Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 28 - EDUCATION › Part CLXVII - Bulletin 140-Louisiana Early Childhood Care and Education Network › Chapter 5 - Early Childhood Care and Education Accountability System › Section CLXVII-503 - Coordinated Observation Plan and Observation Requirements

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Coordinated observation is the local
				process by which each community network ensures that every classroom, including
				virtual classrooms, in a publicly-funded site in the community network receives
				two
CLASS®
observations each school
				year.
B.
CLASS®
Observation Requirements
1. A
CLASS
® observation is an
				observation of the typical experiences of children in a classroom using the
				appropriate toddler or pre-K
CLASS
®
				using all domains, typically occurring during the morning, in which a reliable
				observer conducts four 20-minute cycles of observation and note-taking followed
				by at least 10 minutes of scoring after each observation cycle.
2. Domains and Dimensions
a.
CLASS®
observations for
				infant classrooms must include the infant
CLASS®
domain and
				all dimensions contained within.
b.
CLASS®
observations for toddler classrooms must include both
				toddler
CLASS®
domains, which are emotional and behavioral
				support and engaged support for learning, and all dimensions contained
				within.
c.
CLASS
®
				observations for pre-K classrooms must include all three Pre-K-3rd
CLASS
® domains, which are emotional
				support, classroom organization, and instructional support, and all dimensions
				contained within.
3.
				Required Observations
a. For the 2020-2021
				and 2021-2022 academic years only, all infant, toddler, and pre-K classrooms in
				a publicly-funded site will receive one
CLASS®
observation during the
				school year conducted by the community network.
b. Any infant, toddler, and/or pre-K
				classroom that receives a fall
CLASS®
score of 4.49 or lower after
				third party replacement (if applicable) shall be observed a second
				time.
c. Following the 2020-2021
				and 2021-2022 academic years, all infant, toddler, and pre-K classrooms in a
				publicly-funded site will receive two
CLASS®
observations during the
				school year conducted by the community network.
d. Following the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022
				academic years, one observation shall occur during the fall observation period,
				if the classroom is in existence on October 1, and the other shall occur during
				the spring observation period, if the classroom is in existence on February
				1.
e.
CLASS®
observations conducted by
				third-party contractors hired by the department shall not count towards this
				requirement.
f. - f.iii.(b).
				Repealed.
4. Use of
				Infant, Toddler, or Pre-K
CLASS
®.
				Classrooms shall be observed with the same
CLASS
® throughout the school year
				based on the composition of the classroom when the observation plan required in
				Subsection C of this Section is submitted according to the following:
a. a classroom that only has infant children
				or a classroom that has a mix of infant and toddler children in which a
				majority are infant children shall be observed with the infant
CLASS
®;
b. a classroom that has all toddler children
				or a classroom that has a mix of infant and toddler children in which the
				majority or at least half are toddler children shall be observed with the
				toddler
CLASS
®;
c. a classroom that has all pre-K children or
				a classroom that has a mix of toddler and Pre-K children in which the majority
				or at least half are pre-K children shall be observed with the
				Pre-K-3rd
CLASS
®;
d. a classroom that has a mix of pre-K and
				kindergarten age children shall be observed using the Pre-K-3rd
CLASS
® when either the majority of
				the class is pre-K or if the classroom receives early childhood funding;
e. a classroom that is a
				combination of infant, toddler, and pre-K children must be observed using the
				tool appropriate for the majority of the class. If there is no clear majority
				among the three age groups, the toddler tool must be used.
5. The department shall monitor observer
				accuracy within each observation period by comparing the domain-level results
				from classroom observations conducted by the departments third-party
				contractors to the domain-level results from classroom observations conducted
				by the community network for each observer.
a. Within each school year, for observations
				conducted by a community network observer that have been compared to
				domain-level results conducted by the departments third-party contractors, if
				more than 20 percent of the domain-level results are different by more than 1
				point for the community network observer, that observer and lead agency will be
				issued a notice in writing by the state regarding the level of
				accuracy.
b. Within each school
				year, for observations conducted by a community network observer that have been
				compared to domain-level results conducted by the departments third-party
				contractors, if more than 33 percent of the domain-level results are different
				by more than 1 point for the community network observer, that observer will be
				shadow scored by another community network observer in the next observation
				period.
c. At the end of the school
				year, for observations conducted by a community network observer that have been
				compared to domain-level results conducted by the departments third-party
				contractors within the same community network, if 50 percent or more of the
				domain-level results are different by more than one point for the community
				network observer over the course of the school year, the department may
				determine that the community network observer shall not be able to conduct
				observations for that community network for the next observation period.
i. If the observer is no longer able to
				conduct observations for the community network, the department shall notify the
				observer and the lead agency that the observer shall not be able to conduct
				observations for that community network for the next observation
				period.
ii. A lead agency or
				community network observer may request in writing that the department review
				its decision in Subparagraph 5.c of this Subsection within 15 calendar days of
				receiving the decision.
iii. All
				requests for departmental review shall clearly state the specific reasons for
				requesting the review and the action being sought, and shall include all
				necessary supporting documentation.
iv. The department shall respond to the
				request for departmental review within 30 calendar days after receiving
				it.
v. The department may waive the
				action in Subparagraph 5.c of this Subsection in cases of extenuating
				circumstances or if the action would result in no other assessor being
				available to conduct required observations.
d. Observers who receive notification from
				the LDOE under Clause 5.c.i of this Subsection must meet the reliability
				requirements of 80 percent accuracy through annual recertification prior to
				being permitted to complete observations for the community network.
e. At the end of each observation period, the
				department will notify lead agencies in writing of all community network
				observers that have more than 20 percent of the domain-level results that
				differ by more than 1 point from comparable observations conducted by the
				departments third-party contractors.