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FY 16-17: Agency Priority Goal
Ensure equitable educational opportunities
Priority Goal
Goal Overview
GOAL OVERVIEW
Increasing the national high school graduation rate and decreasing disparities in the graduation rate is critical to achieving the President’s goal of once again having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. The nation has made significant progress in increasing graduation rates, but gaps between rates for different student groups persist. The Department of Education (ED) is committed to pursuing equity at all stages of education, from birth through adulthood, in institutions of early learning, elementary and secondary education, career and technical and postsecondary education, adult education, workforce development, and independent living programs. ED’s goal is to ensure that all—not just a subset—of the nation’s children have access to high-quality preschool, graduate high school and obtain the skills necessary to succeed in college, in the pursuit of a meaningful career, and in their lives.
Accordingly, this goal incorporates programs and initiatives across ED -- including investments in local educational agencies (LEAs) through Title I Grants; State Plans to Ensure Equitable Access to Excellent Educators (Educator Equity Plans); English Language Acquisition grants and tools for English Learners; increased focus on improving outcomes for children with disabilities through the Results Driving Accountability initiative; and enforcement work to secure civil rights compliance -- to reduce the existing unacceptable inequities in the distribution of resources such as funding, high-quality teaching, and challenging coursework.
ED will work diligently to implement the changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) made by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), including issuing guidance and providing technical assistance to State educational agencies (SEAs), LEAs, and the public on the new law as well as on the transition to the new law. ED will continue to support SEAs and LEAs in identifying and turning around low-achieving schools while also providing significant resources to dramatically improve these same schools. Furthermore, ED will maintain its focus on supporting innovation, not just compliance monitoring, and on spurring growth in achievement, not just absolute achievement measures.
As we assess progress on ensuring equitable educational opportunity, we also look at other indicators that go beyond this APG’s metrics such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). As the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of America's students, NAEP provides a helpful look at what our students know and can do in various subject areas and allows for a review of achievement gaps between students groups. In 2015, the average mathematics score for 4th grade students from low-income backgrounds was 24 points lower than the average score for their more advantaged peers. Similar patterns exist for the other NAEP subject and grade assessments — the income gaps were 28 points in 4th grade reading, 28 points in 8th grade math, and 23 points in 8th grade reading. In 2015, 12th grade students from low-income families also scored lower than their more advantaged peers — 22 points in both math and reading (Table 1).
Table 1: Average scale scores on the NAEP mathematics and reading assessments in grades 4, 8, and 12, by selected student characteristics
|
|
Grade 4 (2015) |
Grade 8 (2015) |
Grade 12 (2015) |
|||
|
|
Math |
Reading |
Math |
Reading |
Math |
Reading |
|
All |
240 |
221 |
281 |
264 |
150 |
285 |
|
Eligible for free or reduced-price lunch |
229 |
209 |
268 |
253 |
138 |
273 |
|
Not Eligible |
253 |
237 |
296 |
276 |
160 |
295 |
|
Gap between students who are and are not eligible for free or reduced-price lunch |
24 |
28 |
28 |
23 |
22 |
22 |
Table 2: Percentages of students scoring at or above proficient on the NAEP mathematics and reading assessments in grades 4, 8, and 12, by selected student characteristics
|
|
Grade 4 (2015) |
Grade 8 (2015) |
Grade 12 (2015) |
|||
|
|
Math |
Reading |
Math |
Reading |
Math |
Reading |
|
All |
39 |
35 |
32 |
33 |
23 |
36 |
|
Eligible for free or reduced-price lunch |
24 |
21 |
18 |
20 |
11 |
22 |
|
Not Eligible |
58 |
52 |
48 |
47 |
32 |
45 |
Notes:
- The 2015 NAEP assessment results for students in grade 12 retrieved report generated athttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/dataset.aspx
- Some apparent differences between estimates may not be statistically significant.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)0
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/moreabout.aspx
https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/moreabout.aspx
KEY BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES
- Implementing the changes to the ESEA made by the ESSA and managing the transition from NCLB;
- Sustainability of reforms in schools as school improvement grants (SIG) end;
- Supporting the implementation of school-based interventions despite limited capacity at the State, district, and school level; and
- Ensuring quality and completeness of data/knowledge at state and local levels to enable better measurement of success.
EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS
ED works closely with stakeholder groups that are focused on increasing graduation rates and increasing equitable access to educational opportunities, including the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), the Alliance for Excellent Education, the Education Trust, Jobs for the Future, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR), and the National Urban League (NUL). APG STATEMENT
Improve high school graduation rates and decrease gaps in graduation rates between all students and students from low-income families, through comprehensive school and instructional improvement strategies such as ensuring equitable access to effective teachers and rigorous coursework in low-income schools. By September 30, 2017, the national high school graduation rate will increase to 85 percent, and the gap in the graduation rate between all students and students from low-income families will decrease to 7.4 percent. By September 30, 2017, the number of high schools with persistently low graduation rates will decrease by 10 percent and the number of schools that do not have a gap or have decreased the gap between all students and students from low-income families by 5 percent or more will increase by 3 percent.
