The Regional System of District and School Support (RSDSS)

Section 1117 of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires each state to establish a statewide system of intensive and sustained support and improvement for local education agencies and schools receiving Title I funds to increase the opportunity for all students to meet the state's academic content and achievement standards. This federal requirement was codified in state law through Assembly Bill 312 (Chapter 1020, Statutes of 2002), a trailer bill to the 2002 Budget Act for California, which established a Statewide System of School Support (S4) designed to support the requirements of NCLB.

Three entities work together to complete the work of S4: the Regional System of District and School Support (RSDSS), a federally funded Comprehensive Assistance Center (CAC), and the California Department of Education (CDE), in an administrative role. The RSDSS is organized around the 11 county superintendent regions identified by the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA). Each region has an RSDSS Director who operates out of one of the county offices of education in each region. The CAC facilitates the dissemination of resources and information via the RSDSS. Still under development, a system of School Support Teams will be utilized as a priority strategy in supporting school districts' efforts to serve their low-performing schools.

CDE convenes regular meetings of representatives from these entities and provides state-level information, coordination, and training on various topics related to supporting S4's mission.

In administering S4, CDE must ensure that support is provided in the following order of priority to:

     1.  School districts or county offices of education with Title I schools that are subject to corrective action under NCLB

     2.  School districts or county offices of education with Title I schools that are identified as Program Improvement schools, and

     3.  School districts or county offices of education with schools participating in Title I under NCLB that need support and assistance

S4 Mission
The mission of S4 is to build a school district's capacity to support its low-performing schools. This mission is realized through the dissemination of information, technical assistance, and brokering of regional and statewide resources.

11 Regions