Federal waiver lets SBE distribute SIG money
Up to $416 million for as many as 93 schools
Published: August 31, 2010
More than a third of the 188 schools that are considered among California’s lowest performers—or nearly half of them, if a conditional federal waiver stands—should soon see the money they’ve been counting on to make themselves over in line with federal reform priorities.
In an Aug. 24 meeting conducted from Sacramento via telephone with barely a quorum, the State Board of Education approved two options for distributing federal School Improvement Grants.
The first option, allocating the full $416 million to 93 applicant schools, relies on a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education to allow California to use all of its SIG funds this school year, without sequestering a 25 percent reserve for more schools next year. The back-up plan, after setting aside the required $104 million reserve, allocates $312 million to 66 schools. Either way, awards to funded schools will range between $50,000 and $2 million annually for three years.
Federal officials conditionally approved the waiver in the hours before the State Board meeting, agreeing to allow California to commit all its SIG funds this year as long as all the schools revise their funding requests to new, somewhat reduced levels and they give assurances that they can implement agreed-upon reforms at those funding levels.
With more eligible schools than money either way, the State Board had to target its allocations to Tier I schools—those receiving Title I funds that are on a controversial list of persistently low-performing schools, adjusted so than no more than 10 percent of any district’s schools are listed—and the highest-priority Tier II schools, comprising middle and high schools that are eligible for Title I funding but don’t receive any. The federal waiver will allow more of those Tier II schools to participate, but other Tier II and all Tier III schools will not be funded this year.
The state Legislature also must appropriate the federal funds before the money can flow to the schools. Many have already begun their 2010-11 academic year without access to the SIG funds to implement the reforms they've committed to, such as hiring tutors, training teachers, extending the school day, and other efforts to boost achievement.
Intervention models
SIG’s $546 million national budget in 2009 was augmented with $3 billion in federal stimulus money that underwrites the reform effort’s stringent requirements. The result in California is:
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Transformation: Fifty-seven schools opted for this intervention, which involves replacing the principal, comprehensive curriculum reform, professional development, extended learning time, and other strategies.
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Turnaround: Twenty-nine schools chose to replace the principal and half the teachers and adopt a new governance structure, as well as implementing curriculum reforms, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.
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Restart: Five schools will be closed and reopened as a charter or turned over to an education management organization.
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Closure: Two schools will use their SIG grants to close, sending the students to higher-achieving schools in the district.
Easy link:
State Board agenda item 2 materials include a list of schools seeking SIG funding, action recommended by the California Department of Education, and a rationale for reducing some grants.