LAC 28:XXXIX.705. Supports for Students

A. Summer Remediation 1. LEAs may offer extended, on-grade level instruction through summer remediation to students who, based on a preponderance of evidence of student learning, are considered to be academically struggling, did not take the spring LEAP tests, and failed to meet the standard set forth in §701 and §703 of this Part. The LEA shall provide transportation to and from the assigned LEAP remediation summer site(s) from, at a minimum, a common pick-up point. 2. Student with disabilities attending summer remediation shall receive special supports as needed. 3. Summer remediation programs shall meet all of the following requirements: a. use curriculum determined by the department to fully align to Louisiana state standards (Bulletin 141—Louisiana Standards for English Language Arts, Bulletin 142—Louisiana Standards for Mathematics, Bulletin 1962—Louisiana Science Content Standards, and Bulletin 1964—Louisiana Social Studies Content Standards); b. teachers shall be rated “proficient”, “highly effective,” or “exemplary” pursuant to the teacher’s most recent evaluation or have achieved a value-added rating of “proficient”, “highly effective”, or “exemplary” on the most recent evaluation; B. Student Level Plans 1. The individual academic support plan outlined in this Section shall be provided to identified students by the LEA and will be differentiated based on student needs. The individual academic support plan should provide intervention information and outline progress monitoring for each student. 2. LEAs shall design and implement additional instructional strategies to move the students to grade-level proficiency by providing at least 2 of the following, which shall be documented in the expanded academic support plan. a. The student is placed in the classroom of a teacher who has been rated “highly effective” or “exemplary” pursuant to his/her most recent evaluation or has achieved a value-added rating of “highly effective” or “exemplary” pursuant to his/her most recent evaluation, or has documented evidence derived from state summative assessments of improving the academic performance of improving the academic performance of students having academic support plans in the past. b. The student completes summer remediation in accordance with Subsection A of this Section. c. Additional instructional time is provided during or outside of the school day to expose the student to high quality instruction. This shall not result in a student being removed from English language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies courses. d. The student is provided access to on grade-level instruction that is aligned to Louisiana state standards, which may include some below grade-level content and support needed to address the student’s identified weaknesses. 3. Remediation programs used throughout the school day and school year shall not account for more than 35 percent of total instructional minutes. 4. The individual academic support plan should be considered the holistic plan that is differentiated based on student need and could include one or more of the following: a. an individual reading improvement plan, in accordance with §700 of this Chapter; b. an individual numeracy improvement plan, in accordance with §700 of this Chapter; c. the individual student plan required by Subsection C of this Section; d. the individual student plan required by §701 of this Chapter; 5. The LDOE shall provide a template to LEAs which will support the creation of the individual academic support plan for identified students. 6. An individual academic support plan developed to outline support provided for a fifth grade student in English language arts or mathematics will remain in place, updated annually, until the student achieves a score of “Basic” or above in each of the subjects that initially led to the development of the plan. C. Expanded Academic Tutoring Support. 1. Each LEA shall identify kindergarten through fifth grade students who fail to achieve mastery in reading or math in accordance with LAC 28:XI (Bulletin 111). 2. Not later than September 15 of each year, LEAs shall submit to the LDOE a system-level plan and supporting budget to provide expanded support to identified students. a. The LDOE shall review each plan submitted for compliance with federal and state regulations and provide feedback as necessary for compliance with applicable regulations. b. The LEA must make applicable corrections within 10 school days of the date on which LDOE feedback was sent and return the updated plan and budget to LDOE. 3. Students identified as needing expanded academic support shall be provided with one of the following options: a. prioritized placement in a class taught by a teacher labeled as “highly effective” or higher in accordance with LAC 28:CXLVII (Bulletin 130), if available; or b. high dosage tutoring to commence no later than thirty days after the student is identified as needing expanded academic support or, for students identified during the summer, within the first 30 days of the school year. 4. High-dosage tutoring provided shall meet all of the following criteria: a. incorporate direct instruction by tutors using formative assessment aligned with grade-level content and tier 1 classroom instruction; b. be sustained for a minimum of 10 weeks; c. be provided, at least 3 times per week, in approximately 30 minute sessions, which shall be imbedded in the school day; d. use assessments throughout the school year to monitor student progress; e. be based on high-quality instructional materials that are aligned with the state content standards and are specifically designed for supplemental instruction; f. be individualized and provided at a ratio of not higher than 4 students to 1 tutor; g. be provided by a high-quality, consistent tutor, or by a limited, consistent set of tutors throughout the student’s supplemental instruction period; and h. be provided in accordance with guidelines on research-based best practices and effective accelerated instruction strategies developed and provided by LDOE. 5. High Quality Tutor—an individual who meets at least one of the following criteria: a. a person with training in using high quality instructional materials and who receives ongoing oversight while providing the high-dosage tutoring; b. staff of a high quality tutoring provider; c. current or retired teachers; d. trained paraprofessionals. 6. Within 15 calendar days of a student being enrolled in high-dosage tutoring, the parent shall be provided a written expanded academic support plan detailing the high-dosage tutoring that will be provided, including information regarding who will provide the instruction and when the instruction will be provided. The plan shall include specific dates from progress reports and information on the parent role in accelerating student learning. The information shall be provided in a way that is accessible to the parent or legal guardian. 7. Each LEA shall provide a report by June 1 of each year to the LDOE on the following data regarding eligible and participating students: a. the number of students identified as needing, and the number of students provided, expanded academic support, and related student metrics including tutoring subject, grade level, attendance, dosage, prior performance on the state assessment, and demographic information; b. the number of students identified as needing, and the number of students provided, expanded academic support, related student metrics including tutoring subject, grade level, attendance, dosage, prior performance on the state assessment, demographic information for two or more consecutive years; c. a list of high quality tutoring providers and any teachers used by the LEA to offer expanded academic support; d. a summary of how the school day has been restructured to offer the expanded academic support; and e. the amount and source of private, federal, state, or local funds spent on providing expanded academic support and how the funding was used by the LEA to provide high dosage tutoring. 8. LEAs shall utilize available state and federal funds to implement expanded academic support. If such funding is not available, a local school board shall not be obligated to provide funding to continue the expanded academic support.