Note: The following material, which is specific to private school participation in Title II, Part A of the No Child Left Behind Act, has been excerpted.

P. GENERAL ISSUES

P-1. Are private school teachers, principals, and other educational personnel eligible to participate in the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program?

Yes. Under the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program, private school teachers, principals, and other educational personnel are eligible to participate to the extent that the LEA uses funds to provide for professional development for teachers and others. Funds awarded to SEAs and LEAs under Improving Teacher Quality State Grants are subject to the uniform provisions of section 9501 of the ESEA (Participation by Private School Children and Teachers). The statute requires LEAs to provide private school children, their teachers, and other educational personnel with educational services on an equitable basis and in a timely manner.

The requirement for the equitable participation of private school teachers and other educational personnel applies only to the LEA's Improving Teacher Quality State Grants funds to the extent that the LEA uses these funds for professional development of its teachers and other staff. However, this flexibility is constrained by the requirement described below.

Under Title II, Part A, LEAs are required to provide equitable services for private school teachers and other educational personnel only to the extent that they use the funds for professional development.

For purposes of determining the amount of Title II, Part A funds that an LEA must make available for equitable services to private school teachers and other educational personnel, the statute has the LEA assume that it is spending at least as much for professional development under Title II, Part A as it did in FY 2001 under the Eisenhower Professional Development and Class-Size Reduction programs. See Title IX, section 9501(b)(3)(B) of ESEA.

As part of the application process, LEAs must assure that they will comply with section 9501 of ESEA (regarding participation by private school children and teachers).

LEAs must consult with appropriate private school officials during the design, development, and implementation of the professional development program on such issues as how the needs of children and teachers will be identified; what services will be offered; how, where, and by whom the services will be provided; how the services will be assessed and how the results of the assessment will be used to improve those services; the size and scope of the equitable services; the amount of funds available for those services; and how and when the LEA will make decisions about the delivery of services. Consultation on the delivery of services must include a thorough consideration and analysis of the views of the private school officials on the provision of contract services through potential third-party providers [Section 9501].

Participation is considered to be equitable if these agencies and institutions: (1) assess, address, and evaluate the needs and progress of both groups of teachers in the same manner; (2) provide, in the aggregate, approximately the same amount of training, and where appropriate, instruction, to teachers with similar needs; (3) spend an equal amount of funds to serve similar public and private school teachers; and (4) provide private school teachers with an opportunity to participate in Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program activities equitable to the opportunity provided public school teachers.

There is no authority for allowing non-public schoolteachers to receive services if the LEA elects not to participate in the program. Nor do program statutes authorize an SEA to reallocate funds to another LEA for the purpose of allowing participation of teachers at a private school located in a nonparticipating LEA.

Q-1. What are some of the eligible activities under this program in which private school teachers and other educational personnel may participate?

As with any activity that the LEA carries out for public school teachers, activities supported with Improving Teacher Quality State Grants funds that benefit private school teachers must meet the requirements of the Title II statute. For example, activities to be carried out for private school personnel must be based on a review of scientifically based research and must be expected to improve student academic achievement.

Professional development activities may include:

1. Improving the knowledge of teachers, principals, and other educational personnel in one or more of the core academic subjects and in effective instructional teaching strategies, methods, and skills;

2. Training in effectively integrating technology into curricula and instruction;

3. Training in how to teach students with different needs, including students with disabilities or limited English proficiency, and gifted and talented students;

4. Training in methods of improving student behavior, identifying early and appropriate interventions, and involving parents more effectively in their children's education;

5. Leadership development and management training to improve the quality of principals and superintendents;

6. Training in the use of data and assessments to improve instruction and student outcomes.

Title IX, section 9501 of ESEA requires that Title II, Part A services for professional development that are provided to private school teachers and other educational personnel be equitable in comparison to those provided to public school teachers, and that these services be provided in a timely manner. It also requires that funds provided for professional development for private school teachers be equal on a per-pupil basis. Hence, on a per-pupil basis, expenditures for professional development for public and private school teachers must be equal. However, if the LEA does not spend at least as much for professional development in any year under Title I, Part A as it did in FY 2001 under the former Eisenhower program and Class Size Reduction programs, see question P-2.