Strategies
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
ESSA continues the ESEA’s focus on ensuring that students from low-income families and students of color have equitable access to excellent educators and requires that meaningful actions are taken to improve the lowest-performing schools. ED continued to provide SEAs with technical assistance on ESEA, as amended by NCLB and issued proposed regulations and guidance pertaining to ESSA as well as guidance about the transition from NCLB and ESEA flexibility to the ESSA. ED coordinated this support across offices, including the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), and Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development (OPEPD).
ED will continue to analyze the ESSA amendments to determine available strategies to support states and districts to foster graduation rate improvement, including strategies to increase equity in access to effective teachers.
To help close our current resource and opportunity gaps, the Department’s FY 2017 budget request included significant increases in funding levels for key initiatives, programs and offices, such as Title I Grants, Computer Science for All, Next Generation High Schools, and the Office for Civil Rights.
EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT ED CAN AND CANNOT INFLUENCE
External factors that ED can influence:
- SEAs’ and LEAs’ understanding of the new provisions in the ESSA
- Siloed programs at the state and district level
- Variability in state implementation of the adjusted cohort graduation rate
- State, district, and school capacity to implement rigorous interventions
- State and district ability to adjust how they use Federal, State, and local funds to continue/sustain reforms after the end of SIG; and
- Poor implementation by states and districts
External factors that ED cannot influence:
- State changes in graduation requirements or diploma options
- Changes in state approach to and funding for education reform
Progress Update
PROGRESS UPDATE
Every office across the Department of Education works to fulfill the Department’s mission of promoting student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equitable educational opportunities. Below are progress updates on a number of key programs and initiatives that serve our nation’s students by supporting equity in education.
Increasing access to high-quality early childhood education:
The Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge: the 2015 Annual Progress Update shows significant increases affecting preschool children:
- Nearly 70,000 early learning and development programs are now evaluated under their states’ Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (TQRIS) – an 85 percent increase since the states applied for their grants.
- The number of programs in the states’ highest quality tiers of the TQRIS grew from 9,000 to more than 21,000 – a 134 percent increase since the states applied for their grants.
- Significantly more children with high needs are enrolled in programs in the highest quality tiers of their states’ rating system.
- Nearly 267,000 children with high needs are enrolled in state-funded preschool programs in the highest quality tiers of their states’ rating system– a 263 percent increase since the start of the grants.
- Nearly 243,000 children with high needs are enrolled in child care programs that receive federal child care subsidy funds and are in the highest quality tiers of their states’ rating system – an 86 percent increase since the start of the grants.
- Nearly 211,000 children with high needs are enrolled in Early Head Start/Head Start programs in the highest quality tiers of their states’ rating systems – a 189 percent increase since the start of the grants.
Preschool Development Grants: Through the Preschool Development Grant (PDG) program, 18 states are expanding access to high-quality preschool programs to 4-year-olds from low-income families in over 230 high-need communities. Data from the first half of the 2015-2016 school year found that over 28,000 additional children benefited from high-quality, inclusive preschool in their local communities through new or improved preschool slots funded by PDG. States met nearly 90 percent of their goals of the number of children served in year 1 of the grant and will be working toward meeting 100 percent of their goals in year 2. To that end this, this fall (2016-2017 school year) 35,000 four-year-olds from low-income families will be served by PDG grantees.
Supporting students and teachers (K-12, CTE, postsecondary)
State Plans to Ensure Equitable Access to Excellent Educators: During Q4 of FY 16, ED continued to support States’ work to implement State Plans to Ensure Equitable Access to Excellent Educators (Educator Equity Plans) through State-specific program officers in ED’s Office of State Support and the Equitable Access Support Network (EASN). OESE is managing a large technical assistance effort around the Educator Equity Plans which will allow all States to receive intensive support; this technical assistance began last fiscal year and will continue throughout the FY 16 as States transition to the implementation phase of this work. The guidance that ED provided during Q2, confirming that Educator Equity Plans remain in place during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years, proved helpful to the field, as it reduced the number of questions that ED received from stakeholders regarding whether these plans remain in place, in light of the modified language ESSA contains re: educator equity. During Q4 ED worked to respond to public comments it received in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) it published in Q3 that includes regulations specific to the ESSA’s educator equity provisions (ESEA section 1111(g)(1)(B) and proposed 34 CFR 299.18(c)). As a result of the modified language related to educator equity in the ESSA, as compared to the language in NCLB under which States wrote and submitted their most recent Educator Equity Plans, it continues to be challenging to encourage States to move forward with implementation of the Educator Equity Plans that were submitted under the ESEA, as amended by NCLB.
