The SES provision of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) enables low-income parents to seek out free tutoring services for their children who need help in school. These services provide students with extra help in the academic subjects of reading, language arts, and mathematics. The tutoring services are to be delivered outside the regular school day-- before or after school, and/or on weekends.

A student is generally eligible for SES if he or she attends a Title I school identified by the state as in need of improvement. In other words, a child is eligible for SES if he or she attends a Title I school that has been identified for improvement under NCLB for two or more years. When this occurs, the school is considered to be in School Improvement Year 2 Status (SI Year 2) or higher i.e., SI Year 3, 4, 5, etc.

At its core, SES is an academic program that is geared toward helping students who attend struggling schools to improve their scores on standardized tests. SES providers are held to a higher standard than other organizations that traditionally offer tutoring services. SES providers will be deemed effective only if they raise student scores on high stakes tests which will enable a school to make Adequate Yearly Progress.

CPS determines which students attending In Need of Improvement Title I schools will be eligible for SES services. If more students apply than the district can accommodate, students are prioritized based on academic need. Once CPS identifies eligible students, a parent letter is mailed home in August. This letter contains information about available SES approved providers. If a family selects a tutoring provider, CPS will enroll/place the student(s) with the provider of the parent’s choice. CPS then reimburses providers for services based on a prearranged hourly fee.