THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234 Office of P-12 Education

Office of Accountability Title I, School and Community Services Room 365 EBA Tel. (518) 473-0295 / Fax (518) 486-1762

December 19, 2013

Dr. Pamela Brown, Superintendent Buffalo City School District 419 City Hall Buffalo, NY 14202 Dear Dr. Brown, I am writing in reply to your October 1, 2013 submission of forms and related documents in response to my September 20, 2013 letter in which I asked that the Buffalo Publics Schools (BPS) provide evidence that parental consultation required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and Commissioners Regulations Sections 100.11 and 100.18 took place during the development of your 2013-14 Annual Consolidated Application, District Comprehensive Improvement Plan (DCIP), and School Comprehensive Education Plans (SCEPs). Below is a summary of the requirements of relevant legislation and regulations pertaining to the consultation that a Local Educational Agency (LEA) is required to engage in when developing a Consolidated Application and a DCIP. ESEA Section 1112- LEA Plans - requires that the LEA develops those plans (i.e., Consolidated Application Update/Addendum) in consultation with teachers, principals, administrators, and other appropriate school personnel, and with parents of children in schools served under this part. ESEA Section 1118 Parent Involvement states that if an LEA wishes to receive Title I, Part A funds, the LEA must implement programs, activities, and procedures for involvement of parents in programs assisted under this part consistent with this section. Such programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children. NYS Commissioners Regulations Section 100.11 requires school districts to develop and adopt a district plan for school-based planning and shared decision making that includes participation by teachers and parents with administrators and school board members. The district plan must specify the educational issues which will be subject to cooperative planning and shared decision making at the building level and the manner in which planning and decision making will be coordinated with and met by the overall plan. Before the Shared Decision Making Plan can be approved by the Board of Education (BOE), there must be, consultation with and full participation by the designated representatives of the administrators, teachers, and parents, and after seeking endorsement of the plan by such designated representatives.

NYS Commissioners Regulations 100.18 (h)(2) requires that the DCIP must be developed in consultation with parents, school, staff, and others pursuant to section 100.11. Similarly, Priority and Focus Schools located in a Focus District shall develop and implement a Comprehensive Education Plans developed in consultation with parents, school, staff, and others pursuant to section 100.11.

In BPS, the framework for implementation of these provisions of law and regulation is the districts Parent Involvement Policy, Board Resolution No. #3170, which provides for the creation of a District Parent Coordinating Council (DPCC) whose purpose under the direction of the Superintendent shall be to ensure that a partnership with the district is created and to monitor the implementation of the BOE's Parent Involvement Policy. Taken together, these laws, regulations and BPS board policy require that: Parents are provided with meaningful opportunities for consultation in the development of the Consolidated Application, DCIP, and SCEPs. This means that parents are given the time and resources needed to review and comment on district programs and plans. The feedback provided by parents is considered by the LEA before plans are approved and implemented. The LEA must consider, but is not required to accept, the feedback it receives on the plans. It is the LEAs responsibility, after engaging in meaningful consultation, to approve and implement plans that the LEA believes best meets the needs of students. Consultation with the DPCC is one of several means by which the LEA may engage in meaningful parent involvement at the district and school level, but consultation with the DPCC does not preclude BPS from engaging in consultation with other parents and stakeholders in order to implement its Parent Involvement Policy and/or comply with the consultation requirements of ESEA 1112 or 1118. The request for documentation was precipitated by our office receiving a formal complaint from Samuel Radford III, President of the District Parent Coordinating Council (DPCC), alleging that the district had failed to comply with the consultation requirements as called for in Sections 1112 and 1118 of the ESEA. Mr. Radford has also alleged that the Buffalo Board of Educations Policy #3170 designates the DPCC as the formal body through which the district must consult in order to meet the requirements of ESEA Section 1112 and 1118. In response to the complaint, the district submitted numerous documents that the district asserts show that the DPCC had a meaningful opportunity to participate in the planning, development, and approval of the BPS 2013-2014 Consolidated Application Update/Addendum. It should be noted that under Section 118 of ESEA there is no requirement that an LEA secure the approval of the consulted group/s (DPCC) in order to submit applications, implement programs, or staff positions that use Title funds, but BPS must take into account feedback obtained from the DPCC when making such determinations. After reviewing the documentation provided by BPS, SED finds the following:

BPS Board Policy #3170 does not designate DPCC to be the sole representative with which the district must consult in order to meet the requirements of ESEA Section 1112 and 1118; BPS chose the DPCC to be the primary parent organization with which it engaged in the development of the 2013-2014 Consolidated Application Update/Addendum. BPS began to engage in meaningful consultation with DPCC during the months of June and July 2013. Due to scheduling conflicts and the unavailability of at least a complete draft application until the very end of August 2013, DPCC was not provided an opportunity to engage in meaningful consultation throughout the process of the development of the Consolidated Application, and submitted DCIPs/SCEPs. .

Based on the conclusion noted above, NYSED is placing a hold on the already approved 2013-14 Consolidated Application Update and DCIP/SCEP budgets pending your demonstration that required consultation has taken place. Accordingly, the BPS is directed to schedule meetings with the DPCC on the 2013-2014 Consolidated Application Update/Addendum and DCIP/SCEP applications so that the process for meaningful consultation can be completed. The district is to submit to SED by December 31, 2013 the schedule of meetings that will be held with DPCC. These meetings are to be concluded by January 31, 15, 2014. As the meetings occur, the district is to submit documentation to the SED Title I Office summarizing progress towards meeting the consultation requirements. Documentation can take the form of copies of e-mails; attendance sign-in sheets; agendas; meeting minutes; PowerPoint presentations; formal correspondence; and most importantly, meeting minutes. After the consultation meetings are completed, BPS shall no later than February1, 2014 submit its request to reinstate its budgets including any FS-10 and Budget Narrative to SED that require change as a result of the consultation process. The Department encourages both BPS and DPCC to build upon the work begun last summer and your ongoing settlement discussions to ensure that meaningful parent consultation and collaboration takes place in the development of district programs and plans. Should you have any questions related to the contents of this letter you may contact our office at 1-(518)-473-0295. Sincerely,

Roberto Reyes, Director Title I School and Community Services c: Samuel Radford III Ken Slentz Ira Schwartz