The 2016 Newcomer Toolkit, which was announced by the WH in July 2016, is designed to help schools support immigrants, refugees, and their families with a successful integration process. ED received tremendous feedback, especially from teachers who are appreciative for the resource. Due the frequent requests for TA, OELA will be producing professional development videos to highlight the practices recommended in the toolkit. It is expected that this will be available in December 2016 pending review and clearance. The 2015 edition of the EL Toolkit continues to be the most popular toolkit and commonly referenced by stakeholders especially in the field. The initial record-breaking hits for this resource continue to reflect ongoing interests. OCR and OELA have developed a “road show” that has been requested by many national organizations such as NABE and NEA. Expanding strategic outreach to key stakeholders can improve dissemination and support for implementation. OELA continued dissemination using multi-media approaches.
Multiliteracy and Dual Language Learning Symposium: On September 23rd, the Office of English Language Acquisition convened state leaders and others in recognition of their commitment to elevate and support multi-language development through the adoption of the “Seal of Biliteracy”. In addition to Secretary King’s advocacy for all students to have an opportunity to learn a second language it increases the value of English Learners as a natural resource with strengths of linguistic and cultural diversity. This initiative received strong media attention in local press to support the valuing of languages. Positive feedback from major external partners who actively co-planned the event included: NCLR, AFT, NEA, JNCL, CABE, NABE, TESOL and HACU.
Generation Indigenous Initiative: The Office of the Secretary and the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education led efforts across the Administration to execute broad efforts to support Native youth in alignment with the Generation Indigenous initiative (Gen-I ). Efforts include: (1) a $17.4 M second round grant cycle (triple the amount in the first round) for the Native Youth Community Projects (NYCP), which are demonstration grants that support partnerships among tribes, schools, and organizations to tackle the largest barrier to college and career readiness as identified by a community; (2) increased technical assistance and support for grantees of the Office of Indian Education; (3) technical assistance and biweekly meetings between ED and BIE to improve outcomes for Native youth in BIE and Tribally-Operated Schools; (4) release of guidance to LEAs on the new ESEA Tribal Consultation requirement; (5) implementation of a new ED tribal consultation policy to honor our trust responsibility with tribes; (6) participation in cross-agency efforts and four on-site educator summits to support Pine Ridge’s students, with the final visit featuring the Secretary of Education; (7) four in-person tribal consultations across the nation on the ESEA as amended by ESSA; and (8) A listening tour, followed by release of the Department’s “School Environment Listening Sessions Final Report, ” which summarizes information and recommendations from the participants on many issues such as potentially harmful Native imagery and symbolism, bullying, student mental health, instructional content, and Native languages. Each section of the report includes a brief description of a common theme found across listening sessions followed by supporting data and testimonies from youths, parents, teachers, and others affected by these issues.
Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge: ED, in coordination with the WH, launched the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge during Q3, aimed at getting colleges and universities to adopt principles in the Beyond the Box guide and reduce higher education barriers for justice involved individuals in their communities. During Q4 the number of IHEs that have accepted the Pledge has grown from 25 to 61.
Mapping Upward: Stackable Credentials that Lead to Careers: In Q4 (July 21-22), OCTAE held a Mapping Upward Technical Assistance Institute at Gateway Technical College (WI), with 40 attendees from 12 colleges receiving TA on topics ranging from employer engagement strategies and program design to credit issues and work-based learning experiences.
Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3): On August 15, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published a notice inviting applications for the third round (FY 2016) of the P3 program, with an October 31, 2016, application deadline. The Department received 17 timely applications. The peer review of the three round two applications was completed in late August 2016, and the agencies selected one applicant to be a finalist for designation as a round 2 pilot. On September 29, 2016, ED awarded this finalist $350,000 in start-up funds but conditioned its access to these funds on its meeting certain conditions. ED and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will work with the finalist over the coming weeks to develop a performance agreement that will be provided to participants. During September 2016, OCTAE also awarded $1,261,489 in supplemental funds to eight of the round one pilots that had sought funds to strengthen their evaluations or to enhance other aspects of their projects.
Reach Higher App Challenge: On August 25th, the WH and ED announced the grant prize winner of the Reach Higher App Challenge as ThinkZone Games. They will further develop their mobile app solution to help students navigate education and career pathways in planning for their futures.
