Dear Colleague: I am pleased to share with you a revised version of the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants Guidance. This revised guidance, now issued separately from the guidance on Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT), does not depart significantly from the previous version. The portion of the guidance that covers HQT is under revision and will be released in the near future. Thanks to your tireless efforts, we are increasing educational excellence. The goal of leaving no child behind will soon become a reality. Please do not hesitate to contact the ESEA Title II, Part A program staff in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education with any further questions or concerns. We would be pleased to assist in any way possible. Sincerely, /s/ Margaret Spellings Purpose of this Guidance This Non-Regulatory Guidance explains how State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and State agencies for higher education can effectively and correctly use Title II, Part A funds to ensure that all teachers are qualified and effective. The Guidance in this document supersedes all prior guidance issued by the Department for the Title II, Part A program. This Guidance does not impose any requirements beyond those that the law specifies and, where possible, it encourages varying approaches and focuses on what can be done rather than on what cannot be done. Any requirements referred to in this Guidance are taken directly from the statute, with citations provided throughout. Except for explicit statutory requirements, State and local recipients are free to implement Title II, Part A activities based on their own reasonable interpretations of the law.
school identified as in need of improvement for failing to make adequate yearly progress must spend 10 percent of its Title I, Part A funds on professional development, including teacher mentoring programs [Section 1116(c)(7)(A)(iii)]. Title I, Part B, the Reading First program, which requires grantees to build on scientifically based reading research to implement comprehensive instruction for children in kindergarten through third grade. From the 20 percent State set-aside funds, 65 percent may be spent in preparing teachers through professional development activities so the teachers have tools to effectively help their students learn to read [Section 1202(d)(3)]. Title II, Part B, the Mathematics and Science Partnerships program, which provides funding to SEAs to competitively establish IHE-LEA partnerships to enhance teacher subject-matter knowledge and the quality of teaching in mathematics and science [Section 2201(a)]. Title II, Part C, the Troops-to-Teachers and Transition to Teaching programs, which support efforts to help school districts hire, train, and retain individuals from other careers and backgrounds as teachers in high-need schools [Sections 2303 and 2313]. Title II, Part D, the Enhancing Education Through Technology program, under which each local recipient of funds must use at least 25 percent of those funds for ongoing, sustained, and high-quality professional development on the integration of advanced technologies into curriculum and instruction and on the use of those technologies to create new learning environments [Section 2416(a)]. Title III, Part A, which authorizes LEAs to use formula grant funds for professional development of teachers providing instruction to students needing English language acquisition and language enhancement [Section 3111(a)(2)(A)]. Title V, Part A, which authorizes LEAs to use formula grant funds to provide professional development activities carried out in accordance with Title II, Part A, as well as to recruit, train, and hire highly qualified teachers to reduce class size [Section 5131(a)(1)]. Title VII, Part A, the Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education program, which requires a comprehensive program for meeting the needs of Indian children that, among other things, calls for professional development opportunities to ensure that teachers and other school professionals have been properly trained [Section 7114(b)(5)].
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. G-30. Do the ESEA Title IX requirements regarding services to private school teachers apply to activities conducted under the competitive awards made under partnerships program? Yes. The SAHE-funded grants to partnerships of IHEs and high-need LEAs must 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)].
APPENDIX A Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations AYP: Adequate Yearly Progress ARTS AND SCIENCES: (A) When referring to an organizational unit of an institution of higher education, any academic unit that offers one or more academic majors in disciplines or content areas corresponding to the academic subjects in which teachers teach; and B) when referring to a specific academic subject, the disciplines or content areas in which an academic major is offered by an organizational unit [Section 2102(1)]. CFR: Code of Federal Regulations CHARTER SCHOOL: The term “charter school” means its the purpose of eligibility under the Federal Charter Schools program, a public school that: 1. In accordance with a specific State statute authorizing the granting of charters to schools, is exempt from significant State or local rules that inhibit the flexible operation and management of public schools, but not from any rules relating to the other requirements of the paragraph of the statute that defines “charter schools”; 2. Is created by a developer as a public school, or is adapted by a developer from an existing public school, and is operated under public supervision and direction; 3. Operates in pursuit of a specific set of educational objectives determined by the school's developer and agreed to by the authorized public chartering agency; 4. Provides a program of elementary or secondary education, or both; 5. Is nonsectarian in its programs, admissions policies, employment practices, and all other operations, and is not affiliated with a sectarian school or religious institution; 6. Does not charge tuition; 7. Complies with the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; 8. Is a school to which parents choose to send their children, and that admits students on the basis of a lottery, if more students apply for admission than can be accommodated; 9. Agrees to comply with the same Federal and State audit requirements as do other elementary schools and secondary schools in the State, unless such requirements are specifically waived for the purpose of the Charter Schools program; 10. Meets all applicable Federal, State, and local health and safety requirements;