schools in restructuring status that demonstrated substantial gains in achievement, closed, or consolidated – last 3 years • Number of schools in the bottom 5% of those schools that demonstrated substantial gains in student achievement, closed or consolidated - last 3 years • Number and % of schools in restructuring status that have made progress in math and ELA in last year • Charter school caps, number operating, number closed

19. Data Metrics: Show How Schools Perform, Help Schools Improve (5) • Better information to educators and the public, to address the individual needs of students and improve teacher performance • Statewide data system includes elements of America COMPETES Act • All teachers in math and ELA in tested grades receive timely data and estimates of individual teacher impact on student achievement to inform instruction

20. Title I, Part A – ARRA: Flow of Funds • $10 billion under Title I, Part A on top of normal FY2009 allocation • ED will release 50% on April 1 without the need for new applications • Contact NCLB Clearinghouse to request Title IA ARRA funds prior to July 1, 2009. • Remaining 50% available upon approval of State plan amendment on recordkeeping and reporting requirements in September 2009 • State must reserve 4% for school improvement, of which at least 95% must be allocated to LEAs

21. Title I, Part A – ARRA: Fiscal Issues and Waivers • ED will consider requests for waivers for: • “Set-aside” requirements in Title I, Part A that apply to the use of funds by LEAs • Per-pupil amount for supplemental educational services • State may grant LEAs a waiver of carryover limitation • ED may not waive supplement not supplant requirement but in cases of severe budget shortfalls LEAs may have avenues to demonstrate compliance • (http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/fiscalguid.pdf.) • ED will consider requests to count SFSF funds as non-federal for purposes of MOE

22. Title I School Improvement Grants • $3 billion to improve lowest performing schools – almost six-fold increase in funding • Will be made available by Fall 2009 • States will give priority to LEAs that: • Serve the lowest-achieving schools • Demonstrate the greatest need for such funds • Demonstrate the strongest commitment to ensuring that such funds are used to enable the lowest-achieving schools to meet the progress goals in school improvement plans • More to come

23. IDEA, Part B – ARRA: Flow of Funds • $11.3 billion under Part B Grants to States and $400 million under Part B Preschool Grants on top of the normal FY2009 grants • Released 50% April 1 without the need for new applications • Remaining awarded by Sept 30, 2009 upon approval of State’s recordkeeping and reporting submission • Under the Grants to States program, no increase in the amount a State would otherwise be able to reserve for administration and State-level activities under its regular FY 2009 award

24. IDEA, Part B and Part C – ARRA: Early Childhood • Part B Preschool: $400 million under Part B Preschool Grants in addition to FY 2009 grants • Release 50% April without the need for new applications • Remaining 50% awarded by September 30, 2009 upon approval of State’s on recordkeeping and reporting submission • Part C Early Intervention: $500 million under Part C Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Grants in addition to FY 2009 grants • Released 50% April 1 without the need for new applications • Remaining 50% awarded by September 30, 2009 upon approval of State’s on recordkeeping and reporting submission • ED will set aside $71 million of the IDEA, Part C recovery funds for State Incentive Grants to serve children three years of age until entrance into elementary school

25. IDEA, Part B – ARRA: Fiscal and Waiver Issues • LEAs may reduce expenditures for special education by up to 50 percent of the amount of the increase in the LEA's IDEA allocation over the prior year, if the freed-up local funds are used for activities that could be supported under the ESEA, which can include early intervening services • Under certain circumstances, an LEA may use up to 15% of its total Part B grant for early intervening services for children who are not currently identified as children with disabilities • ED will consider requests: • for waivers to State MOE requirements for exceptional circumstances, including unforeseen decline in fiscal resources • to count SFSF as non-federal for MOE

26. Potential Uses of ARRA Funds to Drive Long-Term Educational Reform and Improvement • Will the proposed use of ARRA funds: • Drive results for students? • Increase capacity? • Accelerate reform? • Avoid the “cliff” and improve productivity? • Track results?

