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ESEA Equitable Services: Consultation and Planning

Consultation Process


Consultation IconThe LEA is responsible for setting up an initial consultation with private school officials so both entities can work together to determine how funds will be spent to have the most impact. This meeting is central to the equitable participation process. It requires prior planning and gathering of information to make the most of the session.

The more detailed the plan, the easier it will be to implement and the less chance for misunderstanding. Spending time to understand each other’s needs will also help build an ongoing collaborative relationship that will simplify joint decision making. Input from both entities is crucial, and required. LEAs and private schools both have knowledge and expertise essential to meeting student needs.

Resource: Consultation Toolkit for Private School Equitable Participation


Needs Assessment: The deeper the understanding of student needs, the more strategic the planning for benefits can be. The first step is to look at any available data — such as formative and summative assessments and teacher observations — to see where the greatest needs are. The LEA and private school also decide how individual student needs will be determined, so services can be delivered to those who will benefit most.

Planning: Together, the LEA and private school officials decide what benefits will be provided—including how, when, where, and for whom (eligible students, their families, and/or their educators). All services, materials, or other benefits provided must be secular, neutral, and non-ideological.

Coordination of Funds: Each ESEA Title specifies how funds may and may not be spent. Funds from multiple Titles should be used to complement each other to increase their impact. For example, services for students that are funded with Title I might be complemented by related professional development for their teachers, funded with Title II. Evaluation: Plans should also include evaluation of any benefits for effectiveness. This may require monitoring and collection of data as benefits are delivered. The process for evaluation should be spelled out clearly.

LEA Responsibilities
  • Put students’ welfare first.
  • Contact the private school to set up the consultation, and ensure that consultation takes place. Face-to-face meetings are the most effective.
  • Include LEA staff with the necessary range of expertise—both programming and fiscal—to allow the creation of a plan that meets all guidelines.
  • Ensure genuine opportunity for input and collaboration:
    • Provide advance notice of planned consultation meetings to private school stakeholders.
    • Ensure the timeline enables input by scheduling the consultation during the design and development of your program planning.
    • Ensure all required topics are covered and that private schools are given an opportunity for input on all of them. Topics are listed on the Affirmation of Consultation with Private School Officials form.
  • Upload the completed Affirmation of Consultation with Private School Officials form to WISEgrants.
  • Obligate funds within the fiscal year in which the funds are received.
  • LEAs may establish reasonable deadlines for private school officials to submit necessary information to facilitate equitable services, keeping in mind private school schedules. For instance, an LEA can set a deadline for private school officials to submit enrollment and poverty data or request specific services and materials. The LEA should provide clear and sufficient notice of the deadline, explain the potential consequences of missing it, and allow adequate time for private school officials to respond.

    If the deadline is set through consultation, it is reasonable for the LEA to inform private school officials that failing to meet the deadline without notifying the LEA of obstacles in a timely manner may be interpreted as a decision to decline services. However, ongoing consultation required by ESEA (Section 8501(c)(3)) generally helps prevent such situations. Regular consultation throughout the year offers an opportunity for private school officials to inform the LEA of any challenges in meeting a deadline.
Private School Responsibilities
  • Put students’ welfare first.
  • Be available for consultations or suggest alternate times/dates to meet either inperson or by phone.
  • Meet all applicable deadlines communicated by the LEA.
  • Collaborate with the LEA to determine needs. Share the results of the school’s needs assessment or any other useful data.
  • Collaborate with the LEA to determine eligibility criteria. Determine the multiple assessments and criteria that will be used to identify students in greatest need of Title I services and rank order them by need.
  • Participate in the planning and development of services.
  • Collaborate to determine evaluation methods.
  • Complete and sign the Affirmation of Consultation with Private School Officials form provided by the resident LEA.
Timely and Meaningful Consultation

ESEA requires timely and meaningful consultation between the LEA and the private school officials. The goal of consultation is to discuss and come to agreement on how to provide equitable and effective programs for eligible private school students, their families, and staff.

Timely means the LEA has given advance notice of planned consultation meetings to the private school located within its boundaries. The LEA should reach out in early spring to set up the initial consultation. LEAs are encouraged to share Roles and Responsibilities Document with the consultation invitation.

The private school should respond to the LEA’s consultation request in a timely manner in order to prevent delaying the process. Together, both are responsible for ensuring that ongoing consultation takes place throughout the year. When possible, face-to-face meetings are most effective and are encouraged.

To Help Ensure Meaningful Consultation:

  • Put students’ welfare first.
  • Include LEA staff with the necessary range of expertise—both programming and fiscal—to allow for the development of a plan that meets requirements.
  • Plan ahead for meetings and provide enough notice so everyone can prepare and compile necessary data.
  • Ensure the timeline enables genuine communication by scheduling the initial consultation during the design and development of LEA Title programming.
  • Ensure all required topics are covered and that the private school is given an opportunity to provide input.
  • Establish deadlines for the private school when necessary data or follow up is required to prevent a delay for services being provided.

