The following guidance was issued by the DOE to principals on May 11.

The Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) is a core component of the DOE’s Comprehensive School Support strategy and aligns with the chancellor’s expectations and four priorities: accelerate learning and instruction, partner with communities, develop people, and advance equity now. Schools are expected to annually review relevant qualitative and quantitative data to inform student and school progress, examine root causes that impact student achievement, prioritize needs and develop SMART goals and action plans that will accelerate school improvement efforts.   

The process and timeline for developing the 2020-21 Comprehensive Education Plan has been modified in response to the unique circumstances under COVID-19. This spring, schools in Good Standing will update their goals for 2020-21 and will have an opportunity to update their action plans this fall as outlined in the 2020 21 CEP Timeline. Note that the CEP also satisfies New York State Education Department requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act and includes the Multilingual Learner/English Language Learner documents (Language Allocation Policy and Title III application) and the Language Translation & Interpretation Plan for Parents. Transfer schools and schools designated as Comprehensive Support & Improvement, Targeted Support & Improvement or Receivership will also to be subject to State Education Department planning requirements and the timeline as detailed in the 2020-21 CEP Development Guidance.  

May and June CEP Timeline: 

• Principals and School Leadership Teams (SLTs) are expected to meet virtually in May and June to reflect on available quantitative and qualitative data regarding student and school progress, including preCOVID-19 data as well as relevant information during remote learning, to inform the development of annual SMART Goals for the 2020-21 school year. 
• To support principals and their SLTs in developing their 2020-21 goals, a new SMART Goal Builder tool will be available in the iPlan portal in late May. This online tool allows SLTs to respond to a series of questions that will automatically populate a draft version of annual goals that are SMART. In advance of the release of the SMART Goal Builder, SLTs are encouraged to use this CEP Goal Worksheet. 

Professional Learning Opportunities: 

• SLT members can register for a webinar on the development of 2020-21 CEP SMART Goals, from 2 to 3 p.m., on May 21. Principals can share registration information with their SLT members.
• By June 30, principals of schools in Good Standing will submit the school goals in iPlan and complete their online attestation stating that the annual goals align with their preliminary school-based budget.
• This spring, principals or designees can update their 2019-20 Language Allocation Plan addendums by June 12. By June 30, schools will be required to draft their 2020-21 Language Allocation Plans for feedback. 
• By July 30, superintendents will certify the alignment of 2020-21 CEP goals with preliminary school-based budgets, for each school in their portfolio.

September-November CEP Timeline: 

• In early fall, principals and SLTs of schools in Good Standing will update their CEP action plans to align with 2020-21 goals. 
• By September 21, school should finalizes the 2020-21 Language Allocation Policy, Title III Application (if applicable) and Language Translation & Interpretation Plan for Parents. 
• By October 30, schools in Good Standing will submit CEP action plans via iPlan, for superintendent review and approval.  
• By November 20, principals will upload the SLT signature page and related documents via iPlan. 
• November 23-30, 2020-21 CEPs will be publicly posted in iPlan and on each school’s website. 

Rollout of the New CEP Template and iPlan Portal for 2021-22:  

Beginning in fall 2020, the DOE will be rolling out a reimagined version of the CEP template and iPlan portal, together with a suite of professional learning opportunities, to ensure that schools will have an effective and user-friendly tool to support continuous improvement planning and progress-monitoring efforts for 2021-22 and beyond. 

For detailed comprehensive education planning guidance based on the school requirements for the 2020-21 school year, go to the 2020-21 CEP Development Guidance.