The Federal Programs department manages federal money in an effort to ensure that all students have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education. There is a focus on all students, at a minimum, meeting proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state assessments. Federal money is directed to students who are most at-risk of failing to meet these standards, especially those who are adversely affected by poverty. The goal is to close the achievement gap between high- and low-performing students, especially the gap between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers.
Jasper City School System participates in the following Federal Programs:
Title I
Funds under this program are intended to provide supplemental instruction and resources to aide students who are determined to be "educationally at-risk." Services such as tutoring, supplemental instruction, homework help, etc. may be part of the Title I supports at a school.
Title II
Funds under this program may be used to hire teachers to reduce class size or to provide professional learning opportunities for staff.
For more information contact Mrs. Rita Pilling 205-384-6880, Ext. 68012
Title III
Funds under this program are provided to support learning for students for whom English is not the primary language.
Title IV
Funds under this program are used to provide supplemental services/support for direct services, professional development, salaries, and materials/supplies.
Title V
The purpose of the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) grant program is to provide rural districts with financial assistance for initiatives aimed at improving student achievement. The grant is non-competitive, and eligibility is determined by statute.
Awards are issued annually to state education agencies (SEAs), which make sub-grants to local education agencies (LEAs) that meet the applicable requirements.
Title IX
The purpose of Title IX is to provide educational services for homeless children and youth. We budget instructional materials and supplies, medical supplies and services, and tutorial services for students that fall in this category.
JCS Parent and Family Engagement Plan
Parent and Family Engagement
The Title I Parent and Family Engagement Plan is updated annually with input from stakeholders across our school district. This plan establishes the district's expectations for quality family engagement and guides the strategies and resources that will build school-parent partnerships. It describes the district's commitment to partner with families in the education of their children and to strengthen the ability of schools to implement activities that support children in achieving academic success. For more information and to provide feedback, please contact Mrs. Amy O'Rear at (205)384-6880 or by email, aorear@jasper.k12.al.us .
The EL plan details how Jasper City Schools provide programs, services, and resources to students who are identified as language minority and English Learners (ELs) or students with limited English proficiency (LEP). Jasper City Schools provides appropriate services to EL students at all grade levels and at all schools in the school system. It is the goal of ALL personnel to help each student make yearly progress on standardized evaluations and to reach the highest possible levels of English language and academic proficiency. This detailed plan contains sufficient information so that each staff person can understand how the plan is to be implemented and contains the guidance used to carry out responsibilities under the plan.
Jasper City School System Homeless/Migrant/Foster Care Students' Liaison - Rita Pilling
Jasper City Schools' Central Office- (205)384-6990 - Rita Pilling EXT- 68012
110 17th Street West, Jasper, AL 35501
Homeless Information
Education for Homeless Children and Youth
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
The Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program is funded under the McKinney –Vento Homeless Assistance Act to ensure that homeless children and youth have access to the same free, appropriate public education that is provided to all children. It further requires that attendance laws not be used to keep homeless children and youth from attending school. All faculty and staff must complete a mandatory in-service regarding homeless education each year which is available to your school as a PowerPoint presentation on the JCS website or via In-Service Training.
Who is Homeless?
The McKinney-Vento Act (Section 725) defines “homeless children and youth” (school-age and younger) as:
A. Children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including children and youth who are:
- Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (i.e. “doubled-up”).
- Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations.
- Living in emergency or transitional shelters.
- Abandoned in hospitals.
- Awaiting foster care placement (i.e., DHR has removed the children from the home and placed them in a transitional/temporary setting such as a relative’s home or an assessment unit).
B. Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
C. Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.
D. Migrant/ESL/ELL children who qualify as homeless if they are living in circumstances described above.
E. The term unaccompanied youth includes a young person not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. This would include runaways living in runaway shelters, abandoned buildings, cars, on the streets, or in other inadequate housing; children and youth denied housing by their families (sometimes referred to as “throwaway children and youth”); and school-age unwed mothers living in homes for unwed mothers because they have no other housing available.
Determinations of homelessness will be made on a case-by-case basis by the homeless education staff (221-4275).
Enrollment Records
The enrollment of homeless children and youth shall NOT be denied or delayed due to any barriers including the lack of the following enrollment requirements:
- Legal guardianship/custody requirements
- Parent/Guardian’s photo ID
- Birth certificate
- School records and/or transcripts
- Immunization or health records
- Proofs of residence
- Transportation
- Second Party Residence Documentation Form.
The student MUST be enrolled immediately and attend classes while awaiting documentation/records.
Child Nutrition Program - Free Meal Eligibility for Homeless Children
Homeless children are entitled to free meals (breakfast and lunch). To expedite the delivery of these services, school officials may accept documentation that children are homeless from the Homeless Education Program’s staff. Documentation to substantiate free meal eligibility must consist of the child’s name or a list of names, effective date(s) and the signature of the Homeless Education Program’s staff. This documentation is acceptable in lieu of a free/reduced price meal application. If the household does not complete an application for the child, school officials are authorized to complete an application on behalf of the homeless student.