To Help Prevent a Less Meaningful Consultation:

  • Don’t consult when it’s too late for the private school to have real input on the services to be provided.
  • Don’t present take-it-or-leave-it services.
  • Don’t rush through the process to get the form signed and submitted, thinking “We’ll decide on a plan later”.
  • Don’t focus more on logistics of delivery than addressing the greatest needs.
  • Don’t decide to “just do the same thing we did last year” without assessing the current needs or efficacy of the services provided in the prior year.
  • Do prepare ahead of time—for example, compile necessary data (i.e. student enrollment and assessment data).
  • Do have all stakeholders at the meeting—for example, include an LEA representative who understands and can articulate the fiscal requirements, limitations, and procedures; and include a private school official who understands student outcome data.
  • Do cover all the required topics listed on the Affirmation of Consultation with Private School Officials form.
Required Topics for Consultation

ESEA requires that LEAs and private schools cover the following topics during the initial consultation. (20 U.S.C. §§ 6320(b)(1) and 7881(c)(1)-(2))

  • How the LEA and private school will identify the needs of private school children.
  • The method or sources of best available data that the LEA and the private school officials will use to determine the number of private school children from low income families residing in participating public Title I school attendance areas who attend private schools.
  • The services the LEA will provide.
  • How, where, when (including the approximate time of day), and by whom the services will be provided.
  • How the LEA will assess services and how the results of the assessment will be used to improve those services.
  • The size and scope of equitable services to be provided to the eligible private school children, their families, teachers, and other educational personnel. The amount of funds available for those services, how that amount is determined from the total amount of funds received by the LEA, and if funds will be used for direct and indirect administrative costs.
  • How and when the LEA will make decisions about delivery of services, including a thorough consideration and analysis of the views of the private school officials, specific to whether services will be provided by a separate government agency, consortium, entity, or third-party provider. 
  • How, if the LEA disagrees with the views of the private school officials on the provisions of services through a contract, the LEA will provide to the private schools, in writing, an analysis of the reasons why the LEA has chosen not to use a contractor.
  • If there is more than one private school, whether the private schools prefer to pool equitable shares for services or if they prefer the LEA to provide equitable services to each individual private school.
  • Whether to use funds provided under Title I, Part A in coordination with eligible funds available for services to private school children under applicable programs as defined in Title VIII.
  • If the LEA will transfer Title II or Title IV funds as allowed under Title V, Section 5103.
Initial Consultation: Required Documentation for WISEgrants

ESEA requires that timely and meaningful consultation occur between the LEA and private school officials prior to any decision that affects the opportunities of eligible private school children, teachers, and other educational personnel to participate in programs under the Act. In order to apply for any ESEA funds in WISEgrants, LEAs must provide the following data and documentation in WISEgrants.

Enrollment Data
The amount of funds available to support eligible students in private schools under Title I-A is based on the number of public and private school students from low income families residing in participating Title I public school attendance areas. Title II-A and Title IV-A private funding is based on a private school’s total enrollment. 

Affirmation of Consultation Form
After the initial consultation between the LEA and private school, the LEA and private school representative must complete the Affirmation of Consultation with Private School Officials Form* indicating intent to participate and summarizing the results of the planning consultation. LEAs must complete one form for each private school located in their district’s boundaries. Once signed by both parties, the LEA must upload this form to WISEgrants.

Resources:

Title I-A Private School Enrollment Data Collection

When a Private School Does Not Respond to an LEA’s Attempts to Consult 

How to Upload Affirmations in WISEgrants

*The Affirmation of Consultation with Private School Officials (form PI-9580-AC) allows for digital signatures. Please note that the form must be downloaded and opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader to use the digital signature collection functionality.

When a Private School Does Not Respond to an LEA’s Attempts to Consult

Each year, Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) must reach out to private schools and offer meaningful consultation regarding benefits under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). If a school does not respond after three good-faith attempts, the LEA may submit documentation of the attempts as evidence of the school’s declining services.

Follow these steps:

  1. Send an email or letter to the appropriate official(s) for the private school, inviting them to consult on equitable services for all ESEA Titles, You may want to include this Providing Services for Equitable Participation Under ESSA handout with the letter.

    You must indicate a deadline for responding in your letter or email. Allow at least ten days.
  2. If the school official does not respond within ten days, follow up with at least two more attempts, on two separate days, over the next ten-day period. Follow up may be in the form of a physical visit, a phone call, a letter, or an email. If sending an email, consider using the read receipt option.

