No Child Left Behind Annual Statewide Conference

1
No Child Left BehindAnnual Statewide Conference

• February 16, 2005

2
Illinois Forecast for Better EducationDr.
Ginger ReynoldsGail Lieberman
3
A Little Background on Ginger Reynolds

• Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and
  Learning Services for the Illinois State Board of
  Education

4
New State Board of Education

• Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed Senate Bill 3000 into
  law in September 2004.
• Law brought sweeping education reform, shifting
  State Boards focus from regulating school
  districts to
• Improving education of students in Illinois
• Being accountable to the governor, legislators,
  school districts, parents, and children
• Focusing on constituent service

5
New State Board of Education

• Upon signing the bill into law, the Governor
  appointed seven new members to the State Board of
  Education. The nine-member Board now includes
• Jesse Ruiz, Chicago - Chairman
• Dr. Andrea Brown, Goreville
• Dean Clark, Glen Ellyn
• Dr. David Fields, Danville
• Ed Geppert, Belleville
• Dr. Vinni Hall, Chicago
• Brenda Holmes, Springfield
• Joyce Karon, Barrington
• Dr. Chris Ward, Lockport

6
Dr. Randy Dunn,State Superintendent

• Bachelors degree in Elementary Education with
  emphasis on Reading
• Masters degree in Education
• Began his education career as a fourth grade
  teacher
• Moved into administration
• Principal for two schools in central Illinois
• Superintendent of the Argenta-Oreana Community
  and Chester Community School Districts
• Currently on leave as Chair of the Department of
  Education Administration and Higher Education at
  Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

7
Governor Rod BlagojevichsCommitment to Education

• Faced with 8 billion in budget deficits, Gov.
  Blagojevich has committed almost 1 billion in
  additional education funding in his first two
  years in office
• Raised the General State Aid foundation level
  substantially two consecutive years
• Commitment to early childhood education funding,
  expanding pre-school access for 16,000 additional
  students

8
State of the State Message

• In his 2005 State of the State Address, the
  Governor highlighted outcomes of the new State
  Board and his commitment to education
• Improved process for gathering and reporting
  School Report Card data
• Elimination of teacher certification backlog and
  streamlined process for the future
• Streamlined agency to redirect funds to schools
• Increased funding to expand access to pre-school

9
State of the Union Message

• The President called for strengthening high
  schools
• He proposed 1.5 billion in funding for a new
  high school initiative
• He called for additional high school assessments
  (which would require a federal law change)

10
Initiatives for 2005

• Board will develop a Strategic Plan and is
  currently prioritizing from a list including
• Improving Teacher Quality and Retention
• Improving Data-Driven Decision Making through
  Technology
• Enhancing Literacy
• Building School Leadership Capacity
• Highlighting Exemplary Educational Practices

11
Initiatives for 2005, cont.

• Expanding School Business and Support Practices
• Supporting Career and Technical Education
• Streamlining Teacher Certification
• Enhancing Regional Service Delivery
• Promoting High School Reform
• Promoting Positive Learning Environments

12
Working with NCLB

• Examining data
• Looking at other states
• Working with the USDoE
• TO
• Make NCLB work for Illinois
• Assist schools effectively
• Hold the Agency accountable

13
A little background on Gail Lieberman

• Retired in February 2004
• Returned to ISBE under contract in January 2005

14
A Look at NCLB and the Future

• ISBEs focus on education improvement
• ISBEs focus on accountability
• ISBEs focus on customer services
• We have examined the data from the last two years
  of NCLB implementation and working to improve and
  streamline accountability measures for and with
  schools and districts

15
Latest Happenings with NCLB

• Students and schools making progress
• Many schools have worked diligently to close the
  low income and the racial/ethnic achievement gaps
• Moving towards highly qualified teachers and
  qualified paraprofessionals
• Improved Information to parents to make informed
  choices

16
Illinois Results in Aggregate2002-2004
Meets/Exceeds

• 2002 2003
  2004
• All Tests 60.1 61 62.4
• ISAT 62.7 63.9 65.9
• PSAE 56.1 55.2 56.4
• We need to look at disaggregated data now!
• As Dr. Dunn says, we need to peel the onion

17
AYP Status Across Illinois

• From the 2004 assessments (data as of 1/25/05)
• 402 schools in AEWS
• 540 schools in AWS
• 41 schools removed from status
• 248 LEAs in school improvement status
• 285 LEAs in AEWS
• For Title I purposes, the breakdown of the
  duplicated 694 schools includes (data as of
  Fall 2004)
• CHChoice 216CSChoice and SES 213CACorrective
  Action 242RSRestructuring Year 123

18
How Fast Are We Moving Towards Results?

• We believe we are
• Title I monitoring visit on-site, March
  28thApril 1
• Title II monitoring visit on-site, March 2-4
• Title III monitoring visit on-site in May
• 21st Century CLC visit on site in mid-April
• WHEW!!!!

