Districts Identified for Improvement (DIFI) Level 4 Requirements

The district shall continue to implement district improvement plan developed in year 1.

The district shall:

• Provide an assurance that the DIFI will spend not less than 10 percent of the funds allocated to the district for the purpose of providing high quality professional development that addresses the academic achievement area that caused the district to be identified as a DIFI. This includes funds reserved for professional development for Schools Identified for Improvement (SIFI) but excludes funds reserved for professional development to assure highly qualified teachers and paraprofessionals.

The district shall:

• Promptly provide to the parents (in a format and to an extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand) of each student enrolled in a school served by the DIFI:
• The AYP results;
• The reasons the district was identified for improvement; and
• How parents can participate in upgrading the quality of education in the district.

The DPI shall:

• Publish, and disseminate to parents and the public, through such means as the internet, the media, and public agencies, information on the DIFI’s corrective action plan developed by the DPI.

Upon request by the DIFI, the DPI shall:

• Provided technical or other assistance to better enable the district to:
• Develop and implement the district’s plan and
• Work with the schools needing improvement.

Technical assistance provided by DPI shall be supported by effective methods and instructional strategies based on scientifically-based research. Such technical assistance shall address problems, if any, in implementing the parental involvement activities and the professional development activities previously described.

DIFIs will be a priority for compliance monitoring of the ESEA consolidated application by the DPI. The DPI may require DIFIs to submit their district improvement plan for review.

The district shall:

• Submit their district school improvement plan to DPI.
• Implement the state-required corrective action plan.

The DPI will work collaboratively with the district to develop a corrective action plan for the district.

The DPI’s corrective action plan shall include at least one of the following actions:

• Defer programmatic funds or reducing administrative funds;
• Institute and fully implement a new curriculum that is based on state and local academic content and achievement standards,including providing appropriate professional development based on scientifically-based research for all relevant staff, that offers substantial promise of improving educational achievement for low-achieving students;
• Replace the district’s personnel who are relevant to the failure to make adequate yearly progress;
• Remove particular schools from the jurisdiction of the district and establishing alternative arrangements for public governance and supervision of such schools;
• Appoint, through the state, a receiver or trustee to administer the affairs of the district in place of the superintendent and school board;
• Abolish or restructure the district; and/or
• Authorize students to transfer from a school operated by the district to the higher performing public school operated by another district, in accordance with public school choice, and providing to such students transportation (or the costs of transportation) to such schools in conjunction with carrying out, not less than one additional action described in this section.