    Document each attempt to contact the private school, indicating the person you attempted to contact and the date and time of each attempt.

    You may contact the ESSA Ombudsman (essaombudsman@dpi.wi.gov) for assistance with this outreach.
  3. If private school officials indicate they are not interested in Title services, ask them to either
    1. Fill out and sign the private school affirmation form indicating they do not want to participate, OR
    2. Decline consultation in writing. Email is acceptable, as long as the email
    • originates from a valid private school email address,
    • is from the appropriate private school representative, and
    • clearly states that the school is declining all ESEA services for the school year.
  4. If a private school still does not respond after the second ten-day period, upload documentation of your outreach attempts in WISEgrants. Exhaustive documentation isn’t necessary. For example, a copy of an official letter or an email with a read receipt is sufficient to document an outreach attempt.

    The documentation serves as official evidence of the LEA’s good faith efforts to consult with the private school. It also serves as confirmation that the private school declined to participate.
Recommended Consultation Cycle

Late Winter/Early Spring: Invitation to Consult and Initial Consultation Preparation

  • Invitation to consult regarding equitable participation: LEAs must contact the private schools within their boundaries to provide information about the opportunities available under each grant and the private school’s role if they choose to participate. The LEA must provide enough information so they can make an informed decision about participating.
  • This outreach serves as an initial invitation to consult.
  • If a school does not respond to an LEA after three good-faith attempts to consult, the LEA should refer to the When a Private School Does Not Respond to an LEA’s Attempts to Consult technical assistance for additional guidance.
  • Prepare for initial consultation: The more preparation, the better. Providing additional information in the initial contact with the private school on the following topics can make a big difference:
    • Share the Roles & Responsibilities document as a reference to clarify the different roles the LEA and private school have.
    • Outline what student data is required for participation (i.e. enrollment, poverty, and assessment data), and inform the private school that it’s important this data is available for any initial consultation meeting(s).
      • This may include contacting the private school to identify the types of assessment and poverty data they have available.
    • Ensure the proper expertise is in the room to make decisions about programming/services and fiscal processes. (Example: program staff AND business manager or staff)

Spring: Initial Consultation

The LEA is responsible for setting up an initial consultation meeting with private school officials so both entities can work together to develop a plan that addresses the greatest needs of the private school students, their families, and staff. This initial meeting is central to the equitable participation process and the development of a plan for the next school year. It requires prior planning and gathering of information by both entities to make the most of the meeting.

When developing a plan for services, the more detailed the plan, the better, as it will make it easier to implement the services and leave less room for misunderstandings throughout the school year. Taking the time to understand each other’s preferences will also help build an ongoing collaborative relationship that will simplify joint decision making.

Input from both entities is crucial and required. Both LEAs and private schools have knowledge and expertise essential to ensure the students’ needs are met. When consulting, both the LEA and private school must come prepared to consider the following:

  • Needs Assessment: The deeper the understanding of student needs, the more strategic the planning for benefits can be. Look at any available data — such as formative and summative assessments and teacher observations — to see where the greatest needs are within a school. Discuss how individual student needs will be identified, so services (including professional learning for educators) can be delivered to those who will benefit most.
  • Funding: The LEA must explain how much funding is available under each Title, and how the amounts are calculated. This includes an explanation of any difference between the amount available for services and the total amount of the equitable share—for example, will the LEA use a portion of funds for direct and indirect administrative costs necessary for coordinating services to the private school?Is there anticipated carryover from the prior year? Does the LEA plan to transfer funds from one Title to another?
    • ESEA prohibits private schools from obligating or receiving federal funds (20 U.S.C. § 7881(d)). The LEA is responsible for maintaining control over the funds and should, as much as possible, follow the same fiscal procedures as those implemented in the LEA 10 when dealing with expenditures for the private school. The LEA should clarify the fiscal process to the private school and ensure that the private school understands they cannot be reimbursed.
  • Pooling Funds Among Private Schools: Private schools can choose either to have the LEA provide equitable services on a school-by-school basis or to pool funds between private schools or across districts.
  • Services - Planning and Evaluating: Together, the LEA and private school officials decide what services will be provided to best meet the needs—including how, when, where, and for whom. All services, materials, or other benefits provided must be secular, neutral, and non-ideological. Services must be evaluated by the LEA for effectiveness throughout the year.
  • Final Decisions: The LEA must consider recommendations from the private school officials before making any final decisions regarding the delivery of services, including the service provider. This means not coming to the initial consultation with final decisions already made, but rather, offering the private school a voice in the decision-making process.
    • The LEA must clarify the timeline and their process for making final decisions.
  • Affirmation of Consultation Form: Only after all required topics have been covered during the initial consultation(s), can the LEA and private school official complete and sign the form. The LEA is required to submit an Affirmation of Consultation with Private School Officials form for each school via DPI’s WISEgrants portal.

