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ESSA Title I, II, III, and IV

ESSA Title I

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), is designed to help disadvantaged children reach high academic standards. Title I is designed to provide all children significant opportunity to receive fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps. Title I helps State Educational Agencies (SEAs), Local Educational Agencies (LEAs), and schools meet the educational needs of low-achieving students in schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families. Title I, Part A supports schools in implementing either a school-wide program or a targeted assistance program. These programs must use effective methods and instructional strategies that are grounded in scientifically evidence-based research.

  • Comparability of Services is a fiscal requirement for recipients of Title I, Part A funds under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This requirement is an assessment of services provided at Title I, Part A and Non-Title I, Part A campuses. Local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive Title I, Part A funds must use their state and local funds to provide comparable services at their campuses receiving Title I, Part A funds and their campuses that are not receiving Title I, Part A funds.

    If all campuses in an LEA receive Title I, Part A funds, then one of the following conditions is required:

    • State and local funds used to provide services at Title I, Part A campuses are substantially comparable, taken as a whole, at each Title I campus.
    • State and local funds used to provide services at Title I, Part A campuses with higher percentages of low income students are equal to or greater than the services provided at Title I, Part A campuses with lower percentages of low-income students.

    Resources

  • LEAs who receive federal funds are required to provide equitable private nonprofit school children, teachers, and other educational personnel. Services provided by the LEAs for private school participants must be designed to meet education needs and supplement the educational services by the private school. After consultation, private schools may receive equitable services in: Title I, Part A; Title I, Part C; Title III; and Title IV Part A and B. The LEA must spend the funds on behalf of the private schools, and the funds must never be given to a private nonprofit school.

    Resources

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The Title I, Part D, program - The Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent or At Risk was most recently reauthorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended in 2001. The Title I, Part D, Subpart 1 State agency N or D program was first authorized with P.L.89-750, the Elementary and Secondary Amendments of 1966. The Title I, Part D, Subpart 2 local educational agency program came into being in its present form with the Improving America Schools Act of 1994.

Title I Part D consists of two subparts: Subpart 1 (ESSA, Section 1401) and Subpart 2 (ESSA, Section 1421.)

Newly authorized under subpart 1 of Title IV, Part A of the ESEA, the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) program is intended to help meet these goals by increasing the capacity of State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, and local communities to: 1) provide all students with access to a well-rounded education,2 2) improve school conditions for student learning, and 3) improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students. (ESEA section 4101).

  • With the adoption of ESSA, the term core academic subjects was replaced with a new term, well-rounded education, and expanded to seventeen subjects. Appearing more than twenty times throughout the law, a well-rounded education opens many doors to expand learning opportunities for students. Needs must be identified through the comprehensive needs assessment and articulated in the campus plan.

    In ESSA Statute Section 8002, the term "well-rounded education" is defined as: courses, activities, and programming in subjects such as English, reading or language arts, writing, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, geography, computer science, music, career and technical education, health, physical education, and any other subject, as determined by the State or local agency, with the purpose of providing all students access to an enriched curriculum and educational experience.

    Specifically, ESSA Statute lists these requirements:

    • Each LEA shall describe how it will monitor students' progress in meeting challenging State academic standards by developing and implementing a well-rounded program of instruction to meet the academic needs of all students - Section 1112

    • An eligible school operating a schoolwide program shall develop a comprehensive plan that includes a description of strategies that the school will be implementing to address school needs, including a description of how such strategies will use methods and instructional strategies that strengthen the academic program in the school, increase the amount and quality of learning time, and help provide an enriched and accelerated curriculum, which may include programs, activities, and courses necessary to provide a well-rounded education - Section 1114

    • To assist targeted assistance schools to meet their local responsibility to provide for all their students served under this part the opportunity to meet the challenging State academic standards, each targeted assistance program shall serve participating students identified under this subsection, including by using resources under this part to help eligible children meet the challenging State academic standards, which may include programs, activities, and academic courses necessary to provide a well-rounded education - Section 1115

Highly Qualified Paraprofessionals

Paraprofessionals: Properly trained paraprofessionals can play important roles in improving student achievement in Title I schools where they can reinforce and augment a teacher’s effort in the classroom. Unfortunately, studies indicate that paraprofessionals are used in many Title I schools for teaching and assisting in teaching when their educational backgrounds do not qualify them for such responsibilities. Title I of the ESEA, as amended by the NCLB Act requires that paraprofessionals meet higher standards of qualification, and ensures that students who need the most help receive instructional support only from qualified paraprofessionals.

State Compensatory Education (SCE)

The purpose of the State Compensatory Education (SCE) program is to supplement the regular – or basic – education program with compensatory, intensive, and/or accelerated instruction. The program requires Texas public school districts and charter schools to offer additional accelerated instruction to each student who meets one or more statutory or locally-defined eligibility criteria in order to reduce any disparity in performance on assessment instruments administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39 TEC, or disparity in the rates of high school completion between students at risk of dropping out of school and all other LEA students. 

  • Under Section 29.081 of the Texas Education Code (TEC), compensatory education is defined in law as programs and/or services designed to supplement the regular education program for students identified as at risk of dropping out of school. The purpose is to increase academic achievement and reduce the dropout rate of these students.


