This text of Louisiana § 17:4032.1 (Steve Carter Education Program; establishment; student eligibility; service) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
§4032.1. Steve Carter Education Program; establishment; student eligibility; service
provider eligibility and approval; administration; payment amounts and uses;
notifications; reports; funding
A. The Steve Carter Education Program, referred to in this Part as the "program", is
hereby established for the purpose of providing funds for supplemental educational services
for eligible students.
B. A public school student who falls into one of the following categories is eligible
to participate in the program:
(1)The student is in kindergarten or the first, second, or third grade and is
determined to read below grade level or be at risk for reading or mathematics difficulties
according to the results of a literacy or mathematics assessment approved by the state
Department of Education.
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§4032.1. Steve Carter Education Program; establishment; student eligibility; service
provider eligibility and approval; administration; payment amounts and uses;
notifications; reports; funding
A. The Steve Carter Education Program, referred to in this Part as the "program", is
hereby established for the purpose of providing funds for supplemental educational services
for eligible students.
B. A public school student who falls into one of the following categories is eligible
to participate in the program:
(1) The student is in kindergarten or the first, second, or third grade and is
determined to read below grade level or be at risk for reading or mathematics difficulties
according to the results of a literacy or mathematics assessment approved by the state
Department of Education.
(2) The student is in the fourth through twelfth grade and scored below mastery in
English language arts or mathematics on the state assessment administered the prior school
year.
(3) The student's eligibility cannot be determined according to the measures provided
in Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Subsection due to the lack of a department-approved literacy
or mathematics assessment or state assessment results, but the student is recommended by
his English language arts or mathematics teacher for participation in the program due to the
student's academic difficulties.
C. The state Department of Education shall administer and provide for the
implementation of the program pursuant to rules and regulations developed and adopted for
such purpose by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in accordance with
the Administrative Procedure Act.
D. In administering the program, the department shall:
(1) Evaluate students' eligibility for the program.
(2) Develop an application process for students and providers and accept
applications.
(3) Evaluate and publish a list of approved providers of supplemental educational
services including but not limited to those with expertise in early literacy or mathematics to
determine their initial and continued eligibility for program payments.
(4) Establish minimum criteria by which approved providers shall be evaluated to
ensure program effectiveness in improving students' reading and mathematics abilities,
including but not limited to performance on department-approved literacy and mathematics
assessments and the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program state assessment and the
results of a parental satisfaction survey. Providers that fail to demonstrate improvement in
students' reading or mathematics abilities for two consecutive years shall be deemed
ineligible to participate in the program.
(5) Remit payments to such providers for services rendered to students in the
program, with the lowest-performing economically disadvantaged students given the highest
priority.
(6) Notify the governing authority of each public school of the application process,
requirements, and deadlines for parents and legal guardians.
E. By not later than September thirtieth of each year, or as soon as practicable if a
student's reading or mathematics deficiency is identified after this date, each public school
governing authority shall notify the parent or legal guardian of each student who is eligible
to participate in the program of the process for applying for the program and other
information provided by the department pursuant to Paragraph (D)(6) of this Section.
F.(1) The department shall remit payment for services provided, up to a maximum
of one thousand five hundred dollars per student per school year. A participating student
may receive tutoring services in both reading and mathematics, but the total for all services
shall not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars. Program money may be used for any of
the following eligible purposes that are designed to improve reading, literacy, or mathematics
skills:
(a) Books for home use chosen from a list developed by the department, including
electronic or digital books and subscriptions to online book clubs; however, such costs shall
not exceed two hundred fifty dollars per school year.
(b) Instructional materials and curriculum, including but not limited to online
materials, that have been reviewed in accordance with R.S. 17:351.1 and have been
determined to fully align with state academic content standards.
(c)(i) Tutoring services provided by a person who is trained in the state standards for
English language arts or mathematics and who meets one of the following criteria:
(aa) The person holds a valid teaching certificate in elementary education, reading,
or mathematics or holds an associate or baccalaureate degree.
(bb) The person is employed as a paraprofessional by a public school governing
authority.
(cc) The person is a student pursuing a degree at a postsecondary education
institution.
(ii) In addition to the requirements provided in Item (i) of this Subparagraph, a
person providing tutoring services in reading shall have successfully completed a
department-approved science of reading training.
(d) Summer education programs.
(e) After-school education programs.
(2) The department shall remit payments to approved providers on behalf of eligible
students.
(3) Any expenses above the limit established in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection
shall be the responsibility of the student's parent or legal guardian.
(4) The department shall develop a procedure for verification that students in the
program received the services for which payments were made.
G. The department shall submit a report to the House Committee on Education and
the Senate Committee on Education by not later than April thirtieth of each year regarding
the implementation of the program. The report shall include, at a minimum, the following
information for that year:
(1) The total number of students on whose behalf payments were remitted.
(2) The public schools in which such students are enrolled and the number of
students on whose behalf payments were remitted in each school.
(3) The total dollar amount of payments remitted to approved providers.
(4) A list of the approved providers to which payments were remitted and the
supplemental educational services provided to each student.
(5) Information relative to the performance of each provider and overall program
performance with respect to improving participants' reading and mathematics abilities as
provided in Paragraph (D)(4) of this Section.
H. Implementation of the program is subject to the appropriation of funds or the
availability of any local funds for the purposes of this Part. The department may use any
federal or state funds appropriated for the purpose of increasing early literacy, improving
students' mathematics abilities, or supporting academic achievement among public school
students to make program payments.