27. Potential Uses of ARRA Funds to Drive Long-Term Educational Reform and Improvement (1) Improving teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution of highly qualified teachers

28. Potential Uses of ARRA Funds to Drive Long-Term Educational Reform and Improvement (2) Establishing data systems and using data for improvement

29. Potential Uses of ARRA Funds to Drive Long-Term Educational Reform and Improvement (3) Turning around low-performing schools

30. Potential Uses of ARRA Funds to Drive Long-Term Educational Reform and Improvement (4) Improving results for all students

31. Non-Public School Student and Teacher Participation • Programs included in the stimulus that require equitable participation of non-public school students and teachers include: • Title I, Part A • Title II, Part D (Enhancing Education through Technology) • IDEA, Part B

32. Title I and IDEAAdministration Provision • The Secretary intends to issue regulations to allow reasonable adjustments to the limitation on State administration expenditures to help States defray the costs of ARRA data collection requirements.

33. Accountability and Transparency • All ARRA funds must be tracked separately • Quarterly reports on both financial information and how funds are being used • Estimated number of jobs created • Subcontracts and sub-grants required to comply with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act • Reporting template being developed for use by States to capture required information • Transparency allows opportunity to quantify/define goals and mobilize support for improving results for all students

34. More Information • ARRA Resources and Guidance: http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/index.html#appsSFSF • SFSF Questions: State.fiscal.fund@ed.gov • IDEA Questions: IDEArecoverycomments@ed.gov • Title I Questions: oese@ed.gov • Inspector General Questions: rich.rasa@ed.gov • Independent Living and Vocational Rehabilitation Questions: RSARecoverActComments@ed.gov

35. FAQ- What is the criteria for receiving Title I ARRA? • Title I funds will be distributed to SAUs with at least 10 students who qualify for free lunch and a 5 percent free lunch poverty level using federal distribution procedures for Targeted Need and Education Financial Incentive Grant funds – both subsets of Title I. ARRA-Title IA

36. Why is the preliminary regular FY10 Title IA allocation less than the required holdharmless amount based the SAUs FY09 Title IA allocation? • The holdharmless provision is based on the combined regular and ARRA amounts. • The State’s set asides are based on the combined amounts. • State’s were allowed to decide if the set asides would be taken from the regular Title IA funds, the ARRA funds, or a % from each set of funds. • Maine decided to take the set asides from the regular Title IA funds with all ARRA funds distributed as grant funds to SAUs. ARRA-Title IA

37. How do we apply for Title I ARRA funds? • The application for ARRA funds will be combined with the regular NCLB Consolidated Title I application, due August 1. • Project sheets will contain 2 budget lines: one for the regular allocation, one for ARRA funds. • Each project may be funded using the regular allocation, ARRA funds, or a combination of both. • To access funds for projects prior to filing the NCLB Application for 2009-2010, use the Early request application. Application may be obtained on the NCLB website or by contacting the NCLB Clearinghouse.

38. How will we report on the use of Title I ARRA funds? There will be: • quarterly reporting on activities, expenditure amounts, job creation information as defined in Federal regulations, and • year-end NCLB Performance Report on anticipated outcomes, expenditures, carryover, demographics ARRA-Title IA

39. Are Title IA required reservations or set asides applied to Title IA ARRA funds? • ARRA funds must be considered in the Homeless Reservation but the funding may come from Title IA regular funds only; • Neglected reservation must consider the combined allocation to ensure comparable services to children living in eligible institutions; the funding may come from regular Title IA funds, ARRA funds, or both funding streams. • Projects requiring equitable services will be based on the combined regular & ARRA budget amounts. • Parent Involvement set aside: SAUs receiving more than a combined $500,000 allocation must set aside and spend 1% of the its allocation for parental involvement activities. The 1% may come from regular Title IA funds, ARRA funds, or both. No waiver allowed. ARRA-Title IA

40. Continued reservation and set aside requirements-- • Continuous Improvement Priority School (CIPS) requires 10% of a school’s Title IA allocation to be used for professional development which includes ARRA funds. A waiver may be sought to exclude ARRA funds. • Continuous Improvement Priority District (CIPD) requires 10% of an SAU’s Title IA allocation to be used for professional development which includes ARRA funds. A waiver may be sought to exclude ARRA funds. • SES/Choice Transportation set aside requires an amount equivalent to 20% of the SAU’s Title I allocation unless less is needed. A waiver may be sought to exclude ARRA funds. • The per-pupil amount for supplemental educational services is based on the SAU’s total allocation divided by the SAU’s allocation poverty count. A waiver may be sought to exclude ARRA funds. ARRA-Title IA

