COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Department of Education

February 24, 2012

TO:  Division Superintendents

FROM:  Patricia I. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT:  Eligibility of Private Schools to Participate in Federal Programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)

Under Section 9501 of Title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), private, nonprofit elementary and secondary school students, teachers, and other educational personnel are eligible to participate in federally-funded programs as authorized under the Act. Each school division is obligated to inform officials of private schools located within the division's boundary that private, nonprofit elementary and secondary schools are eligible to participate on an equitable basis in the following federal programs:

1. Title I, Part C (Education of Migratory Children);
2. Title II, Part A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting – if grant funds are used for professional development for teachers and other personnel);
3. Title II, Part B (Mathematics and Science Partnerships);
4. Title III, Part A (English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement); and
5. Title IV, Part B (21st Century Community Learning Centers).

Title II, Part D (Enhancing Education through Technology) no longer receives funding under ESEA, and Title I, Part B, Subpart 3 (Even Start Family Literacy) will no longer receive ESEA funding as of June 30, 2012.  Divisions should not include information about these two programs when contacting private schools.

School divisions should initiate and facilitate meaningful consultation with officials of private schools within their boundaries about their intent to participate in title programs for the 2012-2013 school year.  Samples of consultation letters, intent to participate forms, and other reference materials that may be helpful when contacting and consulting with private school officials can be found in the Title IX, Part E, Uniform Provisions, Subpart 1 – Private Schools Non-Regulatory Guidance, Revised March 2009, located at: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/equitableserguidance.doc.

Separate provisions govern private school participation requirements under Title I, Part A.  Fourteen Virginia school divisions participate in a bypass provision, under which the U.S. Department of Education directly provides Title I, Part A, equitable services to private school students and teachers through a third-party provider.  All other school divisions must inform officials of private schools located within the division's boundary that private, nonprofit schools are eligible to participate on an equitable basis in Title I, Part A, services.

To provide an opportunity for school divisions and private school officials to learn   about equitable participation of private school students, teachers, and other educational personnel, the Department will offer two professional development opportunities.  The first will be a webinar exploring the separate ESEA federal provisions for private school participation under Title I, Part A, and those under Section 9501 of Title IX. During the webinar, information related to the potential impact of ESEA flexibility on equitable services, should Virginia’s application be approved, will be discussed. The webinar will be held on Thursday, March 29, 2012, at 2 p.m.

Directions for participating in the webinar are as follows:

1. On March 29, 2012, at 2 p.m., go to http://www.doe.virginia.gov.
2. In the right-hand column, scroll down to “Webinars” and select this link.
   1. Locate the session Equitable Services for Private Schools under ESEA and select “Join Now.”
   2. Enter your name and e-mail address. 
   3. Enter the password “March292012” when prompted.
3. Dial 1-866-842-5779 to connect to the teleconference portion of the webinar.
4. Enter the conference code 8042252869 when prompted.

On Thursday, April 19, 2012, at 2 p.m., an audio conference will be hosted by Department staff featuring school division and private school officials discussing successful strategies in establishing effective communication and implementing meaningful private school consultation.  To join the audio conference, please dial 1-866-842-5779, and enter conference code 8042252869 when prompted.

To register and send questions in advance of the webinar on March 29 and audio conference on April 19, please complete the attached form and send to Janet Farber, administrative support, via e-mail at Janet.Farber@doe.virginia.gov.

General questions regarding equitable services to private schools should be directed to Diane Jay, associate director, Office of Program Administration and Accountability, at Diane.Jay@doe.virginia.gov or at (804) 225-2905. If you have specific questions regarding private school participation in a particular ESEA program, please contact the appropriate Department staff member below:

Title I, Part A	Becky Marable	Rebecca.Marable@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 371-0044
Title I, Part C	Patience Scott	Patience.Scott@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 786-9935
Title II, Part A	Carol Sylvester	Carol.Sylvester@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 371-0908
Title II, Part B	Michael Bolling	Michael.Bolling@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 786-6418
Title III, Part A	Stacy Freeman	Stacy.Freeman@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 786-1692
Title IV, Part B	Duane Sergent	Duane.Sergent@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 371-2929

PIW/dj

Attachment:

1. Registration Form for Private School Webinar and Audio Conference (Word)