Frequently Asked Questions - SPSA

Shown below are frequently asked questions and answers concerning the online Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA). Federal and State Education Programs may periodically update this list to reflect any new questions or changes that arise. Please contact your Local District Title I Coordinator if you have questions about specific scenarios.

Depending upon whether a school is identified as Title I, the need to complete the online SPSA will vary. Please see below:

• Title I Schools – Title I schools must develop an online SPSA and complete the Targeted Student Population (TSP) plan attached to the SPSA.

• Title I Affiliated Charter Schools – Title I Affiliated Charters must develop an online SPSA but do not need to complete the Targeted Student Population (TSP) plan attached to the SPSA because those schools already have a current Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).

• Non-Title I Schools – Non-Title I Schools must address the Targeted Student Population (TSP) plan attached to the SPSA.

NOTE: If a non-Title I school receives a Title III allocation, the school must address at least one Focus Area on the English Learner Programs Goal and complete the following online SPSA plan sections – “English Learner Programs Goal,” “School Identification,” “Recommendations and Assurances,” “School Vision and Mission Statement,” “Comprehensive Needs Assessment,” and “Upload Attachments & Submit Plan.”

• Non-Title I Affiliated Charter Schools – Non-Title I Affiliated Charter schools do not need to address the TSP Plan because those schools have a current Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).

NOTE: If a non-Title I school receives a Title III allocation, the school must address at least one Focus Area on the English Learner Programs Goal and complete the following online plan sections – “English Learner Programs Goal,” “School Identification,” “Recommendations and Assurances,” “School Vision and Mission Statement,” “Comprehensive Needs Assessment,” and “Upload Attachments & Submit Plan.”

Principals, Assistant Principals, and Principal’s Designees can access the online SPSA at the following link: https://spsa.lausd.net/ on the Federal and State Education Programs (FSEP) website.

Principals and Assistant Principals have automatic access to the online SPSA template at their assigned school sites. Principal’s Designees can be granted access to work on the online SPSA template by the Principal or Assistant Principal. To log in, enter your Single Sign-On (SSO) without the domain name (@lausd.net), then type your password and click the login button. Principals and Assistant Principals can grant access to Principal’s Designees via the online SPSA platform. Principal’s Designees can assist in completing the online SPSA template.

No. Flexibility exists regarding which SPSA Goals and Focus Areas a school elects to complete (with the exception of the Culture and Climate Goal which must be completed in its entirety – see Question 6 below). Schools may elect to address only those Goals and Focus Areas that focus on the data-driven needs of their students. While all schools must conduct a data analysis and needs assessment, schools may choose not to address some or all Focus Areas on any of the following Goal pages – 100% Graduation, English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Social/Emotional. Conducting a data analysis and needs assessment will help schools to address the mandatory data analysis and key findings questions found on each of the Goal pages.

NOTE: If a school receives a Title III allocation, the school must address at least one Focus Area on the English Learner Programs Goal and complete the following online plan sections – “English Learner Programs Goal,” “School Identification,” “Recommendations and Assurances,” “School Vision and Mission Statement,” “Comprehensive Needs Assessment,” and “Upload Attachments & Submit Plan.”

Yes.

Yes. All five questions that precede the School’s Measurable Objective(s) must be answered on every Goal page, even if the school elects not to address a particular Goal.

Yes. Whenever a school elects to complete a particular Goal page, the school must address the Focus Area entitled “Building Parent Capacity” on that Goal page (in addition to whatever other Focus Area(s) SSC has chosen to address).

No. If a particular Goal is not being addressed, SSC is not required to complete the “Building Parent Capacity” Focus Area for that Goal.

A 30-minute online SPSA Training Video is located on the Federal and State Education Programs (FSEP) website. The training video is organized by sections to allow users to pause, rewind or skip to the section that is most pertinent to their learning. FSEP has also created an online SPSA User Guide that can be downloaded in its entirety or section by section. The training video and user guide can be downloaded on the FSEP website or at the following link: http://achieve.lausd.net/Page/11956

Your school’s Local District Title I Coordinators will tell schools the due date for the online SPSA.

No. Users must click the “Save” button to preserve their input. A sixty-minute timer counts down continuously whenever the online SPSA application is in use. The timer resets to sixty minutes each time a user clicks the “Save” button. The sixty-minute timer automatically logs users out after sixty minutes of inactivity. It is strongly recommended that you click the “Save” button often in order to avoid losing work product.

Yes, but only as an initial indicator. When conducting data analysis for the upcoming school year, SSC is progress monitoring the school’s current measurable objectives and evaluating the effectiveness of the strategies, actions, and resources used in the current SPSA. However, this mid-year evaluation provides only a partial assessment because schools’ measurable objectives encompass the entire school year extending through June. As a consequence, the due date for the completed SPSA Evaluation has been extended to on or before October 31st of the new school year in order to give schools an opportunity to review complete data for the entire school year and determine the effectiveness of the current year’s Single Plan for Student Achievement.

No. Schools that would like to receive feedback prior to final SPSA submission should contact their Local District Title I Coordinators, Local District EL Coordinators, or PACE Administrators to request feedback. Clicking “Submit” is reserved for schools that have an SSC-approved SPSA that is in final form.

Local District EL Coordinators will review the English Learner Programs Goal and all Goal pages and Focus Areas where EL students’ needs are being addressed.

Local District PACE Administrators and PACE teams will review the Culture and Climate Goal, all “Building Parent Capacity” Focus Areas of the SPSA, and the “Title I School Parental Involvement Policy” section of the SPSA.

NOTE: If a school does not address a specific Goal page, the school is not required to complete the corresponding “Building Parent Capacity” Focus Area for that Goal section.

