ESEA FLEXIBILITY: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS October 5, 2011

ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education 2

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 AMOs 2.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 time o Other indicators of student achievement, such as enrollment in AP or IB courses or student portfolios o Indicators of school climate o 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 years  Excluding 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 mathematics  Other academic indicator  Graduation rate regulations not waived  Participation rate  AYP determinations included on State and district report cards

ESEA Flexibility U.S. Department of Education 7 PRIORITY AND FOCUS SCHOOLS Q.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’D Q.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 WORKBOOK Q.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 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” 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  If you have any technical problems with your submission, please Sharon Hall at

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 Hours  To submit questions or schedule a time for SEA teams to speak with Department staff, contact