Community Unit School District 300 May 19 th, 2016 Special Board Meeting

Introduction Mrs. Anne Miller Board President

Agenda D300 Presentation of Concerns Northern Kane Educational Corp/Cambridge Lakes Charter School presentation Board questions and comments Public comment Board to provide further direction

Cambridge Lakes Charter School Update Superintendent Fred R. Heid

History of Cambridge Lakes The initial Charter was granted for five years covering The Board renewed the Charter extending the contract through August 31, The Board approved a second renewal of the Charter through

History of Communication My introduction to NKEC management began in 2014 when I was made aware of several concerns regarding Special Education and English Language Learners services. The Districts concerns were detailed and we worked amicably to address these issues. However, the frequency of reoccurring issues continued to plague the school.

Communication Timeline August 2014: Initial letter sent to CLCS outlining concerns with Special Education, Eye Exams, and English Language Learners. June 2015: Second letter outlining our continued concerns with Special Education and ELL. The letter also included new areas of concerns including Finance, Response to Intervention, Kindergarten Readiness camp. June 2015: CLCS indicates their intent to apply for renewal. June 18, 2015: District 300 sent a letter outlining existing concerns and the implication regarding the renewal application. July 31, 2015: CLCS provides a revised renewal application along with a letter to address our concerns. The letter failed to outline the corrective action to be taken.

Communication Timeline November 13, 2015: District 300 sends correspondence to NKEC addressing the questions/concerns outlined in their response and reiterating the expectation that the audit findings be addressed through the submission of a Corrective Action Plan November 17, 2015: District 300 sends a second follow up letter regarding the lack of response to the District concerns. The letter provided a deadline for a response in accordance with section 12 of the existing contract between D300 and NKEC. November 17, 2015: NKEC apprises D300 of its appeal to ISBE regarding the Kindergarten Readiness Camp findings. November 20, 2015 NKEC submits a copy of their financial audit. December 1, 2015: NKEC responds in part to the questions submitted by D300 on November 5 th, 2015 December 3, 2015: District 300 sends correspondence to NKEC requesting follow up to questions that were not addressed, were partially addressed, or where responses led to new questions. December 4, 2015: NKEC submits responses to District 300 questions originally posed on December 3, December 8, 2015: D300 Board meeting includes an update regarding the District concerns and required actions to be completed by NKEC to address the material concerns and support a renewal application. December 15, 2015: D300 and NKEC meet to discuss ongoing concerns and outline next steps to address the concerns though a corrective action plan and timeline for possible submission of a renewal application.

Communication Timeline December 15, sent requesting information regarding NKEC Board minutes and interpretation regarding Open Meetings Act. February 17, 2016 NKEC/CLCS provides a revised Corrective Action Template. February 23, 2016 Letter sent to NKEC regarding new Special Education concerns stemming from a denial of a student 504 and resulting expulsion. February 26, 2015 Letter sent to NKEC regarding request for information stemming from student expulsion, 504 concerns, vaccination concerns, and the manner in which NKEC will address the new student discipline requirements as authorized by statute. March 22, 2016 D300 responds to NKEC Corrective Action Plans and identifies recent concerns regarding vaccinations, and preschool finance. April 28, 2016 NKEC/CLCS management apprised of the May 19 th Board meeting. May 12, 2016 Letter sent to NKEC attorney regarding preschool finance audit concerns.

Initial Concerns District concerns are focused on several key areas: –Special Education –English Language Learners –Response to Intervention –Summer Kindergarten Readiness Camp –Preschool –Finance

Special Education Concerns Our concerns focus on ensuring compliance with the existing contract, state, and federal laws. In addition, we seek to ensure that the needs of our students are being met. Concerns were specific to: –Complaints that parents are being coached to modify their child’s IEP in order to attend CLCS. –CLCS counseling families away from the school-CLCS stating that they “cannot serve their child’s IEP needs.” –Failure to properly track and bill Medicaid reimbursable activities.

Special Education Requirements Contractual Requirements: –Pages of the current contract outline with detail the requirements and commitments by which NKEC and CLCSA have committed to Special Education services including: 10.c. Provision of Services – the Charter School shall provide services and accommodation to students with disabilities in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Article 14 of the School Code…. i. The Charter School shall comply with all D300 policies and procedures for serving students with disabilities…..

Special Education Requirements State: –105 ILCS 5/14 et seq. and 23 IAC 226. Federal: –IDEA 20 U.S.C et seq. and 34 C.F.R –Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Update from December 8, 2015 The District has continued to identify ongoing issues pertaining to Special Education from families and staff regarding possible violations of IDEA, State Statute, D300 expressed policies, and our current contract. Concerns include: –Denial of a 504 and/or IEP. –Denial of services upon a request for enrollment stating to the family “we cannot provide those services here.” –Denial of enrollment due to a student’s needs for a 1 on 1 para- educator.

English Language Learners Concerns Concerns focus on ensuring compliance with state and federal laws: –Appropriateness of the program model and supports. –Certification or staff endorsements for those with ELL learners.

Update From December 8, 2015 On 2/17/2016 the District received a second Corrective Action Plan submission. Within the response NKEC/CLCS stated “The ELL corrective action began in the fall of the 2015 ‐ 2016 year. The plan was reviewed with ISBE’s ELL specialists. They found no lack of compliance.” The District did not initially respond to the Corrective Action Plan pending confirmation from ISBE.

Update Continued Upon discussion with ISBE staff, Mrs. Schena Warren Harris Principal Consultant, Office of General Counsel, Illinois State Board of Education shared that there has been no dialogue between the state and the Charter School. Staff at ISBE within the ELL program department also confirmed that they had not received any communication from the school or its management since their application review in The District outlined this in its response to NKEC/CLCS on 3/22/2016 along with requests for the missing attachments related to the corrective action plan previously submitted. To date we have not received a satisfactory response to our request.

Response to Intervention (RTI) Concerns Response to intervention ensures that schools establish proactive strategies to promote positive student academic outcomes. ISBE, based on research, has clearly defined the need and requirements for RTI. In accordance with ISBE guidance the Charter School lacks –An RTI process consistent with District and State requirements. –Tiered interventions are clearly defined (RTI triangles), evident, or tracked. –Progression of student interventions.

Update From December 8, 2015 The District has yet to receive a description, outline, or flow chart of the RTI process and tiered interventions from NKEC.

Summer Kindergarten Readiness Camp Concerns Concerns focused on ensuring compliance with State law: –ISBE cited CLCS due to concerns that students were denied access to full- day kindergarten following their enrollment in the summer program. –Full-day kindergarten, if offered, must ensure access for all students (based upon available space) and may not give the impression that students are excluded due to perceived readiness, IEP needs, or language deficiencies.

Update The District has found no recent issues pertaining to these concerns. The last concern was addressed formally by ISBE.

Finance Concerns CLCS has submitted frequent erroneous bills that would have resulted in over payment or under payment: –Creates an additional burden on staff (man hours) that have to continually review submissions for accuracy. –Also creates a burden to CLCS as it serves to delay the school’s ability to receive funds and make payments.

Update from December 8, 2015 Between and the school year, NKEC/CLCS has only submitted one accurate invoice. –4 invoices overcharged the District by (total $327,696.71) –4 invoices under-charged the District by (total $339,152.57)

Quarter 4 Invoice On May 13, 2016 NKEC/CLCS submitted another incorrect invoice that resulted in over charging the District by almost $11, The continual submission of erroneous billing creates a significant hardship on the district and its staff. The District has provided numerous opportunities for training and assistance only to have repeated errors on subsequent billing.

Recent Concerns Student Vaccinations Contract with Illinois Central Community College Preschool Finance (expanded) Open Meeting Act

Vaccinations Illinois school code has very specific requirements regarding vaccinations including mandatory exclusion if a student fails to receive required vaccinations. The state offers two waivers: –Medical Exemption –Religious Exemption Each has requirements regarding proper documentation. State code also requires a school to exclude students from the school campus after the October deadline if shots are not updated or after 30 days from their date of enrollment.

