[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 26, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43101-43114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20612]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED-2009-OESE-0010]
RIN 1810-AB06
School Improvement Grants--American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009; Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
ACTION: Notice of proposed requirements.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Secretary of Education (Secretary) proposes
requirements for School Improvement Grants authorized under section
1003(g) of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965, as amended (ESEA), and funded through both the Department of
Education Appropriations Act, 2009 and the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The proposed requirements would define
the criteria that a State educational agency (SEA) must use to award
school improvement funds to local educational agencies (LEAs) with the
lowest-achieving Title I schools that demonstrate the greatest need for
the funds and the strongest commitment to use those funds to provide
adequate resources to their lowest-achieving Title I schools in order
to raise substantially the achievement of the students attending those
schools. The proposed requirements also would require an SEA to give
priority, through a waiver under section 9401 of the ESEA, to LEAs that
also wish to serve the lowest-achieving secondary schools that are
eligible for, but do not receive, Title I funds. Finally, the proposed
requirements would require an SEA to award school improvement funds to
eligible LEAs in amounts sufficient to enable the targeted schools to
implement one of four specific proposed interventions.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before September 25, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not
accept comments by fax or by e-mail. Please submit your comments only
one time in order to ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies. In
addition, please include the Docket ID and the term ``School
Improvement Grants'' at the top of your comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov to submit your comments electronically. Information
on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency
documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on
the site under ``How To Use This Site.''
Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery. If you
mail or deliver your comments about these proposed requirements,
address them to Dr. Zollie Stevenson, Jr., U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3W230, Washington, DC 20202-
7241.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy for comments
received from
[[Page 43102]]
members of the public (including those comments submitted by mail,
commercial delivery, or hand delivery) is to make these submissions
available for public viewing in their entirety on the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters
should be careful to include in their comments only information that
they wish to make publicly available on the Internet.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Zollie Stevenson, Jr.; Telephone:
(202) 260-0826 or by e-mail: [email protected].
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding
this notice. We are particularly interested in comments on the measures
of accountability described in Section II.A.7 of the proposed
requirements and whether they are appropriate measures for Tier I and
Tier II schools that implement one of the interventions proposed in
Section I.A.2.a, 2.b, or 2.d of this notice. To ensure that your
comments have maximum effect in developing the notice of final
requirements, we urge you to identify clearly the specific proposed
requirement that each comment addresses.
We invite you also to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of
reducing regulatory burden that might result from these proposed
requirements. Please let us know of any further ways we could reduce
potential costs or increase potential benefits while preserving the
effective and efficient administration of this program.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this notice by accessing Regulations.gov. You may also
inspect the comments in person in Room 3W100, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.,
Washington, DC time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal
holidays.
Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record: On request we will provide an appropriate
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the
public rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an
appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Purpose of Program: In conjunction with Title I funds for school
improvement reserved under section 1003(a) of the ESEA, School
Improvement Grants under section 1003(g) of the ESEA are used to
improve student achievement in Title I schools identified for
improvement, corrective action, or restructuring so as to enable those
schools to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) and exit improvement
status.
Appropriations for School Improvement Grants have grown from $125
million in fiscal year (FY) 2007 to $546 million in FY 2009. The ARRA
provides an additional $3 billion for School Improvement Grants in FY
2009. The proposed requirements in this notice would govern the total
$3.546 billion in FY 2009 school improvement funds, an unprecedented
sum with the potential to support implementation of the fundamental
changes needed to turn around some of the Nation's lowest-achieving
schools.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6303(g).
Background
Statutory Context
Section 1003(g) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 6303(g)) requires the
Secretary to award School Improvement Grants to each SEA based on the
SEA's proportionate share of the funds it receives under Title I, Parts
A, C, and D of the ESEA. In turn, each SEA must provide subgrants to
LEAs that apply for those funds to assist their Title I schools
identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under
section 1116 of the ESEA. This assistance is intended to help these
schools implement reform strategies that result in substantially
improved student achievement so that the schools can make AYP and exit
improvement status.
To receive school improvement funds under section 1003(g), an SEA
must submit an application to the Department at such time, and
containing such information, as the Secretary shall reasonably require.
An SEA must allocate at least 95 percent of its school improvement
funds directly to LEAs, although the SEA may, with the approval of the
LEAs that would receive the funds, directly provide assistance in
implementing school reform strategies or arrange for their provision
through such other entities as school support teams or educational
service agencies. A subgrant to an LEA must be of sufficient size and
scope to support the activities required under section 1116 of the
ESEA. An LEA's total subgrant may not be less than $50,000 or more than
$500,000 per year for each participating Title I school in improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring. An LEA's subgrant is renewable for
two additional one-year periods if the LEA's schools are meeting, or
are on track to meet, their student achievement goals.
In awarding School Improvement Grants, an SEA must give priority to
LEAs with the lowest-achieving schools that, in their application to
the SEA, demonstrate (1) the greatest need for the funds and (2) the
strongest commitment to ensuring that the funds are used to provide
adequate resources to enable the lowest-achieving schools to meet their
goals for substantially raising the achievement of their students.
Overview of the Secretary's Proposal
The Secretary views the large FY 2009 investment in school
improvement funds made possible by the ARRA as a historic opportunity
to face education's most intractable challenge: turning around or
closing down our Nation's most persistently low-achieving schools.
Although there are noted examples of successful school reforms, the
vast majority of the lowest performers have not changed course, either
because they have received insufficient support or because
interventions have been ineffective. The Secretary is committed to
turning around over five years the 5,000 lowest-achieving schools
nationwide, and School Improvement Grants are a centerpiece of that
strategy.
The Secretary's strategy includes identifying and serving the
lowest-achieving Title I schools in each State; supporting only the
most rigorous interventions that hold the promise of producing rapid
improvements in student achievement and school culture; providing
sufficient resources over several years to implement those
interventions; and measuring progress in achieving results.
Identifying and Serving the Lowest-Achieving Title I Schools
To drive school improvement funds to LEAs with the greatest need
for those funds, the Secretary would require each SEA to identify three
tiers of schools:
Tier I: The lowest-achieving five percent of Title I
schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring in the
State, or the five
[[Page 43103]]
lowest-achieving Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or
restructuring in the State, whichever number of schools is greater.\1\
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\1\ These are the same schools as the Secretary has proposed to
target in the Race to the Top competitive grant program and has
proposed that States report on under phase two of the State Fiscal
Stabilization Fund (SFSF) under the ARRA.
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Tier II: Equally low-achieving secondary schools (both
middle and high schools) in the State that are eligible for, but do not
receive, Title I funds.
Tier III: The remaining Title I schools in improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring that are not Tier I schools in the
State. The Secretary encourages an SEA to develop criteria to further
differentiate among the schools in Tier III, either in the State as a
whole or within an LEA.
An LEA that wishes to receive a School Improvement Grant would submit
an application to its SEA identifying which Tier I, Tier II, and Tier
III schools it commits to serve. The SEA would give priority to LEAs
serving Tier I and Tier II schools.
Supporting Only the Most Rigorous Interventions
In order to ensure that the large influx of school improvement
funds is used most effectively to improve outcomes for students, the
Secretary proposes to require an LEA to use those funds to implement
four specific interventions in the lowest-achieving schools intended to
improve the management and effectiveness of these schools. Thus, in its
application to the SEA, an LEA would be required to demonstrate its
strong commitment to raising student achievement by implementing, in
each Tier I and Tier II school, one of four rigorous interventions:
Turnaround model, which would include, among other
actions, replacing the principal and at least 50 percent of the
school's staff, adopting a new governance structure, and implementing a
new or revised instructional program.
Restart model, in which an LEA would close the school and
reopen it under the management of a charter school operator, a charter
management organization (CMO), or an educational management
organization (EMO) that has been selected through a rigorous review
process.
School closure, in which an LEA would close the school and
enroll the students who attended the school in other, high-achieving
schools in the LEA.
Transformation model, which would address four specific
areas critical to transforming the lowest-achieving schools.
An LEA with nine or more Tier I and Tier II schools would not be able
to implement the same intervention in more than 50 percent of those
schools.
Providing Sufficient Resources Over Several Years
The Secretary believes that it takes substantial funds in
combination with rigorous interventions to break the cycle of failure
and raise student achievement substantially in the Nation's lowest-
achieving schools. Therefore, he would require the SEA to allocate
sufficient school improvement funds to an LEA to match, as closely as
possible, the LEA's budget for implementing one of the four proposed
interventions in each Tier I and Tier II school and the costs
associated with closing such schools, as well as for serving
participating Tier III schools. An LEA's total grant award would
contain funds for each Title I school in improvement, corrective
action, or restructuring that the LEA intends to serve, including
$500,000 per year for each Tier I school that will implement a
turnaround, restart, or transformation model.\2\ Once an LEA receives
its School Improvement Grant, it has the flexibility to spend more than
$500,000 per year in its Tier I and Tier II schools so long as all
schools identified in its application are served. Recognizing that it
takes time to implement rigorous interventions and reap results in the
most persistently low-achieving schools, the Secretary would waive the
period of availability of school improvement funds beyond September 30,
2011 so as to make those funds available to LEAs for three years.
