INTRODUCTION

Overview

School districts and BOCES may operate an Employment Preparation Education (EPE) program to provide services for persons aged 21 and above who have not received a high school diploma or its equivalent. Agencies requesting approval to operate an EPE State Aid program in

2008-2009 should submit a completed application by May 15, 2008. Agencies may request an extension of the filing date to June 15, 2008 by calling the Adult Education and Workforce Development Team at (518) 474-8940. A written request must also be submitted.

Services to Individuals with a High School Diploma or High School Equivalency Diploma

Prior to the 2001-02 program year, school districts and BOCES participating in the EPE program could serve only individuals who were over 21 years of age who did not have a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma issued by a state or territory of the United States. In the 2000-01 session, the New York State legislature enacted legislation authorizing the Commissioner of Education to set aside up to $2.5 million to serve individuals 21 and above who have a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma but "fail to demonstrate basic educational competencies". Funds claimed for this population should not exceed 2% of total EPE funds claimed. Claims in excess of this will only be paid if available. This will not affect the amount of EPE aid allocated to your agency. Contact hours should be tracked separately for those with and those without a diploma or equivalency. Agencies choosing to serve these individuals will be asked to submit separate claims for those with and without a diploma or equivalency. In no instance will an agency be paid more than 10% of their total claim for individuals with a high school diploma. Individuals participating in the EPE program must be 21 years of age or older regardless of diploma status:

· Commissioner's Regulations define failure to "demonstrate basic educational competencies" as scoring below National Reporting System (NRS) level 5 in reading, mathematics or English as a Second Language. This means scoring at or below the following reference points: a grade level score of 8.9 or below in reading or mathematics (a scale score of 566 in reading or 565 in mathematics on the TABE 7-8 test or the TABE 9-10); or

· a score of 472 or below on the BEST Plus test.

Accountability and the National Reporting System (NRS) for Adult Education.

The law and regulations governing the EPE program require that the State Education Department (SED) evaluate the effectiveness of all programs receiving EPE state aid. Agencies failing to perform at an adequate level will be required to submit corrective action plans in order to continue receiving EPE State aid and may lose funding entirely if performance does not improve. Beginning in the 2002-03 program year, all agencies receiving EPE State aid were required to gather and submit data using an automated individual student record system.

Beginning in Jul7 of 2007, a web-based data system called Adult Student Information System and Technical Support (ASISTS) was implemented. All agencies receiving EPE state aid will be required to use this system. Contact the Literacy Assistance Center (LAC) at (212) 803-3300 for information on ASISTS. Information on ASISTS can also be found on the LAC web page at www.lacnyc.org.

SED has negotiated core performance targets with the United States Department of Education. All program participants must have the goal of advancing an educational functioning level or obtaining a General Education Development (GED) or high school diploma. The individual participant can identify up to two other goals as appropriate.

Appendix 2 (page 26) contains New York State’s targets for 2006–07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.

SED has instituted an Individual Technical Assistance Plan (ITAP) that identifies agencies in need of improvement. Working in consort with the Regional Adult Education Network (RAEN) and staff from SED, these agencies will be required to develop and implement a program improvement plan. To guide this process, SED has developed agency report cards that are used to determine how well agencies are performing. Four factors are used:

· 50% of the score will be based on aggregate educational gain, i.e., the number of students making one or more NRS level gain divided by total enrollment.

· 25% of the score will be based on the four follow-up measures, i.e., total students with a follow-up goal who achieved the goal upon exiting, divided by the total exiters with one of the identified goals.

· 12.5% of the score will be based on goal setting:

Ø Of all enrollees who are unemployed and in the labor market, 70% should have identified entering employment as a goal.

Ø Of all enrollees with the goal of obtaining a high school or GED diploma, 50% should also have identified a goal of going on to postsecondary education.

· 12.5% of the score will be based on achieving a 50% response rate on the survey of all students with a follow-up goal who exited the program.

Corrective Action

Agencies with unacceptable performance may be placed under corrective action for a period of one to three years. Agencies under corrective action must improve performance to be removed from corrective action status. Agencies failing to adequately improve performance in three years will no longer receive EPE funding.

