1 using the federal guiding principles for providing high- quality education in juvenile justice...

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Using the Federal Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings to Support Instructional Program Improvement and Evaluation

Lauren Amos, NDTAC TA Liaison, American Institutes for Research

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Agenda

• About NDTAC

• Title I, Part D Overview

• The Federal “Guiding Principles”

• Using the “Guiding Principles” To Support Program Improvement and Evaluation

• Q&A

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About NDTAC

• Funded by the U.S. Department of Education (ED)

• Operated by the American Institutes for Research (AIR)

• Our mission:– Develop a uniform evaluation model for State Education Agency (SEA) Title

I, Part D, programs

– Provide technical assistance (TA) to States in order to increase their

capacity for data collection and their ability to use that data to improve

educational programming for N & D youth

– Serve as a facilitator between different organizations, agencies, and

interest groups that work with youth in neglected and delinquent facilities

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Title I, Part D Overview

• Improve educational services for children and youth who are neglected or delinquent (N or D).

• Provide services so that youth who are N or D can successfully transition from institutionalization to further education or employment.

• Prevent youth from dropping out of school.

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Structure of Title I, Part D I-2

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About the “Guiding Principles”

• Package, developed by ED and DOJ, outlines:

– Five guiding principles for providing high-quality education in juvenile justice secure care settings

– Core activities for consideration by agencies and facilities providing educational services

• Principles and core activities are not an exhaustive list, but are suggestions for:

– Creating environments conducive to the teaching and learning process

– Enhancing academic and social-emotional supports

– Promoting positive educational outcomes for all system-involved students

– Lessening the likelihood of youths reentering the justice system

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“Guiding Principles”

1. A safe, healthy facility-wide climate that prioritizes education, provides the conditions for learning, and encourages the necessary behavioral and social support services that address the individual needs of all youths, including those with disabilities and English learners.

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“Guiding Principles” (Continued)

2. Necessary funding to support educational opportunities for all youths within long-term secure care facilities, including those with disabilities and English learners, comparable to opportunities for peers who are not system-involved.

3. Recruitment, employment, and retention of qualified education staff with skills relevant in juvenile justice settings who can positively impact long-term student outcomes through demonstrated abilities to create and sustain effective teaching and learning environments.

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“Guiding Principles” (Continued)

4. Rigorous and relevant curricula aligned with State academic and career and technical education standards that utilize instructional methods, tools, materials, and practices that promote college- and career-readiness.

5. Formal processes and procedures—through statutes, memoranda of understanding, and practices—that ensure successful navigation across child-serving systems and smooth reentry into communities.

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Using the “Guiding Principles”

The “Guiding Principles” offer a framework for facilities to

evaluate and strengthen the health and effectiveness of its

instructional program

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Using the “Guiding Principles”

• Core Activities: What does a high performing instructional program look like?

• Red Flags: What does a struggling instructional program look like?

• Key Indicators: What metrics should we use to self-assess the health and effectiveness of our instructional program?

• Data Sources: What data sources can support our program evaluation efforts?

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CORE ACTIVITIESCore Activities (handout)

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Red Flags

• Suggest that an instructional program:

– Is at risk of not achieving the five guiding principles

– May not be meeting the academic needs of students

– Is at risk of not meeting Federal, State, and/or local

• Policy requirements

• Teaching and learning standards

• Program performance targets

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Example Red Flags

Guiding Principle Red Flag

1. A safe, healthy, facility-wide climate…

The facility uses excessive isolation/room confinement.

The facility is unsafe. There is high absenteeism of direct-care staff and

teachers due to "fear for safety." Special education students are spending

numerous days outside of the classroom due to behavior sanctions.

The 504, IEP, or ELL accommodations are not being provided in class or during testing. 

Behavioral plans and classroom routines are not followed or established.

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Red Flags

Guiding Principle “Red Flag”

4. Rigorous and relevant curricula

Students are observed working out of “packets” in the classroom.

Course standards are not followed.

5. Formal processes and procedures that ensure successful transitions

There is limited evidence of parent/family involvement.

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Students Using “Packets”

• Photocopies of out-of-date workbook pages,

• Word Searches and• Crossword puzzles.