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\2\ An SEA may award school improvement funds to an LEA based
only on the Title I participating schools that the LEA identifies in
its application. Tier II schools would, thus, not generate any funds
because they are not Title I schools in improvement, corrective
action, or restructuring; however, the LEA could serve them, through
a waiver requested by the SEA, with the school improvement funds it
receives.
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Measuring Progress in Achieving Results
Because measuring progress is essential to knowing whether an
intervention results in improved student achievement, the Secretary
would require an LEA to establish three-year student achievement goals
in reading/language arts and mathematics. The LEA would hold each Tier
I and Tier II school it serves with school improvement funds annually
accountable for meeting, or being on track to meet, those goals with
respect to the achievement of all students in each school, as well as
each subgroup of students identified in 34 CFR 200.13(b)(7),\3\ and for
making progress on the leading indicators of school reform.
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\3\ The subgroups identified in 34 CFR 200.13(b)(7) include
students from major racial and ethnic groups, economically
disadvantaged students, student with limited English proficiency,
and students with disabilities.
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SEA Priorities for Awarding School Improvement Grants
Section 1003(g)(6) of the ESEA requires an SEA, in allocating
school improvement funds, to give priority to LEAs with the lowest-
achieving Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or
restructuring that demonstrate the greatest need for the funds and the
strongest commitment to carrying out the purposes of the program.
Consistent with his focus on reforming or closing the 5,000 lowest-
achieving schools in the Nation over the next five years, the Secretary
proposes to require an SEA that receives a School Improvement Grant to
define the terms ``greatest need'' and ``strongest commitment'' as
follows to help accomplish this goal.
Greatest need. The Secretary would require an SEA to define three
tiers of schools in identifying those LEAs with the greatest need for
school improvement funds.
Tier I schools: The Secretary proposes to require each SEA to
identify the lowest-achieving five percent of Title I schools in
improvement, corrective action, or restructuring in the State or the
five lowest-achieving Title I schools in improvement, corrective
action, or restructuring in the State, whichever number of schools is
greater. These are schools for which the data indicate that overall
student achievement is extremely low and that little or no progress has
occurred over a number of years. Under the proposed requirements, a
school has not made progress if its gains on the State's assessments in
reading/language arts and mathematics in the ``all students'' category
are less than the average gains of schools in the State on those
assessments. The Secretary is targeting these schools because of the
urgency to provide their students with a high-quality education.
Indeed, in school year 2007-08, based on data reported by each State,
the average percentage of students performing at the proficient level
in the lowest-achieving 25 Title I-eligible schools in each State,
aggregated for the Nation, was approximately 32 percent in reading/
language arts and 25 percent in mathematics. Moreover, in most cases,
despite years of earlier efforts to turn around the performance
[[Page 43104]]
of these schools, they have failed to make sufficient progress in
improving student achievement and continue, year after year, to turn
out students who are unprepared for further education or the workforce.
And in the case of secondary schools, these lowest-achieving schools
contribute disproportionately to the more than 1 million students who
drop out each year, too often permanently. This diminishes the
educational and employment prospects of these young people who deserve
the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be
successful in life and to be productive citizens. For these reasons,
the Secretary is proposing to use school improvement funds to transform
fundamentally the lowest-achieving schools in each State.
Tier II schools: The Secretary also proposes to require an SEA to
identify secondary schools (both middle and high schools) that are
equally as low-achieving as the State's Tier I schools and are eligible
for, but do not receive, Title I funds. Low-achieving secondary schools
often present unique resource, logistical, and pedagogical challenges
that require rigorous interventions. There are close to 2,000 high
schools in the country in which graduation is at best a 50/50
proposition.\4\ However, Department data indicate that fewer than half
of these schools currently receive Title I, Part A funds. In order to
reverse this high dropout rate and drive the attainment of better
outcomes for these students, the Secretary also proposes to target some
of these extremely low-achieving secondary schools (both high schools
and their middle school ``feeder'' schools) that are eligible for, but
do not receive, Title I funds.
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\4\ Balfanz, R. & Legters, N. (2004). Locating the dropout
crisis: Which high schools produce the nation's dropouts? Where are
they located? Who attends them? Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins
University.
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Because of the importance of identifying and intervening in Tier II
schools, the Secretary encourages an SEA to apply for a waiver under
section 9401 of the ESEA to enable its LEAs to serve such schools. Such
a waiver is necessary because section 1003(g) of the ESEA authorizes an
LEA to use school improvement funds only in Title I schools in
improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. If the provisions
proposed in this notice become final, an LEA would not be required to
include Tier II schools in its application; however, including Tier II
schools would enhance an LEA's likelihood of funding because, as
proposed in this notice, the SEA would be required to give priority to
an LEA that commits in its application to serve both Tier I and Tier II
schools.
Tier III schools: The Secretary proposes that all Title I schools
in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring that are not Tier I
schools would be Tier III schools. To urge LEAs to differentiate among
these schools in their use of school improvement funds, the Secretary
encourages an SEA to establish criteria to give priority to
applications from LEAs that, after addressing the needs of their Tier I
and Tier II schools, focus school improvement funds on a subset of
their Tier III schools. For example, an SEA's criteria might target
Tier III schools that are in the lowest-achieving sixth to tenth
percentile in the State or might reward and provide public recognition
for Tier III schools that would have been in the lowest-achieving five
percent but have made progress over several years. Similarly, an SEA's
criteria might focus on clusters of Tier III elementary schools that
are feeder schools to Tier I or Tier II secondary schools.
Strongest commitment. In awarding school improvement funds among
the LEAs with schools in Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III (i.e., those
with the greatest need), the Secretary would require each SEA to give
priority to those LEAs with the strongest commitment to use school
improvement funds to implement one of four specific interventions
described in this notice. These interventions are based on research
that suggests that the lowest-achieving schools--
(1) Require rigorous interventions, including changes in
leadership, staffing, time for learning, governance, operating
conditions, student supports, and school culture;
(2) Benefit from intensive, ongoing, coordinated technical
assistance and support, such as technical assistance from external
providers to build capacity so that LEAs and SEAs can provide them with
more concentrated and sustained support; and
(3) Need substantial funding over three to five years to plan,
implement, and solidify rigorous interventions that change school
culture and result in substantial increases in student achievement.\5\
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\5\ See, e.g., Calkins, A., Guenther, W., Belfiore, G., & Lash,
D. (2007). The turnaround challenge: Why America's best opportunity
to dramatically improve student achievement lies in our worst-
performing schools. Boston: Mass Insight Education and Research
Institute; American Institutes for Research. (in press). State and
local implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, Volume IX--
accountability under NCLB: Final report. Washington, DC.
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The Secretary believes that rigorous interventions are essential if
LEAs are to reform the lowest-achieving schools and improve educational
outcomes for their students. Incremental change in these schools that
may result in marginal improvements is not enough to enable each
student to achieve to high standards. Fortunately, the large increase
in FY 2009 funding for school improvement available through the ARRA
provides an unprecedented opportunity to implement intensive
interventions. Accordingly, the Secretary proposes to define an LEA
that demonstrates the strongest commitment as an LEA that would
implement, in each Tier I and Tier II school that it commits to serve,
one of the following four rigorous interventions: \6\
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\6\ We note that some of the activities that an LEA would be
required to implement as part of a proposed intervention are not
allowable uses of Title I funds in a Tier I school that operates a
targeted assistance program under section 1115 of the ESEA;
therefore, an LEA that wishes to implement one of the proposed
interventions in such a school would need to do so through a
schoolwide program under section 1114 of the ESEA. To enable the LEA
to serve a Tier I targeted assistance school below 40 percent
poverty, the SEA would need to apply to the Secretary for a waiver
of the poverty threshold in order that the LEA can operate a
schoolwide program in its Tier I schools. See the Department's Title
I, Part A Waiver Guidance available at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/title-i-waiver.doc.
