COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Department of Education

February 25, 2011

TO: Division Superintendents

FROM: Patricia I. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT: Eligibility of Private Schools to Participate in Federal Programs under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)

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

Separate provisions govern private school participation requirements under Title I, Part A. Virginia has entered into a bypass contract on behalf of 14 school divisions in the state, 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.

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 2011-2012 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. A PowerPoint presentation on providing equitable services to private schools for the above title programs as well as Title I, Part A, can be found at the following Web site: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/federal_programs/esea/title9/index.shtml.

To provide an opportunity for school divisions and private school officials to ask questions about equitable participation of private school students, teachers, and other educational personnel, the Department will offer an audio conference on April 5, 2011, at 2 p.m. Participants are encouraged to review the PowerPoint presentation prior to the audio conference. To join the audio conference, please dial (866) 842-5779, and enter conference code 8042252869 followed by the “#” key. Questions may also be sent in advance of the audio conference to Janet Farber, administrative support, via e-mail at Janet.Farber@doe.virginia.gov.

If you have general questions regarding providing equitable services to private schools, please contact 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 NCLB program, please contact the appropriate Department staff member below:

Title I, Part A	Becky Marable	Rebecca.Marable@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 371-0044
	Shady Clark	Shady.Clark@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 225-2901
Title I, Part B	Cheryl Strobel	Cheryl.Strobel@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 371-7578
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 II, Part D	Mark Saunders	Mark.Saunders@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 786-0307
Title III, Part A	Judy Radford	Judy.Radford@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 786-1692
Title IV, Part B	Duane Sergent	Duane.Sergent@doe.virginia.gov	(804) 371-2929

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