Hueneme Elementary School District

In accord with No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Public school districts, such as Hueneme Elementary School District (HESD) have an obligation and responsibility to achieve equitable participation of private school children, teachers and other education personnel in major federal programs. Participation is limited to private schools that have non-profit status within the District’s boundaries. The Department of Educational Projects oversees and coordinates all Private School Services. 

To ensure equitable participation, HESD must assess, address, and evaluate the needs of private school students and teachers; spend an equal amount of funds per student to provide services; provide private school students and teachers with an opportunity to participate in activities equivalent to the opportunity provided public school students and teachers; and offer services that are secular, neutral, and non-ideological.

HESD looks forward to working in collaboration with the Private Schools we serve to provide the best educational opportunities and services students and staff. It is always exciting to discuss the educational services and other benefits that are equitable to those provided to eligible public school children. We value our partnership as we work to provide the best educational program possible for the students we serve within our local learning community.

As we all appreciate that effective schools are characterized by: (1) strong educational programs; (2) exceptional personnel; (3) commitment to definite goals; (4) informed, involved and supportive parents; (5) sincere concern for the needs of all students; and (6) abundant opportunities for students to participate, learn and grow. It is our hope and goal that with our partnership, we are able to provide those services to the community we all collectively serve.

The District relies on the enrollment data reported in the Private School Affidavit report submitted each October to identify numbers of students being served by private schools located within District boundaries for programs other than Title I. While final allocations for various grant programs may not be known, eligible participants should plan on using 80% of the prior year grant amount for initial planning purposes, with necessary adjustments made after the final entitlement is known.

Programs in the NCLB Act that Require Equitable Participation

The following programs in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 require equitable participation by private school students, teachers, and other education personnel. In addition to the guidelines previously delineated, each of the subsequent major programs has supplementary mandates. Described below are the NCLB Title Programs in which Hueneme Elementary School District participates and which private non-profit schools located within District boundaries may, if they qualify, elect to participate in as well: Title I Part A, Title II, Title III,.

Title I – Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged

1. Section 1120(b)(1) suggests that, in addition to the issues listed above, meaningful consultation should also include the method or sources of data that are used to determine the number of children from low-income families in participating school attendance areas who attend private schools (p. 1509).

2. Methods for calculation to ensure allocation for equitable services may be done by using free and reduced lunch counts, survey, comparable data, or proportionality (Section 1120(c), p. 1510).

3. Furthermore, each LEA must maintain in the agency’s records and provide to the SEA involved a written affirmation signed by officials of each participating private school that the consultation has occurred (Section 1120(b)(4), p. 1510).

Title II A – Preparing, Training and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals 

The Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund provides assistance for preparing, training, recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers. This program is governed by the Uniform Provisions (Section 9501(b)(3), p. 1976) which requires equitable participation of nonprofit private school teachers and other education personnel only to the extent that the LEA uses its funds for professional development. Moreover, equitable participation also extends to nonparticipation. If the LEA selects not to apply for these funds the nonprofit private school has no recourse (Section 2112(b)(12), p. 1624; and U.S. Department of Education, NCLB Summary, p. 3). 

Additionally, if the professional development needs of the nonprofit private school teachers are different from those of public school teachers, the LEA, in consultation with nonprofit private school representatives, should develop a separate program. Consultation and coordination are essential to ensuring high-quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused professional development activities for private school teachers. LEAs must assess the needs of nonprofit private school teachers in designing the professional development program for private school teachers (Section 9501(c), p. 1976).

Title III – Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students

The English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement program provides funds for helping eligible immigrant and limited English proficient (LEP) children attain English proficiency and meet the same challenging state academic standards as all children are expected to meet. Funds must be used for increasing the English proficiency of eligible immigrant and LEP children by providing high-quality language instruction and high-quality professional development. Eligible nonprofit private school students and teachers whose schools are located within an LEA that receives a subgrant from the state are eligible to participate in this program, as required by the Uniform Provisions (U.S. Department of Education, NCLB Summary, p. 4).

You will find the Private School Consultation Form and the Affirmation of Services Form attached for your convenience. Detailed information regarding private school participation in NCLB Title Programs, including criteria for submitting the Private School Affidavit, can be found on the California Department of Education website at http://www.cde.ca.gov./sp/ps/

Contact Information 

If you have any questions or need additional information, please give me a call or email.

Marisol Guillen, Sr. Director of Multilingual Education and Family Engagement
805.488.3588 X9211
mguillen@hueneme.org

For more information, visit the official U.S. Department of Education No Child Left Behind web site