Report 2015-101 Recommendation 2 Responses

Report 2015-101: Inglewood Unified School District: The State Superintendent of Public Instruction Needs to Better Communicate His Approach for Reforming the District (Release Date: November 2015)

Recommendation #2 To: Education, Department of

To assist the district with establishing priorities, and to ensure that the public is aware of those priorities, the state superintendent should direct his state administrator to develop annual performance objectives and an action plan to address FCMAT's findings and recommendations. Such an action plan should describe for the public why certain findings were prioritized and what steps the state administrator plans to take to improve the district's FCMAT scores.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2018

FCMAT completed a comprehensive follow-up review in July 2018; we anticipate the report will be released in the coming months.

On September 17, 2018, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 1840, Chapter 426 (2018) that shifted duties and revised statutory provisions relating to oversight of school districts with emergency loans, including the Inglewood Unified School District (Inglewood). Education Code, Section 41320.1 now requires the following:

The administrator shall serve under the direction and supervision of the county superintendent of schools, with concurrence from both the Superintendent and the president of the state board or his or her designee, until terminated by the county superintendent of schools, with concurrence from both the Superintendent and the president of the state board or his or her designee, at their discretion.

As a result of this change in law, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction is transitioning direct oversight for Inglewood to the Los Angeles County Office of Education effective September 17, 2018.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Resolved

Although not fully implemented, we agree that the reassignment of responsibility for Inglewood's state administrator to the county superintendent does "resolve" our recommendation.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2017

Education continues to work with the State Administrator regarding the annual performance objectives and the action plan to address FCMAT's findings and recommendations. On October 18, 2017, the State Administrator requested that FCMAT conduct a presentation to the district's elected board members during a public meeting study session. The presentation provided general background information and denoted the progress made by the district in implementing the FCMAT recommendations. The District's senior staff also presented information on how several of the FCMAT recommendations were already being implemented.

Additionally, during the 2017-18 school year, ongoing presentations will be made at public board meetings and will include discussions regarding plans and actions taken to address the FCMAT findings; thus continuing to ensure that the public remains aware of the priorities.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

1-Year Agency Response

In July 2016, FCMAT released the district progress report. Based on the latest results, Education will continue to work with the State Administrator to update the recovery plan as necessary.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Partially Implemented

As described in the six-month response, we continue to believe the district's February 2016 recovery plan falls short of implementing our recommendation. Education does indicate in its one-year response that it has directed the State Administrator to update the district's recovery plan based on the July 2016 FCMAT report or to more fully implement our recommendation.

6-Month Agency Response

In February 2016, Dr. Vincent Matthews, State Administrator, approved a district recovery plan, which includes actions that specifically address FCMAT's findings and recommendations. The recovery plan was a key performance objective and a priority for the State Administrator; the recovery plan is prominently placed on the school district Web site at www.iusd.net. Education will continue to work with the State Administrator to further improve the districts FCMAT scores.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

The California Department of Education's (Education) response is incomplete and does not fully address our report's recommendation. Education cites a February 2016 recovery plan that does not establish annual performance objectives that would allow the public to monitor the district's progress and hold state officials accountable for the expected level of improvement. Further, the recovery plan does not establish an action plan describing what specific steps will be taken and when to improve the district's FCMAT scores. Instead, the district's recovery plan only lists "observations" of deficiencies and general "recommendations" for improvement.

60-Day Agency Response

Dr. Vincent Matthews, the recently appointed State Administrator, began leading the district in late October 2015. Dr. Matthews posted his 60- and 90-day entry plan on the district Web site, which is available at:

http://myiusd.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/IUSD-Entry-plan-PP.pdf and http://myiusd.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Inglewood-State-Administrator-Entry-Plan-PP.pdf.

The plan includes reviewing the FCMAT report to identify areas of focus. Beginning in early January 2016, after Dr. Matthews has identified the district strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, Education will meet with him to discuss his performance objectives and action steps to address FCMAT's findings and recommendations.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: No Action Taken

All Recommendations in 2015-101

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.