2016 National Professional Development program (Title III): The Department recently awarded grants to IHEs for the first year of funding for five year projects with the proposed outcome training educators who will serve English learners, capturing lessons learned, and disseminating practices for replication and validation. The program received 353 applications to address a key goal to improve instruction for English Learners. This NIA was designed to increase funding for fewer grantees to support deeper knowledge development to address what works effectively. To meet the goal of increased diversity, the Department conducts a variety of outreach efforts towards IHEs, including targeted outreach to MSIs. Competition for funding was stiff, the cutoff score funding was 99.5, with 49 out of the 353 applications receiving grants. OELA is in process for determining grantee profiles. It was a challenge to encourage MSIs to participate; however additional communication outreach through targeted announcements also took place.
Native American and Alaska Native Children in School (NAM) program (Title III): The FY 2016 NAM competition focused on funding projects that support the preservation and revitalization of Native Language development while at the same time increasing English proficiency for students identified as English Learners. Awards made under this competition are for the first year of five year projects. The expectation, in addition to providing services Native American EL students, is to document lessons learned and share promising practices for further studies. In comparison to prior years, the Department made fewer but larger grant awards in order to support deeper practice and knowledge capture. Ten out of 15 applications were funded. Most grantees are LEAs with a focus on effective practices rather than research agendas. Ten different tribal languages are addressed in the new grants. Two tribal consultations were conducted successfully. The objective to fund high quality applications was achieved. The greatest challenge in the process was to identify appropriate peer reviewers who had expertise in priority areas and Native American Education who were not also working with applicants in this competition. OELA is also carrying out a study of lessons learned from the cohort of NAM grantees awarded in prior competitions.
The Asian American Pacific Islander Data Disaggregation Initiative (D2) program was launched in FY 2016 to award grants to SEAs, applying consortia with LEAs, to collect and evaluate disaggregated data, beyond the existing seven racial and ethnic categories, on AAPI students, including ELs. The goal is to identify targeted strategies for closing educational opportunity gaps among AAPI EL students. This competition was designed to provide funding incentives for a maximum of four SEAs. OELA is pleased with the six SEAs who have applied representing States with the largest numbers of AAPIs. We are still in process of reviewing applications and expect to announce awards in early November pending clearance process.
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Bullying Prevention Task Force (AAPI Task Force): In Q4, OCR continued its participation in the AAPI Task Force, which published its AAPI Bullying Prevention Task Force Report in August.
On September 19, the White House Council on Women and Girls, U.S. Department of Education, and Georgetown University Law Center on Poverty and Inequality hosted a conference at the White House called, “Trauma-Informed Approaches in School: Supporting Girls of Color and Rethinking Discipline”. The conference brought together state and district teams, key researchers and experts, nonprofit partners, community organizers, and Administration officials to focus on addressing one specific such barrier: improving school systems’ approach to better serve girls of color who have experienced trauma.
Teacher Preparation: On September 22-23, the Department convened deans of schools of education at Hispanic-Serving Institutions to discuss culturally-competent teaching and high-quality preparation programs.
Interagency Working Group on Federal Supports for Postsecondary Access and Completion: 10 agencies represented, initiated and led by ED (OCTAE). Drafted joint letter to be signed in FY 2017 by six Secretaries (ED, USDA, HHS, HUD, Labor, and Treasury). Letter addresses state agencies, colleges, and stakeholders, showing how existing regulatory flexibilities or program resources can be utilized by eligible benefits recipients to pursue and complete postsecondary training and education. Working group plans additional joint activities in support of access and completion for low income students in the future.
MSI Community Colleges Communities of Practice: This initiative aims to support student success through the sharing of experience and practices, support of collaboration between colleges, and by enhancing connections to practitioners of adult basic education, developmental education, English Language Learners, and career and technical education. The work to grow the minority-serving community colleges communities of practice is ongoing. In Q4 OCTAE announced the second annual convening of minority-serving community colleges, to be held November 1-2, 2016.
National Activities Project, Adult Education: On September 23, OCTAE conducted a meeting of community college leaders who were implementing ‘promising practices’ in the alignment of adult education and developmental education in support of student success/completion. Meeting participants provided OCTAE with suggestions for dissemination approaches and strategies for sharing lessons learned from its Supporting Student Success national leadership activity. Final product development and dissemination is underway on schedule.
CTE Pay for Success Project Notice: On September 28, 2016, the CTE Pay for Success grant was awarded in the amount of $1,999,350 to Social Finance, Inc. This grant will conduct the first two of three phases of a PFS project: feasibility analysis in 4 local CTE sites and transaction structuring for those local sites where a PFS project is deemed feasible. The PFS approach is being tested so there are multiple questions on how well it works for the Federal government. The challenges will include attracting appropriate partners or investors in the next phase of the work.
