Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools

What should I make sure a parent has done before enrolling the child in our school?
It is very important that parents have filed a letter of intent BEFORE leaving the public school. This places them in the system and you can determine if they are eligible for the McKay Scholarship. Have them bring their latest IEP to you. This is also a check that they have a current IEP. Make sure that the parent officially withdraws the child from the public school. Many parents don't realize that they must officially withdraw their child from the public school. When they haven't done so their scholarships are held up because the child is showing up on the public school roles.

Should my school have a written contract between the parent and the school?
It is very important that parents have filed a letter of intent BEFORE leaving the public school. This places them in the system and you can determine if they are eligible for the McKay Scholarship. Have them bring their latest IEP to you. This is also a check that they have a current IEP. Make sure that the parent officially withdraws the child from the public school. Many parents don't realize that they must officially withdraw their child from the public school. When they haven't done so their scholarships are held up because the child is showing up on the public school roles.

During the spring the district sends out letters to my parents concerning re-evaluating their child. What stance should we take, if any on this?
The district re-evaluation is an option for parents. At this point, re-evaluations may not be used to deny a student their McKay Scholarship. However, that part of the law could change and if a child has had re-evaluation from the district and their progress moves them out of the state guidelines for services, then this could be problematic. Schools should discuss this issue with their parents. We suggest that schools do regular evaluations with their students. These should be evaluations which are appropriate for the disability. Some will be standardized tests and others may not be standardized but be teacher created or portfolios. The students' progress should be discussed with the parents and further goals set on a regular basis. Schools should assist their parents in identifying independent evaluators for re-evaluation at least once in middle school and then prior to graduation if the student is moving into post-secondary education. (Many post-secondary institutions require a re-evaluation by a psychologist within three years of entrance into their program.) This re-evaluation should examine the student's present skills levels (academic/social/life); develop post-secondary goals; identify accommodations the student may use to achieve his goals; and identify other agencies, pre-high school, if needed for further support.

Some of my parents want their children to take the FCAT. How do we handle this?
This is an option for parents of McKay students. The designated school staff should discuss this option with the parent prior to January and whether it is an appropriate assessment tool for their child. The FCAT may be appropriate for some students, especially if they are getting ready to transition back to the public school. However, parents must understand that a private school's curriculum may not be set up to "teach the format" of the test and the child may be at a disadvantage if they have not had exposure to that type of test. Should a parent decide to have their child take the test, the parent is responsible for scheduling their child with the district and for transporting their child to and from the test site. Since this is a multiple day test, the child will be missing school work. The private school should discuss, and follow up in writing, what actions need to be taken to assist the child in keeping up with their school work.

How can parents help their children prepare for the FCAT if they want them to take it?
Children who are in the McKay Scholarship Program may use the FCAT Explorer, an online tutorial that works on the benchmark requirements of the FCAT. Parents do not have to sign up for the FCAT in order to use the FCAT Explorer. Parents can be assigned a login name and a password by calling 1-888-750-3228. This may be a good opportunity for parents to see if their child is "ready" to take the FCAT.

Our school contracts out for services. Can administrative costs be added to those fees?
When a school contracts out for services, such as speech therapy, the school invests a great deal of administrative time and oversight to these services. Fees for the service may reflect this. For example: Should the speech therapist charge $45 per hour, the school's fees may be $55 per hour. The extra $10 covers the cost of arranging services, book keeping, reviewing and oversight.

I understand that DOE may have random audits to verify that our school is in compliance. How do we prepare for this?
Random audits are a possibility for every school. DOE's responsibility is to check that a school has the documentation to verify their compliance form. The best thing to do is to prepare a Compliance Notebook. Have a copy of all the documentation which substantiates that the school is in compliance. If this is done ahead of time, should your school be involved in a random audit, you are prepared. The general documents which DOE will ask for are copies of: 1) Fingerprint report/background clearance letter from DCF or Florida Teaching Certificate of owner/operator; 2) Current Public/Private School Inspection Report (DOH Form 4030) 3) Current Fire Code Inspection Report 4) Mandatory Measurements Non-Residential Radon Measurement Report (DOH Form 1777) for non-exempt counties. The Department of Health website has information on radon and gives a map of the non-exempt counties; 5) Verification of Accreditation if school claims accreditation (certificate, letter of accreditation, etc.).

We had to release a student because the student (or parent) was not complying with our code of conduct and participation rules. The parent complained to DOE and they are investigating the problem. What is the best way to prepare for this?
Occasionally, all schools face students or parents for whom their program does not fit. Sometimes the child/parent refuses to cooperate. It is important to follow up every meeting with a parent discussing a disciplinary action and or concern, with a brief letter stating the concerns discussed and the action to be taken by both school and parent. (This should happen regardless of whether the student is a McKay Scholarship recipient or not.) This documentation is crucial because a school never knows when a "little" problem may escalate or not be able to be resolved to the satisfaction of the school and parent. When that happens, should the parent register a complaint whether to DOE or an outside agency, the school has the documentation to show that they followed procedure.

What can DOE ask for in solving a complaint and what can they NOT ask for?
DOE may only investigate issues related to compliance of state statutes and issues related to utilizing the McKay Scholarship properly (were fee schedules posted correctly, were checks endorsed properly, was a code of conduct published for the parent). They may ask for: 1) All of the documents requested for a random audit (see list above); 2) Attendance records for the student in question; 3) Substantiating documentation concerning the complaint. DOE does not have the right to ask for any non-McKay students' names, attendance, or other information. DOE does not have the authority to ask for a McKay student's test records or class records. DOE does not have the authority to determine if a child should remain in a school. DOE does not have the authority to ask for any information not covered on the compliance form or by the statute.

It is sometimes difficult to get answers from DOE. What would expedite this?
Worst Case Scenario Should a question exist that must be researched, give the DOE representative two working days to get back to you. Should the person not contact you, put your question in an e-mail to The Choice Office with that person's name referenced and send to the director of The Choice Office. Ask that an acknowledgment of your email be made and an indication as to the length of time it should take to resolve the issue. We do not want to assume an adversarial role, but it is very easy for questions to become "lost" in the bureaucratic process. Should your question not garner a response in a timely manner, send a registered letter with the details and questions to the director of The Choice Office. Should you not elicit a response after this, enlist the aid of Commissioner Winn's office or your legislator to assist you. Best Case Scenario Many of our questions are answered quickly and competently by representatives of The Choice Office. We need to make them aware that we appreciate their hard work and dedication to making the system work for our kids. It does wonders for everyone's morale to hear that "Thank-you" after a question has been answered or a problem solved. On particularly difficult questions, that are answered efficiently, send an e-mail of a letter to the director of The Choice Office recognizing the hard work of the employee by name.