Data on Distance Learning Programs

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of distance learning programs, agencies offering these programs must designate the programs offered such as GRASP, GED Connection, etc. on ASISTS . Please contact ASISTS support if you need technical assistance on how to enter this information. In addition, all of the information that is reported for traditional programs, such as demographic information, enrollment information, contact hours, goals, gains and outcomes should be included.

Agencies not submitting these data for the 2006-07 program year will have EPE funds withheld for these programs for the 2007-08 year and the programs will not be approved in the 2008-09 year.

Data on Occupational Courses

Although occupational courses supported by EPE funds are not included in the agency's NRS report, agencies offering occupational courses must include data to enable the State Education Department to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs. Scores on initial testing which is done to determine whether the student possesses sufficient basic skills to succeed in the course should be entered. Post testing is not necessary for students enrolled exclusively in occupational courses. Student demographics, contact hours, and job attainment must also be entered. Follow-up for all occupational students must be done after the student exits the program.

Program Administration

In the 2006-07 program year SED established minimum requirements for program administration. The administrative FTEs listed below are for administrators dedicated to the EPE Program. This requirement was implemented because it has been found that programs with inadequate administrative staff dedicated to the EPE program generally have difficulty with the fiscal, reporting and other program management issues. This year, only EPE funds requested will be used to determine if administration is adequate.

$100,000 or less - programs must have at least a .25 FTE administrator.
$100,001 - $160,000 – programs must have at least a .3 FTE administrator.
$160,001 - $220,000 – programs must have at least a .4 FTE administrator.
$220,000 - $300,000 – programs must have at least a .5 FTE administrator.
$300,001 – $380,000 – programs must have at least a .6 FTE administrator.
$380,001 - $460,000 – programs must have at least a .7 FTE administrator.
$460,001 - $540,000 – programs must have at least a .8 FTE administrator.
$540,001 - $620,000 – programs must have at least a .9 FTE administrator.
$620,001 and over – programs must have at least a .1 FTE administrator.

This administrative time should be fully dedicated to program administration without instructional or other non-administrative duties. Please complete the section on page 22 indicating administrative staff dedicated to your EPE program. Note that administrative salaries may be paid by sources other than EPE.

Attendance Policy

Because EPE state aid reimburses the school for contact hours of service already provided, it is essential that agencies document student attendance appropriately. Attendance should be documented in such a way that every hour of attendance claimed for every student can be verified. Attendance rosters must be certified by the classroom teachers. Documentation must be kept on file for audit purposes. Computerized attendance records will not suffice unless they have the same level of detail and same certification as the original classroom roster. Rounding to the nearest hour or portion of an hour is acceptable as long as rounding is done both up and down in a consistent way. Policies should also be in place regarding enrollment and absenteeism. On page 19 please describe your agency’s attendance policy and method for keeping records.

Geographic Range of EPE Programs

Because a number of issues have arisen regarding the geographic range of both traditional and distance learning programs SED is developing a new policy regarding where an agency can offer traditional and distance learning programs. Please go to the following website http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/workforce/offices/adult.html for this information.

· BOCES – Please enter on page 20 the names of all school districts in which the BOCES operates programs, or, for distance learning programs, districts in which the students reside. If a BOCES operates in another BOCES supervisory district indicate in which BOCES district and in which school districts within that BOCES area traditional programs are located. For distance learning programs indicate in which BOCES and in which school districts students reside.

· School Districts - On page 20, enter the names of all school districts with which your district operates traditional programs, or, in the case of distance learning programs, the districts in which students reside.

The policy requires that there be signed agreements between districts. Copies of the signed agreements need not be submitted, but should be kept on file.

Non-Credit Full Time Equivalency (FTE) Arrangements

Agencies operating EPE programs frequently enter into agreements with community colleges to provide remedial programs for students seeking to improve their basic skills before enrolling in credit-bearing programs. Community colleges are eligible to receive non-credit FTE funding through SUNY to support these programs. Non-credit FTE funding can support programs serving students who are under 21 with or without a high school diploma. If these remedial programs are operated by a school district or BOCES, students can be co-enrolled in both the EPE and college program. EPE “eligible” students are eligible to generate EPE State aid, and the community college can provide funding to support the non-EPE eligible students and other allowable costs. If your agency operates a program combining EPE aid and Non-Credit FTEs, please describe on page 21 the details of the arrangement. Include the name of the college, the roles and responsibilities of the two agencies, the number of students being served by FTEs and by EPE, the programs offered, the revenues expected to be generated by each source, the expected expenditures from each source, and any other details of the contractual arrangement, including administrative costs. Teachers of these programs must be employed by the school district or BOCES. EPE policy restricts the generation of excess revenues from FTE arrangements (see EPE manual section 414.02).

