Assessment/Accountability
School and District Accountability and Assistance

School Choice

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a school that does not make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in English language arts (ELA)/reading or mathematics in the aggregate and/or for student subgroups for two consecutive years is considered to be in its first year of improvement status. While a school receiving federal Title I funds is in improvement status, the district is required to offer all students enrolled in the school the option to transfer to another public school served by the district that has not been identified for school improvement.

In Massachusetts, parents and guardians potentially have two school choice options: (1) NCLB School Choice (applies only to schools receiving federal Title funds identified for improvement, corrective action or restructuring; districts pay for transportation to schools within the district) and (2) Massachusetts School Choice Programs (Parents choose to send their children to school in a participating district; districts opt in or out of the program on an annual basis; parents are generally responsible for transportation).

	2007-08 Title I / NCLB School Choice and Supplemental Educational Services (SES) Participation This file contains data on the number of students in each district who were eligible for and participated in Title I / NCLB School Choice and supplemental educational services (SES) in Massachusetts public schools during the 2007-08 school year.
	Sample Parent/Guardian Notification – NCLB Accountability Status/NCLB School Choice (Title I Schools): When one of its Title I schools is identified for improvement, corrective action or restructuring the district must promptly provide certain information to the parents/guardians of each child enrolled in the school.
	Giving Parents Options: Strategies for Informing Parents and Implementing Public School Choice And Supplemental Educational Services Under No Child Left Behind This publication from the U.S. Department of Education provides ideas and strategies for reaching parents and implementing the public school choice and SES provisions of No Child Left Behind.
	For Parents: Frequently Asked Questions about NCLB School Choice
	Federal Non-Regulatory Guidance on Public School Choice under NCLB This guidance updates and expands on the Public School Choice Non-Regulatory Guidance that the U.S. Department of Education released on February 6, 2004. It includes a number of new and modified questions that address issues related to the Title I regulations released on October 29, 2008 (73 FR 54436) as well as other major policy decisions the Department has made regarding the public school choice provisions since February 2004.
	Raising Achievement through Public School Choice: Web site designed to help districts raise student achievement through public school choice programs.
	Massachusetts' School Choice Programs (Not related to NCLB)