Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part D,Neglected or Delinquent Programs

Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part D Neglected or Delinquent Programs
Case Study Interview Protocol
State Education Agency (SEA) Administrator of Instruction

State:	Interviewer:
Interviewee(s):	Date/Time:
Interviewee(s’) Role(s): (select all that apply)

Introduction – Key points to convey to the respondent:

• We are conducting case studies of the ESSA Title I, Part D programs. We are also administering a survey to all State Part D Coordinators and a sample of local educational agency (school district) and facility staff to collect data from a wider range of respondents.

• The study’s results will be discussed in a final report that will be available publicly. The main purpose of this study is to share your perspectives and experiences with policy-makers as they continue to refine policy and technical assistance on important issues related to Title I, Part D programs. This is not a compliance study; our purpose is solely to provide policymakers and the general public with insight regarding implementation practices of Title I, Part D programs so programs and student outcomes can continue to be improved.

• The purpose of this interview is to obtain information about your ESSA Title I, Part D, N or D program (hereafter “Part D”) regarding the implementation and progress of your State’s Part D program including how the program is implemented and how are the students’ needs met.

• Officials at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) know that your State is participating in this study and your State will be identified in our public reporting. In addition, staff from ED will see transcripts from our interview, but the transcripts we share will be reviewed and edited to ensure that no personally identifying information is included.

• We know that you are very busy, and we appreciate your time. We anticipate that this interview will take approximately 60 minutes.

• Your participation in this interview is voluntary. You may discontinue your participation at any time, and through the course of the interview, if we touch on topics that you believe to be sensitive for any reason, please bring that to our attention so we will not include these comments either in public reporting or in discussions with ED.

• Your privacy is important to us and we will protect the confidentiality of the information you provide, to the extent provided by law. The reports prepared for this study will summarize interviews across respondents and will not associate responses with a specific individual. We will not provide information that identifies you to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

• In order for us to have an accurate account of your responses, we would like to record this interview. The recording will then be transcribed and all personally identifying information will be removed from the transcript. Do we have your permission to record this conversation?

• Do you have any questions before we begin?

First we would like to get some background information.

A. Agency Characteristics

1. Please describe your role within the State Education Agency and in the Title I, Part D program. What are your responsibilities?

B. Shared Decision-Making & Collaborative Planning

1. Have you been involved in the planning for your State’s Part D program?

If yes  Please describe the planning for your agency’s Part D program, including who else was involved, any challenges, and outcomes.

2. What were the major program priorities during the past year or during the most recent planning phase?

Probe 

1. How were the priorities identified (for example: federal initiatives, state priorities, local challenges, a recent needs assessment)?

2. How were the priorities addressed?

3. Please describe how and with which facilities/programs/agencies your agency collaborates to provide Part D programming to N or D students.

Probe 

1. Have you experienced any barriers to communication, collaboration, or coordination with other systems or agencies working with N or D students?

2. What strategies are used to try to resolve the challenges?

C. Education Assessments, Strategies, and Services

Now we would like to talk about how the state supports assessments, strategies, and services in the Title I, Part D programs.

Screening and Risk Assessments

1. Please describe the process of how the children and youth come to the Part D program in your State.

Probe 

1. How are neglected or delinquent children and youth identified as needing the Part D program services?

2. What are the most frequent educational issues or problems of children and youth who come to the program?

Probe

1. How have these problems and issues been identified? And by whom?

3. Are any standardized assessments used in identifying educational risks or needs?

General Education Services and Structure

4. What types of services and programs are supported by your state agency? Please describe.

1. Do your State’s Part D programs support academic instruction?

2. Credit recovery programs?

3. Are any other education-related services funded by Part D in your State? If so, please describe the services.

5. Please describe any intensive or highly structured reading instruction included in your State’s Title I, Part D programming.

Probe 

2. Approaches used? Any “name brand” programs (e.g., READ 180 or Corrective Reading)?

6. Please describe any standardized mathematics instructional approaches included in your State’s Title I, Part D programming.

For example, 1) explicit instruction/direct instruction, 2) strategy instruction, including mnemonic and schema-based instruction, 3) technology-based instruction and real-world problem solving, 4) graduated instructional sequence, 4) graduated instructional sequence, 5) peer-mediated instruction, or 6) instructional adaptation of self-monitoring, graphic organizers, and cue cards.

7. What kinds of technical assistance and monitoring services does this State Education Agency provide to sub-grantees? Please describe.