Final Decisions Contingent Upon State Budget

At the time of this application’s publication the 2008-09 New York State budget has not been passed. The total amount of funds that will be allocated to the EPE program is unknown at the time of this writing although SED anticipates that $84.5 million will be available. Therefore, program approval for EPE State Aid will be tentative pending passage of the State budget. Any changes in EPE State Aid program requirements enacted in the State budget will be addressed through an amendment process upon enactment of the budget. Approvals for the EPE State Aid program are for the period July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. Any waivers received in the program year 2007-08 must be renewed as part of this application.

EPE Manual

The EPE Manual is available online at www.nysed.gov/workforce/ . EPE programs should be managed in accordance with the Manual. All agency program coordinators should download this document and provide copies to appropriate staff.

Program Information Form

All funded agencies will be required to submit a Program Information Form (PIF) in August 2008. This form reports information regarding class location, teacher’s name, course title, number of students, as well as days, dates and times the class is offered. The PIF can be found at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/workforce/offices/adult.html .

Services to Individuals with Learning Disabilities

The issue of how to best serve individuals with learning disabilities in adult education programs has been the subject of much national discussion. The New York State Education Department recognizes that more needs to be done to serve this population given the limited resources that are available for this purpose. By June of 2008, SED will have developed a policy requiring funded agencies to submit a plan detailing strategies they will employ to serve students with learning disabilities.

In-Person Tutoring for Distance Learning Students

Beginning on July 1, 2008, students in distance learning programs may also be given up to six hours of in-person tutoring in a two week period. Formerly, only three hours were allowed. This tutoring time must be documented as with all traditional EPE classes. If the tutoring is done by the distance learning teacher, it must be done outside of the time being claimed as instructional hours for distance learning purposes. This includes students enrolled in the EDP program.

2008-2009

EMPLOYMENT PREPARATION EDUCATION (EPE)

STATE AID PROGRAM APPLICATION

Submit this completed application or request an extension by May 15, 2008 to:

New York State Education Department

Adult Education and Workforce Development Team

Room 307 Education Building

Albany, NY 12234

For technical assistance, see Appendix 3

Instructions for Completing the Application

For Employment Preparation Education (EPE) State Aid Programs

Agency Eligibility

· Local school districts or Boards of Cooperative Educational Services that have been approved previously by the State Education Department to operate an EPE State Aid program are eligible to apply. Educational agencies that have not previously been approved to operate an EPE State Aid program should refer to Appendix 5 for additional requirements.

Participant Eligibility

· Participants who are 21 years or older who do not have a high school diploma or the equivalency issued by any state or territory of the United States can generate EPE aid.

· Participants who have a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma but fail to demonstrate basic educational competencies can also generate EPE aid (see page 1).

Instructions

All agencies must complete and submit the sections of the application described below:

· Cover Sheet: This form must be completed with an original signature of the Superintendent or Chief Administrative Officer.

· Program Component Worksheet: Complete the worksheet for each program component for which the agency is requesting approval in 2008-2009. The five component worksheets found on pages 13-17 are: traditional adult education instruction, distance learning adult education instruction, high school credit courses, adult occupational education courses, and work experience.

· EPE Program Components Summary Sheet: On page 18 provide the total number of projected contact hours and students for each program component for which the agency is requesting approval in 2008-09. This information should be reentered from the individual program component worksheets.

· Attendance Policy: Include a description of your attendance policy by completing page 19. Include all of the information requested.

· Programs Operated in Other Districts: List all school districts in which your agency operates an EPE program by completing page 20.

· Non-Credit FTEs: If applicable, complete page 21. Include the name of any community college with which your agency has entered into an agreement to operate a program jointly funded by EPE state aid and Non-Credit FTEs. Include all of the information requested.