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(1) Turnaround model. To implement a turnaround model, an LEA would
be required to replace the principal and at least 50 percent of the
staff; adopt a new governance structure, which may include, but is not
limited to, reporting to a new ``turnaround office'' in the LEA or SEA,
hiring a ``turnaround leader'' who reports directly to the
Superintendent or Chief Academic Officer, or entering into a multi-year
contract with the LEA or SEA to obtain added flexibility in exchange
for greater accountability; and implement a new or revised
instructional program. The LEA would also be required to incorporate
strategies designed to recruit, place, and retain effective staff, and
provide ongoing, high-quality job-embedded professional development
designed to ensure that staff members are equipped to facilitate
effective teaching and learning; promote the continuous use of student
data (such as from formative, interim, and summative assessments) to
inform and differentiate instruction to meet the needs of individual
students; establish schedules and strategies that increase
instructional time for students and time for collaboration and
professional development for staff; and provide appropriate social-
emotional and community-oriented services and supports for students.
(2) Restart model. Under this model, an LEA would close the school
and
[[Page 43105]]
reopen it under the management of a charter school operator, a charter
management organization (CMO), or an educational management
organization (EMO) that has been selected through a rigorous review
process. (A CMO is a non-profit organization that operates charter
schools by centralizing or sharing certain functions and resources
among schools. An EMO is a for-profit or non-profit organization that
provides ``whole-school operation'' services to an LEA.) A restart
school would be required to admit, within the grades it serves, any
former student who wishes to attend.
(3) School closure. Under this model, an LEA would close the school
and enroll the students who attended the school in other, high-
achieving schools within the LEA.
(4) Transformation model. To implement a transformation model, an
LEA would be required to address four specific areas, as defined in
this notice, critical to transforming the lowest-achieving schools: (1)
Developing teacher and school leader effectiveness; (2) implementing
comprehensive instructional reform strategies; (3) extending learning
time and creating community-oriented schools; and (4) providing
operating flexibility and sustained support.
In determining the strength of an LEA's commitment to using school
improvement funds to implement these interventions in its Tier I and
Tier II schools, an SEA would be required to consider, for example, the
extent to which the LEA's application shows the LEA's efforts to
analyze the needs of its schools and match the interventions to those
needs; design interventions consistent with this notice; recruit,
screen, and select external providers to ensure quality; embed the
interventions in a longer-term plan to sustain gains in achievement;
align other resources with the interventions; modify its practices, if
necessary, to enable it to implement the interventions fully and
effectively; and sustain the reforms after the funding period ends.
Moreover, the SEA would be required to consider the LEA's capacity to
implement the changes it seeks to make. For example, the SEA could
determine that an LEA with ten Tier I and Tier II schools has the
capacity to serve only five of those schools at the level of intensity
contemplated by the proposed interventions. Accordingly, the SEA may
approve the LEA to serve only those schools for which the SEA
determines that the LEA can fully and effectively implement one of the
proposed interventions.
Providing Flexibility
To fully support an LEA's efforts to intervene in low-achieving
schools, the Secretary believes there is need for flexibility in
several respects. First, so as not to penalize an LEA that has
proactively implemented rigorous reform strategies prior to the
publication of this notice, an SEA may award school improvement funds
to an LEA that has implemented, in whole or in part, one of the
interventions proposed in Section I.A.2.a, 2.b, or 2.d in a Tier I
school within the last two years. For example, an LEA might have
replaced the principal of a Tier I school and begun to implement
improvement activities that meet many, but not all, of the proposed
requirements in this notice for a transformation model. In this case,
the SEA could award the LEA school improvement funds to fully implement
the transformation model in this school without needing to replace the
new principal or duplicate the reform activities already in place.
Second, an SEA could seek a waiver from the Secretary to permit a
school that implements a turnaround or restart model in an LEA that
receives a School Improvement Grant to ``start over'' in the school
improvement timeline while continuing to receive school improvement
funds. In other words, such a school in restructuring could exit that
status even though it has not made AYP for two consecutive years and,
thus, would not need to continue providing public school choice or
supplemental educational services. Finally, an SEA could seek a waiver
from the Secretary to enable a Tier I school that operates a targeted
assistance program to instead operate a schoolwide program in order to
implement one of the proposed interventions.
Awarding School Improvement Grants to LEAs
LEA Applications
Under this proposal, any Title I LEA that can demonstrate the
greatest need and strongest commitment, as defined by the SEA
consistent with this notice, to reform its lowest-achieving schools
would be eligible to apply to the SEA for a School Improvement Grant.
In addition to providing information that the SEA may require, the LEA
would be required to demonstrate its commitment to use the school
improvement funds to provide adequate resources to each Tier I and Tier
II school it commits to serve in order to implement fully one of the
four proposed interventions described in this notice. If an LEA has
nine or more Tier I and Tier II schools, the LEA would not be able to
implement the same intervention in more than 50 percent of those
schools.
An LEA would be required to serve each of its Tier I schools,
unless the LEA demonstrates that it lacks sufficient capacity or
sufficient school improvement funds to undertake one of the four
proposed interventions in each such school. For example, an LEA might
demonstrate a lack of capacity to serve all of its Tier I schools if no
EMOs or CMOs of sufficient quality are available to restart its
schools. An LEA might also demonstrate a lack of capacity if it lacks a
sufficient number of school leaders (e.g., principals, assistant
principals, teacher leaders) capable of implementing one of the
rigorous interventions proposed in this notice. Additionally, an LEA
might decide that it can best impact student achievement by focusing
resources heavily in a subset of Tier I schools, attempting to turn
around some schools before proceeding to others. In such cases, the LEA
would identify in its application the Tier I schools that it can serve
effectively with one of the proposed interventions; such an LEA would
not be permitted to use school improvement funds to serve a Tier I
school that is not implementing one of the four interventions. An LEA
would not be required to include Tier II schools in its application,
although the SEA would be required to give priority to LEA applications
that include both Tier I and Tier II schools. Once an LEA has
identified all of the Tier I schools it has capacity to serve, it may
also identify Tier III schools it will serve. No LEA would be required
to apply for a School Improvement Grant; however, an LEA that has one
or more Tier I schools would not be permitted to apply for a grant to
serve only Tier III schools.
An LEA would be required to include in its application for a School
Improvement Grant a budget indicating the amount of funds needed for
each Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III school the LEA commits to serve. In
designing its budget, the LEA would be required to ensure, for each
Tier I and Tier II school identified in its application, that its
request is of sufficient size and scope to ensure that the LEA can
implement one of the four rigorous interventions proposed in this
notice. The Secretary believes that, in most cases, implementing these
interventions (with the exception of closing a school) would require
annual amounts that considerably exceed $500,000 per school, the
maximum amount per year of school improvement funds that may be
generated by a participating school under the statute. (Tier II schools
would
[[Page 43106]]
not generate any funds because they are not Title I schools in
improvement, corrective action, or restructuring; however, the LEA
could serve them, through a waiver, with the school improvement funds
it receives.) Accordingly, if the Secretary adopts the proposed
requirements as final, the LEA should estimate the full cost of
implementing its selected intervention in each Tier I and Tier II
school it commits to serve and the costs associated with closing a
school,\7\ as well as the costs of providing services in participating
Tier III schools. In estimating costs, the LEA should consider such
factors as the size of each school; whether the LEA plans to serve
clusters of elementary schools that feed into Tier I or Tier II
secondary schools; and whether the schools to be served are elementary,
middle, or high schools. The Secretary strongly urges an LEA to develop
its budget in a way that sufficiently concentrates school improvement
funds to raise student achievement substantially by the end of the
grant period in the schools served with those funds.
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\7\ Costs of closing a school may include, for example, parent
and community meetings regarding the school closure, services to
help parents and students transition to a new school, orientation
activities at the new school, etc.
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An LEA would also be required to establish, in its application,
three-year student achievement goals in reading/language arts and
mathematics. The LEA would be required to hold each Tier I and Tier II
school it commits to serve annually accountable for meeting, or being
on track to meet, those goals with respect to the achievement of all
students in each school, as well as each subgroup of students
identified in 34 CFR 200.13(b)(7),\8\ and for making progress on the
leading indicators described in Section III of this notice. If an LEA
implements a restart model, it would also be required to hold the
charter school operator, CMO, or EMO accountable for meeting these
annual goals for student achievement and for making progress on the
leading indicators.
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\8\ The subgroups identified in 34 CFR 200.13(b)(7) are students
from major racial and ethnic groups, economically disadvantaged
students, students with limited English proficiency, and students
with disabilities.
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SEA Responsibilities
Under this proposal, to receive a School Improvement Grant, an SEA
would submit an application to the Department at such time, and
containing such information, as the Secretary shall reasonably require.