In order to ensure that it is providing equitable professional development services to private school teachers and other educational personnel, the LEA should consider ways to:

1. Assess, address, and evaluate the needs and progress of both public and private school teachers;

2. Spend an equal amount of funds per student to serve the needs of public and private school teachers and their students;

3. Provide private school teachers with an opportunity to participate in Title II activities equivalent to the opportunity provided public school teachers;

4. Offer educational services to private school teachers that are secular, neutral, and non-ideological [Section 9501(a)(2)].

No. Consultation and coordination are essential to ensuring high-quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused professional development activities for private school teachers. LEAs must assess the needs of private school teachers in designing the professional development program for private school teachers. If the professional development needs of the private school teachers are different from those of public school teachers, the LEA, in consultation with private school representatives, should develop a separate program.

Yes. An LEA may use Improving Teacher Quality State Grants funds to support a teacher's acquisition of an advanced degree to the extent that doing so is consistent with the results of its assessment of the needs of private school teachers. The financial support must be for graduate courses that would enable the teacher to provide more effective instruction.

Yes. Improving Teacher Quality State Grants funds may be used to pay for stipends for private school teachers. The use of funds for stipends must be reasonable and necessary. For example, if the professional development activity is conducted during after-school hours or in the summer, stipends may be needed to compensate teachers for their participation outside their regular employment hours. Stipends for private school teachers must be available on the same basis as those for public school teachers and the stipends must be paid directly to the private school teachers for their own use and not to the private school.

No. The Improving Teacher Quality States Grants program does not authorize payments to private schools to be used for hiring substitute teachers.

No. LEAs pay the costs of administering professional development programs for public and private school teachers and other educational personnel "off the top" of their allocations. This is calculated before determining how much of the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants funds are to be made available for professional development of public and private school teachers and other personnel.

R-1. When must an LEA consult with appropriate private school officials?

To ensure timely and meaningful consultation, an LEA must consult with appropriate private school officials during the design and development of the proposed programs.

It is important that attention be given to the timing of the consultation so that decisions that affect the opportunities of eligible private school teachers to participate in Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program activities are made only after discussions have taken place. The quality of the consultative process will likely have an effect on the quality of services to private school teachers [Section 9501(c)(3) and (4)].

Yes. The LEA is required to contact appropriate officials of all private schools within the boundaries of the school district annually to determine if they want their teachers to participate in the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program, regardless of whether or not those officials have recently indicated any interest in program participation.

LEAs may request documentation, as needed, from private school officials that can help the LEA identify services that may be appropriate to the needs of private school teachers. However, requiring a formal application may, depending upon its form and content, constitute an administrative barrier that is inconsistent with the LEA's responsibility to ensure equitable participation of private school teachers.

To meet its general record-keeping responsibility, an LEA should document that: (a) representatives of private schools were informed of the availability of Improving Teacher Quality State Grants services; (b) the needs of private and public school teachers were identified as part of a district-wide needs assessment; (c) private school officials were consulted and provided an opportunity for input into the planning of the LEA's program activities; and (d) the LEA designed a project that would permit their equitable participation.

The LEA also should maintain records of its efforts to resolve any complaints made by private school representatives that LEAs that should be serving their teachers are not doing so on an equitable basis.

Yes. The LEAs must administer and retain control over the funds and, therefore, may not provide program funds directly to private schools. Before determining the amount of funds to be provided for services to private school teachers, an LEA could pay the reasonable and necessary administrative costs of providing those services from its total Title II allocation.

S-1. Must an SEA provide equitable services to public and private school teachers and other educational personnel in the professional development activities that it supports with Improving Teacher Quality State Grants funds reserved for State activities?

Yes. An SEA must provide equitable services to public and private school teachers and other educational personnel in professional development activities supported by these funds.

Yes. The IHE-LEA partnerships need to ensure that services are offered on an equitable basis to public and private school teachers since the requirements apply to grants of "financial assistance" provided to an LEA "or another entity" [Section 9501(b)(1)].