School Improvement Sanctions for Schools Receiving Title I Funds

A School Improvement Plan must:

• Be developed in consultation with parents, school staff, the local educational agency and outside experts;
• Cover a two year period;
• Be written within the first three months of being identified as a school In Need of Improvement;
• Incorporate strategies based on scientifically based research;
• Adopt policies and practices that have the greatest likelihood of ensuring that all groups of students meet the State's proficient level of achievement on the State academic assessment;
• Assure that the school will spend not less than 10 percent of their Title I allocation for each year they are in school improvement status for the purpose of providing to the school's teachers and principal high-qualify professional development;
• Specify how the funds reserved as part of the Title I allocation will be used to remove the school from school improvement status;
• Establish specific annual, measurable objectives for continuous and substantial progress by each group of students enrolled in the school;
• Describe how the school will provide written notice about the identification to parents of each student enrolled in the school, in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language that the parents can understand;
• Specify the responsibilities of the school, the LEA, and the State educational agency serving the school to promote effective parental involvement in the school;
• Incorporate, as appropriate, activities before school, after school, during the summer, and during any extension of the school year; and
• Incorporate a teacher mentoring program.

Requirements for Public School Choice:

• Schools must offer choice in every year of school improvement
• District must notify all parents of students enrolled in Title I schools that have been identified as having to provide choice
• Notification must be comprehensive and in an easy-to-understand format
  • Inform parents that their child is eligible to attend another public school
  • Identify each public school, including public charter schools, that the parent can select
  • Describe the performance and overall quality of those schools
• If no schools are available parents must still be notified
• The LEA must offer more than one choice to eligible students if the LEA has more than 2 schools at the grade level in question
• Districts must provide transportation to the new school
• Districts may establish a cooperative agreement with other LEAs
• Districts may offer supplemental educational services to all eligible students in the first year of school improvement
• All students enrolled in the Title I School in Need of Improvement are eligible for choice
• Priority must be given to the lowest achieving, low income students
• Receiving schools cannot be identified for improvement
• Receiving school may include a public charter school within the LEA
• An LEA must permit the student to remain in the new school until the student has completed the highest grade in the school
• The LEA is no longer obligated to provide transportation when the student's school of origin is no longer identified for improvement.

Guidance on Choice

Requirements for Supplemental Services:

• Extra academic assistance for low-income students who are attending Title I schools that have failed to make AYP for three or more years
• Allowable services include tutoring, remediation and academic intervention
• Instruction must be provided outside the regular school day
• Students should be given services for an extended period of time, preferably the entire school year
• Eligible students must be from low-income families, and attending Title I schools in the 2 nd year of improvement
• When more students request services than the LEA can fund, the LEA must prioritize serving students from low-income families who are the lowest achieving
• Parents must select a provider from the State-approved list
• Supplemental Educational Service Providers must be approved by the state,
• The State must develop objective criteria, geographically relevant lists for LEAs to use and monitor the quality and effectiveness of the services
• Providers may be a school or LEA, institution of higher education, educational service agency, non-profit or for-profit entity or a faith-based organization.
• Providers must offer high quality instructional strategies, provide services consistent with the LEA's instructional programs and the State's academic content standards, be financially sound and that their instructional program has a demonstrated a record of effectiveness
• Providers that utilize distance learning technology do not have different criteria for eligibility.
• Responsibilities of the provider include setting specific achievement goals, describing how the student's progress will be measured, and establishing a timetable for improving the student's achievement
• An LEA must spend an amount equal to at least 5% of its Title I allocation, or up to 20% depending upon the need for choice-related transportation.

New Hampshire Supplemental Services

Federal Guidance

Requirements for Corrective Action:

The district must take one of the following:

• replace school staff relevant to the failure
• institute and implement a new curriculum
• significantly decrease management authority in the school
• appoint outside experts to advise the school
• extend school year or school day
• restructure internal organization of the school

Requirements for a Restructuring Plan:

School plan must include one of the following alternative governance arrangements:

• Reopen school as a public charter school
• Replace all or most of school staff, including the principal
• Enter into a contract with an entity, such as a private management company, with a demonstrated record of effectiveness to operate the school
• Any other major restructuring of the school's governance arrangement

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