Summer: Summer Programming and Preparations for Fall

  • (If applicable) Before any summer programming begins, the LEA should touch base with their private schools to make sure everyone is still on the same page and all preparations have been completed.
  • To prepare for the Fall, the LEA should:
    • Review student needs assessment data from spring consultation meetings to finalize the service delivery plan and discuss with the private schools any slight adjustments to the plan, as needed.
    • Review and finalize any third-party provider contracts.
    • Order supplies & materials, or equipment in accordance with the LEA’s procurement, property management, and inventory procedures.
    • Review criteria to be used to evaluate the effectiveness of programs.
    • Review the consultation schedule for the upcoming school year and send calendar reminders to the private school. This may require additional follow-up with the private school to ensure everything is in order.
  • The LEA is required to complete the ESEA End-of-Year Report each year by August 30. The report includes demographic information related to equitable participation from the prior school year and may require the LEA to contact the private school to collect the necessary information.
  • Before the school year begins, the LEA should touch base with the private school about fall programming to make sure everyone is on the same page and collect any additional information needed to ensure services will start at the beginning of the school year. 11

Fall/Early Winter: Implementation of Services and Benefits

Services to eligible private school students, their families, and/or teachers should be provided in a timely and consistent manner so that the services have the most impact. In order to prevent delays or disruptions to the services, including factors that affect the effectiveness of the services, the LEA should:

  • Begin implementation of the service delivery plan and provide benefits as soon as possible, with the goal to start services in the same timeframe as for public school students.
  • Communicate with the private school regarding these services throughout the school year.
  • Continue to make any necessary purchases on behalf of the private school, in accordance with the LEA’s procurement, property management, and inventory procedures.
  • Begin progress monitoring and evaluate services for effectiveness, making any modifications as necessary.
  • Are there any students receiving Title I services that met the benchmarks to exit the program?
  • Review any upcoming deadlines with the private school and ensure ongoing consultation meetings are scheduled for the remainder of the calendar year.

Late Winter: Evaluation and Needs Assessment

As the school year progresses, it is important there are no disruptions to the implementation of services. The LEA is responsible to not only ensure the continuity of services but also to ensure the services address the academic needs of the private school students, their teachers, and families as intended. To meet this responsibility, the LEA should:

  • Continue to provide services and benefits, ensuring consistent communication with the private school regarding the services.
  • Continue progress monitoring and to evaluate services for effectiveness, making any modifications as necessary to ensure students’ needs are still being met. Are there any students receiving Title I services that met the benchmarks to exit the program?
  • Document any adjustments to services being made during the current fiscal year to be utilized during consultation for the upcoming year.
  • Discuss any remaining funds, including available carryover, with the private school to determine how best to utilize the funding before the end of the fiscal year. DPI usually posts carryover funds from the previous year in WISEgrants during this time.
  • Begin to plan outreach for consultations for the upcoming school year.

Review any upcoming deadlines with the private school and ensure ongoing consultation meetings are scheduled for the remainder of the fiscal year.


LEAs can include this handout with their initial invitation to private schools to participate in ESSA.
LEAs upload this form, indicating intent to participate and summarizing the results of the planning consultation, to WISEgrants. One form per school (or group of affiliated schools participating together).

 

Needs Assessment and Service Delivery Plan


The most important part of the initial consultation meeting(s) occurs when the LEA and private school come together to discuss the needs of private school students, their families and staff. This process is called the Needs Assessment. The Needs Assessment is a required part of consultation for each eligible Title program in which a private school participates. The Needs Assessment drives the plan for equitable services. Refer to the Collecting Assessment Data for ESEA Equitable Participation document for an overview of the data used to assess needs of private school students, staff, and families for equitable services.

 

Allowed Costs


IconUnder each Title, there are multiple allowable uses of grant funds, so services for private school students may vary from school to school. Depending on the Title, services might support eligible students directly, or they might support them indirectly through services for their families or their teachers and other educators. ESEA-funded services might include direct supplemental instruction, professional development for educators, family engagement activities, technology, or other options.

Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and private schools must use the proportional share of funds available for equitable services on allowed costs under each Title. LEAs must follow their written procedures to determine allowed costs and procure goods and services. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) prohibits the private school from obligating or receiving ESEA funds. The control of funds used to provide equitable services is maintained by the LEA. Materials purchased with the funds are administered by the LEA and remain the property of the LEA. Services must be provided by an employee of the LEA or through a contract by the LEA with an individual or entity independent of the private school and any religious organization.

Resources:


For questions about this information, contact the Wisconsin’s Private School Ombudsman or Title I and School Support Team.