SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
Learning is too important for your child not to have the best education possible. The NCLB law gives you some new options if your child’s school fails to meet North Dakota’s academic standards.
The option of public school choice.
All schools must make adequate yearly progress – test scores must improve. If a school fails to make such progress two years in a row, it is identified as a school in need of improvement. Your school district must tell you each year if your child’s school is in need of improvement.
If your child’s school is in need of improvement, you may ask to transfer your child to a higher performing school in your school district. This is called public school choice.
The option of supplemental educational services.
If your child’s school is in need of improvement and fails to make adequate yearly progress for another year, the NCLB law gives you another option. It requires the school district to offer your child extra help after school. This help is called supplemental educational services. It is meant to help students catch up if they are behind in important subjects like reading, language arts, and math. The school district must continue to provide these services until the North Dakota State Education Department says the school is no longer in need of improvement.
Supplemental educational services take place outside of school hours and in many different locations. These services are free to students. School districts, not families, pay for them. The services may include:
The North Dakota State Education Department approves the qualifications of supplemental educational services providers.
Public schools, private schools, non-profit and for-profit companies and even local colleges, churches, synagogues, mosques, and charities may have eligible programs in your neighborhood. Parents, not schools, must arrange transportation.