Meeting Private School Student Participation

Requirements Under Title III

West Virginia Department of Education

Timely and Meaningful Consultation Equitable Services and Participation Provision of ServicesIdentification and AssessmentAMAOsPrivate School Student Count

AUTHORITIES:

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Title IX, Part E, Secs. 9501-9506

Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), Part 76, Secs. 76.650-76.662

Timely and Meaningful Consultation Equitable Services and Participation Provision of ServicesIdentification and AssessmentAMAOsPrivate School Student Count

After timely and meaningful consultation, an LEA receiving

Title III funds must provide, on an equitable basis, educational services

to LEP students and educational personnel in private schools

that are located in the geographic area served by the LEA.

Timely and Meaningful Consultation The responsibility for initiating contact with appropriate private school officials lies with the LEA. Consultation should take place on a regular and ongoing basis between the LEA and the private school after the initial contact.

The LEA must consult with appropriate private school officials during the design and development of the Title III program on issues such as:

Timely and Meaningful Consultation

How the needs of LEP students will be identified

What services will be offered

How, where, and by whom the services will be provided

How services will be assessed and how the results of the assessment will be used to improve those services

Timely and Meaningful ConsultationSize and scope of the services to be provided

to the private school children and educational personnel

Amount of funds available for those services

How and when the LEA will make decisions about the delivery of services, including a thorough consideration and analysis of the views of the private school officials on the provision of contract services through potential third party providers

Equitable Services and Participation Title III services must be equitable and timely and must address the educational needs of private school students and educational personnel, but do not have to be identical to services provided to public school students.

Funds must be used equitably taking into account the number and educational needs of private school children as compared to the funds used for public school children served under Title III.

Equitable Services and ParticipationTo ensure equitable participation, an LEA must:

Assess, address, and evaluate needs and progress on a comparable basis

Provide, in the aggregate, approximately the same amount of services

Equitable Services and Participation

Spend an equal amount of funds to serve similar public and private school students and educational personnel

Provide both groups of students and educational personnel equal opportunities to participate in program activities

Provision of Services Title III services must be provided by employees of the LEA or through contracts made by the LEA with third parties such as public and private agencies, organizations and institutions.

The control of funds used to provide services and the title to materials and equipment purchased with those funds must be retained by the LEA.

Identification and Assessment

The LEA has the obligation to assess the English proficiency of LEP private school students for identification purposes.

The final responsibility for determining whether a private school student is LEP, and eligible for services under Title III, lies with the LEA.

Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives

The LEA and private school, in timely and meaningful consultation, determine if the private school students will be held to the Title III annual measurable achievement objectives or other targets.

Private School Student Count

An LEA should include its private school LEP students in the count it submits to the State for purposes of calculating Title III awards.

Timely and meaningful consultation with the private school will allow the LEA to include private school students in its count to the State.

Reminders

Title III educational services must be

secular, neutral, and non-ideological.

Funds used to provide services to

private school children and educational

personnel must not be commingled

with nonfederal funds.

…in order to provide the parents of private school LEP students with information regarding their child’s education, the LEA and the private school officials would decide, during timely and meaningful consultation, when and in what manner parents of participating private school LEP students would be notified of the child’s participation in a language instruction educational program.

Resourceshttp://www.ed.gov/offices/OELA

http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg11/1.html

http://www.ed.gov/policy/fund/reg/edgarReg/edlite-part76a.html

http://www.ncela.gwu.edu