· Budget Summary: Complete the budget summary on page 22. Include estimates of all your anticipated EPE expenditures for 2008-09. This is not a binding document (i.e., it does not prevent you from spending more or less in any budget category). It is meant to provide general information on your fiscal planning for the upcoming year. The total should equal the EPE funding you are requesting. Include information on program administration. Additional details regarding each budget category must be provided in sufficient detail to determine whether the costs are allowable EPE expenditures.

· Statement of General Assurances: This form requires an original signature of the Superintendent or Chief Administrative Officer.

Financial Process

Agencies will submit an EPE Interim Report and Claim Form and a Final Claim Form.

· EPE Claim Form SA 160.1 and Interim Report. This form must be submitted to the Adult Education and Workforce Development Team by February 15, 2009. The form is used to determine the EPE hours through December 31, 2008 that will be claimed for EPE aid and to project total EPE hours through June 30, 2009. This form will be available online in the fall of 2008.

· EPE Claim Form SA 160.2. This form must be submitted to the Adult Education and Workforce Development Team by September 15, 2009 to claim EPE hours through

June 30, 2009. This form will also be available on line in the fall of 2008.

Waivers

Agencies seeking to waive requirements of the Commissioner’s Regulations concerning class size and length of program must request a formal waiver as part of the application process. Refer to Appendix 1 (page 25).

Description of Program Components

With the exception of occupational programs, all students in programs supported by EPE aid must be enrolled in an academic program designed to result in academic gain or the attainment of a GED or high school diploma for at least 50% of the time. Students in non-academic programs must be co-enrolled in an academic program designed to result in academic gain or a diploma. This means that no student should be enrolled in a stand-alone non-academic program such as Action for Personal Choice, CFLS (traditional and distance learning), Workplace Essential Skills, computer literacy, or Citizenship Home Study.

Assessment Requirement – The regulations require that all students enrolled in EPE programs be assessed. Traditional and distance learning programs must pre and post-test students. All testing must be done in person, with the teacher or test administrator present. Testing instruments can not be mailed. Please see the New York State NRS Manual on line at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/workforce/offices/adult.html for testing guidelines.

For the 2008-09 school year, the five EPE program components are:

1. Traditional Adult Education Instruction: Includes the following programs:

· Adult Basic Education (ABE)

· General Educational Development (GED) test preparation

· English as a Second Language (ESL)

· Basic Education in Native Language (BENL)

· Family Literacy (PAC) time

· Job Club

· Action for Personal Choice, and

· Career, Family and Life Skills (CFLS)

Only appropriately trained staff can offer Action for Personal Choice or Career, Family and Life Skills programs. Contact the Regional Adult Education Network (RAEN) Director in your region for information on appropriate training.

2. Distance Learning Adult Education Instruction: Programs approved by the New York State Education Department in which students are not present in a classroom but where instruction is supervised by a teacher. All distance learning programs must now conform to the two week packet model whether a program is comprised of physical packets or delivered electronically. The following resources are available:

Academic resources

· Learn to Read

· Pre GED Connection

· External High School Diploma Program (EDP)

· Giving Ready Adults a Study Program (GRASP)

· GED Connection

· Crossroads Café

· Skills to Make Adults Ready to Succeed (SMART) academic component

Non-academic Resources

· Career Family and Life Skills (Home Study)

· Citizenship Home Study

· Health Promotions Home Study

· Lifelines

· Madison Heights

· On Common Grounds

· Skills to Make Adults Ready to Succeed (SMART) non-academic component

· TV411

· Workplace Essential Skills

· SED Approved Pilots

Agencies offering distance learning programs are expected to meet or exceed the same educational gain and GED pass rates as traditional classroom programs.

Agencies requesting approval for any distance learning programs for which they were not approved in the 2007-2008 school year must provide the following information:

Ø Justification of the need for the program in the geographic area served by the school district,

Ø a plan of operation for the program during the 2008-09 school year, including as many details as possible; and

Ø assurance that teachers for such program areas will receive specific and appropriate training before operating the program. Agencies should contact their RAEN director for information on the appropriate training.

Agencies seeking approval for distance learning programs that were previously approved must continue to meet the guidelines for operating the program as stated in the Statement of General Assurances. The Adult Education and Workforce Development Team must approve any changes in hours of service or program design. The formula for claiming contact hours for distance learning adult education programs can be found in section 300 of the EPE Manual. The EPE manual should be used as a guide regarding identifying active students using the packet model.