That application would generally address the SEA's role with respect to
school improvement funds, including, at a minimum: (1) Identifying Tier
I and Tier II schools in the State; (2) establishing criteria related
to the overall quality of the LEA's application and to the LEA's
capacity to implement fully and effectively the required interventions;
(3) allocating school improvement funds to the LEA; (4) monitoring the
LEA's implementation of interventions in and the progress of its
participating schools; (5) providing technical assistance to the LEA
and its participating schools; and (6) holding each Tier I and Tier II
school it has committed to serve annually accountable for meeting, or
being on track to meet, the LEA's student achievement goals with
respect to the achievement of all students in the school, as well as
each subgroup of students identified in 34 CFR 200.13(b)(7), and for
making progress on the leading indicators described in Section III of
this notice.
An SEA would review and approve the applications for a School
Improvement Grant that it receives from its LEAs. Before approving an
LEA's application, the SEA would ensure that the application meets the
requirements the Secretary establishes in a notice of final
requirements, particularly with respect to whether the LEA has
demonstrated that it has the capacity to implement one of the four
proposed rigorous interventions in the Tier I and Tier II schools it
has committed to serve and whether the LEA has budgeted sufficient
funds to implement fully and effectively the selected interventions. If
an LEA lacks the capacity to implement one of the four interventions in
each of its Tier I schools, the SEA would adjust the size of the LEA's
School Improvement Grant accordingly. Additionally, the SEA would
consider the quality of the application, including the extent to which
the LEA analyzed the needs of each school and matched an intervention
to those needs, consistent with Section II.A.2; the design of the
interventions consistent with this notice; whether the interventions
are part of a long-term plan to sustain gains in student achievement;
the coordination with other resources; whether the LEA will modify its
practices, if necessary, to be able to implement the interventions
fully and effectively; and how the LEA will sustain the reforms after
the funding period ends. If an SEA does not have sufficient school
improvement funds to award a grant to each LEA that submits an
approvable application, the SEA would be required to give priority to
LEAs that apply to serve both Tier I and Tier II schools and to LEAs
that apply to serve Tier I schools before LEAs serving only Tier III
schools.
Section 1003(g)(5) of the ESEA requires an SEA to award a School
Improvement Grant to an LEA in an amount that is of sufficient size and
scope to support the activities required under section 1116 of the
ESEA, which include taking corrective actions and restructuring the
LEA's lowest-achieving Title I schools. An LEA's total grant may not be
less than $50,000 or more than $500,000 per year for each participating
Title I school (i.e., the Tier I and Tier III schools that the LEA
commits to serve); however, the LEA has flexibility to spend higher or
lower amounts in serving individual schools.
Experts in implementing effective school reform strategies, such as
those proposed in this notice, estimate that the cost of turning around
a persistently low-achieving school of 500 students can range from
$250,000 to $1,000,000 per year for at least three years;
implementation in a larger school would likely cost more.\9\ Thus, in
order to ensure that an LEA has sufficient resources to turn around its
Tier I and Tier II schools, the Secretary proposes to require that an
SEA allocate to each such LEA $500,000 per year in school improvement
funds (the maximum per-school amount permitted under section 1003(g)(5)
of the ESEA) for each Tier I school for which the LEA applies to
implement one of the interventions in Section I.A.2.a, 2.b, or 2.d of
this notice and for which the SEA approves the LEA to serve. (Due to
issues of capacity, an SEA could decide not to approve all the schools
included in an LEA's application.) Additionally, the SEA would be
required to allocate sufficient school improvement funds in total to
the LEA, consistent with section 1003(g)(5), to match, as closely as
possible, the LEA's budget for implementing the proposed interventions
in each Tier I and Tier II school approved by the SEA and costs
associated with closing those schools under Section I.A.2.c, while also
serving participating Tier III schools, particularly those schools
meeting additional criteria established by the SEA. Further, to provide
the sustained support that available research suggests is necessary for
successful interventions, the Secretary would require the SEA to
apportion its FY 2009 school improvement funds so as to provide funding
to LEAs over three
[[Page 43107]]
years, which the Secretary would make possible by waiving the period of
availability beyond September 30, 2011.
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\9\ Calkins, A., Guenther, W., Belfiore, G., & Lash, D. (2007).
The turnaround challenge: Why America's best opportunity to
dramatically improve student achievement lies in our worst-
performing schools. Boston: Mass Insight Education and Research
Institute.
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The following examples illustrate how an SEA might determine the
amount of a School Improvement Grant for three hypothetical LEAs, all
of which have the same number of Title I schools in improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring:
LEA A: LEA A has ten Title I schools in improvement, corrective
action, or restructuring; three are Tier I schools and the rest are
Tier III schools. The LEA also has one Tier II school. The LEA and SEA
agree that the LEA has capacity to serve all of those schools. Under
section 1003(g)(5), the maximum School Improvement Grant that the LEA
may receive per year is $5,000,000 ($500,000 x 10 Title I schools to be
served). Based on the LEA's proposed budget and capacity, the SEA
awards the LEA a School Improvement Grant totaling $4,150,000 per year
(consistent with section 1003(g)(5)). In spending the school
improvement funds, the LEA uses, consistent with its budget, $1,500,000
in one Tier I school; $1,000,000 in the Tier II school; $750,000 in
each of the remaining two Tier I schools; $50,000 in each of two Tier
III schools; and $10,000 in each of the remaining five Tier III
schools.
LEA B: LEA B has ten Title I schools in improvement, corrective
action, or restructuring; three are Tier I schools. The LEA also has
one Tier II school. The LEA decides, however, that it has capacity to
serve only two of its Tier I schools, no Tier II schools, and five of
its Tier III schools. Under section 1003(g)(5), the maximum School
Improvement Grant that the LEA may receive per year is $3,500,000
($500,000 x 7 Title I schools to be served). Based on the LEA's
proposed budget and capacity, the SEA awards the LEA a School
Improvement Grant totaling $2,500,000 (consistent with section
1003(g)(5)). In spending the school improvement funds, the LEA uses,
consistent with its budget, $1,200,000 in one Tier I school; $800,000
in the other Tier I school; and $100,000 in each of the five Tier III
schools.
LEA C: LEA C has ten Title I schools in improvement, corrective
action, or restructuring; none is a Tier I school, although two are
among the lowest-achieving Title I schools in the State but are making
significant progress. The LEA has one Tier II school. The LEA applies
to serve all its Tier III schools as well as its Tier II school. Under
section 1003(g)(5), the maximum School Improvement Grant that the LEA
may receive per year is $5,000,000 ($500,000 x 10 Title I schools to be
served). Based on the LEA's proposed budget and capacity, the SEA
awards the LEA a School Improvement Grant totaling $2,500,000
(consistent with section 1003(g)(5)). In spending the school
improvement funds, the LEA uses, consistent with its budget, $1,000,000
in its one Tier II school; $500,000 in each of the two Tier III schools
making progress; and $62,500 in each of the remaining eight Tier III
schools.
Targeting resources in this manner may result in school improvement
funds being concentrated in a small number of LEAs and schools,
depending on where in a State the Tier I schools are located and the
ability of an LEA to implement the proposed interventions. The
Secretary believes such targeting is warranted by the significant needs
of the students in the lowest-achieving schools and is fully consistent
with the priorities stated in the statute.
With the approval of its LEAs, an SEA could also directly implement
the proposed interventions in a Tier I or Tier II school and provide
services in a Tier III school or arrange for their provision through
other entities such as EMOs, school support teams, or educational
service agencies. An SEA also plays a critical role in building
capacity at the State and local levels to raise achievement in the
State's lowest-achieving schools, including by supporting efforts to
increase the supply of effective teachers and principals who have the
ability to implement one of the proposed interventions and to recruit
external providers to support implementation of such interventions. The
SEA might also establish a specific unit at the State level to provide
support to its lowest-achieving schools. Moreover, the SEA should seek
to eliminate barriers to the implementation of the proposed
interventions, such as State laws, regulations, or policies that limit
the SEA's authority to intervene in low-achieving schools, limit the
number of charter schools that may operate in the State, or impede
efforts to recruit and retain effective teachers and principals in low-
achieving schools.
Reporting Metrics
Because data are critical to informing and evaluating the
effectiveness of the rigorous interventions proposed in this notice,
the Secretary proposes that SEAs and LEAs report specific school-level
data related to the use of school improvement funds and the impact of
the specific interventions implemented. Local educators need the data
on an ongoing basis to evaluate the extent to which effective reform
strategies are being implemented, to monitor the impact of changes, to
track progress against their own goals, and to identify areas where,
during implementation, assistance or adjustments are needed. SEAs can
use the data to identify trends across schools and LEAs and to inform
technical assistance efforts targeted to schools and LEAs receiving
school improvement funds, as well as to other LEAs with schools in
improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. Analyses of these
data at the national level would inform the Nation's collective
knowledge of what works in turning around our lowest-achieving schools.
