June 10, 2011

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

SUBJECT: Coordination of Intervention Requirements of the State and Federal Accountability Systems

This letter is being sent to inform local education agencies (LEAs) of actions that have been taken by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to coordinate the intervention requirements of the state and federal accountability systems which may be of benefit to the LEA and campuses.

The first step was taken in summer 2010 when the Professional Service Provider (PSP) Network was formed to ensure that persons serving as External Campus Intervention Team (CIT) members, as required under Texas Education Code (TEC) §39.106 and §39.107, and those serving as Campus Administrator Mentors (CAM) or Technical Assistance Providers (TAP) in the School Improvement Program (SIP) of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) shared a common core of knowledge, had a clear understanding of the requirements of both the state and federal accountability systems, and had the skills and abilities necessary to assist struggling campuses.

The second action taken in fall 2010 was to offer several districts with a campus in both the state and federal improvement programs the opportunity to participate in a one-person pilot program. These districts could request to have only one PSP serving as both the CIT and the CAM/TAP for the “overlap” campus. The cost of this one person was shared between the district and the School Improvement Resource Center (SIRC), which pays for the services provided by CAMs and TAPs. The overlap campuses in these districts were able to have reports and plans required of the state intervention program also meet the requirements for the federal intervention programs interchangeably.

TEA’s next step is to make available to any LEA with an “overlap” campus the same benefits experienced by those in the overlap pilot. LEAs whose preliminary data suggest that they may have an “overlap” campus are strongly encouraged to contact their Education Service Center (ESC) Turnaround Team soon to begin improvement planning this summer. Once the state accountability ratings and federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) ratings are released in August, the LEA will have confirmation of which campuses are in “overlap”. At that point, the LEA will need to determine how to implement the related improvement requirements.

Coordination of Required External Professional Service Providers

LEAs will have two options when a campus has a:

• state accountability rating that requires a PSP to serve as the External member of the CIT as required under TEC §39.106 and §39.107; and
• federal AYP rating that requires the campus to have the services of a PSP as part of the Title I School Improvement Program as authorized under the NCLB Act of 2001.

Option 1: The district may request the services of two PSPs to work with the campus. In this option, the LEA will select a person from the state-approved list of PSP-CITs to serve as the External CIT member and submit the name to TEA for approval. The LEA will pay all expenses related to the services of the PSP-CIT. The SIRC will assign/nominate from the PSP-approved list of CAMs and TAPs an individual to work with the campus and will pay all expenses related to the services of the PSP. The two PSPs will meet periodically to coordinate their work with the campus.

Option 2: The LEA may request to have one PSP provide services for both intervention programs. With this option, the LEA requests a PSP-Overlap specialist to be assigned to the campus. TEA and SIRC will approve the request. In this option, SIRC will pay for the PSP’s service for the hours related to state and federal requirements that overlap, and the LEA will pay for the 36 to 42 hours of service specific only to the state requirements.

Coordination to Eliminate Duplicate Reporting Requirements

The LEA and campus will be provided information regarding reporting requirements of the state and federal intervention programs and how both programs will accept certain intervention activities to meet multiple requirements.

For additional information on the intervention requirements for the:

• State program - go to the Texas Turnaround Center’s website www.txturnaround.org.
• SIP program - go to SIRC’s website www.texassirc.net.

For more information on the PSP Network, go to www.psptexas.net.

More information will be sent to districts once the ratings have been released and the campuses that have overlapping intervention requirements are identified. For questions, please contact Karen Batchelor, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Program Monitoring and Interventions, at (512) 463-5226 or via e-mail at karen.batchelor@tea.state.tx.us, or Cory Green, Director for NCLB, at (512) 463-7177 or via e-mail at cory.green@tea.state.tx.us.

Sincerely,

Laura Taylor
Associate Commissioner
Department of Accreditation

Ann Smisko, Ph.D.
Associate Commissioner
School Improvement and Educator Initiatives