NCLB Recommendations #41 and #42
SUBJECT
Non-Public School Accountability when Receiving Title I Services
P.L. 107-110 PROVISIONS
TITLE I PART A SUBPART 1 SEC. 1120
NSBA RECOMMENDATIONS
#41: Students receiving Title I benefits in non-public schools should be given the same assessment as public school students, with appropriate accountability and test reporting requirements to parents and school districts, which are required by NCLB to provide consultative services to those non-public schools.
#42: States may authorize cessation of Title I support to a non-public school whose Title I students as a whole do not make AYP and perform at lower levels than the area public school(s) for three years or more.
RATIONALE
Non-public school receiving federal support should be given the same measure of performance and held accountable in a constitutionally permissible manner. Non-public schools receiving federal Title I services should have some levels of accountability to students, parents and taxpayers for effectively providing educational services.
PROPOSED BILL LANGUAGE
Section 1120 (20 U.S.C. 6320) is amended—
In subsection (b)(1)(D) by inserting after “academically assessed” the following: “(consistent with subsection (f)”; and
By adding at the end the following:
“(f) Accountability For Children Enrolled In Private Schools.—
“(1) In General.—Notwithstanding section 9506(a), as specifically provided for in this subsection, children enrolled in private elementary schools and secondary schools that receive educational services or other benefits under this part shall participate in the assessments described under section 1111(b)(3).
“(2)Reporting.—
“(A) The State educational agency shall report the result of the assessments taken by students in private elementary and secondary schools by grade and subject to—
“(i) the private elementary or secondary school that such students attend; and
“(ii) the local educational agency in which the such private school is geographically located in a manner and extent that is consistent with the provisions of section 1111(i) and the function of the local educational agency under section 1120(b).
“(B) A private elementary or secondary school shall report the assessment results received from the State educational agency under subparagraph (A) to the parents of students enrolled in such school who receive services under this part in writing and in the native language of the parent in a manner and extent consistent with the provisions of subsection 1111(i).
“(3) Effectiveness of Services.—Based on the result of the assessments described under paragraph (1), a State educational agency may determine that such services received by children under this section be ceased in schools when such results, compared to a comparable cohort of children enrolled in a public school in the school district of the local educational agency, are significantly lower and such schools do not meet the definition of adequate yearly progress established by the State in which the private school is located for 3 or more consecutive years.”.
IMPACT OF CURRENT LAW
Although school districts are required to spend an equal amount of funds per student to provide services to Title I eligible students who are enrolled in non-public schools as those enrolled in public schools, there is currently no accountability for the achievement of non-public school students. Parents of these children are not entitled to comparable information regarding performance as their counterparts in public schools. To strike a balance, NSBA’s recommendations will provide parents a basic level of accountability for the performance of Title I students in non-public schools but with less detail than to public school parents, with denial of services after three years of inadequate performance rather than using interventions.
NSBA CONTACT
Reggie Felton, director of federal relations, 703-838-6782 or rfelton@nsba.org.