FYI ONLY………

November 6, 2008

TO:   LEAs in NCLB Corrective Action

         Other Interested Parties

FR:   Sherry Skelly Griffith, ACSA Governmental Relations

RE:  State Board Votes to Assign NCLB Corrective Actions and Technical Assistance to 50 LEAs

The State Board voted on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 to assign NCLB corrective actions to 50 LEAs under Cohort 2. After significant discussion they voted unanimously to assign all 50 LEAs in Cohort 2 of NCLB Corrective Action #6. This is considered the lightest of the seven sanctions required under federal law.

Corrective Action #6 is to “Institute and full implement the SBE adopted standards aligned curriculum, including appropriate professional development as documented in the district’s local educational agency (LEA) plan.” Twenty-six of the fifty LEAs were assigned required technical assistance which mandates they contract with a DAIT. Twenty five of those LEAs can choose from the list of state approved DAIT providers and one school district is required to contract with their county office DAIT provider (Parlier Unified).

Twenty four districts will be required to “access technical assistance to analyze LEA needs, amend the LEA Plan or Plan Addendum and implement key action steps.” These LEAs can choose the type of technical assistance they desire. For all 50 LEAs funding is based on the severity of need for technical assistance and the number of PI schools. This was determined using the new Priority Assistance Index. Funding comes from limited Title I Set Aside (4 percent of the total Title I appropriation). which is exclusively set aside for the state to assist districts in corrective action. These funds according to the recent requirements of AB 519 are considered one-time only “non-renewable grants” to the 50 LEAs as well as for Cohort 1. Some districts with no PI schools that are in NCLB Corrective Action receive no funds. ACSA is working to have this changed as these districts have also been assigned corrective actions and mandates by the SBE and have students in need who don’t make up a subgroup or reside in a PI school.

The members’ discussion made it clear the State Board is still not sure they have fully embraced this process and there was a consensus they want to further define the goals and expectations for outcomes and measures of success, particularly for the DAIT teams working with LEAs. There was even some discussion to either postpone or not assign sanctions or technical assistance at this time. In the end however they decided to move forward. But, please be aware they may make modifications in the future and your LEA and local board need to watch this process carefully and stay engaged with CDE and the State Board.

Your LEA will receive a letter from CDE in the next couple of days explaining what is required. An award letter which lists the amount of funding will also be forthcoming. You may have questions about the timelines, contracting with technical assistance providers and DAITs and other important matters. We encourage you to email your questions to Laura Wagner in the School and District Improvement Division at lwagner@cde.ca.gov. To access the entire agenda item and actions and timelines please go to www.cde.ca.gov/be/ag/ag/agenda1108.asp

We here at ACSA are also available to assist you so please feel free to contact me anytime at sgriffith@acsa.org or my cell number at 916-955-1699.