The Secretary proposes to collect data in three general categories:
(1) Interventions (those an LEA is implementing); (2) Leading
Indicators (instructional minutes per school year and teacher
attendance); and (3) Student Achievement Outcomes (average scale scores
on State assessments, in the aggregate and disaggregated by subgroup as
identified in 34 CFR 200.13(b)(7), and number of students enrolled in
advanced coursework). These data, which are not currently available at
the national level, would augment, and not duplicate, other important
school-level data collected through EDFacts and through State Fiscal
Stabilization Fund (SFSF) reporting that are identified in Section III
of this notice. Turning around the lowest-achieving schools is
particularly challenging; however, with the development and
implementation of statewide longitudinal data systems, increased
resources, and more concentrated focus on data, the Secretary believes
that the availability of an increased body of knowledge in this area
will help educators understand and meet this challenge.
Coordination with Section 1003(a) Funds: \10\ Implementing
intensive interventions that would dramatically turn around the lowest-
achieving schools in a State requires substantial planning at the LEA
and school levels. Although the proposed requirements in this notice
are being published for comment and thus are not final, they reflect
the Secretary's expectation that school improvement funds will be used
to support rigorous interventions in Tier I and Tier II schools.
Because the identity of potential Tier I and Tier II schools will
likely not change significantly from this year to next year,
[[Page 43108]]
the Secretary strongly encourages each SEA to allocate its FY 2009
section 1003(a) funds to LEAs with these schools in order to provide
the resources needed to remove barriers to, and set the conditions for,
implementing the proposed interventions.\11\
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\10\ In addition to school improvement funds available through a
separate appropriation under section 1003(g) of the ESEA, an SEA
must reserve under section 1003(a) of the ESEA four percent of the
Title I, Part A funds the State receives for school improvement
activities. Of this amount, the SEA must distribute at least 95
percent to LEAs for schools identified for improvement, corrective
action, or restructuring under section 1116 of the ESEA.
\11\ If an LEA wishes to use FY 2009 section 1003(a) funds in a
Tier II school, it would need to apply for a waiver from the
Secretary, because Tier II schools do not now receive Title I funds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Secretary also encourages an LEA with Tier I and Tier II
schools to conduct an analysis of these schools' and the LEA's ability
to implement the proposed interventions; review student achievement
outcomes; evaluate current policies and practices that may support or
impede successful reform strategies; assess the strengths and
weaknesses of school leaders, teachers, and other school staff; recruit
and train principals with the needed skills to lead a school that would
implement one of the proposed interventions; screen and identify
necessary external partners (e.g., an EMO, institution of higher
education, or educational service agency); and design a multi-pronged
strategy for changing the school culture and reforming the lowest-
achieving schools. At the same time, an SEA should consider what steps
it can take now to set the conditions for reform, especially those,
such as taking actions to support changes to State laws, regulations,
and policies that cap the number of charter schools or place
restrictions on school calendars, that are not dependent on which LEAs
ultimately receive a School Improvement Grant.
Although not every LEA and school participating in this planning
process would likely receive section 1003(g) funds, all LEAs and
schools can become better positioned to implement interventions that
improve student achievement. Using section 1003(a) funds to set the
conditions for reform would also allow participating LEAs and schools
that actually receive section 1003(g) funds to move more quickly in
implementing the interventions as soon as they receive funds. Moreover,
an LEA would be able to use the information gathered from this planning
process to inform its application to the SEA for section 1003(g) funds.
This information might also help the SEA determine the amount of
funding that it would allocate to the LEA on behalf of individual
schools. In addition, this planning would inform the SEA as to the
kinds of technical assistance or external partners that would be needed
in LEAs and schools that do not have the capacity to implement the
rigorous interventions necessary to turn around their lowest-achieving
schools.
Proposed Requirements
The Secretary proposes the following requirements with respect to
the allocation and use of School Improvement Grants.
I. SEA Priorities in Awarding School Improvement Grants
A. Defining Key Terms
To award School Improvement Grants to its LEAs, consistent with
section 1003(g)(6) of the ESEA, an SEA must define three tiers of
schools, in accordance with the requirements in paragraph 1, to enable
the SEA to select those LEAs with the greatest need for such funds.
From among the LEAs in greatest need, the SEA must select, in
accordance with paragraph 2, those LEAs that demonstrate the strongest
commitment to ensuring that the funds are used to provide adequate
resources to enable the lowest-achieving schools to meet, or be on
track to meet, the LEA's three-year student achievement goals in
reading/language arts and mathematics. Accordingly, the Secretary
proposes to require an SEA to use the following definitions to define
key terms:
1. Greatest need. An LEA with the greatest need for a School
Improvement Grant must have one or more schools in at least one of the
following tiers:
a. Tier I schools: A Tier I school is a school in the lowest-
achieving five percent of all Title I schools in improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring in the State, or one of the five
lowest-achieving Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or
restructuring in the State, whichever number of schools is greater.
(i) In determining the lowest-achieving Title I schools in the
State, an SEA must consider both the absolute performance of a school
on the State's assessments in reading/language arts and mathematics and
the school's lack of progress on those assessments over a number of
years as defined in paragraph (a)(ii).\12\
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\12\ As noted in footnote 1, these are the same schools as the
Secretary has proposed to target in the Race to the Top competitive
grant program and has proposed to require States to report on under
phase two of SFSF under the ARRA.
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(ii) A school has not made progress if its gains on the State's
assessments in reading/language arts and mathematics, in the ``all
students'' category (as used in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(I) of the
ESEA), are less than the average gains of schools in the State on those
assessments.
b. Tier II schools: A Tier II school is a secondary school (middle
school or high school) that is equally as low-achieving as a Tier I
school and that is eligible for, but does not receive, Title I, Part A
funds.
c. Tier III schools: A Tier III school is a Title I school in
improvement, corrective action, or restructuring that is not a Tier I
school. An SEA may establish additional criteria to encourage LEAs to
differentiate among these schools in their use of school improvement
funds and to use in setting priorities among LEA applications for
funding.
2. Strongest Commitment. An LEA with the strongest commitment is an
LEA that agrees to implement, and demonstrates the capacity to
implement fully and effectively, one of the following rigorous
interventions in each Tier I and Tier II school that the LEA commits to
serve:
a. Turnaround model. A turnaround model must include--
(i) Replacing the principal and at least 50 percent of the staff;
(ii) Adopting a new governance structure, which may include, but is
not limited to, reporting to a new ``turnaround office'' in the LEA or
SEA, hiring a ``turnaround leader'' who reports directly to the
Superintendent or Chief Academic Officer, or entering into a multi-year
contract with the LEA or SEA to obtain added flexibility in exchange
for greater accountability;
(iii) Implementing a new or revised instructional program;
(iv) Implementing strategies designed to recruit, place, and retain
effective staff;
(v) Providing ongoing, high-quality, job-embedded professional
development to staff to ensure that they are equipped to facilitate
effective teaching and learning;
(vi) Promoting the continuous use of student data (such as from
formative, interim, and summative assessments) to inform and
differentiate instruction to meet the needs of individual students;
(vii) Establishing schedules and strategies that increase
instructional time for students and time for collaboration and
professional development for staff; and
(viii) Providing appropriate social-emotional and community-
oriented services and supports for students.
b. Restart model. A restart model is one in which an LEA closes a
school and reopens it under a charter school operator, a charter
management organization (CMO), or an education management organization
(EMO) that
[[Page 43109]]
has been selected through a rigorous review process. A restart model
must admit, within the grades it serves, all former students who wish
to attend the school.
c. School closure. An LEA closes a school and enrolls the students
who attended that school in other, high-achieving schools in the LEA,
which may include charter schools.
d. Transformation model. A transformation model must include each
of the following strategies:
(i) Developing teacher and school leader effectiveness.
(A) Required activities. The LEA must--
(1) Use evaluations that are based in significant measure on
student growth to improve teachers' and school leaders' performance;
(2) Identify and reward school leaders, teachers, and other staff
who improve student achievement outcomes and identify and remove those
who do not;
(3) Replace the principal who led the school prior to commencement
of the transformation model;
(4) Provide staff ongoing, high-quality, job-embedded professional
development (e.g., regarding subject-specific pedagogy, instruction
that reflects a deeper understanding of the community served by the
school, or differentiated instruction) that is aligned with the
school's comprehensive instructional program and designed to ensure
staff are equipped to facilitate effective teaching and learning and
have the capacity to successfully implement school reform strategies;
and
(5) Implement strategies designed to recruit, place, and retain
effective staff.
