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State Assistance Programs
Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program
The Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 established the Immediate Intervention/
Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP) to improve the academic achievement in
California's low-performing schools. The statute (California Education Code Section
52053 et seq.) called for the annual selection of 430 schools in the lower half of all
schools on the Academic Performance Index (API) that failed to meet API growth
targets in the preceding year. Participating schools received $50,000 planning grants
during their first year to develop a school action plan aimed at removing barriers that
affected student achievement. Upon approval of their plans by the State Board of
Education, each school received a grant of $200 per pupil for two consecutive years to
implement the activities prescribed in the plans.
Schools that met their API growth targets during their implementation years exited
II/USP. Schools that failed to make any progress during the two years were subject to
state sanctions in their third year. II/USP schools that made some progress short of
achieving all their targets received a third year of funding. At the end of the third year,
those schools (1) exited the program if all targets were reached; (2) continued under
annual monitoring if some progress short of the target was achieved; or (3) became
subject to state sanctions if no progress was made. No additional funds were provided
to schools after the third year of participation in II/USP.
Three cohorts of 430 schools each were funded, beginning with II/USP Cohort 1 in
1999. A number of these schools also participated in the Comprehensive School
Reform (CSR) program and/or the High Priority Schools Grant Program (HPSGP).
Participation in CSR did not result in an increase of funds or a change in the
accountability process. Participation in HPSGP resulted in an increase of funding by
$200 per enrolled student.
In 2004-05, funding ceased for II/USP implementation for Cohorts 1 and 2 and for 333
Cohort 3 schools that did not simultaneously participate in HPSGP. No funds were
provided for a fourth cohort.
For more information on the II/USP, contact Martin Miller, Program Assistant, High
Priority Schools Office, at (916) 324-3455 or by e-mail at mamiller@cde.ca.gov. More
information is available on the II/USP Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/lp/iu.
Comprehensive School Reform
The federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program was
initiated in 1998 to improve the academic performance of low-performing schools by
providing grants to implement research-based, school-site reform activities. In addition
to school grants of $200 per pupil, districts with participating schools also received an
additional ten percent of the total grant to support administrative, evaluation, and
support activities. Because the goals of the CSRD program and Immediate
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