Yes. Schools are free to seek approval of the SPSA from either the current year’s School Site Council or from the SSC empaneled during the new school year.

NOTE: If a school waits for next year’s SSC to approve the SPSA and SPSA Evaluation, the school’s budget cannot be approved during Budget Development. The school will need to wait until (1) the new SSC is empaneled in the new school year, and (2) the new SSC has approved the SPSA.

Yes. A web page entitled “SPSA Resources” (on the Federal and State Education Programs website) contains a variety of information to assist in the development of the Single plan for Student Achievement. The website is located at: https://achieve.lausd.net/Page/12036

Yes. Anyone can view a school’s approved SPSA by (1) logging in to LAUSD’s website, (2) clicking on Find-a-School, (3) searching by school name, and (4) clicking on “Single Plan for Student Achievement” under the “School Profile” tab.

If a school makes corrections to the SPSA based on Local District recommendations and the changes are substantive, the school must first obtain School Site Council approval. If a correction to the new SPSA requires a substantive correction, SSC Minutes must state that SSC has approved the changes.

NOTE: Schools should, as a matter of good practice, inform their School Site Councils of plan changes even if the changes are simply technical corrections. SSC Minutes should reflect discussions regarding any technical corrections or substantive corrections.

Examples of Technical Corrections include:

• Any difference between Estimated Cost vs. Actual Cost

• Non-capitalized Equipment listed, but General Supplies Technology intended (and General Supplies Technology description appears in the SPSA)

• A change outside of the school’s purview and/or the school was unaware of the additional requirements for the position (e.g., requirements for Coach Differential, four sub days for CSR, Librarian Differential, etc.)

• Wrong commitment item entered but it can be deduced from the description in the Goal pages what the school intended to purchase, e.g., the school just inserted the wrong commitment item number (examples include budget item number for Supplemental Instructional Materials (SIM) entered but should have been budget item number for Software License Maintenance; Other Books vs. SIM)

• Directors and/or coordinators request more specificity be added into the SPSA description

Examples of Substantive Corrections include:

• Unaccounted funds (new allocation, salary savings)

• Wrong commitment item and the plan description does not match the purchase

• Staffing changes (SSC approved one 6-hr. TA but the school now wants to purchase two 3-hr. TAs instead)

NOTE: Parent Community Services (PCS) recommends that regardless of whether a modification to the SPSA is a technical or a substantive correction, it is good practice for schools to inform their SSCs of all changes to the SPSA.

Local District Title I Coordinators must be consulted and/or informed by the school’s fiscal specialist.

Schools should bring the following items to their Budget Development appointments:

1. A copy of the new SPSA (Local District Title I Coordinators will inform schools whether to bring a hard or soft [online] copy)

2. A signed Recommendations and Assurances page (Local District Title I Coordinators will inform schools whether a copy of the wet [ink] signature is required or if an electronic signature is acceptable)

3. A signed hard copy of the School Budget Signature Form.

NOTE: During Budget Development, the Local District’s acceptance and approval of the new SPSA and School Budget Signature Form for the upcoming school year is conditional. Acceptance of the new SPSA and the School Budget Signature Form during Budget development is a preliminary approval only. Processing the School Budget Signature Form does not mean that the Local District has reviewed the entire SPSA or given final budget approval. Final approval will not occur until Local Districts have had an opportunity to thoroughly review new SPSAs and the Board has provided final approval.

No. If a school chooses not to submit a completed and SSC-approved SPSA, it should contact the Local District Title I Coordinator to request an Option B Form.

NOTE: We suggest that schools schedule a SSC meeting for the day after a school’s planned Budget Development appointment in order to quickly make any necessary adjustments that might arise during Budget Development.

These are the steps that need to be followed (steps 1-4 are in no particular order):

1. LD Title I Coordinator checks that the school’s allocation matches the School Budget Signature Form

2. LD Title I Coordinator checks that the there are no funds remaining in pending distribution

3. LD Title I Coordinator checks that all the required school signatures are included

4. LD Title I Coordinator checks that all expenditures are described in the SPSA (electronic or hard copy)

5. Final Step: Director, LD Title I Coordinator, LD PACE Administrator and LD EL Coordinator sign off on the School Budget Signature Form giving preliminary approval of the online 2017-2018 SPSA.

Yes. SSC can begin developing the Single Plan for Student Achievement prior to receiving the budget allocation for the new school year. SSC should address the key findings based on data; select strategies to address student needs; then support those strategies by funding appropriate resources when budget allocations become available.

NOTE: SSC-approved SPSAs cannot be submitted until all program dollars have been allocated and all proposed expenditures included in the plan.

Yes.

Yes, schools can use current budgets as an estimated starting point. Until new allocations are released, schools’ current allocations will appear in the online template. Schools can begin to plan for the upcoming school year using these current dollar amounts.

NOTE: Keep in mind that after allocations for the upcoming school year have been awarded to schools, dollar amounts will automatically update in the SPSA template. Schools that have begun to add budget items to the online template might show a surplus if the new school year’s allocations are larger than the current year’s allocation or, conversely, schools might show a negative amount if there is a decrease from the previous year’s allocation.

Yes. Online categorical budget allocations show current dollar amounts. Once new categorical allocations are released to schools, dollar amounts for the upcoming school year will be automatically updated in the online template.

Yes. Like the categorical budgets, current TSP allocations show current dollar amounts. Once new TSP allocations are awarded to schools, dollar amounts for the upcoming school year will be automatically updated in the online template.

For additional information, please contact James Mundy at (213) 241-6990 or email to jmundy@lausd.net