CC Public Benefit Project: OCTAE working on the interagency letter, which has been drafted, reviewed, and been through the first round of clearance (September 1). To be published in Q1/FY17.
Policy developments:
Equity Assistance Centers (EACs): In July, the Department adopted new regulations for its EACs that will enable them to provide technical assistance about not only race, national origin, and sex, discrimination, but religious discrimination.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): On August 19, 2016, DOL, OCTAE, and OSERS/RSA published the final joint WIOA regulations related to unified and combined plans, performance accountability, and the one-stop system. Each agency also issued program-specific regulations on that same date. Since then, the Departments continue to collaborate on issuing joint guidance and technical assistance to support successful implementation of the Federal requirements. Joint guidance on data sharing and FERPA has already been issued, whereas joint guidance related to performance accountability and the one-stop system (general operational as well as specific infrastructure costs) are in various stages of development and clearance.
Secretary’s Supplemental Priority on Socioeconomic Diversity: In September, OPEPD published the Secretary’s final supplemental priority for discretionary grant programs, which allows ED to promote policies and strategies to increase socioeconomic diversity in any appropriate competitive grant program.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): In September, ED published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the new Supplement, Not Supplant provisions in Title I, Part A of the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA. The proposal will help ensure that federal funds are additive and do not take the place of state and local funds in low-income schools.
In September, OESE published guidance on the new requirement in ESEA for certain LEAs (those with 50% student population of Native Americans, or with a Title VI Indian Education formula grant over $40,000) to consult with Indian tribes prior to submitting local plans or applications to their State.
Improving equitable access by removing discriminatory barriers to education
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) works to enhance equitable opportunity for students through the development of civil rights guidance materials and by enforcing federal civil rights laws to remove discriminatory barriers to education. In the policy arena, in FY16 Q4, OCR continued to develop significant policy guidance which is in clearance for release in the upcoming weeks/months. In July, OCR issued guidance clarifying the obligation of schools to provide students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with equal educational opportunity under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). In September, OCR, together with the U.S. Department of Justice, issued a “Questions and Answers” document on the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2016 ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (Fisher II), reiterating the continued support of the Departments of Education and Justice for the voluntary use of race and ethnicity to achieve diversity in education.
OCR’s enforcement work continues to be robust. Overall, in FY 2016, OCR received a record-high 16,720 complaints and resolved 8,625. OGC continues to work with OCR and DOJ attorneys on litigation to remove discriminatory barriers to educational opportunities.
cycle (triple the amount in the first round) for the Native Youth Community Projects (NYCP), supporting partnerships among tribes, schools and organizations to tackle the largest barrier to college and career readiness as identified by a community; 2) increased technical assistance and support for grantees of the Office of Indian Education grants; 3) technical assistance and biweekly meetings with BIE to improve outcomes for Native youth in BIE and Tribally-Operated Schools; 4) release of The School Climate Listening Sessions: Final Report in October 2015; 5) implementation of a new tribal consultation policy to honor our trust responsibility with tribes; 6) participation in cross-agency efforts and four on-site educator summits to support Pine Ridge’s students, with the final visit featuring the Secretary of Education; 7) four tribal consultations across the nation on the ESEA as amended by ESSA; 8) Following the listening tour, the Department released the “School Environment Listening Sessions Final Report.” The report summarizes information from the participants on many issues such as potentially harmful Native imagery and symbolism, bullying, student mental health, instructional content, and Native languages. Each section of the report includes a brief description of a common theme found across listening sessions followed by supporting data and testimonies from youths, parents, teachers, and others affected by these issues. The report also includes recommendations from the participants.
The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) at the U.S. Department of Education has made a two-year investment in a project entitled, Advancing Equity in Career and Technical Education (CTE). In May of 2016, a Draft Literature Review and Draft Research Report on equity in CTE recruitment, retention, program completion, and transition into postsecondary education were completed. The literature review and research report sought to identify and highlight barriers to equity in CTE; equity trends in CTE; and examples of evidenced-based promising practices that advance equity. The literature review addressed the role equity plays in CTE recruitment, retention, program completion, and transfer into postsecondary education. It defined and identified “equity barriers” that impede access to, participation in, and completion of career and technical education for students. The reports identified ways to support the field in ensuring high quality data collection and analysis that effectively monitors equity as it relates to program access, opportunity, and completion. The reports also identified and highlighted examples of evidenced-based and promising practices that could be developed into scaled up programs that advance equity in CTE. The Advancing CTE project Technical Working Group (TWG), which met in February, April and June of 2016, suggested the toolkit include assessment tools for existing CTE programs, talking points and tip sheets for communicating with parents and community members, data analysis tools for teachers and administrators, user feedback tools, blogs and news releases. They suggested technical assistance to SEAs and LEAs as a way to train practitioners and administrators on the toolkit and push dissemination.