41. How does an SAU apply for waivers? • The State is awaiting guidance on the procedure to apply for waivers. At this time, the State does not have authority to approve any waivers; only the Secretary of Education has that authority. ARRA-Title IA

42. Can the Title I Recovery money be used for non-Title I eligible schools? NO-not at this time • Title I eligible schools that were not previously served may be served following Title IA requirements. • In addition, Education chiefs as a group have suggested to Secretary Duncan a waiver for greater flexibility in the use of Title IA recovery funds to allow SAUs to implement district-wide use of Title I funds. We are awaiting additional guidance in the next several weeks ARRA-Title IA

43. Which schools are Title IA eligible according to Section 1113 of NCLB? • If the SAU has fewer than 1,000 students, all schools are Title IA eligible; no distribution rules • If there is only one building at each grade level, all schools are Title IA eligible; no distribution rules • Any school above 35% poverty (F&R Lunch) is eligible; must follow distribution rules • Any school above district poverty is eligible i.e. district poverty level is 22%, any school above 22% poverty is eligible; must follow distributions rules ARRA-Title IA

44. How can an eligible school transition from Targeted Assistance Services (TAS) to Schoolwide Services (SWP)? • The school must have a 40% poverty level • A year of planning is required, unless the school can adequately demonstrate that all schoolwide requirements have been met and the plan can be completed. • The planning process requires the notification to and involvement of Title I parents. • The State Title I office should be notified if the school is working on this transition to SWP • Schoolwide resources: http://www.maine.gov/education/nclb/schoolwide/home.htm

45. What are the distribution rules for Title IA funds to the schools? • Poverty ranking distribution rule—The higher poverty school must receive the higher or equal per pupil amount • Grade Span ranking distribution rule--The highest poverty school in the 1st priority grade span must receive the higher or equal per pupil amount as the lower poverty schools in the grade span; the highest poverty school in the 2nd priority grade span must start below the highest poverty school in the 1st priority grade span • Either ranking method requires that if schools served are below 35% poverty, then each school’s per pupil amount in that SAU must equate to 125% of the SAUs Title IA per pupil amount. ARRA-Title IA

46. What are the carryover provisions for Title IA ARRA funds? • Title IA ARRA funds are considered 2009-2010 funds. Carryover will not be determined until the 2009-2010 NCLB Performance Report is filed. At that time, 85% of the combined Title IA regular and ARRA funds should be spent; any remaining funds will follow standard NCLB carryover procedures. • Currently, the Title IA rules allow SAUs to receive a waiver to exceed the 15% carryover limitation once in a three year period and this process is built into the NCLB Performance Report.

47. Can Title I ARRA Funds be used to supplement Development of Early Childhood Programs? YES-under certain conditions • If the early childhood program has criteria to select students for participation, in accordance with Title I regulations, Title I funds may used to provide early childhood services in conjunction with Head Start or other early childhood programs. • If the program is open to all students, with no selection criteria, then Title funds may not be used. Title I funds may be used only provide supplemental services to identified students that align with state early learning standards and state content standards for grades K–3. Be sure to consider sustainability beyond 2010–11.

48. Can Title I ARRA Funds be used to provide supplemental support for the MLTI initiative? Under certain conditions • Title I - Title I funds can be used for children in a Title I school with "schoolwide" program authority. • We are seeking additional guidance on the use of Title I funds in "targeted" Title IA schools.

49. Can Title I ARRA funds be used for construction projects? • Title IA ARRA funds may be used to modify an area within a facility to ensure an appropriate environment exists to implement the Title IA instructional program • Rental costs for a facility may be paid to provide space for the Title IA program ARRA-Title IA

50. MORE TO COME ON… • Waivers • CIPS projects sheets & set asides • Reporting • Private Schools • Application Process ARRA-Title IA