Just the Facts for NY Parents

Supplemental Educational Services

The NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (NCLB) ACT of 2001 is a federal law to improve education for all children. It holds schools responsible for results, gives parents greater choices, and promotes teaching methods that work. This fact sheet will point out one part of the law important for New York parents to know.

Your child deserves the best education possible. The NCLB law gives you some new options if your child attends a Title I school that fails to meet New York’s academic standards.

The option of public school choice.

All schools must make adequate yearly progress—they must improve. If a school fails to make such progress two years in a row in the same subject and grade, it is identified as a school in need of improvement. Your school district or charter school must tell you each year if your child’s school is in need of improvement.

If your child attends a Title I school in need of improvement, you may ask to transfer your child to a higher performing school in your school district. This is called public school choice.

The option of supplemental educational services.

If your child attends a Title I school in need of improvement and the school fails to make adequate yearly progress for another year after being identified as in need of improvement, the NCLB law gives you another option. If your child is eligible for Title I services, NCLB generally requires the school district or charter school to offer students from low-income families extra help outside of school hours. This help is called supplemental educational services. It is meant to help students catch up if they are behind in important subjects like reading, language arts, and math. The school district must continue to provide these services until the school is no longer in need of improvement.

Supplemental educational services take place outside of school hours and in many different locations. These services are free to students. School districts, not families, pay for them. The services may include:

• tutoring (one-on-one teaching),
• after-school classes,
• weekend classes, or
• summer school.

The New York State Education Department approves the qualifications of supplemental educational services providers.

Public schools, including charter schools, private schools, non-profit and for–profit companies and even local colleges, churches, synagogues, mosques, and charities may have eligible programs in your neighborhood. Parents, not schools, must arrange transportation.

How can you learn more about supplemental educational services for your child?

• Contact your school. Your child’s teacher or the school principal can tell you if the school is a Title I school in need of improvement and required to offer supplemental educational services. If your child’s school is failing, find out what supplemental educational services are available to students in your child’s school now.
• Go online. The New York State Education Department website lists Title I schools in need of improvement at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/school-accountability/home.shtml and approved supplemental educational services providers at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/nyc/SES/ApprovedProviders/AlphaList.html.
• Make a choice. You have an important role in selecting a supplemental services program for your child. Schools will not make this choice for students. You can ask school officials to help you select the right program for your child.
• Be active. Together with the supplemental services provider and school staff, parents should be involved in setting specific learning goals for their child. These goals must say how your child’s progress in the program will be measured. The program activities must be designed to help your child make academic progress.
• Find out how to help. As a parent, you can ask your child’s teacher, the school principal, or a leader of your school’s parent group what steps the school is taking to improve and how you can help your child and your child’s school make progress toward academic goals.