Being a member of the Illinois Coalition of Nonpublic Schools entitles you to receive this issue of the Electronic Report.  The purpose of this Report is to provide brief synopses of developments with the Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools, legislative updates, and information of interest to our nonpublic school administrators.  Additional information may be obtained by following the hyperlinks that are imbedded throughout the Report.  Back issues of the Electronic Report can be found on the ICNS web site.

ADVOCATING FOR NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS

ICNS is the  “voice of non-public education in Illinois.”  In order to make our “voice” as loud as we can when addressing the needs of nonpublic schools, we need your help. As we end the 2008 calendar year, we are making one more call for renewed membership in ICNS.. Again this year, the membership dues are just  $50.  If you have already renewed your membership, we thank you for your school’s support. If not, access the membership form on the ICNS web site, and send it in today.  With your membership in ICNS, our “voice” can be heard.  You will also continue to receive your monthly issue of the ICNS Electronic Report as a way of keeping you informed about issues that impact you as an administrator of a nonpublic school.

CAPE OUTLOOK

The December 2008 issue of CAPE Outlook, a monthly newsletter from the Council for American Private Education, is available for download as a free PDF document at http://www.capenet.org/pdf/Outlook340.pdf

In Outlook this month:

·         Obama's Ties with Religious and Independent Schools

·         Obama-Biden Transition Project

·         What Is Next for School Choice?

NONPUBLIC SCHOOL REGISTRATION, ENROLLMENT AND STAFF REPORT

The 2008-09 Nonpublic Registration, Enrollment and Staff Report (87-01) is available via IWAS at https://sec1.isbe.net/iwas and must be received by ISBE by December 31, 2008.   Nonpublic schools that have registered with ISBE at least once in the past must submit the data online using the ISBE web portal IWAS.  Nonpublic schools that have never registered with ISBE must submit their data by using the paper form 87-01 that is available at the following address: http://www.isbe.net/research/pdfs/87-01_np_report.pdf.

Working with the ISBE staff, ICNS has had the reporting of special education students broken down into a per grade report.  This ensures that ISBE receives the data it needs for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and that our schools will also receive the proper amount in proportionate share under IDEA, as well as NCLB programs and the Textbook Loan program.  Please remember that you should report as special education students, all children deemed eligible for special education services, not just those who have received such services.

EDUCATION IN THE NEWS

• Arizona Vouchers In State Supreme Court
  Back in 2006, the Arizona state legislature approved two school voucher programs. The programs allow parents of disabled or foster care children to switch their children from one public school to another, or from a public school to a private school, according to the individual child’s needs. Under both programs, parents or legal guardians choose the school the child will attend. The state then distributes grant funds to parents, who endorse the checks to the school. The law essentially allows parents to funnel state tax dollars into private and parochial schools. This program has been challenged and the Arizona Supreme Court will be hearing the case. http://www.aasa.org/publications/LeadersEdgeArticle.cfm?ItemNumber=10890

• What do we know about the outcomes at KIPP schools? - With its reputation for high standards, highly committed teachers and longer school days, the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) has been widely hailed as a model for urban education. A new policy brief from the Great Lakes Center -- “What Do We Know About the Outcomes of KIPP Schools?” -- concludes that available evidence indicates that KIPP is indeed providing good opportunities for students but it also warns that some claims are exaggerated; the current evidence incomplete and policymakers should proceed with cautious optimism. Among the positive findings of the report are that students who enter and stay in KIPP schools -- most of whom are minorities and many of whom have done poorly in prior schools -- tend to perform better than comparable students in traditional public schools, and this performance does not seem due to selective admissions. On the other hand, student turnover appears selective, with lower-performing students continuing to perform poorly at KIPP and being more likely to leave. Teacher enthusiasm at KIPP is high, but so are the demands and burnout, leading to “an unrelieved pressure to find and train new people." And although Kiap’s extended-day policy has attracted a lot of attention, no hard evidence has linked this policy to the schools’ success.  Read the press release: http://www.greatlakescenter.org/docs/Policy_Briefs/Henig_KIPP.htm See the report: http://www.greatlakescenter.org/docs/Policy_Briefs/Henig_Kipp.pdf

• Milwaukee voucher program pressures its conventional schools . The Journal Sentinel reports that the number of Milwaukee children attending private schools using publicly funded vouchers has exceeded 20,000 for the first time, while the number of students in the main roster of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) elementary, middle and high schools has fallen below 80,000 for the first time in over a decade. Milwaukee’s voucher program is the largest and oldest urban school voucher program in the United States. Its success, and declining enrollment in the MPS, has put financial pressure on the district, forcing school closings and pushing the district to find new ways to attract students and raise overall levels of achievement. Wisconsin officials estimate that $128.8 million, approximately one tenth the MPS budget, will be paid to 127 schools that enroll voucher students this year. Participation in the Milwaukee voucher program has risen every year since 1998, when the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled it was legal to include religious schools. Read more: http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/34184444.html

ILLINOIS TEXTBOOK LOAN PROGRAM

According to the ISBE website, the Illinois Textbook Loan Program is for Grades 7-12 this year.  Funding will be approximately $40 per student.  Packages were sent to eligible schools in September.  Ordering can take place between December 1st and March 15th. All ordering must take place through the IWAS system on the state website.  More information is available at www.isbe.net then type Textbook Loan Program in the search box. 

While speaking about the State of Illinois, our schools need to know that the financial crisis is having a significant impact upon revenue being distributed to nonpublic and public schools. The state controller has not yet released the checks for the School Safety Block Grant. It is uncertain as to when those dollars will b sent. 

MISSING CHILDREN RECORDS ACT