Parents/Guardians/Students Rights
Homeless children have the right to:
A. Enroll immediately without providing transcripts/school records, immunization/health records, proofs of residence, guardianship/custody requirements, birth certificates, and/or social security cards/numbers.
B. Attend school, no matter where they live or how long they have lived there. The student must be given access to the same public education, including preschool education and special education services provided to other children.
C. Remain in the school in which they were enrolled prior to becoming temporarily housed OR enroll in the school that serves the address of the temporary housing. The school choice decision is based upon parental choice and/or feasibility as determined by the district.
D. Request a written explanation of school placement and the right to appeal an enrollment decision if system personnel attempt to send the student to a school other than the one the parent requests.
E. Request a written dispute resolution process. During this process, the student has the right to remain in his/her current school.
F. Receive transportation to school and to school-related programs.
G. Attend school and participate in school programs with children who are not homeless. Children cannot be separated from the regular school program because they are homeless.
H. Enroll in school without giving a permanent address. Schools cannot require proof of residence that might prevent or delay school enrollment.
I. Enroll and attend classes while the school arranges for the transfer of school and immunization records or any other documents required for enrollment.
J. Receive free meal eligibility through the Child Nutrition Program (CNP).
K. Obtain a student identification number by calling 221-4277 if the student’s social security card/number is unavailable.
Posting of Homeless Information
Homeless Education posters must be visibly posted in the vicinity of the main office. The two posters contain the Rights of Parents and Rights of Students who are homeless as well as information on how to access services provided to homeless children and youth. The posters may be ordered using
McKinney-Vento (Homeless Education) Dispute Resolution Procedure
The dispute resolution process begins at the time a school/district challenges the right of either a parent/guardian to enroll a child or to continue a child’s enrollment in school. This also applies to an unaccompanied youth and his/her right to enroll or continue enrollment. If there is a dispute regarding a student’s homeless status, school selection/enrollment and/or request for transportation, the student must be immediately enrolled in the school where enrollment is sought and provided with transportation services (if requested).
The district then must follow the procedures it has established to resolve disputes. However, the district’s procedures must provide the parent/guardian/ unaccompanied youth with an opportunity to submit information before it makes a final determination regarding the student’s homeless status. If the district makes a final determination that a student is not homeless, it must provide the parent/guardian/unaccompanied youth with written notice that the student is not entitled to attend the requested school. This written notice must also:
1) state the rationale/basis for the district’s determination;
2) state the date as of which the student will be withdrawn from the requested school;
3) advise that the district’s final determination may be appealed to the Alabama State Department of Education;
4) provide the name and contact information for the district’s homeless liaison;
5) inform the parent/guardian/unaccompanied youth that the district’s homeless liaison is required to assist him/her in filing such an appeal; and
6) include the appropriate form needed to file an appeal to the Alabama State Department of Education.
The student must remain enrolled and provided with transportation (if requested) until the district makes a final determination and for a maximum of 30 days after the determination to give the parent/guardian/unaccompanied youth the opportunity to appeal to the Alabama State Department of Education. The Homeless Liaison is available to assist the parent/guardian/unaccompanied youth with the appeal’s process and may be contacted - Rita Pilling @ (205)384-6880.
PARENTS RIGHT-TO-KNOW- Teacher Qualifications
(A) QUALIFICATIONS- At the beginning of each school year, a local educational agency that receives funds under this part shall notify the parents of each student attending any school receiving funds under this part that the parents may request, and the agency will provide the parents on request (and in a timely manner), information regarding the professional qualifications of the student's classroom teachers, including, at a minimum, the following:
(i) Whether the teacher has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
(ii) Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.
(iii) The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.
(iv) Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.
(B) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION- In addition to the information that parents may request under subparagraph (A), a school that receives funds under this part shall provide to each individual parent—
(i) information on the level of achievement of the parent's child in each of the State academic assessments as required under this part; and
(ii) timely notice that the parent's child has been assigned, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who is not highly qualified.
(C) FORMAT- The notice and information provided to parents under this paragraph shall be in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language that the parents can understand.
Ensuring Educational Stability for Children in Foster Care
This plan is to address the requirement for foster care provisions under Title I of ESSA which require State Educational Agencies (SDE) and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to collaborate with Child Welfare Agencies (CWAs) to ensure educational stability and minimize educational disruptions for children in foster care.
Jasper City Schools are committed to provide all students with sound educational experiences. We recognize that foster children are at an increased risk of grade retention, gaps in academic achievement, low high school graduation rates, and postsecondary enrollment. These provisions promote greater stability for children in foster care so that they can continue their education without disruption, maintain important relationships with peers and adults, and have the opportunity to achieve college and career readiness.
The educational stability includes that (1) a child in foster care will remain in the child’s school of origin, unless a determination is made that it is not in the child’s best interest to remain in the school and (2) if a determination is made that it is not in the child’s best interest to remain in the school of origin, the child will be immediately enrolled in the school of residence, even if the child is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment.