Springfield, Ill. – Illinois State Board of Education
staff will present the State Board with a comprehensive
plan to increase the agency’s role in regulating
tutoring services provided under No Child Left Behind
at its meeting next week. This proposal responds to the
United States Department of Education’s recent push
for states to assume more regulatory responsibility for
tutoring providers. If adopted, Illinois’ regulations
will be among the most comprehensive in the country.
Under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB),
students from low-income families attending schools that
do not make adequate yearly progress for three consecutive
years are eligible to receive tutoring services outside
of the regular school day which are known as Supplemental
Educational Services (SES). School districts are responsible
for funding the services through their Federal funds.
There are currently 75 providers are on the approved list
in Illinois. Projections for next school year are that
360,000 students in more than 600 Illinois schools will
be eligible for services.
“With these changes Illinois will be taking a leadership
role in regulating tutoring services,” said State
Board Chairman Jesse Ruiz. “We need to enhance our
oversight of tutoring providers in Illinois and do more
to help ensure that districts implement this Federal requirement.
Students are entitled to these services and we want parents
to know that their children are being tutored by proven
providers that will bring the best results.”
At its June 16 meeting the State Board will review the
proposal which details actions steps including:
- improved application criteria to more closely review
a provider’s educational program;
- added requirements for detailed financial reporting
and the public release of financial information, including
the percentage of a provider’s per-student rate
that covers tutoring costs and the percentage that goes
toward profits and overhead;
- procedures to ensure a provider does not charge the
district more than its actual cost for services;
- addition of a mandatory code of ethics for all providers;
- enhanced monitoring through data collection, reporting
and site visits;
- assistance for community-based organizations and
government entities in developing SES programs;
- development of a state-wide web-based reporting system
to assist with oversight and monitoring of providers;
and
- creation of a toolkit of parent notices and provider
contracts to assist districts with SES implementation.
ISBE will continue to take steps to ensure that school
districts meet their SES obligations under NCLB which
include:
- notifying parents of the requirement to offer SES
services;
- helping parents choose a provider;
- determining which students should receive services
if not all students can be served;
- contracting with providers;
- providing information to ISBE to assist with the
monitoring of providers; and
- protecting the privacy of students receiving services.
Agency staff and Board members Dr. Vinni Hall and Dr.
Andrea Brown developed the proposal with input from other
state education agencies, local school districts and tutoring
providers. If the State Board approves the proposal at
its June 16 meeting, work to implement the changes will
begin immediately.