(B) Permissible activities. An LEA may also implement other
strategies to develop teachers' and school leaders' effectiveness, such
as--
(1) Providing additional compensation to attract and retain high-
quality educators to the school;
(2) Instituting a system for measuring changes in instructional
practices resulting from professional development; or
(3) Ensuring that the school is not required to accept a teacher
without the mutual consent of the teacher and principal, regardless of
the teacher's seniority.
(ii) Comprehensive instructional reform strategies.
(A) Required activities. The LEA must--
(1) Use data to identify and implement comprehensive, research-
based, instructional programs that are vertically aligned from one
grade to the next as well as aligned with State academic standards; and
(2) Promote the continuous use of individualized student data (such
as from formative, interim, and summative assessments) to inform and
differentiate instruction to meet the needs of individual students.
(B) Permissible activities. An LEA may also implement other
strategies for implementing comprehensive instructional reform
strategies, such as--
(1) Conducting periodic reviews to ensure that the curriculum is
being implemented with fidelity, is having the intended impact on
student achievement, and is modified if ineffective;
(2) Implementing a schoolwide ``response-to-intervention'' model;
or
(3) In secondary schools--
(a) Increasing rigor by offering opportunities for students to
enroll in advanced coursework (such as Advanced Placement or
International Baccalaureate), early-college high schools, dual
enrollment programs, or thematic learning academies that prepare
students for college and careers, including by providing appropriate
supports designed to ensure that low-achieving students can take
advantage of these programs and coursework;
(b) Improving student transition from middle to high school through
summer transition programs or freshman academies; or
(c) Increasing graduation rates through, for example, credit-
recovery programs, smaller learning communities, and acceleration of
basic reading and mathematics skills.
(iii) Extending learning time and creating community-oriented
schools.
(A) Required activities. The LEA must--
(1) Provide more time for students to learn core academic content
by expanding the school day, the school week, or the school year, or
increasing instructional time for core academic subjects \13\ during
the school day;
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\13\ Under section 9101(11) of the ESEA, ``core academic
subjects'' are English, reading or language arts, mathematics,
science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts,
history, and geography.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Provide more time for teachers to collaborate, including time
for horizontal and vertical planning to improve instruction;
(3) Provide more time or opportunities for enrichment activities
for students (e.g., instruction in financial literacy, internships or
apprenticeships, service-learning opportunities) by partnering, as
appropriate, with other organizations, such as universities,
businesses, and museums; and
(4) Provide ongoing mechanisms for family and community engagement.
(B) Permissible activities. An LEA may also implement other
strategies that extend learning time and create community-oriented
schools, such as--
(1) Partnering with parents, faith- and community-based
organizations, health clinics, the police department, and others to
create safe school environments that meet students' social, emotional
and health needs;
(2) Extending or restructuring the school day to add time for such
strategies as advisory periods to build relationships between students,
faculty, and other school staff; or
(3) Implementing approaches to improve school climate and
discipline, such as implementing a system of positive behavioral
supports or taking steps to eliminate bullying and student harassment.
(iv) Providing operating flexibility and sustained support.
(A) Required activities. The LEA must--
(1) Give the school sufficient operating flexibility (including in
staffing, calendars/time, and budgeting) to implement fully a
comprehensive approach to substantially improve student achievement
outcomes; and
(2) Ensure that the school receives ongoing, intensive technical
assistance and related support from the LEA, the SEA, or a designated
external lead partner organization (such as a school turnaround
organization or an EMO).
(B) Permissible activities. The LEA may also implement other
strategies for providing operational flexibility and intensive support,
such as--
(1) Allowing the school to be run under a new governance
arrangement, such as a turnaround division within the LEA or SEA; or
(2) Implementing a weighted per-pupil school-based budget formula.
In determining the strength of an LEA's commitment to using school
improvement funds to implement these interventions, an SEA must
consider, at a minimum, the extent to which the LEA's application shows
the LEA's efforts to: (1) Analyze the needs of its schools and match
the interventions to those needs; (2) design interventions consistent
with this notice; (3) recruit, screen, and select external providers to
ensure quality; (4) embed the interventions in a longer-term plan to
sustain gains in achievement; (5) align other resources with the
interventions; (6) modify its practices, if necessary, to enable it to
implement the interventions fully and effectively; and (7) sustain the
reforms after the funding period ends. Moreover, the SEA must consider
the
[[Page 43110]]
LEA's capacity to implement the proposed interventions and may approve
the LEA to serve only those schools for which the SEA determines that
the LEA can implement fully and effectively one of the proposed
interventions.
B. Providing Flexibility
1. An SEA may award school improvement funds to an LEA for a Tier I
school that has implemented, in whole or in part, an intervention that
meets the requirements under Section I.A.2.a, 2.b, or 2.d of these
proposed requirements within the last two years so that the LEA and
school can continue or complete the intervention being implemented in
that school.
2. An SEA may seek a waiver from the Secretary of the requirements
in section 1116(b) of the ESEA in order to permit a Tier I school
implementing an intervention that meets the requirements under Section
I.A.2.a or 2.b of these proposed requirements in an LEA that receives a
School Improvement Grant to ``start over'' in the school improvement
timeline. Even though the school is no longer in improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring, it may receive school improvement
funds.
3. An SEA may seek a waiver from the Secretary to enable a Tier I
school that is ineligible to operate a Title I schoolwide program and
is operating a Title I targeted assistance program to operate a
schoolwide program in order to implement an intervention that meets the
requirements under Section I.A.2.a, 2.b, or 2.d of these proposed
requirements.
II. Awarding School Improvement Grants to LEAs
A. LEA Applications
1. An LEA may apply for a School Improvement Grant if it has one or
more schools that qualify under the State's definition of a Tier I,
Tier II, or Tier III school.
2. In its application, in addition to other information that the
SEA may require, the LEA must identify the Tier I, Tier II, and Tier
III schools it commits to serve and demonstrate that it has the
capacity to use the school improvement funds to provide adequate
resources and related support to each of the Tier I and Tier II schools
in order to implement fully and effectively one of the interventions
identified in Section I.A.2 of this notice. If an LEA has nine or more
Tier I and Tier II schools, the LEA may not implement the same
intervention in more than 50 percent of those schools.
3. The LEA must include in its application a budget indicating how
it will allocate school improvement funds among the Tier I, Tier II,
and Tier III schools it commits to serve. The LEA must serve each Tier
I school using one of the four interventions identified in Section
I.A.2 of this notice, unless the LEA demonstrates that it lacks
sufficient capacity to undertake intensive interventions in each such
school, in which case the LEA must indicate the Tier I schools that it
can effectively serve. An LEA may not serve with these school
improvement funds a Tier I school in which it does not implement one of
the proposed interventions.
4. The LEA's budget for each Tier I and Tier II school it commits
to serve must be of sufficient size and scope to ensure that the LEA
can implement one of the rigorous interventions identified in Section
I.A.2 of this notice. A budget should cover three years. The LEA's
budget may, and likely would, exceed $500,000 per year for each Tier I
and Tier II school that implements an intervention in Section I.A.2.a,
2.b, or 2.d in order to reform the school consistent with the LEA's
application and the requirements in this notice. The LEA's budget may
include less than $500,000 per year for a Tier I or Tier II school for
which it proposes to implement the school closure intervention in
Section I.A.2.c. In addition, a school closure typically would be
completed in less than three years.
5. The LEA's budget for each Tier III school it commits to serve
must include the services it will provide the school, particularly if
the school meets additional criteria established by the SEA, although
those services do not need to be commensurate with the funds the SEA
provides the LEA based on the school's inclusion in the LEA's School
Improvement Grant application.
6. An LEA in which a Tier I school is located and that does not
apply to serve that school for reasons other than lack of capacity may
not apply for a grant to serve only Tier III schools.
7. An LEA must establish, in its application, three-year student
achievement goals in reading/language arts and mathematics. The LEA
must hold each Tier I and Tier II school it commits to serve annually
accountable for meeting, or being on track to meet, those goals with
respect to the achievement of all students in each school, as well as
each subgroup of students identified in 34 CFR 200.13(b)(7),\14\ and
for making progress on the leading indicators described in Section III
of this notice. If an LEA proposes to implement a restart model, it
must also describe how it will hold the charter school operator, CMO,
or EMO accountable for meeting, or being on track to meet, the LEA's
student achievement goals and making progress on the leading
indicators.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ The subgroups identified in 34 CFR 200.13(b)(7) include
students from major racial and ethnic groups, economically
disadvantaged students, students with limited English proficiency,
and students with disabilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. An LEA must demonstrate how it will sustain the interventions
implemented with its School Improvement Grant after the funding period
for the grant has ended.
B. SEA Responsibilities
1. To receive a School Improvement Grant, an SEA must submit an
application to the Department at such time, and containing such
information, as the Secretary shall reasonably require.
