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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August
21, 2002
Federal turnaround causes school
district problems: Schiller
The timing of a federal government decision to make some
Illinois schools offer supplemental services under the new
“No Child Left Behind” Act will make it almost
impossible for the affected districts to comply, State Superintendent
of Education Robert E. Schiller said.
“Ultimately, these services will be very helpful to
students,” Schiller said. “But right now, the
inconsistency shown by the federal government will be greatly
disruptive for local school administrators in Chicago and
St. Anne.”
In early July, the federal Department of Education approved
Illinois’ “No Child Left Behind” application
that called for some schools to begin providing Supplemental
Education Services in the 2003-2004 school year. Now the same
federal officials say some Illinois schools – 25 in
the City of Chicago and one in St. Anne (Kankakee County)
-- must offer the services to students this year.
“Our staff has been in constant contact with the Education
Department since the new federal legislation was signed by
the President in January,” Schiller said. “We
followed their instructions and made it clear to them that
no Illinois districts would need to offer Supplemental Education
Services until next school year under the plan outlined in
our application.”
State officials are still discussing the issue both with
federal officials and the affected districts and will do their
best to comply with the new directives issued by the federal
government, Schiller said.
“We should have been told sooner. The federal government
approved our application, sent us money based on the application
and we distributed it to Illinois school districts,”
he said. “Now they change their mind. It’s bad
planning on their part and causes immense problems for the
two districts involved, which have already established budgets
for the coming year.”
The No Child Left Behind Act requires standards-based testing
of all schools and provides sanctions for schools that do
not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on those tests. Illinois
initiated the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests in 1999.
High schools began administering the Prairie State Achievement
Examination in 2001.
The Act says that schools that do not make AYP for two consecutive
years must provide parents the choice of another higher-performing
school. After three consecutive years, schools must provide
choice and Supplemental Education Services, such as tutoring.
The Act also provides that schools stay this year in the category
they were in as of January.
Using the first year of ISAT would place no schools in the
category of being required to offer services beyond choice
this year. High schools – with only two years of standards-based
testing – would not even be in the category to provide
choice until 2003-2004. State Board staff sought guidance
from federal officials (no written guidance was available
until very recently) and with their assurance prepared and
submitted the state plan using those parameters.
Federal officials now tell the State Board that they must
go back to using pre-standards tests (the former Illinois
Goal Assessment Program tests) to determine the required offering
of schools. That would mean as many as 26 schools, 12 of which
are high schools, would have to offer Supplemental Education
Services this school year.
Only Chicago and St. Anne would be affected and they have
been notified by the State Board that, contingent on the final
resolution of these issues with federal officials, they may
have to offer these services this year.
For Supplemental Education Services, the State Board must
approve a list of providers from which parents may choose.
The State Board is in the process of setting criteria for
providers and seeking proposals from those who wish to be
considered.
The affected districts and schools are:
CARVER AREA HIGH SCHOOL
CRANE TECHNICAL PREP COMMON HS
FARRAGUT CAREER ACADEMY HS
HARPER HIGH SCHOOL
MARSHALL METROPOLITAN HIGH SCHOOL
ORR COMMUNITY ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL
TILDEN COMMUNITY ACADEMY HS
WELLS COMMUNITY ACADEMY HS
FLOWER VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
RICHARDS VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
MANLEY CAREER & PREP COMM ACAD HS
COLLINS HIGH SCHOOL
ATTUCKS ELEM SCHOOL
BETHUNE ELEM SCHOOL
CATHER ELEM SCHOOL
DOOLITTLE MIDDLE SCHOOL
FARADAY ELEM SCHOOL
FARREN FINE ARTS ELEM SCHOOL
HAMLINE ELEM SCHOOL
HOWLAND ELEM SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
MEDILL ELEM SCHOOL
POPE ELEM SCHOOL
TILTON ELEM SCHOOL
CARVER MIDDLE SCHOOL
MORTON ELEM CAREER ACADEMY
ST ANNE COMM HIGH SCHOOL
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