The OCTAE Equity Team is planning the Advancing Equity in Adult, Community College, and Career Technical and Education Symposium. The symposium will be held on October 31, 2016. OCTAE will be engaging with thought leaders in secondary, postsecondary, and adult education to enhance its understanding of issues of equity, access, as well as the challenges and opportunities students experience today. Additionally, this symposium will provide input to inform more responsive policies and programs in career, technical, and adult education. This will be ED’s first symposium convening of external stakeholders around equity in adult, community college, and career technical education. This and subsequent symposia will focus on five equity pillars which include Leadership and Policy, Performance Accountability, Research and Evaluation, Innovation and Improvement, Social/Cultural Competency, and Advocacy and Awareness.
OCTAE’s Juvenile Justice Reentry Education Program is intended to improve outcomes for justice involved youth by providing career and technical education programs in juvenile justice facilities as well as intensive wrap around reentry supports and services, along with post-release CTE and employment and training opportunities. In April, OCTAE and DOJ awarded roughly $5.7 million in grants to four communities and will offer technical assistance to grantees to strengthen the alignment between correction-based and community-based juvenile career and technical education programs. These efforts combined are part of the Departments’ strategy to reduce the collateral consequences of justice involvement and improve access and completion of high-quality education.
OCTAE, in collaboration with the Office of the Deputy Secretary (ODS) and the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), released best practice guidance in May 2016 for postsecondary institutions on the use of school disciplinary and criminal history in the college admissions process. This Beyond the Box guide, provides information for colleges and universities to help remove barriers that can prevent the estimated 70 million citizens with criminal records from pursuing higher education, including considering the chilling effect of inquiring early in the application process whether prospective students have ever been arrested. The guide also encourages alternatives to inquiring about criminal histories during college admissions and provides recommendations to support a holistic review of applicants. ED, in coordination with the WH, launched an affiliated Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge encouraging institutions and a broad array of coalitions to voice their support for the reforms needed to remove unnecessary barriers to college access. As of today, 25 IHEs have accepted the Pledge and more than 30 mayors have agreed to examine higher education barriers for justice involved individuals in their communities. Beyond the Box complements the Second Chance Pell experimental site, which waives the statutory and regulatory ban on individuals incarcerated in federal and state penal institutions accessing Pell Grants for postsecondary study. Institutions participating in the experiment were announced in June 2016.
In June 2016, ED announced 69 colleges and universities selected to participate in the new Second Chance Pell pilot program. Selected colleges and universities will partner with more than 100 federal and state penal institutions to enroll roughly 12,000 incarcerated students in educational and training programs. Through the Second Chance Pell pilot program, these institutions will provide approximately $30 million in federal Pell Grants to qualified students who are incarcerated and are likely to be released within five years of enrolling in coursework. ED, in collaboration with DOJ, the Vera Institute of Justice and the Ford Foundation, held a Convening of Second Chance Pell sites on July 19, 2016. This Convening launched a community of practice that will continue through the duration of the experiment.
OCTAE briefly reopened the competition for Round 2 (FY 2015) of Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth on July 12, 2016 to give applicants more time to prepare their applications and an opportunity to revise and resubmit their applications because several applicants submitted applications that did not meet P3 requirements. OCTAE publicized the opportunity by contacting by email the more than 200 individuals who viewed a webinar for prospective applicants. Four more applications were submitted before the second deadline. The notice inviting applications for Round 3 (FY 2016) of P3 cleared ED on June 22, 2016 and was submitted to OMB for review.
OCR and FSA continue to support the President’s Sexual Assault Task Force to improve coordination, transparency and effectiveness in responding to sexual violence in colleges and universities. In Q3, OCR continued to participate in Asian American and Pacific Islander Bullying Prevention Task Force (AAPI Task Force), which was formed in November 2014. The AAPI Task Force brought together experts from across the Federal government, including from the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, ED, HHS, and the DOJ to address bullying issues in the AAPI community. Over the last two years, the AAPI Bullying Prevention Task Force has conducted outreach nationwide among the AAPI community to learn more about the experiences of AAPI students with bullying and harassment, and to hear recommendations for how schools, school districts, local and state governments, as well as the Federal government, can work to more effectively address this issue. The Task Force has prepared its report, which includes resources and recommendations and will be published in Q4.