2. An SEA must review and approve, consistent with the requirements
in this notice, an application for a School Improvement Grant that it
receives from an LEA. Before approving the application, the SEA must
ensure that it meets the requirements of this notice, particularly with
respect to: (1) Whether the LEA has agreed to implement one of the four
rigorous interventions identified in Section I.A.2 of this notice in
each Tier I and Tier II school included in its application; (2) the
extent to which the LEA's application shows the LEA's efforts to
analyze the needs of each school and match an intervention to those
needs, consistent with Section II.A.2; design and implement
interventions consistent with this notice; recruit, screen, and select
external providers to ensure quality; embed the interventions in a
longer-term plan to sustain gains in student achievement; coordinate
with other resources; modify its practices, if necessary, to enable it
to fully and effectively implement the interventions; and sustain the
reforms after the funding period ends; (3) whether the LEA has the
capacity to implement the selected intervention fully and effectively
in each Tier I and Tier II school; and (4) whether the LEA has
submitted a budget that includes sufficient funds to implement the
selected intervention fully and effectively in each Tier I and Tier II
school.
3. An SEA must review and approve the LEA's three-year student
achievement goals to ensure that they are sufficiently rigorous to hold
each Tier I and Tier II school accountable for
[[Page 43111]]
meeting, or being on track to meet, those goals with respect to all
students in the school, as well as each subgroup of students identified
in 34 CFR 200.13(b)(7), and for making progress on the leading
indicators described in Section III of this notice.
4. If an SEA does not have sufficient school improvement funds to
award, for up to three years, a grant to each LEA that submits an
approvable application, the SEA must give priority to LEAs that apply
to serve both Tier I and Tier II schools.
5. An SEA must award a School Improvement Grant to an LEA in an
amount that is of sufficient size and scope to support the activities
required under section 1116 of the ESEA and this notice. The LEA's
total grant may not be less than $50,000 or more than $500,000 per year
for each Tier I and Tier III school that the LEA commits to serve.
6. In awarding the school improvement funds, an SEA must allocate
$500,000 per year for each Tier I school that will implement a rigorous
intervention under Section I.A.2.a, 2.b, or 2.d for which the LEA has
requested funds in its budget and for which the SEA determines the LEA
has the capacity to serve. The SEA must also allocate sufficient school
improvement funds in total to the LEA, consistent with section
1003(g)(5), to match, as closely as possible, the LEA's budget for
implementing one of the four interventions in each Tier I and Tier II
school it commits to serve, including costs associated with closing
such schools under Section I.A.2.c, as well as for serving
participating Tier III schools, particularly those meeting additional
criteria established by the SEA.
7. If an SEA does not have sufficient school improvement funds to
allocate to each LEA with a Tier I or Tier II school an amount
sufficient to enable the school to implement fully the specified
intervention for three years, the SEA may take into account the
distribution of Tier I and Tier II schools among such LEAs in the State
to ensure that Tier I and Tier II schools throughout the State can be
served.
8. If an SEA has provided a School Improvement Grant to each LEA
that has requested funds to serve a Tier I or Tier II school in
accordance with this notice, the SEA may award remaining school
improvement funds to an LEA with only Tier III schools that applies to
receive those funds.
9. In awarding School Improvement Grants, an SEA must apportion its
FY 2009 school improvement funds, including those available through the
ARRA, in order to make grants that are renewable for two additional
years, which the Secretary will make possible by waiving the limitation
on the period of availability beyond September 30, 2011.
C. Renewal for Two Additional One-Year Periods
An SEA must renew an LEA's School Improvement Grant for two
additional one-year periods if the LEA demonstrates that its Tier I and
Tier II schools are meeting, or are on track to meet, the LEA's student
achievement goals with respect to all students in the school, as well
as each subgroup of students identified in 34 CFR 200.13(b)(7), and are
making progress on the leading indicators described in Section III of
this notice and that its Tier III schools are meeting the goals in
their plans developed under section 1116 of the ESEA. If an SEA does
not renew an LEA's School Improvement Grant because the LEA's
participating schools are not meeting or on track to meet their student
achievement goals, the SEA may reallocate those funds to other eligible
LEAs, consistent with the requirements of this notice.
D. State Reservation for Administration, Evaluation, and Technical
Assistance
An SEA may reserve from the total FY 2009 school improvement funds
it receives under section 1003(g) of the ESEA no more than five percent
for administration, evaluation, and technical assistance expenses.
E. States Whose School Improvement Grant Exceeds the Amount the State
May Award to Eligible LEAs
In some States in which a limited number of Title I schools are
identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring, the
SEA may be able to make School Improvement Grants, renewable for two
additional years, to each LEA with a Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III
school without using the State's full allocation under section 1003(g)
of the ESEA. An SEA in this situation may reserve up to five percent of
its FY 2009 allocation of school improvement funds for administration,
evaluation, and technical assistance expenses under section 1003(g)(8)
of the ESEA. The SEA may retain sufficient school improvement funds to
serve, for two succeeding years, each Tier I, II, and III school that
generates funds for an eligible LEA in the 2010-2011 school year. The
Secretary proposes to reallocate to other States, before September 30,
2010, any remaining school improvement funds from the States with
surplus funds.
III. Reporting and Evaluation
A. Reporting Metrics
To inform and evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions in
this notice, the Secretary proposes to collect data on the metrics in
the following chart. The Department already collects most of these data
through EDFacts and will collect data on two metrics through SFSF
reporting. Accordingly, an SEA must only report the following new data
with respect to school improvement funds:
1. A list of the LEAs that received a School Improvement Grant
under section 1003(g) and the amount of the grant.
2. For each LEA that received a School Improvement Grant, a list of
the schools that were served and the amount of funds or value of
services each school received.
3. For any Tier I or Tier II school, school-level data on the
metrics designated on the following chart as ``SIG'' (School
Improvement Grant):
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Achievement
Metric Source indicators Leading indicators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
School Data
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Which intervention the school used (i.e., NEW SIG..................... .................. ..................
turnaround, restart, closed, or
transformation).
AYP status................................ EDFacts..................... [che..................
Which AYP targets the school met and EDFacts..................... [che..................
missed.
School improvement status................. EDFacts..................... [che..................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 43112]]
Student Outcome/Academic Progress Data
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage of students at or above each EDFacts..................... [che..................
proficiency level on State assessments in
reading/language arts and mathematics
(e.g., Basic, Proficient, Advanced), by
grade and by student subgroup.
Student participation rate on State EDFacts..................... .................. [check]
assessments, by student subgroup.
Average scores on State assessments across NEW SIG..................... [che..................
subgroups--scale scores by quartile.
Title III LEP students English language EDFacts..................... [che..................
proficiency.
AMAO status for LEP students.............. EDFacts..................... [che..................
Graduation rate........................... EDFacts..................... [che..................
Dropout rate.............................. EDFacts..................... .................. [check]
Student attendance........................ EDFacts..................... .................. [check]
Students enrolled in advanced coursework NEW SIG HS only............. .................. [check]
(e.g., AP/IB), early-college high
schools, or dual enrollment classes.
College enrollment rates.................. NEW SFSF phase two HS only.. [che..................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Student Connection and School Climate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discipline incidents...................... EDFacts..................... .................. [check]
Truants................................... EDFacts..................... .................. [check]
Number of instructional minutes........... NEW SIG..................... .................. [check]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Talent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Distribution of teachers by performance NEW......................... .................. [check]
level on LEA's teacher evaluation system. SFSF phase two..............
Teacher attendance........................ NEW SIG..................... .................. [check]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Evaluation
An LEA that receives a School Improvement Grant must participate in
any evaluation of that grant conducted by the Secretary.
Executive Order 12866
Under Executive Order 12866, the Secretary must determine whether
this regulatory action is ``significant'' and, therefore, subject to
the requirements of the Executive order and to review by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). Section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866
defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as an action likely to
result in a rule that (1) has an annual effect on the economy of $100
million or more, or adversely affects a section of the economy,
productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or
safety, or State, local, or Tribal governments, or communities in a
material way (also referred to as an ``economically significant''
rule); (2) creates serious inconsistency or otherwise interferes with
an action taken or planned by another agency; (3) materially alters the
budgetary impact of entitlement grants, user fees, or loan programs or
the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) raises novel
legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's
priorities, or the principles set forth in the Executive order. The
Secretary has determined that this regulatory action is economically
significant under section 3(f)(1) of the Executive order.
Potential Costs and Benefits
The proposed costs have been reviewed in accordance with Executive
Order 12866. Under the terms of the order, the Department has assessed
the costs and benefits of this regulatory action.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of these proposed requirements, the Department has
determined that the benefits of the proposed requirements exceed the
costs. The Department also has determined that this regulatory action
does not unduly interfere with State, local, and Tribal governments in
the exercise of their governmental functions.