19

• Accountability Workbook changes

20
Approved Changes in the Illinois Accountability
Workbook

• Multi-racial. In response to concerns raised by
  Illinois students, parents, and school personnel,
  Illinois has added a multi-racial/ethnic group to
  the States major racial/ethnic groups for both
  accountability and reporting purposes.
• Identification of Schools and Districts for
  Improvement. Illinois will identify schools and
  districts for improvement on the basis of not
  making AYP for two consecutive years in the same
  content area.
• Assessment and Accountability for LEP students.
  Illinois adopts the flexibility allowed relative
  to limited English proficient students for
  assessment and accountability purposes for no
  testing in Year 1.

21
Approved Changes in the Illinois Accountability
Workbook

• Alternate Assessments. Illinois will use the
  final regulation concerning the 1.0 percent cap,
  ensuring that the "number of proficient and
  advanced scores based on the alternate
  achievement standards" does not exceed 1.0
  percent of all students in the grades assessed at
  the State level.
• Participation Rate. Illinois adopts the new
  flexibility regarding multi-year averaging of
  participation rate. Illinois will also adopt the
  new flexibility regarding students who have
  significant medical emergencies during the
  testing window and its affect on a school's
  participation rate.

22
Changes Under Consideration

• Students with Disabilities
• Subgroup size
• Include those who are on IEPs for monitoring or
  transition purposes
• Revising reading levels of questions

23
Changes Under Consideration (contd)

• Students with limited English proficiency
• New English assessment Access
• New state assessment
• Accommodations
• Student subgroup size
• Special attention to first year enrollees
• Special attention to year 4 and 5 students

24
Changes Under Consideration (contd)

• Other issues
• Full year definition
• Grade 2 testing
• Subgroup size
• Other

25
Something New Every Year with NCLB and AYP Issues

• 2004 from 2003 tests participation rate
• 2005 from 2004 tests district AYP
• 2006 from 2005 tests AMAOs and consequences
• 2006 tests all grades 3-8 and 11

26
Information on IDEA

• Following are the key changes in the nation's
  special education law
• Expand options for parents. Parents, along with
  the local education agency, may agree to make
  changes to a student's individualized education
  program (IEP) without having to hold a formal IEP
  meeting. They may instead develop a written
  document for an amendment.
• Prevent requiring medication for education
  services. Schools cannot force parents to
  medicate their children as a condition of
  attending school, receiving an evaluation or
  receiving services.
• Extend the timeline for teacher certification.
  New special education teachers who teach multiple
  subjects exclusively to students with
  disabilities and who are deemed "highly
  qualified" in math, language arts or science will
  have two years after their employment date to
  demonstrate competency in the other core academic
  subjects they teach.

27
Information on IDEA

• Reduce the paperwork burden on teachers. A
  15-state pilot program will allow states and
  school districts to offer parents the option of a
  multi-year IEP, not to exceed three years, as
  opposed to a yearly plan. Another pilot program
  will allow the U.S. secretary of education to
  waive certain paperwork requirements for up to 15
  states.
• Reduce litigation. Prior to a due process
  hearing, the district must hold a resolution
  session with parents and IEP Team members within
  15 days of receiving notice of a parent's
  complaint. In addition, a request for a hearing
  must be filed within two years from the date of
  the alleged violation.
• Reduce misidentification of non-disabled
  children. School districts can address the
  problem of children being erroneously placed in
  special education by using a portion of their
  IDEA funding to provide intervention services to
  children who have not yet been identified as
  needing special education but need additional
  academic or behavioral support.

28
Information on IDEA

• School nurses included as a related service
• Related services exempts any medical device that
  is surgically implanted, or its replacement
• Emphasis on universal design
• Same emphasis on AYP and other factors
• Focus on access to instructional materials

29
Information on IDEA

• Screening to determine appropriate instructional
  strategies for curriculum implementation shall
  not be considered to be an evaluation for
  eligibility for special education or related
  services
• Student may not be considered disabled due to a
  lack of appropriate instruction in reading

30
Choice/Supplemental Services

• As of January 13th, total number of approved SES
  providers 75
• Number of providers indicating they can serve
  limited English proficient students 45
• Number of providers indicating they can serve
  grades 9-12 50
• Application in the future will specify areas
  served in more detail
• http//www.isbe.net/nclb/htmls/sesp.htm

31
Professional Development

• RESPRO system of support services (also technical
  assistance) at www.isbe.net (search for system of
  support)
• ROE services at http//www.iarss.org/development.
  asp

32
Federal Funding for 2004 (2004-05) to Illinois

• IDEA 447M
• IDEA Preschool 17.9M
• Career and Tech Prep 48.7M
• Homeless 2.5M
• Student Testing 12.9M

• Title I 523M
• Title II 118M
• Title II, Tech 28M
• Title III 25M
• Title IV 17.6M
• 21st CCLC 39.4M

33
Changes on the Horizon

• Any bills which become law in 2005
• Any Accountability Workbook changes that are
  approved
• Other issues on appeal now
• Any changes in 2005 or 2006 at the federal level
  in terms of NCLB changes.

34
For Further Information

• Contact Ginger Reynolds at greynold_at_isbe.net
• Contact Gail Lieberman at glieberm_at_isbe.net