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SES for Providers

This page offers current or potential SES providers information about supplemental educational services specific to their needs and roles. It also offers tips on how to use this website.

What does SES mean for providers?

The supplemental educational services (SES) provision offers providers an opportunity to offer low-income children, who may be struggling in school, extra academic help and individual instruction. Through SES, innovative leaders and educators can start a new tutoring program or expand an existing one to serve more students.

Providers can find out whether students in their state or local district are eligible for SES on our SES by State page. Click a state to find the state’s list of Title I schools that have not made adequate yearly progress for at least three years and must offer SES. Or, use our Greatschools.net search engine to find out whether a specific school is required to offer SES to eligible students.

For more information about what it takes to become a successful SES provider, check out The Providers’ Toolkit for Supplemental Educational Services. The SESQ Center developed this Toolkit to offer potential or current SES providers practical, step-by-step tips, tools and resources on designing, delivering, marketing, managing, and evaluating an SES program. For a free PDF version, click here. To purchase hard copies of the toolkit, please call: 1-866-544-8686.

Who can provide SES services?

SES providers can be any of the following:

Approved providers must offer students extra academic help anytime outside of the regular school day. After school is the most common time for SES to be offered, but it could also take place before school, on weekends, or during the summer.

Providers may offer services in a variety of settings:

Many providers will offer “hands on” tutoring by trained instructors. Others may offer Internet-based instruction that students can access through a computer at home, in a school, or at a community center.

How does an individual or an organization become an SES provider?

Each state develops a provider application and a request for providers. Providers complete the state’s application. To become a state-approved provider, a program has to demonstrate that it:

Individuals or groups of individuals who want to become SES providers must organize as a legally recognized non-profit or for-profit entity and be approved by the state.

Each states sets its own application timelines but must give providers an opportunity to apply for state approval at least once a year.

To access each state’s provider application, criteria for selecting providers, and current list of approved providers, go to our SES by State page.

What happens once a provider is approved by the state?

Each state develops a list of approved providers, broken down by the district(s) in which the providers can serve. This list should at least tell families about:

States provide information about approved providers to districts. Districts are then responsible for identifying eligible students and giving their families information about the providers.

Families will receive information from districts describing how to select a provider and giving deadlines for signing up for services. When possible, districts need to make sure that this information is in language(s) local families understand. If a family asks for assistance, the district must help the family choose a provider.

For a quick overview of roles and responsibilities for SES, click here.

How can providers help inform families about SES and encourage them to sign up? 

Providers can develop clear, easy-to-read information about their services and send copies to states and districts. Providers should work with the district and schools to get this information to parents. For example, providers could work with schools and districts to hold provider “fairs” at school parent-teacher nights so that families can learn about SES, meet potential providers, and sign up for services. Groups of local providers could pool resources to help the district send materials home to eligible families.

Providers can also focus on reaching out to families at places they visit often, such as:

Providers may be able to place newspaper ads, send postcards to all families in the area, or appear on local radio or TV talk shows.

What happens once a family chooses an SES provider?

Once a family chooses a provider, the provider, the school and the district meet with the parents to agree on performance goals for the child and a schedule for services. Typically, the provider or the district sets up this meeting. A provider is required to monitor each student’s progress toward these goals and regularly communicate with the student’s family, school, and district about the student’s progress.

How are providers paid?

School districts pay for providers. Providers are required to include information about the cost of their services when applying for state approval. When a family chooses a provider, the school district enters into a contract with the provider. These contracts often include agreements about the schedule for services, payment, and the cost of services (the same as the amount indicated on the provider’s state application). The contract may also include criteria for monitoring provider effectiveness (see How are providers monitored?).

Districts may set payment schedules so that providers begin tutoring students before receiving the first payment. In such cases, providers should make sure that they are able to cover operating costs until payment is received. Districts should also consider that some providers may not have sufficient capital to offer services for long periods of time without payment.

How are providers monitored?

The state monitors each approved provider’s effectiveness in raising student achievement. States monitor each provider at least once a year, though some states may monitor providers more frequently. States must remove from the list any provider that has not helped students improve for two or more years.

States are required to set their own standards for monitoring the quality and effectiveness of provider services in raising student achievement in academic subjects, such as reading and math. These standards will be consistent with the criteria set forth in the state’s application for SES providers. The standards clearly spell out how student performance will be measured. These measures might include:

When establishing contracts, providers and districts will work together to clearly indicate how student performance will be measured.

Visit our SES by State for links to information about each state’s monitoring procedures and standards.

For more information about evaluations of SES providers, consult Evaluating SES Providers: Suggested Strategies for States [PDF]. Dr. Steven Ross from the University of Memphis worked with the SESQ Center to develop this Issue Brief to help state education agencies develop evaluation systems for SES providers. It can also help school districts and SES providers understand their roles in the evaluation process. The Brief reviews possible evaluation outcomes, data sources, and research designs, and offers practical and technical considerations associated with an evaluation. 

How can providers use this website?

This site has a number of resources for providers. We recommend visiting these pages: