Title I, Part A and The Community Eligibility Provision Virginia Department of Education Office of Program Administration and Accountability Title I University

Session Agenda Background Information Title I, Part A, School Ranking Eligibility for divisions with participating schools Federal Accountability Questions

The Community Eligibility Program (CEP) Universal meal program designed by the National School Lunch Program Response to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 Implementation began in 2011-2012, with all states participating by the 2014-2015 school year Goal of providing more free meals to low-income students In each participating school, all students are provided free breakfast and free lunch

The Community Eligibility Program To be eligible, a school, group of schools, or LEA must have at least 40 percent of its students meet the definition below: Identified Students are defined as students approved as eligible for free meals through means other than individual household applications. This definition includes students who are directly certified for free meals on the basis of their participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  It also includes homeless students on the liaison list, runaways, migrant youth, Head Start, Even Start and foster children approved by means other than a meal application.  It does NOT include students who are categorically eligible based on information submitted on a free and reduced price application, such as a SNAP or TANF case number.

The Multiplier Used to account for low-income families not reflected/ captured in identified student count Determines percent of federal reimbursement for meals Set by USDA at 1.6 Multiplier remains constant for schools and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) throughout the four year CEP cycle

Examples of the Multiplier School B School A 40% of students identified 40 X 1.6 = 64 64% of meals reimbursed at Federal “Free” rate 36% of meals reimbursed at Federal “Paid” rate 62.5% of students identified 62.5 X 1.6 = 100 100% of meals reimbursed at Federal “Free” rate NOTE: 100% is maximum

How does CEP impact Title I school ranking? The LEA must use a common poverty metric to rank order schools and allocate Title I funds on an equitable basis If an LEA selects National School Lunch data as its poverty measure and participates in CEP, the CEP data will be used by the LEA for within-district allocations An LEA will generally not use CEP data for Title I school ranking until a school is in its second year implementing CEP (2015-2016 or later) School divisions may choose to use CEP data for Title I school ranking regardless of whether they participate in the CEP program

CEP and Ranking Schools Each school’s data must be reported separately in the Title I, Part A, application for federal funds (not in a group or by division average, even if schools were grouped for CEP eligibility) The LEA or school must use updated direct certification data on an annual basis for Title I purposes, even if these data are not used for CEP purposes

Adjustments to the Title I, Part A, Application On the Title I, Part A, Individual Application, refer to the “Program Requirements” tab On the Consolidated Application, refer to the “Title I, Part A” tab

Sources of Data Used to Determine Low-income Count Select all sources that you used. CEP or “Direct Certification” data may be used regardless of whether the division participates in the CEP program.

Eligible Attendance Areas Table Columns 7, 8, and 9 account for schools participating in CEP and/or using direct certification data for ranking purposes.

Divisions with NO CEP Schools/Not Using CEP Data Leave columns 7 and 8 blank, or select “No” Column 6 will populate column 9

Divisions with SOME CEP Schools – 3 Options Option 1 - Use CEP data and the multiplier for CEP schools and use traditional free/reduced data, including household meal applications, for non-CEP schools Select “Yes” or “No” to identify school type in column 7 Select “Yes” in column 8 to apply the multiplier for CEP schools only Column 9 will populate with the adjusted low-income count which will be used to allocate Title I funds

Divisions with SOME CEP Schools – 3 Options Option 2 - Use CEP data only (no household meals applications) for all CEP and non-CEP schools Select “Yes” or “No” to identify school type in column 7 Select “No” in column 8 for all schools Column 6 will populate column 9

Divisions with SOME CEP Schools – 3 Options Option 3 - Use CEP data only (no household meals applications) for all CEP and non-CEP schools and use the multiplier for all CEP and non-CEP schools Select “Yes” or “No” to identify school type in column 7 Select “Yes” in column 8 for all schools Column 9 will populate with the adjusted low-income count which will be used to allocate Title I funds

Divisions with ALL CEP Schools or Divisions Choosing to Use Direct Certification Data for Ranking Purposes 2 Options Option 1 - Use CEP data only Select “Yes” or “No” to identify school type in column 7 Select “No” in column 8 for all schools Column 6 will populate column 9

Divisions with ALL CEP Schools or Divisions Choosing to Use Direct Certification Data for Ranking Purposes 2 Options Option 2 - Use CEP data only and use the multiplier Select “Yes” or “No” to identify school type in column 7 Select “Yes” in column 8 for all schools Column 9 will populate with the adjusted low-income count which will be used to allocate Title I funds

Identification of Economically Disadvantaged Students for Federal Accountability The CEP identified students definition is used to identify the economically disadvantaged subgroup for accountability purposes in all CEP schools.   Schools not participating in CEP continue to use traditional methods for the identification of the economically disadvantaged subgroup for accountability purposes as allowed under Title I and that comply with the data elements outlined in the Student Record Collection (for example, student eligibility for Free/Reduced Meals, students receiving TANF, and students eligible for Medicaid).

Information on CEP U. S. Department of Education Guidance - The Community Eligibility Provision and Selected Requirements under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended. Revised March 2015 Superintendent’s Memo #073-15: Community Eligibility Provision (CEP): Guidance and Procedures for School Year 2015-2016 Released March 27, 2015 Superintendent’s Memo #104-14: Identification of the Economically Disadvantaged Subgroup for Title I Accountability Under the Community Eligibility Provision

Dr. Lynn Sodat, Title I Coordinator VDOE Contact Information Dr. Lynn Sodat, Title I Coordinator Lynn.sodat@doe.virginia.gov 804-371-2934