In May, OCR and DOJ released joint guidance on the civil rights of transgender students to provide educators the information they need to ensure that all students, including transgender students, can attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on sex. In conjunction with the Departments' joint Title IX guidance, OESE also released Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students, a compilation of policies and practices that schools across the country are already using to support transgender students. As part of the Administration’s United State of Women Summit, OCR and OCTAE released a Dear Colleague Letter to make clear that all students, regardless of their sex, must have equal access to the full range of career and technical (CTE) programs offered. Ensuring that all students have access to high-quality secondary and postsecondary CTE programs is central to achieving equity required in law.
In June 2016, OCR unveiled its 2013-14 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) and published a First Look document detailing preliminary findings. OCR also released the full, privacy-protected data set for the 2013–14 CRDC. For the first time ever, these data are available for direct download from the Department’s webpage. OCR continues to work with other offices in ED to prepare and publish in Q4 data sheets based on the CRDC 2013-14 data findings. Also in June, OCR supported the rollout of chronic absenteeism data and website. This new data from the 2013-2014 school year showed that gaps remain in key areas affecting educational equity and opportunity for students, including incidents of discipline, restraint and seclusion, access to courses and programs that lead to college and career readiness, teacher equity, rates of retention, and access to early learning. Further, an analysis of the CRDC data demonstrated that chronic absenteeism impacts students in all parts of the country and is prevalent among all races, as well as students with disabilities. To draw attention to these disparities, the Department developed and published a new interactive website showing the impact of the issue across geography, ethnicity, disability status, and school level. The Secretary released the new data and website at the Every Student, Every Day National Conference in June 2016.
OCR’s enforcement work in the areas of concentration in civil rights enforcement continued to be robust. In Q2, OCR received 2,963 complaints overall and resolved 2,179 complaints overall. In the areas of concentration in enforcement in Q3, OCR received 108 complaints and resolved 54 cases. This is a significant achievement because of the nature and size of these investigations: sexual violence, resource equity and discipline are among the largest-in-scope and most complex kinds of investigations we do. Specifically, OCR received 54 complaints involving issues of Title VI discipline and resolved 33 cases. For Title VI resource and teacher equity, OCR received 4 complaints in Q3 and resolved 1 case. Additionally, OCR launched 1 proactive investigation related to resource equity. For Title IX sexual violence, OCR received 50 complaints and resolved 35 cases. Additionally, OCR’s customer service team responded to 1,960 calls from the public requesting information and 1,513 written requests for information.
OGC continues to work with OCR and DOJ attorneys in litigation to remove discriminatory barriers to educational opportunities.
Next Steps
NEXT STEPS
OESE continues to manage a large technical assistance effort around Educator Equity plans which will allow all States to receive intensive support. In Q1 of 2017, ED intends to host two additional Educator Equity Labs and to continue to provide support for States through Office of State Support program officers and the EASN.
In Q4 of 2016, ED worked to respond to public comments it received on the Accountability/State Plan/Data and Reporting notice of proposed rulemaking, which includes requirements specific to Educator Equity under the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA. ED anticipates finalizing these regulations during Q1 of 2017.
Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge: Each state is continuing to evaluate their Quality Rating and Improvement System.
Awards to expand opportunity in career and technical education and ducal language programs under the Pay for Success Initiative were announced by the President on October 11, 2016. This is a new funding mechanism to improve outcomes for at-risk youth by finding and scaling career and technical education programs, as well as to advance effective dual language programs for early learners. The initiative leverages private funding for services upfront and enables the government to pay only after positive outcomes are achieved in grant programs, e.g., OELA’s initiative is focused on Spanish speaking dual language learners (DLLs) in early years. Through a competitive contract process, American Institutes for Research has been awarded the first phase for a feasibility study to identify at least two sites currently using effective practices for DLLs supported by research evidence.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): A series of WIOA Wednesday virtual technical assistance events has been scheduled to accompany the release of the guidance. Additionally, the Departments have collaborated on an Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) program memorandum to provide guidance to states on the requirement surrounding the competition for AEFLA funds. That program memorandum is expected to be released by October 15.
MSI Community Colleges Communities of Practice: An attendee at the first convening (last year) of minority-serving community colleges developed its own national convening of MSI’s on the use of data to improve student success, scheduled for October of 2016, and is coordinating the content of their conference with OCTAE. The second annual convening of minority-serving community colleges will be held on November 1-2, 2016. A contractor was secured to assist with the convening in November as well as additional technical assistance via webinars and virtual communities of practice throughout FY 2017.
EdSim Challenge: The EdSim Challenge calls upon the virtual reality, video game developer, and educational technology communities to design next-generation computer-generated simulations for career and technical education (CTE) that prepare students for the globally competitive workforce of the 21st century. The Challenge was announced in the Federal Register Notice on November 2, 2016.
Asian American Pacific Islander Data Disaggregation Initiative (D2) program: OELA is in the process of review and expects to announce awards in early November, pending the clearance process.
