The Elementary & Secondary Education Act in Wisconsin--Background and Overview

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Introduction Funding for Schools New Requirements for State Agencies New Requirements for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) Reporting Requirements General Provisions How to Keep Informed Reauthorization of ESEA Scheduled for 2007

Visual Charts of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 --11 x 17 -- 8.5 x 11

Introduction

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was first enacted in 1965. This act’s foundational principle of providing educational opportunities to our most disadvantaged youth has remained strong. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), a major reform of the ESEA, was passed by congress and signed into law on January 8, 2002. NCLB redefines the federal role in K-12 education and will help close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers. NCLB encompasses numerous programs across ten titles, totaling approximately $22 billion annually. Wisconsin's funding under NCLB amounts to approximately $292 million annually, consisting of 20 different programs, 14 of which have been approved for funding by the USED through Wisconsin's Consolidated State Application.

NCLB provides us with a tremendous opportunity to ensure our promise for the success of every child. The DPI supports the basic principles of accountability, teacher quality, and research-based education under NCLB and is committed to complying with all of the provisions of the Act.

Funding for Schools

Wisconsin’s local education agencies (LEAs) access funding under NCLB through entitlements, state competitive grants, and direct access from the U.S. Education Department (USED). Entitlements are allocated to LEAs based on a formula that takes into account pupil populations and poverty rates. Entitlement programs are found under:

• Title I, Part A–Improving Basic Programs
• Title I, Part C–Education of Migratory Children
• Title I, Part D, Subpart 2–Neglected and Delinquent
• Title II, Part A–Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting
• Title II, Part D, Subpart 1–Education Technology
• Title III, Part A, Subpart 1–English Language Acquisition and Language Enhancement
• Title IV, Part A, Subpart 1–Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities
• Title V, Part A–Innovative Programs

The largest entitlement program is Title I, Part A representing $160 million of Wisconsin’s $292 million total allocation for 2004-05. State competitive grants are awarded to a limited number of LEAs on a discretionary basis. LEAs may also access discretionary dollars directly from USED through several different programs under NCLB.

More information on Funding for Schools

New Requirements for State Agencies

States and LEAs receiving funding under any title are subject to the requirements and provisions of that title. The major new requirements in the law are under Title I and include the following state provisions that will impact all LEAs in Wisconsin:

1. Implementation of a statewide accountability system that ensures all students will be proficient or better in math and reading by 2013-14. More information on Accountability and Adequate Yearly Progress
2. State testing in reading and math in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and once in high school by 2005-06. State testing in science at least once in grades 3-5, 6-9, and grades 10-12. More information on State Assessments
3. Incremental gains or static benchmarks that all schools must reach each year.
4. Measure and report on the progress of all students and subgroups of students including race/ethnicity, children with disabilities, economically disadvantaged, and limited English proficient.
5. Schools identified for improvement (SIFI) for not making adequate yearly progress (AYP) in reaching state set benchmarks for all students or any subgroup for two or more consecutive years in reading and math. More information on Schools Identified for Improvement
6. Requiring all teachers teaching “core academic subjects” to be highly qualified. Core academic subjects under NCLB means English, reading or language arts, math, science, foreign, language, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography. More information on Highly Qualified Teachers
7. The development of a state report card with specific reporting elements prescribed in the law. More information on Reporting Requirements

New Requirements for Local Education Agencies (LEAs)

Provisions that will impact schools and districts receiving Title I funds include:

1. Implementing the sanctions provision of NCLB for SIFI. NCLB has six years of sanctions corresponding with the number of consecutive years a school is identified for improvement. Sanctions range from offering intra-district public school choice, offering supplemental services, implementing corrective actions, and reconstitution. More information on Sanctions and SIFI Schools
2. Parent notification requirements on a variety of issues including parents’ rights to receive information on their child’s teacher, identification status of the schools, and parent options when a school is identified for improvement. More information on Parent Notification Requirements
3. Ensuring all teachers hired after January 8, 2002 and teaching in programs supported with Title I funds are highly qualified. More information on Highly Qualified Teachers
4. Ensure all Title I paraprofessionals newly hired after January 8, 2002 have at least two years of higher education or an associate degree or passed formal state or local assessments designed to demonstrate knowledge and ability. More information on Paraprofessionals
5. The development of district and local report cards with specific reporting elements prescribed in the law.

Reporting Requirements

The state and LEAs will need to modify their data collection systems in order to meet the reporting requirements in the law. DPI will develop an individual student record system. Developing this system at the state level will eliminate the need for LEAs to develop costly data summarization systems at the local level. More information on Reporting Requirements

General Provisions

The following are some examples of general provisions under Title IX–General Provisions that affect all programs under ESEA:

Equitable Participation: requires LEAs under specific titles to engage in timely and meaningful consultation and provide services and/or benefits to private school children, their teachers, and other educational personnel. More information on Equitable Participation

Unsafe School Choice Option: Requires the state to develop a policy to allow students attending a persistently dangerous school, as determined by the state, or a victim of a violent criminal offense to be allowed to attend a safe public school within the LEA. More information on Unsafe School Choice Option

Access by the Military: Requires LEAs receiving ESEA funds to provide Armed Forces recruiters the names, addresses, and telephone listings of secondary students and grant them the same access to high school students as college and job recruiters. More information on Access by the Military

School Prayer: All LEAs receiving funds must certify to the state that they do not have any policies that prevent or deny participation in constitutionally protected school prayer. More information on School Prayer

How to Keep Informed

The DPI has developed a bulletin series on the key provisions in NCLB. These bulletins and other information on how Wisconsin is implementing the NCLB Act, including links to federal guidance documents, can be found on DPI’s NCLB Web page at http://dpi.wi.gov/esea/index.html.

Reauthorization of ESEA Scheduled for 2007

Information on the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act scheduled for 2007 can be found at: Reauthorization of ESEA

For questions about this information, contact Mary Jo Parman (608) 266-2158

Last updated on 2/26/2008 10:18:27 AM