A Microsoft Word version of this letter is available for download and PRINTING.

September 7, 2010

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

SUBJECT:  Title I, Part A—Comparability of Services Requirement

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires that campuses receiving Title I, Part A funding must receive the same level of services through state and local funds as campuses that are not receiving Title I, Part A funding. If all campuses in a local education agency (LEA) are receiving Title I, Part A funds, then the district or charter school must ensure that state and local funds used to provide services at their Title I, Part A campuses are substantially comparable, taken as a whole, at each Title I campus or that state and local funds used to provide services at their Title I, Part A campuses with higher percentages of low-income students are equal to or greater than the services provided at their Title I, Part A campuses with lower percentages of low-income students.

The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) recently reviewed the process by which LEAs in Texas demonstrate comparability and found two issues that have now been addressed in the instructions for determining comparability of services for the 2010-2011 school year:

1. Campus groupings must be made based on broad organizational categories: Elementary, Middle, and High School. LEAs will no longer group campuses by exact grade spans. The expectation by the USDE is that this will produce fewer grade span groupings within each LEA and will result in more campuses being compared to similar campuses. The guidance document has been revised to include an example of a grouping with mixed grades (i.e., including campuses with only Grade 6, campuses with Grades 7-8, and campuses with Grades 6-8 in the same grade-span groupings).
2. LEAs with fewer than 1,000 students will no longer be exempted from the comparability of services requirement. Previous guidance and instructions had stated that Single Attendance Areas were exempt from the requirement. However, clarification from the USDE has indicated that it was not the intent for the comparability of services requirement to use the same exemption that applies to the grade-span groupings that may occur when allocating funds to campuses under Section 1115. The language used by the comparability requirement is “not more than one building for each grade span.” These terms had heretofore been understood by the Agency as having the same application. Instructions and guidance for the 2010-2011 school year have been revised accordingly.

LEAs that participate in Title I, Part A, are required to conduct comparability testing and to submit that data to the Texas Education Agency (TEA). LEAs are required to use their latest budgeted data to complete the Title I, Part A, Comparability Computation Form (CCF) for school year 2010-2011 by November 5, 2010.

Failure to complete the requirements ensuring Title I, Part A, Comparability of Services by the designated deadline will result in suspension of the LEA’s Title I, Part A funds.

The instruction manuals and CCF forms for completing the Title I, Part A Comparability of Services requirement may be accessed via the web page of the Division of NCLB Program Coordination at: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=6996&menu_id=798.

If you have questions regarding the Title I, Part A Comparability of Services requirement, please contact Ms. Cindy Watson in the Division of NCLB Program Coordination via electronic mail at Cindy.Watson@tea.state.tx.us.

Sincerely,

Cory Green, Senior Director
Division of NCLB Program Coordination