E-1.     What causes a school to enter year two of school improvement status?  

If a school in school improvement status for one school year does not make AYP during the course of that year, the LEA must identify it for Year Two of school improvement status.  For example, if a school that implements Year One of school improvement during the 2003-04 school year does not make AYP by the end of that year, it must implement Year Two of school improvement during the 2004-05 school year. 

E-2.     May an LEA delay implementing the second year of school improvement?  

An LEA may delay the implementation of year two of school improvement if, after undergoing one year of school improvement, (1) the school makes AYP or (2) the school does not make AYP due to exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances such as a natural disaster or a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the financial resources of the district or school.  This delay is temporary (it may not exceed one school year), and it is not intended to reset the sequence of school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring that is detailed in the statute.  The LEA may not take the delay into account in determining the number of years a school has missed its AYP targets and must, after the delay, subject the school to further actions as if the delay never occurred.  

For example, if a school undergoes year one of school improvement during the 2003-2004 school year but meets its AYP targets on the basis of results of academic assessments administered during that year, the LEA may delay placing the school in year two of school improvement during the 2004-2005 school year.  During this delay, the school must continue to implement its school improvement plan and provide public school choice.  If the results of assessments administered during the 2004-2005 school year indicate that the school has once again not met AYP targets, then for 2005-2006 the school must implement the requirements of year two of school improvement. During this year the school must, in addition to continuing implementation of its improvement plan, provide both choice and, to eligible students, supplemental educational services.

E-3.     Must the LEA continue to provide technical assistance during this delay? 

            Since the school must continue to implement its improvement plan during the delay, and since the LEA is required to provide technical assistance throughout the implementation of the school improvement plan, the LEA must continue to provide technical assistance during the delay period. 

E-4.     What notification requirements apply when a school enters year two of  improvement?  

When a school is identified for year two of school improvement, the LEA must promptly notify the parents of each child enrolled in the school of -  

• Their option to transfer their child to another public school that is making AYP and is served by the LEA. (See also B-6.)
• The availability of supplemental educational services for eligible children.The LEA must provide the names of approved providers of services available within the LEA or within a reasonable distance of that area, along with a brief description of the services, qualifications, and demonstrated effectiveness of these providers. For more detailed information on the provision of supplemental educational services, please see the Department of Education's Supplemental Educational Services Non-Regulatory Guidance at http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/suppsvcsguid.doc.

E-5.     What assistance is available to a school in year two of improvement?           

During its second year of school improvement, an LEA must ensure that the school continues to receive the technical assistance that was begun in year one; that assistance should be focused specifically on the continued implementation of the school improvement plan.  Before year two begins, the school improvement support team (see D-12 and D-13) will have recommended to the LEA that the team continue to work with the school or that some other kind of assistance be provided.  The LEA and the SEA share the responsibility for monitoring the quality and appropriateness of the technical assistance that is provided.  §200.39