2015- 16 REPORT TO THE HOUSE AND SENATE COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION OF THE LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE AND BOARD OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION 2015-16 REPORT ON SCHOOL PERFORMANCE ACCORDING TO REQUIREMENTS UNDER R.S. 17:3991 and BESE BULLETIN 126, CHAPTER 27, SECTION 2713 INTRODUCTION In developing the state’s charter school law, Legislators ensured that the “best interests” of at-risk pupils should be a primary consideration in the development of charter schools. As charter school authorizers, both the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and local school boards should ensure that their charter schools are equitably serving at-risk students and those with disabilities in their enrollment zones. LA R.S. 17:3991(B)(1)(a) and (b) requires that charter schools enroll a certain percentage of students who meet the definition of at-risk as defined in law. In 2015, the Legislature passed Act 467, which amended and expanded the law to include enrollment requirements for students with disabilities for all charter schools, as well as mandating that BESE develop a process for ensuring compliance with this statute. Act 467 requires that BESE develop and administer a process to measure whether charter schools are meeting the requirements outlined in the law. The process shall: • Provide for an investigation of a charter school that fails to meet the requirements to determine the reasons for such failure and all actions taken by the school toward meeting the requirements, and • Include clear identification of the responsibilities of the charter school, the local school board of the district in which the charter school is located, and the state board for meeting the needs of the students. Additionally, BESE Bulletin 126, Chapter 27, Section 2713 requires that the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) annually report on the percentage of charter schools meeting these requirements under the law as well as the percentage of these populations enrolled in all public schools. This report will outline the requirements for schools under R.S. 17:3991 and Bulletin 126, report on schools’ performance toward meeting the standards under the law and policy, and detail the actions the LDE will take regarding schools that do not meet these standards. ACT 467 REQUIREMENTS Under Act 467, Type 1, 2, 3, and 4 charter schools are required to enroll a certain percentage of students considered to be at-risk as defined in R.S. 17:3973(1), and a certain percentage of students with disabilities as defined in R.S. 17:1924, not including gifted and talented. The law and policy set out different requirements for schools depending on their charter type. Type 1 and 2 Charter Schools Type 1 and Type 2 charter schools are held to the following standards: • At Risk: The definition of ‘at risk’ is outlined in RS 17:3973 (1) (a) (e). Charter schools are required to maintain the same percentage of at-risk students as the percentage of at-risk students in the local parish(es) from which the charter school enrolls its students based on the data from the year prior to the charter term for the duration of the approved charter term. Of the required at-risk percentage, students eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced lunch program must equal 85% of the total requirement. The remaining students identified as at-risk must be comprised of students eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced lunch program or otherwise at-risk as defined in statute. • Students with Disabilities: The definition of students with disabilities for the purpose of this requirement is outlined in RS 17:1942. Charter schools are required to maintain the same percentage of students with disabilities as the percentage of students with disabilities in the local parish(es) from which the charter school enrolls its students for the duration of the approved charter term. In addition, students with disabilities must equal 85% of the enrollment requirement in the parish(es) from which the charter enrolls students. The remaining students in the enrollment requirement must be comprised of students with disabilities or otherwise at-risk as defined by R.S. 17:3973(1). Type 2 Charter schools created as a result of a conversion, Type 3 and 4 Charter Schools Type 2 charter schools created as a result of a conversion, Type 3 and Type 4 charter schools are required to maintain the same percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch and the same percentage of students with disabilities as enrolled in the school the year prior to the establishment of the charter. District-Operated Public Schools Act 467 did not mandate any enrollment requirements for traditional public schools operated by local school boards. However, BESE Bulletin 126 requires that enrollment percentages for these student populations are also reported publicly on an annual basis. Included in this report are the percentage of Economically Disadvantaged and Students with Disabilities enrolled by every school in the state along with whether or not those percentages are higher or lower than the district average. While the LDE no longer collects free and reduced-price lunch data for all schools, it does collect data on which students are eligible for other programs such as SNAP benefits and Medicaid to determine the percentage of a school’s population that is Economically Disadvantaged (ED). Similar to free and reduced- price lunch data, the percentage of students that are ED is a proxy for the poverty of a school’s students. 2015-16 FINDINGS In developing the charter school law, the Legislature intended that “the best interests of at-risk pupils shall be the overriding consideration” in the development of these schools. As such, law also requires that charter schools serve a population of at-risk students that is reflective of their enrollment zones. The majority of charter schools are meeting the at-risk requirement under the law for the 2015-16 school year. Just under half of all charter schools, 44%, are meeting the students with disabilities requirement under law for the 2015-16 school year. Charter School Type Schools Meeting At-Risk Requirement in Schools Not Meeting At-Risk Requirement in 2015-16 2015-16 BESE Authorized Type 2 and Type 4 81% 19% District Authorized Type 1 and Type 3 74% 26% All Type 1, 2, 3, and 4 Charters 77% 23% Charter School Type Schools Sped Meeting Requirement Schools Not Meeting Sped in 2015-16 Requirement in 2015-16 BESE Authorized Type 2 and 4 42% 58% District Authorized Type 1 and 3 49% 51% All Type 1, 2, 3, and 4 Charters 45% 55% COMPLIANCE WITH ACT 467 The law requires that BESE develop and administer a process for determining if a charter school is meeting the student enrollment requirements under Act 467, to provide for an inquiry when a school fails to meet the requirements, and to determine the reasons for such failure and all actions taken by the school toward meeting the requirements. LDE will take the following steps for schools that fail to meet required standards for at-risk enrollment: Schools that are School will be required to give weight or preference within its enrollment lottery to students meeting the definition of at-risk (if it greater than 5% operates a lottery within a given year) below their target School must submit a plan to LDE on how it will take specific actions to increase its enrollment of at-risk students in order to meet the requirements under the law. Schools will be subject to additional inquiry by LDE in the following areas as relevant: • Recruitment procedures and materials, • Application materials and procedures, • Child Find procedures, and • Any other school policy or procedure that might result in reduced access for at-risk students or those with disabilities. Schools who are below the required enrollment percentages in the year prior to their renewal year may be subject to reduced charter renewal term lengths. LDE will take the following steps for schools that fail to meet required standards for Students with Disabilities enrollment: Schools that are School will be required to give weight or preference within its enrollment lottery to students meeting the definition of at-risk (if it greater than 2% below operates a lottery within a given year) their target School must submit a plan to LDE on how it will take specific actions to increase its enrollment of at-risk students or students with disabilities in order to meet the requirements under the law. Schools will be subject to additional inquiry by LDE in the following areas as relevant: • Recruitment procedures and materials, • Application materials and procedures, • Child Find procedures, and • Any other school policy or procedure that might result in reduced access for at-risk students or those with disabilities. Schools who are below the required enrollment percentages in the year prior to their renewal year may be subject to reduced charter renewal term lengths. In future years, schools that fail to meet either requirement for multiple years may be subject to additional consequences. This report also includes information on Type 1 and 3 charters, those authorized by local school boards, on their performance on these metrics relative to the standard they are held to. This information should be used by local charter authorizers to develop appropriate next steps in instances where charter schools have not met the standard under the law. APPENDIX A: CALCULATION METHDOLOGIES At Risk Students At-risk as defined in R.S. 17:3973(1) is any student meeting one of the following criteria: Calculation Methodology based on Oct. 1 As defined in R.S.