To assist the Department in complying with the requirements of
Executive Order 12866, the Secretary invites comments on whether there
may be further opportunities to reduce any potential costs or increase
potential benefits resulting from these proposed requirements without
impeding the effective and efficient administration of the program.
Summary of Costs and Benefits
The Department believes that the proposed requirements will not
impose significant costs on States, LEAs, or other entities that
receive school improvement funds. As noted elsewhere, these proposed
requirements would drive school improvement funds to LEAs that have the
lowest-achieving schools in amounts sufficient to turn those schools
around and significantly increase student achievement. They would also
require participating LEAs to adopt the most effective approaches to
turning around low-achieving schools. In short, the Department believes
that the proposed requirements would ensure that limited school
improvement funds are put to their optimum use--that is, that they
would be targeted to where they are most needed and used in the most
effective manner possible. The benefits, then, would be more effective
schools serving children from low-income families and a better
education for those children.
The Department believes that the State and local costs of
implementing the proposed requirements (including State costs of
applying for grants, distributing the grants to LEAs, ensuring
compliance with the proposed requirements, and reporting to the
Department, and LEA costs of applying for subgrants and implementing
the interventions) will be financed through the grant funds. The
Department does not believe that the proposed requirements will impose
a financial
[[Page 43113]]
burden that States and LEAs will have to meet from non-Federal sources.
Need for Federal Regulatory Action
The proposed requirements are needed to implement the School
Improvement Grants program in FY 2009 in a manner that the Department
believes will best enable the program to achieve its objective of
supporting comprehensive and effective efforts by LEAs to overcome the
challenges faced by low-achieving schools that educate concentrations
of children living in poverty. The proposed requirements for SEAs to
target school improvement funds on schools that are among the very
lowest-achieving in their State will ensure that limited Federal funds
will go to the schools in which they are most needed, including high
schools with high dropout rates. The requirement for LEAs receiving
school improvement funds to implement one of four specific
interventions would ensure that those funds are not used for activities
that are unlikely to produce the improvement in outcomes that the
lowest-achieving schools need to achieve.
The reporting requirements proposed in this notice would ensure
that the Department receives limited but essential data on the results
of this major Federal investment in school improvement. The Department
does not believe that the State and local costs of providing those data
will be significant and, as noted earlier, those costs can be met with
grant funds.
The definitions proposed would give clearer meaning to some of the
terms used elsewhere in the notice.
Regulatory Alternatives Considered
A likely alternative to promulgation of the requirements proposed
in this notice would be for the Secretary to allocate the FY 2009
school improvement funds without setting any regulatory requirements
governing their use. Under such an alternative, States and LEAs would
be required to meet the statutory requirements, but funds likely would
not be targeted to the very lowest-achieving schools and LEAs would
likely not use all the funds for activities most likely to result in a
real turn-around of those schools and significant improvement in the
educational outcomes for the students they educate.
Accounting Statement
As required by OMB Circular A-4 (available at http://www.Whitehouse.gov/omb/Circulars/a004/a-4.pdf), in the following table,
we have prepared an accounting statement showing the classification of
the expenditures associated with the provisions of these proposed
requirements. This table provides our best estimate of the Federal
payments to be made to States under this program as a result of these
proposed requirements. Expenditures are classified as transfers to
States.
Table--Accounting Statement Classification of Estimated Expenditures
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category Transfers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Monetized Transfers................ $3,545,633,000.
From Whom to Whom......................... Federal Government to
States.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As previously noted, the ARRA provides $3 billion for School
Improvement Grants in FY 2009 in addition to the previously
appropriated $546 million. The proposed requirements in this notice
would govern the total $3.546 billion in FY 2009 school improvement
funds.
The proposed requirements will have a distributional impact on the
allocation of school improvement funds nationally. The implementation
of these requirements would likely result in a larger proportion of
program funds flowing to LEAs that have larger concentrations of the
lowest-achieving schools (Tier I and Tier II schools) and a smaller
portion flowing to other LEAs. However, because the FY 2009
appropriation for the program is much larger than the appropriation for
FY 2008, the negative impact on the latter category of LEAs may be
minimal. The Department is unable to project the amount of the shift
but will collect data on the allocations through the procedures
described under Reporting and Evaluation.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that these proposed requirements will not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. Under the U.S. Small Business Administration's Size
Standards, small entities include small governmental jurisdictions such
as cities, towns, or school districts (LEAs) with a population of less
than 50,000. Approximately 11,900 LEAs that receive Title I funds
qualify as small entities under this definition. However, the small
entities that the proposed requirements will affect are small LEAs
receiving school improvement funds under section 1003(g) of the ESEA--
i.e., a small LEA that has one or more schools in improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring and that meets the SEA's priorities
for greatest need for those funds and demonstrates the strongest
commitment to use the funds to provide adequate resources to their
lowest-achieving Title I schools to raise substantially the achievement
of their students.
SEAs would develop their own definitions for their lowest-achieving
schools, consistent with the requirements of this notice, but
preliminary data analyses by the Department suggest that 15-25 percent
of the lowest-performing schools in the Nation are located in rural
areas, which are likely to contain most of the targeted schools that
are operated by small LEAs. Assuming a maximum of 1,000 turnaround
schools nationwide, and that few if any rural LEAs will contain more
than one of their State's lowest-performing schools, there would be a
range of 150 to 250 small LEAs affected by the requirements in this
notice, including a limited number of small suburban and urban LEAs.
The requirements proposed in this notice would not have a
significant economic impact on these small LEAs because (1) the costs
of implementing the required interventions would be covered by the
grants received by successful applicants, and (2) in most cases the
costs of developing turnaround plans and submitting applications would
not be significantly higher than the costs that would be incurred in
applying for School Improvement Grants under the statutory
requirements.
Successful LEAs would receive up to three years of funding under
section 1003(g) of the ESEA to implement their proposed interventions,
consistent with the Secretary's intention that SEAs ensure that awards
are of sufficient size and duration to turn around the Nation's lowest-
achieving schools.
Small LEAs may incur costs to develop and submit plans for turning
around their lowest-achieving schools but, in general, such costs would
be similar to those incurred to apply for School Improvement Grant
funding under existing statutory requirements. Moreover, since nearly
all of the schools included in the applications submitted by small LEAs
would be schools that already are in improvement status, these LEAs
would be able to incorporate existing data analysis and planning into
their applications, at little additional cost. Also, small LEAs may
receive technical assistance and other support from their SEAs in
developing turnaround plans and applications for these funds.
In addition, the Department believes the benefits provided under
this
[[Page 43114]]
proposed regulatory action will outweigh the burdens on these small
LEAs of complying with the proposed requirements. In particular, the
proposed requirements potentially make available to eligible small LEAs
significant resources to make the fundamental changes needed to turn
around their lowest-achieving schools, resources that otherwise may not
be available to small and often geographically isolated LEAs.
The Secretary invites comments from small LEAs as to whether they
believe the requirements proposed in this notice would have a
significant economic impact on them and, if so, requests evidence to
support that belief.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
The proposed requirements in this notice contain information
collection provisions that are subject to review by OMB under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520). It is our plan
to offer a comment period for the information collection provisions at
the time of the notice of final requirements. This is because we cannot
finalize the requirements and develop the application package until we
have received and responded to comments on the underlying proposed
requirements in this notice. At that time, the Department will submit
the information collection to OMB for its review and provide the burden
hours associated with each requirement for comment.
Because it is likely that the information collection requirements
will be reviewed under emergency OMB processing, however, the
Department encourages the public to comment on the burden hours
associated with the contents of the SEA application proposed in this
notice. As noted earlier, that application would generally address the
SEA's role with respect to school improvement funds, including
establishing criteria to approve an LEA's application, allocating
school improvement funds to the LEA, monitoring the implementation of
interventions by the LEA and the progress participating schools in the
LEA are making with respect to both student achievement outcomes and
the leading indicators described in Section III of this notice,
providing technical assistance to the LEA and its participating
schools, and holding the LEA and its schools accountable for acceptable
progress. We estimate that an SEA would spend approximately 90 hours of
staff time to plan and prepare its application at a cost of $2,700 per
State ($30.00 (average cost per hour of SEA staff) times 90 hours).
Thus, we estimate the total burden to be up to 4,680 hours (52 SEAs (50
States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico) times 90 hours) or
$140,400 ($30.00 times 4,680) for all States.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the
regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other documents of this
Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable
Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.377)
Dated: August 21, 2009.
Arne Duncan,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. E9-20612 Filed 8-25-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P