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Limited Evidence of Parent Involvement

• School Open Houses• Monthly Parent

Meetings• Frequent phone calls

and visits• Reentry Planning

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Time Away from the Classroom

• Poor behavior resulting in segregation

• No education services while segregated

• No attention to planning evidenced-based behavior interventions

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504, IEP & ELL Accommodations

• Teacher is unfamiliar with individual student accommodations

• Teacher is unable to identify students with accommodations or plans

• Teacher refuses to utilize certain accommodations

• List of accommodations and/or notice of accommodations not provided to teachers

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Behavior Plans & Classroom Routines

• Classroom routines and rules not established

• Classroom routines and rules not consistently followed

• Behavioral interventions not employed

• Classroom structure contributes to negative student behavior

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Course Standards

• Teacher not aware of course pacing

• Teacher not aware of course standards and objectives

• Teacher refuses to follow course standards

• Teacher preference directs instruction

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Key Indicators

• CSPR Indicators

• Performance Based Standards (PbS)

• Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Indicators

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Key Indicators: CSPR

• Performance Categories:

– Transition Services

– Academic and Vocational Outcomes

– Results on Pre and Post Tests for Long Term Students: Reading and Mathematics

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Key Indicators: PbS

• Launched by Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs in 1995 and promoted by Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators

• PbS system offers goals, standards, tools, resources on best practices and reports to help facilities, programs and agencies

– meet PbS Standards

– measure progress overtime and in comparison to others

• PbS is guided by two principles:o You cannot change or improve what you don’t measure

o Data is information with a purpose to create change and reform

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PbS Education Standards

• Quantitative indicators for youth who have been confined for six months or more:

– Percent of youths whose math scores increased between admission and discharge

– Percent of youths whose reading scores increased between admission and discharge

– Percent of youths whose records indicate they have received a math test at admission

– Percent of youths whose records indicate they have received a reading test at admission

– Percent of youths whose records indicate that they have received the educational programming prescribed by their individual treatment plans

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PbS (Cont’d)

• From Youth Climate Survey report:

o The number of youth who perceive the school program as good

o The number of youth out of those surveyed who have been attending school

• From Staff Climate Survey:

o The number of staff who perceive the school program as good

o Staff rating of the education program

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PbS (Cont’d)

Qualitative indicators:

• IEPs are maintained in the youth’s educational record

• The education program is maintained 12 months a year for the number of hours specified by state law; school calendars/ schedules are posted throughout the facility

• The education records of youths confined for more than 14 days include education records from their most recent school

• Youths held in room confinement / isolation receive education programming and materials

• The facility uses aggregate and summary education data to develop a plan to improve education

• Education classes are held as scheduled

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Key Indicators: OCR

• 2014 Dear Colleague Letter on the Civil Rights of Students in Juvenile Justice Residential Facilities

• Civil rights obligations of facilities include:

– Providing equal access to academic coursework and career and technical education, including equal opportunities for male and female students in single-sex settings;

– Meeting the needs of English learner students so they can participate meaningfully in educational programs;

– Providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all students with disabilities;

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Key Indicators: OCR

– Avoiding discriminatory discipline on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or disability;

– Responding promptly and effectively to violence and harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, or disability;

– Providing auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication for students with hearing, vision, or speech disabilities; and

– Ensuring effective communication with parents, family members, and other visitors with hearing, vision, or speech disabilities, or limited-English proficiency.

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Office for Civil Rights: Mission

• Federal civil rights enforcement agency housed by U.S. Department of Education

• Mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence through vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of:

– On the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age

– Against certain patriotic youth groups that wish to meet at public schools (e.g., the Boy Scouts)

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Office of Civil Rights: Jurisdiction

• Has jurisdiction over programs and activities that receive financial assistance from the Department of Education such as:

– State education agencies

– Elementary and secondary school systems

– Colleges and universities

– State vocational rehabilitation agencies

– Juvenile justice facilities

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Office of Civil Rights: Jurisdiction

• Also has jurisdiction over certain public entities under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990:

– prohibits disability discrimination by public entities whether or not they receive federal financial assistance

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Civil Rights Laws: Examples

• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:

– Disciplining students differently on the basis of race, color or national origin

– Assigning a student to an educational program or class on the basis of the student’s race

– Harassment on the basis of race, color, or national origin

– Providing inadequate educational resources to limited English proficient students

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Civil Rights Laws: Examples

• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972:

– Discrimination on the basis of sex in providing opportunities to participate in interscholastic or intercollegiate athletics

– Sexual harassment or gender-based harassment

– Discrimination on the basis of sex in academic counseling and advice

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Civil Rights Laws: Examples

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 & Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990:

– Failure to provide a free appropriate public education to an elementary or secondary student with a disability

– Failure to provide appropriate academic adjustments to a qualified incarcerated student with a disability

– Denying the benefits of a program or activity because a school’s facilities are inaccessible

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Office of Civil Rights: Enforcement

• Investigating and resolving complaints of discrimination

• Conducting compliance reviews permit OCR to target resources on class-wide compliance problems that appear particularly acute