Up to six hours of in-person tutoring can be provided in addition to the distance learning packets. (See page 5.)

3. High School Credit Courses: Credit bearing courses in which adults (21 years of age or over) can participate to pursue their high school diplomas. A certified teacher in a classroom setting provides this instruction.

4. Adult Occupational Education Courses: Secondary level occupational education courses for adults of at least 100 hours in length. Districts and BOCES must identify programs by Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) code (Appendix 4 - page 30) and submit curricula for SED approval only for programs that have not been approved in previous years.

5. Work Experience Programs: Unpaid, structured and supervised appropriate work activities/tasks for a specified period of time in a public or private, profit or not-for-profit setting that enhance and support a written educational plan for the adult student. Agencies wishing to offer a work experience program for the first time in 2008-08 must submit a detailed program description and curriculum. Agencies that have previously submitted approved curricula for the work experience program do not need to resubmit these curricula. The guidelines for work experience programs are described below.

Basic Requirements for an EPE-funded Work Experience Program

· Total program hours are defined as the total hours of classroom instruction, plus the total hours of work for each individual in this component. Programs offering between 20-40 hours of classroom instruction per week, plus work, must request a waiver from the Adult Education and Workforce Development Team. Total program hours may not exceed 40 hours per week.

· Supervision: All work experience components must be coordinated, supervised, or directed by an individual who meets the following qualifications and who is employed by the local school district or BOCES claiming the EPE State Aid:

1. For public school programs other than in New York City and Buffalo, the individual must have a valid New York State teaching certificate (Provisional or Permanent) or a New York State adult education teaching certificate.

2. For programs operating within New York City or Buffalo, the individual must have a New York City or Buffalo license.

· Work Site Visitation: Each student must be visited by a work experience coordinator, supervisor or director on a regular basis throughout the entire work experience component. These visits should be documented in the student folder. Each student should be visited at least once a week at the work site. In addition, each student must be supervised on the job by an appropriate individual (employee, supervisor, manager, owner, etc.) at the work site who will monitor the student’s progress towards specific skills and goals, and will be responsible for recording the student’s daily attendance.

In addition to the above criteria, agencies must ensure that:

Ø All participants fall under the guidelines for generating EPE;

Ø individual student folders are kept documenting work experience, attendance and related information such as work site visits and student progress;

Ø the agency has a system in place to track job placements or other outcomes that may result from work experience, and;

Ø all contact hours must be documented.

· Generation of EPE Aid for Work Experience Programs: Instructional hours and work experience hours completed in work experience components that are offered as a part of traditional adult education programs may generate EPE State Aid as follows:

Classroom instruction must be provided comprising at least 30 percent of total program hours (total program hours are defined as the total number of work experience hours, plus hours of classroom instruction per week). Classroom instruction may be any traditional program or combination of traditional classroom programs approved in this application provided that at least 50% of the time is academic. Classroom instruction generates EPE at the full contact hour rate. Work experience generates EPE at a 50 percent contact hour rate (i.e., for every hour of work experience, one-half contact hour of EPE aid is generated). Previously approved programs using this model do not have to resubmit curricula or a program design unless there are changes proposed for 2008-08.

Note: The contact hours entered on the “Program Component Worksheet for the 2008-09 Work Experience Program” table on page 17 should include only contact hours generated by the work experience component. Contact hours generated by the classroom component should be entered on the table entitled Program Component Worksheet for Traditional Adult Education Instruction on page 13.

New York State Education Department

Adult Education and Workforce Development Team

Room 307 Education Building

Albany, NY 12234

EMPLOYMENT PREPARATION EDUCATION (EPE) STATE AID PROGRAM

APPLICATION 2008-09

(Cover Sheet)

Name of Agency ____________________________________________________________

Agency Address ____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Signature of Superintendent or_____________________________________________________

Chief Administrative Officer

Print Name of Superintendent ______________________________________________________

Program Manager ____________________________________________________________

(please print) (Telephone No.)

_____________________

(Fax No.)

_____________________

(Email)

Address ____________________________________________________________

(if different from above)

Business Office Manager_________________________________________________________

(Telephone No.)