U.S. Department of Education Announces States Participating in Supplemental Educational Services Pilot for 2008-2009 School Year

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced that Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia have been approved to allow school districts to offer Supplemental Educational Services (SES) to students attending Title I schools in year one of school improvement status. Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Indiana have been approved for the same flexibility under the Differentiated Accountability pilot program announced earlier this month.

This flexibility agreement will allow districts within these states to offer tutoring ahead of schedule under No Child Left Behind. States approved for the SES pilot must meet the following criteria: (1) timely notification of adequate yearly progress; (2) a state SES evaluation in progress; and (3) a state assessment system for which the U.S. Department of Education has granted Full Approval with Recommendations.

“Success in the previous years of this pilot program has allowed us to expand it to more states,” Secretary Spellings said. “SES is a lifeline for students who need more resources and parents who want more options. Research shows that students benefiting from SES are improving in both their reading and math skills.”

Supplemental educational services are an important component of No Child Left Behind, giving low-income parents real options to obtain free tutoring and after-school services for their children. These states will also offer the school choice transfer option, either at the same time as SES, or in the second year of school improvement status along with SES.

These pilots will ensure that more eligible students receive SES, and the U.S. Department of Education hopes to gain valuable information through the pilots that can be shared with other states and districts to improve the quality and delivery of this free tutoring.