• Providing technical assistance to help institutions, parents and students understand their rights and responsibilities:

– Presentations

– Responses to telephone and written inquiries

– Workshops

– Consultations

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Civil Rights Data Collection

• The CRDC is a mandatory data collection authorized under:

– Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

– Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

– Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

– Americans with Disabilities Act

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Civil Rights Data Collection

• Biennial collection of school/facility and district level data began in 1968

• Collected directly from LEAs (including state agencies operating educational programs)

• All data is privacy protected

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Civil Rights Data Collection

• Juvenile justice facilities included in the CRDC in response to:

– Concerns about the school to prison pipeline leading to increased data on school discipline

– Questions about educational programs in juvenile justice facilities

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CRDC: What’s Collected?

• Student Data

– CRDC collects membership data disaggregated by

• Race/ethnicity (7 categories)

• Sex

• ELL

• Disability - IDEA

• Disability – Section 504 only

– All other student data is also disaggregated

– IDEA by disability (from EDFacts)

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CRDC: What’s Collected?

• Number of students participating in GED program & number receiving GED credential

• Algebra I course-taking by 7&8 grade, 9&10 grades, 11 & 12 grades

• Students passing Algebra I by 7&8, 9&10, 11&12 grades

• Algebra II, Geometry, Advanced Math, Calculus, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, AP

• ELL participation in ELL programs

• Retention (by grade)

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CRDC: What’s Collected?

• Discipline

– Includes suspensions, expulsions and corporal punishment

– Separate data for students with disabilities & without disabilities

– Includes any disciplinary action at the facility that results in student not attending school

• Bullying and harassment on the basis of race, sex or disability

– Number of incidents, students subject to, or disciplined for

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CRDC: What’s Collected?

• Restraints and Seclusion• Separate tables for students with

disabilities and without disabilities

• Mechanical restraints, physical restraints, seclusion

• Number of incidents

• Number of students

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CRDC: What’s Collected?

• Staff

– Teachers

• FTE of teachers

• FTE of certified teachers

• Teacher experience

– Number in first year of teaching– Number in second year of teaching

• FTE of teachers absent more than 10 school days

– Counselors

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CRDC: What’s Collected?

• School finance (state and local funds)

• Total personnel salaries

• Total instructional-staff salaries

• Teacher salaries & number of teachers

• Non-personnel expenditures

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Find CRDC Data

• All CRDC data is available at http://ocrdata.ed.gov.

• Here’s how to find a list of all juvenile justice facilities from your state that were included in the 2011-12 CRDC and their data

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CRDC: Accessing JJ Data

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CRDC: Accessing JJ Data

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CRDC: Accessing JJ Data

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CRDC: Accessing JJ Data

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CRDC: Accessing JJ Data

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CRDC: Accessing JJ Data

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CRDC Highlights: Teacher Equity

• Access to experienced teachers:

– Black, Latino, American Indian and Native-Alaskan students attend schools with higher concentrations of first-year teachers (3 to 4%) than white students (1%)

– English learners also attend schools with slightly higher concentrations of first-year teachers (3%) than non-English learners (2%)

• Access to certified teachers:

– Nearly half a million students nationwide attend schools where 60% or fewer of teachers meet all state certification and licensure requirements

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CRDC Highlights: Teacher Equity

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CRDC Highlights: College and Career Readiness

• Significant lack of access to core courses:

– 10-25% of high schools do not offer more than one of the core courses in the typical sequence of high school math and science education such as Algebra I and II, geometry, biology, and chemistry.

– 25% of high schools with the highest percentage of black and Latino students :

• do not offer Algebra II

• 33% of these schools do not offer chemistry.

– Less than half of American Indian and Native-Alaskan high school students have access to the full range of math and science courses in their high school

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CRDC Highlights: College and Career Readiness

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CRDC Highlights: College and Career Readiness

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CRDC Highlights: College and Career Readiness

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CRDC Highlights: School Discipline

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CRDC Highlights: School Discipline

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CRDC Highlights: School Discipline

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Data Sources

• Louisiana State Office of Youth Development Quality Assurance Plan (2007)

– Informed development of the Guiding Principles

– Model compliance document offers self-assessment criteria in 6 areas:

1. Personnel

2. Instruction

3. Special Education

4. Pre-Vocational/Vocational

5. Library Services

6. Educational Support

– Suggests data sources for each compliance area

– Offers program improvement instruments

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Data Sources

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Q & A

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Lauren Banks AmosNDTAC State Liaison

www.neglected-delinquent.org

lamos@air.org

Local Contact:

Delaware Title I, Part D Coordinator

John Sadowski

John.sadowski@doe.k12.de.us