2016 Edition of EL Toolkit: OELA continues to track the number of hits and feedback from stakeholders.
Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education: In order to support the enrollment, persistence and completion for diverse student populations—especially racial/ethnic minorities—OUS, OPEPD and the White House are collaborating to produce a report that analyzes trends in diversity in higher education and highlights promising practices. It is anticipated that the report will be released in conjunction with a White House convening on November 18.
Teacher Preparation: The Department convened deans of schools of education at Hispanic-Serving Institutions to discuss culturally-competent teaching and high-quality preparation programs; the group will produce two white papers in December 2016.
In the next quarter, ED plans to publish a final rule on significant disproportionality, which will improve equity in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
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Performance Indicators
The number of schools that do not have a gap or that decreased the gap between students from low-income families and the state average for all students by 5 percent or more
Decrease the number of persistently low graduation rate high schools.
Increase the national high school graduation rate as measured by the Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate
Decrease the gap in the graduation rate between students from low-income families and all students
Contributing Programs & Other Factors
CONTRIBUTING PROGRAMS
- Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies
- Special Education Grants to States
- English Language Acquisition
For additional programs see Appendix D of the Department’s FY2015 Annual Performance Report and FY2017 Annual Performance Plan, available here: http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/2017plan/2015-2017-apr-app.pdf
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Strategic Goals
Strategic Goal:
Equity
Statement:
Increase educational opportunities for and reduce discrimination against underserved students so that all students are well-positioned to succeed.
Strategic Objectives
Statement:
Increase all students’ access to educational opportunities with a focus on closing achievement gaps, and remove barriers that students face based on their race, ethnicity, or national origin; sex; sexual orientation; gender identity or expression; disability; English language ability; religion; socioeconomic status; or geographical location.
Description:
Statement:
Ensure educational institutions’ awareness of and compliance with federal civil rights obligations and enhance the public’s knowledge of their civil rights.
Description:
Agency Priority Goals
Statement:
By Sept. 30, 2015, the number of high schools with persistently low graduation rates[1] will decrease by 5 percent annually. The national high school graduation rate will increase to 83 percent, as measured by the Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate, and disparities in the national high school graduation rate among minority students, students with disabilities, English learners, and students in poverty will decrease.
[1] Consistent with the ESEA Flexibility definition, persistently low graduation rate is defined as a less than 60 percent graduation rate. Persistently low graduation rate high schools are defined as regular and vocational high schools with an average minimum cohort size of 65 or more, and an average ACGR of 60 percent or less over two years.
Description:
GOAL OVERVIEW
Through Race to the Top (RTT), the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility, and other federal programs, the Department of Education (ED) is providing significant resources to dramatically improve the nation’s lowest-achieving schools by using intensive turnaround models and identifying the low-achieving schools that are showing strong evidence of successfully turning around. ED is focused on supporting innovation, not just compliance monitoring, and is focused on spurring growth in achievement, not just absolute achievement measures as done in the past.
Increasing the national high school graduation rate and decreasing disparities in the graduation rate is critical to achieving the President’s goal of once again having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. The nation has made significant progress in increasing graduation rates, but gaps between rates for different student groups continue to persist.
KEY BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES
ED is working to support states and districts in raising high school graduation rates through a number of initiatives, including ESEA flexibility, SIG, RTT, and the High School Graduation Initiative. One key challenge will be to coordinate these multiple programs and ensure that states and districts implement coordinated efforts to increase graduation rates, rather than working through siloed funding streams. An additional challenge is providing differentiated support to states based on their current status and progress in increasing graduation rates. While all states have room for improvement, some states are farther behind than others in graduation rates, particularly for different subgroups of students. ED has addressed one major barrier, which was the incomparability of graduation rate data across states. All states are now required to use an adjusted cohort graduation rate, and ED is reporting these data at the state, district, and school level. However, differences in how states define a regular high school diploma, and other technical features of their calculations, continue to make comparisons challenging.
Key barriers and challenges include:
- Sustainability of reforms in schools as SIG grants end;
- Capacity challenges at state, district, and school level mean some intervention challenges persist;
- Insufficient focus on comprehensive turnaround efforts at the state and district level beyond only the SIG program;
- Ensuring alignment between SIG, Race to the Top, ESEA flexibility, and other programs and initiatives; and
- Lack of quality and completeness data/knowledge allows others to define success.
EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS
ED works closely with stakeholder groups that are focused on increasing graduation rates, including CCSSO, CGCS, the Alliance for Excellent Education, the Education Trust, and Jobs for the Future. ED frequently engages these stakeholders on policy development, such as developing new SIG guidance, ESEA flexibility guidance, and High School Redesign.