Behavior Management

8. Please describe your Part D program’s approach to managing student behavior.

Probe 

1. How are conduct problems addressed for students who participate in your Part D program?

2. What behavior management strategies are used in the classroom?

3. Are any positive behavioral interventions and supports used? If so, please describe these interventions.

Special Education

9. How does your Part D program support children and youth with learning and other disabilities?

Probe 

1. What specific services are provided?

2. How are students identified for individualized education programs (IEPs) and how are the IEPs developed?

3. Has your State encountered any challenges or barriers to serving these students in juvenile justice and/or child welfare settings?

English Language Learner

10. How does your Part D program support children who are English language learners?

Probe 

1. What specific services are provided to youth who are English language learners?

2. Has your program encountered any challenges or barriers to serving these students?

Social Emotional Learning

11. Could you describe how Part D programs address the social and emotional needs of students (e.g., managing emotions, setting and achieving positive goals, feeling and showing empathy)?

Probe 

1. Are any specific social and emotional learning programs provided for these students?

Career and Technical Education

12. Please describe any vocational education, career technical education, or job training services provided as part of your Part D program.

Probe 

1. How do students access these services?

2. What outcomes have you seen for students who participate in career and technical education services? For example, do they experience increased connections to employment following release from placement? Are their rates of high school and other diplomas earned higher compared to other students who are N or D?

   1. Do you have data to support the changes you have seen?

Transition Planning

We would like to ask you some questions about the services and strategies that your N and D programs implement to support youths’ transitions as they enter custodial settings, and as they transition back into educational and community settings.

13. How does the State support transition planning (at the local level) of children and youth who are N or D back into community-based academic settings? (Please describe.)

Probe 

1. Please describe the transition services or practices that your Part D programs implement to support youths’ academic/career/behavioral needs as they move into or out of custodial settings.

2. Are data collected specifically on: high-quality transition planning, youth and family involvement in planning, or identification or use of community-resources in plans? Please describe.

14. How does the State support collaboration and coordination work across agencies (juvenile justice, child welfare, and education systems) on transition planning and services?

15. Do you have a formal/structured transition planning model or approach that is expected to be followed by all Part D program agencies and facilities statewide? Please describe.

Probe 

1. What does your agency expect of sub-grantees/programs in terms of the development and application of transition plans?

2. Are there standard requirements regarding components or timing of transition planning?

16. Where do you see gaps in terms of transition services among the sub-grantees/programs?

D. Instructional Staff Qualifications and Professional Development

1. What are the general qualifications for instructional staff in Part D programs?

Probe 

1. Do staff need any special qualification or certifications to work with N or D youth? If so, what are they?

2. How does the State support the professional development of instructional staff in local Part D programs?

3. Please describe any State monitoring of curricula and high quality teaching in Part D programs.

E. Outcome Assessment and Utilization

1. Please describe any State-level guidelines or legislation that guide the local Part D programs’ assessment of educational outcomes.

If no guidelines, Probe 

1. Are programs able to select their own assessments to track educational outcomes?

2. In your opinion, are there benefits and/or challenges related to the use of different assessments across programs? (e.g., Can data from these assessments be aggregated at the State level to look at trends in educational outcomes across programs?)

2. Does your State continue to follow students after they leave correctional institutions or child welfare facilities in order to track long-term educational outcomes? If yes, please describe the key long-term educational outcomes and the process for tracking them.

Probe 

1. How do agencies coordinate and are there any policies or procedures that facilitate tracking long-term outcomes?

2. Who is responsible for data collection?

3. How far out after they have left correctional institutions or child welfare facilities are you able to follow students to track these outcomes? (e.g., 90 days?)

3. Are there educational outcomes (short or longer term) that are not currently tracked, but that you would like to? Why are these outcomes of interest to you?

G. Overall Facilitators, Challenges, and Perceived Benefits

1. In terms of implementing Part D program activities in your State, what has gone well overall? What has facilitated implementation of program activities?

2. What have been the key challenges in implementing Part D program activities overall (in addition to what we have already covered in this interview)? Please describe.

3. In your opinion, what have been some of the key benefits for children and youth involved in the Part D programming?

Probe 

1. What evidence is available to document these benefits?

4. Is there anything else that you would like to add regarding the topics we have talked about?

THANK YOU!

PPSS Task Order 25—Evaluation of Title I, Part D: SEA Administrator (of Instruction) 1