Vaccination Concerns The School District became aware that a student was not vaccinated and the reason given did not conform with any of the state approved waiver options. CLCS mis-coded a student as having an appropriate waiver despite the information contained within the students cumulative file to the contrary.

Vaccination Files Review On February 12, 2016 the District sent our Health Services Coordinator to the school to conduct a random review of the students files. In all, sixty-one Health Records were reviewed and 19 (or over 30%) were found to be non-compliant.

Vaccination Concerns –CLCS has a high number of waivers for religious exemptions as compared to the District. –There are clear errors in what is depicted in the student cumulative folder and what was entered into the state reporting system. –There is a lack of documentation, as required by school code, to support the waivers. On February 26 th, 2016 notice was sent to NKEC management that they were in apparent violation of State requirements. This has raised concerns regarding the manner in which waivers were authorized, record keeping, and a possible failure to follow state mandates regarding immunizations and mandatory exclusion.

Contract With Illinois Central Community College The District has raised concerns regarding a contract signed between NKEC and Illinois Central Community College (Peoria) based upon: –The charter agreement between the District and NKEC does not allow the charter school to implement new curriculum without notification to the District. –The contract between the NKEC and Illinois Central College allows for NKEC to generate profit that may not conform to limitations within school code or the charter agreement. Further, the District is concerned that staff paid for with District funds might be spending time on work under this contract and not on charter school matters. –Recent correspondence from Elgin Community College (ECC) regarding this being a violation of the Community College Act which may have a negative impact on our existing relationship with ECC.

Preschool Concerns CLCS offers a preschool program that is in part funded through federal grant dollars. Staff are being split funded without regard for Time and Effort logs or other accounting required when an employee is paid from both federal funds and general funds. Revenue does not adequately cover documented expenses and an inquiry if District funds are being used to offset operational costs has not yet been addressed. Concerns also stem from the lack of clarity regarding funding and administrative support that raises concerns regarding co-mingling.

Preschool Update On 3/22/2016 the District apprised NKEC of concerns relating to the possibility of funds intended for D300 students being used to help finance preschool. Based upon these concerns the District submitted the NKEC/CLCS financial statements for review to an external independent auditor.

Preschool Audit Findings The external auditors found that, according to financial statements provided for , the preschool operated at a deficit of $188, As a result of our initial findings, the District then provided the auditors with the last five years of financial statements. The auditors found that the preschool appears to have operated at a deficit in each of the last five years or an estimated $2.4M dollars. The District is concerned, based upon the audit findings, that NKEC is using revenue from the charter school to offset the preschool and other programs operating at a deficit.

Preschool Audit Findings NKEC was apprised of these initial concerns on March 22, The District also sent a subsequent and copy of the audit findings on May 12, These findings are significant in that the current contract with NKEC/CLCS is for a K-12 program only. The District awaits a response regarding what revenue was used to offset programs that are apparently operating at a loss.

Open Meetings Act (OMA) CLCS Board members have not received training required by the OMA, which has been a requirement since January 1, CLCS states it will comply by September 2016.

Audit History In November 2015, D300 conducted audits in Special Education. English Language Learning, Response to Intervention, and Finance. No additional audits have taken place due to the insufficient responses provided by NKEC in the Corrective Action Plan (CAP). If NKEC submits appropriate Corrective Action Plans and the Board is satisfied with NKEC’s renewal application, the District will again schedule regular audits to ensure compliance with District, State and Federal requirements.

Next Steps The district awaits the submission of a Corrective Action Plan that provides a narrative that outlines the manner in which CLCS or NKEC will addresses the immediate concerns outlined and changes in protocol/procedures to prevent their reoccurrence. Once approved, the District will reinstate the quarterly audits to monitor the areas of concern to ensure that new policies are being implemented with fidelity.

Conclusion The District has worked for nearly two years to address concerns in various areas. To date, we have not received a satisfactory response to the majority of our material concerns. At this point, the District lacks confidence in the ability of the existing management company to satisfy these concerns. This opinion is based upon: –Frequency in which existing concerns continue to be repeated. –Inability to provide an action plan that addresses the existing concerns and establishes clear procedures to ensure that issues do not reoccur.