In its upcoming School Improvement Grant application to the US Department of Education, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education proposes to request waivers of two statutory requirements. These waivers will affect LEAs that apply for and receive Section 1003 (g) School Improvement Grants for Federal Fiscal Year 2009, along with the schools/campuses the LEAs serve with those funds. The OSSE plans to apply for these waivers on behalf of all such LEAs in the District. If the OSSE receives approval from the Department, LEAs will need to indicate their intention to implement one or both of the waivers as part of the LEA application for these funds, which will be released after OSSE receives approval of its SEA application.

The requests are to:

• Waive section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. § 1225(b)) to extend the period of availability of school improvement funds for the SEA and all of its LEAs to September 30, 2013.
• Waive section 1116(b)(12) of the ESEA to permit LEAs to allow their Tier I and Tier II Title I participating schools that will implement a turnaround or restart model to “start over” in the school improvement timeline.

Text of the full proposed waiver requeste [PDF]

More Information about School Improvement Grants
School Improvement Grants made available under Section 1003 (g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will be used primarily to fund interventions in the District’s persistently lowest achieving schools. While LEAs with other schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring may later apply for awards if sufficient funds are available, only LEAs with one or more persistently lowest achieving schools will be eligible to apply in Phase I. View a preliminary list of the District’s persistently lowest achieving schools. Additional information regarding School Improvement Grants made available under Section 1003 (g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act can be found here. 

Webinar
OSSE hosted a 30-minute webinar/conference call on Thursday, February 4, 2010, at 2 pm. to discuss these waivers and the District’s School Improvement Grant application generally.

Comments
LEAs wishing to comment on these proposed waiver requests should submit their comments in writing to [email protected] by noon on Monday, February 8, 2010. Any comments submitted will be included, without identifying information, in the District’s School Improvement Grant application to the US Department of Education.  Comments submitted at or after 12:01 pm on Monday, February 8 will not be considered or included.

For additional information on these planned waiver requests, please contact Jeremy Skinner at (202) 724-2343 or via email at [email protected].