NEW REPORT NOW REQUIRED OF DIRECT FUNDED CHARTER SCHOOLS
On May 19, 2003, CANEC sent out a listserv message entitled "No Child Left Behind Requires Filing an "LEA Plan" - Deadline now June 10th for Direct Funded Charter Schools Seeking Federal Funds." Please read that message immediately if you have not yet done so. In that message we said that "with the assistance of CDE we will also be sending a second listserv soon that will help charter schools determine if they are currently receiving federal funding, and through which programs." That second listserv message was sent out today and directed you to this site.
The CDE has now provided this list of California charter schools that are direct funded.
Following are the web pages that the CDE recommends that direct funded charter schools visit to determine if they have received (or are eligible to receive) NCLB-related federal funds.
1) www.cde.ca.gov/fiscal/categorical/
This site will display a table of categorical program apportionments. Schools will need to scroll down the list and select the program apportionment they're interested in viewing. At the moment, only one NCLB-specific apportionment has been made (for Title II, Part A). My recommendation is that schools also check the IASA apportionments for Title I, IV, and VI. These are last fiscal year's federal fund apportionments. If a direct funded charter school received these and plans to continue to receive comparable federal funds under NCLB, they should file an LEA Plan.
2) www.cde.ca.gov/edtech/eett/
This is the site for Title II, Part D under NCLB. I believe this is a new program under NCLB, so there are no prior comparable programs for which charter schools received funding. However, on this site, direct funded charter schools can check the list of eligible districts to see if they're eligible for 2003-04 funds should they want them.
3) www.cde.ca.gov/el/title3/lep.html and www.cde.ca.gov/el/title3/immigrant.html
Under these two sites, charter schools can click on the "Directories...." line to see if they received either of these Title III program funds in 2002-03 and on the "Application Process, 2003-04" line to determine whether they'll be eligible for Title III funds in 2003-04 should they choose to receive them.
If the CDE provides any additional information, we will add it here.
The CDE recommends that you contact Carol Barkely at 916-322-1755 with questions about the NCLB LEAP Reports.
Additional CDE contacts:
Please note that questions regarding filing of the LEA Plan may be directed
to Lucille Gonzales at (916) 319-0940 or by e-mail at lgonzale@cde.ca.gov. Questions
regarding requirements of charter schools may be directed to Deborah Herrmann
at (916) 445-1014 or by e-mail at dherrman@cde.ca.gov. CANEC cannot tell you
whether you need to file these reports of not. Please address that question
to Deborah Herrmann.
FAQs
Local Education Plan Questions and Answers
Q: What is the LEAP?
A: The LEAP stands for the Local Education Agency Plan. The LEAP was created
to address the reporting and planning requirements associated with the federal
government's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The state is requiring all school
districts and equivalent agencies (i.e., independent charter schools) to prepare
a LEAP by June 1, 2003. The deadline for charter schools has been extended to
June 10, 2003. According to the California Department of Education (CDE) the
LEAP serves multiple purposes:
· Documents a five-year plan for improving student achievement (June
1, 2003 through June 30, 2008).
· Guides the implementation of state and federal-funded programs, allocation
of resources, and reporting requirements.
· Provides a blueprint for students to achieve the state content standards.
· Serves as a single, coordinated, and comprehensive plan for all students.
· Provides a basis for continuous cycles of assessment, parent and community
involvement, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
The CDE has developed a template
for LEAP.
Q: What about all those other reports?
A: The state currently requires all schools to submit the Statewide Accountability
Report Card (SARC). Schools that receive federal funds are also required to
submit a Single Plan for Student Achievement, also referred to as a school improvement
plan. According to CDE, while the LEAP overlaps with the Single Plan the two
documents are structured differently. The LEAP is based on NCLB's five performance
goals and 12 indicators. The descriptions and actions required for the LEAP
reflect administrative and oversight activities to support schools in helping
all students achieve academic success, where as the Single Plan is more focused
on programmatic planning to support student success.
In short, the LEAP is a new requirement. There are certainly ways to coordinate
the development of the SARC, Single Plan the LEAP, but it is up to each local
education agencies to determine how this coordination will occur.
Q: Who needs to write a LEAP?
A: Any district or equivalent education agency that plans to receive federal
NCLB funds (Titles I - X). The most common type of funding that charter schools
receive is Title I. This does not include funding for special education. In
other words, you should plan on preparing a LEAP if any of the following applies
to your charter school:
· Received Title I or other Title funds in 2002-03 or previously.
· Plan on receiving Title I or other Title funds in the future (2003-04).
· Planning to begin operations in September 2003-04 and you are not sure
if you will receive federal funds in 2003-04. (Note that most first-year Charter
schools have difficulty qualifying for Federal Funds until their second year.)
Q: Is the due date negotiable?
According to CDE the deadline is not negotiable, but as noted above the CDE
has extended the deadlines for charter schools to submit their plans to June
10th, 2003. Unless a plan is on file with CDE a charter school cannot access
Title funds.
Q: How can I get more information?
A: The CDE has posted "frequently
asked questions" to its web site.
CANEC Members are Coming Together to Share Help
Charter Schools Development Center issued an update on the LEA Plan and other pending reports that is helpful. That document is available through their website.
Marta Reyes of Charter Community School & Extended Day Program and
CANEC President is pleased to be able to share two templates they used to prepare
their report.
EdTec and MGT of America prepared the above FAQs on charter schools
and the LEA Plan. EdTec specializes in providing business and financial services
for California Charter Schools. MGT of America is a national consulting firm
that has been hired by the State of Michigan, Santa Clara County and other educational
jurisdictions to lead compliance efforts with No Child Left Behind legislation.
For more information on the LEA Plan and for help on completing it, go to
their website.
Lynne Vaughan shared the following source, saying that it is "enormously
helpful to charter schools writing the LEAP, especially on a short time line.
It's absolutely the best guide I've seen. … I used it in the LEAP workshops
I held for charters in N and S CA, and they all loved it."
http://www.smcoe.k12.ca.us/leap/index.html
Theresa Costa Johansen, Principal of Challenge Charter High School, generously
sent the following message: "I had the somewhat dubious honor of serving
as lead developer on our district's LEA plan. As such, I am finished with mine,
and it will go to our governing board this Wednesday. If there are charter individuals
out there who need more assistance that what the state can provide, I am willing
to help. The plan I developed covers our district, but incorporates the template
provided by CDE and several guide templates put out by San Diego COE and San
Mateo. If you haven't looked at the template, it is VERY overwhelming (even
to a veteran administrator). Please be advised I am willing to help either via
phone, email or fax. Should you have questions, do not hesitate to call."
Her contact information is Theresa Costa Johansen, Principal, Challenge Charter
High School, (530) 538-2359, Fax: (530) 538-2374, e-mail at tjohan@exchange.ouhsd.org.
Jamal Haider, of SchoolCity, sent the following information:
"SchoolCity has been adopted by Santa Clara County Office of Education for No Child Left Behind Compliance and data analysis software. Santa Clara County supports over 40 school districts and 235,000 students. We offer a number of software solutions through which we also service a number of other charter schools and support organizations such as California Charter School Academy (over 3700 students, Edtech (Escuela Popular, Dehesa...) and Westwood Charter School Alliance. We understand the complexities of the LEA plan. Please see our brochure for our NCLB data analysis software called STARS." His contact information is Jamal Haider, SchoolCity Inc., Email: jhaider@schoolcity.com, Tel: 650-934-6134, Cell:408-202-8458
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