Section 1.88  Additional Accountability Requirements for Districts Serving Students of Limited English Proficiency Under Title III

This Section implements section 3122 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) (20 USC 6842), which requires that states establish "Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives" (AMAOs) for educational agencies that use funds provided under Title III of the Act to serve students of limited proficiency in English and hold those entities accountable for meeting those objectives.  Further, this Section implements section 3113(b)(5) of NCLB (20 USC 6823), which requires states to hold local educational agencies and schools accountable for meeting all the objectives described in NCLB section 3122.

a)         The three distinct AMAOs address proficiency, progress, and adequate yearly progress (AYP), respectively, in connection with students taking the annual English language proficiency examination prescribed by the State Board of Education in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 228 (Transitional Bilingual Education).  These objectives shall apply at the district or cooperative level, as applicable, i.e., based on the test scores achieved by all the students served by each entity that receives Title III funding.  In order to "meet AMAOs" for any given year, a district or cooperative must achieve all of the applicable objectives described in this subsection (a).

1)         "Proficiency" relates to the percentage of students who attained the score identified by the State Board of Education (ISBE) as demonstrating English language proficiency and eligibility to exit bilingual education.  The Illinois annual proficiency objective shall be 10 percent.  This objective shall apply provided that the number of students tested is no fewer than 30.  The scores of students tested but not being served in bilingual education programs shall not be counted for this purpose.

2)         "Progress" relates to the percentage of students whose scores on a given administration of the English language proficiency examination increased in comparison to their previous scores by at least .5 of a level of attainment on any one of the four domains (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).  The Illinois annual progress objective shall be 85 percent and shall apply provided that the number of students tested is no fewer than 30.  A student's score shall be counted for this purpose only if he or she has received two consecutive scores while being served by the same district or cooperative.  The scores of students tested but not being served  in bilingual education programs shall not be counted for this purpose.

3)         "Adequate yearly progress" or "AYP" has the meaning given to that term in Section 1.40 of this Part, except that, for purposes of this Section, AYP is specific to the scores earned on the reading and mathematics portions of the State assessment by students with limited proficiency in English, to their participation in the State assessment, and to their attendance or graduation rate, as applicable.  The AYP objective shall apply only when the number of students served is treated as a subgroup under Section 1.60(a) of this Part.

b)         In order to avoid penalizing districts and cooperatives for the decision bias that is associated with drawing inferences from a small distribution, a 95 percent "confidence interval" shall be applied to the data involved in each calculation discussed in subsection (a) of this Section.  (A confidence interval is a mathematical approach designed to compensate for the unreliability of data derived from consideration of small groups.)

c)         The scores of all students served by a cooperative shall be analyzed as one group for purposes of determining whether the cooperative has met AMAOs in a given year.  The determination for a cooperative shall also apply to each of its member districts.

d)         Section 3122(b) of NCLB requires entities funded under Title III that fail to reach AMAOs for two consecutive years to prepare improvement plans designed to ensure that the entities will meet those objectives in the future.  Each entity that is subject to this requirement shall submit its plan no later than six months after it receives notification from ISBE of its failure to meet AMAOs for the second consecutive year.  Should a district or cooperative elect not to apply for Title III funding in the subsequent year, it shall be required to submit an improvement plan before it next applies, unless data on the performance of its students demonstrate that the entity met AMAOs in the most recent year preceding its new application for funding.  ISBE shall not approve an application for Title III funds from an entity that is subject to this requirement until its plan has been submitted.

e)         When an entity funded under Title III has failed to reach AMAOs for four consecutive years, ISBE shall, as required by section 3122(b)(4) of NCLB:

1)         require the entity to modify its curriculum, program, and method of instruction; or

2)         make a determination regarding the entity's continued receipt of funds under Title III and require the entity to replace educational personnel relevant to the entity's failure to meet the achievement objectives.

f)          The sanctions chosen pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section shall be identified based upon ISBE's analysis of the factors that prevented the entity from attaining the AMAOs, including those factors presented in the improvement plan submitted in accordance with subsection (d) of this Section.  In particular, ISBE shall deny continued Title III funding to an entity that:

1)         fails or refuses to serve students according to relevant legal and/or regulatory requirements; or

2)        prolongs or repeats instances of noncompliance to a degree that indicates an intention not to comply with relevant requirements.

(Source:  Added at 30 Ill. Reg. 17416, effective October 23, 2006)