    The goal of state compensatory education is to reduce any disparity in performance on assessment instruments administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39 TEC or disparity in the rates of high school completion between students at risk of dropping out of school and all other LEA students (TEC Section 29.081.)
     
    State compensatory education funds were authorized by the legislature to provide financial support for programs and/or services designed by LEAs to increase the achievement of students at risk of dropping out of school. State law, Section 29.081, TEC, requires LEAs to use student performance data from the state’s legislatively-mandated assessment instrument known as the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests and any other achievement tests administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, of the Texas Education Code, including norm-referenced tests approved by the State Board of Education to provide accelerated intensive instruction to students who have not performed satisfactorily or who are at risk of dropping out of school.

    Additional information can be found in the State Compensatory Education (SCE) module in the Financial Accountability System Resource Guide (FASRG) and Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 295KB). 

  • School districts and charter schools with an annual state compensatory allotment of $500,000 or greater must submit district and campus improvement plans to TEA on or before the date that falls 150 days after the final PEIMS midyear resubmission date.

    Expenditures of state compensatory education funds must: 1) support the intent and purpose of the program, 2) be allowable under statute and guidance, and 3) be directly related to specific interventions identified in the appropriate district and campus improvement plans.


    District and campus improvement plans must be reviewed and revised annually. Requirements for plans, including who should be included in the planning process, are found in TEC §11.251 for district-level planning and in TEC §11.253 for campus-level planning.

    Plans for the 2015-2016 school year must be submitted through the AUDIT application in the TEA Secure Environment (TEASE) system on or before Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Please see the FASRG, Module 9, Pages 6-7 for specific instructions on the number and types of plans to submit.

    Access to the TEA Secure Environment (TEASE) system’s AUDIT application is required to upload plans. For technical assistance, contact TEA’s Financial Compliance Division at schoolaudits@tea.texas.gov.

    Refer to the Financial Accountability System Resource Guide, Section 9.2.3 for more detailed information about the campus and district improvement plans and charter instructional plans.

  • This section contains information regarding At-risk Schools and Students.


    The agency’s resources include information on after school programs, which provide supplementary assistance to local reform efforts in raising academic achievement in core subject areas, and information on dropout prevention programs, which address issues related to dropout prevention, high school completion, and college and career readiness. In addition, our state compensatory education page offers information on programs and services designed to supplement the regular education program for students identified as being at risk of dropping out of school.

    There are testing resources available for students, parents and educators in this section as well. The High School Equivalency Program (HSEP) prepares eligible students to pass the high school equivalency (HSE) tests instead of earning a high school diploma. Our Student Success Initiative (SSI) page offers materials have that been developed to help schools implement the SSI grade advancement requirements for student assessments offered in grades 5 and 8.


    Texas also operates many specialized programs that serve at-risk schools and students. Our Communities In Schools of Texas (CIS of Texas) program gives students a community of support and empowers them to stay in school.


    TEA also provides many resources for Title I schools as identified by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – more commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. These include the Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Education Agencies effort in Title I, Part A of the ESEA, which provides supplemental funding to state and local education agencies to assist them with high concentrations of students from low-income families. Another program – Title I, Part D, Subparts 1 and 2 – establishes Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk and provides supplemental funding to state and local education agencies to improve educational services to children in facilities for the neglected or delinquent.

Parent and Family Engagement

Region 7 ESC is committed to helping parents and schools build partnerships that benefit students and improve educational opportunities.  Every research study on parental involvement done over the past 20 years reached the same conclusion:  when parents are involved in their child’s education that child’s self esteem and academic achievement improve. Through the Parent Involvement Initiative and the Parent Coordination Network, Region 7 ESC seeks to support both parents and schools to improve communication, collaboration, and active involvement to improve student outcomes from preschool to high school, in communities large and small  
  • As a member of the Statewide Parent Involvement Initiative, Region 7 encourages collaboration among all stakeholders that serve children and families and believes the results will promote educational excellence in achievement for all students across the state. Priorities include: 

    1.  Promoting supporting and encouraging engagement of parents at each of the following three parent involvement levels:  
    • Level 1--This level includes a broad representation of parents who are not frequently visible in schools but make sure their children are prepared mentally, physically and nutritionally with materials and supplies needed for success. 
    • Level 2--This level includes a smaller representation of parents who are visible in schools daily, weekly or monthly. These parents assist in a variety of ways at schools (office assistants, library assistance, paperwork, classrooms, discipline, etc).
    • Level 3--This level includes an even smaller representation of parents who participate in school planning and governance. This is a group of parent leaders who motivate the involvement of other parents, give input on required parent policies and compacts, lead parent discussions, and give advice on parent needs. 
     
    Regardless of the level of engagement, parental involvement is needed, appreciated and essential in helping students reach their fullest academic potential. 

    2.  Support for parents, schools and community members as they collaborate to provide the best "village effort" to produce excellent schools in great communities.

    3.  Offer trainings that will provide parents, schools and community members the knowledge needed to carry out effective school, parent and community partnerships.       

Contact Us

Viki Sparks, M.Ed.
Director
vsparks@esc7.net
(903) 988-6840

Kerri Brice. M.Ed.
Title I, Part A
kbrice@esc7.net
(903) 988-6719

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