COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120
ADMINISTRATIVE
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne
DeMary Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Reporting Requirements
for State-Funded Remedial Programs |
The General Assembly revised 22.1-199.2, Code of
Virginia, to require the Board of Education to promulgate regulations that
establish standards and reporting requirements for state-funded remedial
programs. After board approval on January 14, 2002, regulation 8 VAC 20-630 was
placed in the Virginia Register of Regulations on February 25, 2002, and
became effective on March 28, 2002 (Attachment A).
Regulation 8 VAC 20-630 institutes a maximum
pupil-teacher ratio for state-funded summer remedial programs; requires school
divisions to submit a remediation plan, record and report specified data
pertaining to their state-funded remedial programs, maintain an individual
student record indicating the students expected remediation goal, and annually
evaluate the success of those programs; and provides standards for state-funded
remedial programs. After public comment,
the regulation was amended to (i) broaden the definition of state-funded
remediation programs as those programs defined in a school division's
remediation plan that serve eligible students from state funding sources; (ii)
permit the use of locally designed or selected tests in place of the Standards
of Learning assessments, when applicable, to determine whether a student met
the remediation goal; and (iii) permit individuals who work in the state-funded
remedial program to work under the direct supervision of a licensed teacher in
Virginia.
As indicated in Regulatory
Superintendents Memo No. 1, March 15, 2002, Attachment A, changes to the
fiscal year 2002-2003 budget (HB/SB30) adopted by the General Assembly restored
language in the budget to provide flexibility in the use of Standards of
Quality (SOQ) and Standards of Learning (SOL) remediation funds. School divisions may choose to use state
payments provided for SOQ and SOL remediation as a block grant, without
restrictions or reporting requirements, other than those that are necessary for
determining funding for the program. The block grant language
does not include state-funded remedial summer school programs.
The regulation requires school divisions to submit a remediation plan for approval by the Virginia Board of Education. If only non-state, SOQ, or SOL remediation funds are used for remedial programs, it will not be necessary to file a plan, but a certification statement will be necessary. The certification statement is included as Attachment B. The format for the plan is included as Attachment C.
Part I of the plan requires information pertaining
only to remedial summer programs. If a school division intends to claim
reimbursement for summer remedial programs using revenue from state funds other
than SOQ or SOL remediation, Part I of this plan is required.
Part II of the plan requires information pertaining
to remediation programs, other than remedial summer school, offered during the
school year. Part II of the plan is required if state funds, other than SOQ or
SOL remediation funds are used as sources of revenue for remedial programs.
This plan, in duplicate, should be submitted to the
following address by June 28, 2002:
Virginia
Department of Education
Attention: Kathleen M. Smith
Office
of Elementary Instructional Services
P.
O. Box 2120
Richmond,
Virginia 23218-2120
As previously noted, the regulation also requires
that a record be maintained for each eligible student who attends a
state-funded remedial program. As required in the regulation, specific data
related to state-funded remediation programs must be reported annually to the
department. This report, due September 15, 2003, will include data for
remediation programs held during the school year, as well as remedial summer
school for 2002, which used state funds from sources other than SOQ or SOL
remediation during the fiscal year 2002-2003. The department is currently
developing an electronic form for this report. A draft copy of the report, a
sample student record, and Attachments B and C are available in Word format at
the following website by June 1, 2002:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/remediationreg.html.
Two technical assistance meetings will be provided
by the departments divisions of Finance and Instruction: May 30, 2002, at the Southwest Virginia
Higher Education Center (Abingdon), from
1-4 p.m.; and, June 19, 2002, at the Airport Hilton
(Richmond), from 1-4 p.m. If you should have any questions regarding the
implementation of this regulation, please contact Kathleen Smith (mailto:ksmith@mail.vak12ed.edu),
remediation program specialist, at (804) 786-5819.
Attachments
/administrators/superintendents_memos/2002/adm030a.pdf
/administrators/superintendents_memos/2002/adm030b.pdf
/administrators/superintendents_memos/2002/adm030c.pdf